Foxtons,Alexander Hall and THAT documentary

Kuztardd

I never saw the BBC condemning documentary called "Whistleblower" a while back that went into all the dodgy pracitcies of Foxtons and their mortgage brokers Alexander Hall (who are Fee-free and whole of market; these are the best to get arent they?)

but you can read about it here.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4826444.stm

I'm viewing a couple of foxtons properties soon and have been referred to Alexander Hall, which is the brokers that they recommend, but then again i can also find other reviews that are not so enthusing...

One great member on here has also recommended Alexander hall in response to a previous question of mine, so it is nice to get a referral from a member.
But then again i can also find other reviews that are not so enthusing

But as soon as i mentioned the company to my Partner, he went, "no,no,no,no!!"
he watched THAT documentary and is hence very dubious.

So I am curious if practices have changed since then.
Do you reckon that since we may not even end up Foxtons for a purchase (FTB) that there wont be the conflict of interest that exists between Foxtons and Alexander Hall?
Or am i just worrying for no reason?

silvercar

the risk, as I recall, is that the broker tells the estate agent how much you can really afford as opposed to what you have told the EA. you are then persuaded to spend more.

Kuztardd

yep that is the one..

we have or budget, and we WILL not stretch ourselves..
its amazing that we could maybe get a mortgage for a further 60grand more than we want (and what we feel we could afford)..

lynzpower

I never saw the doc either, but then I used AH before it was shown. I know its me your meaning thats cool

I would say if you dont like what you saw, then dont use them. Much better to use someone you feel confident about.

one thing I would say i that foxtons are well known both in the industry and anecdotally, of overvaluing hugely. They have up for sale quite a few properties round here,. they remain on the market as the price tag is RIDICULOUS - ie at least 20% over the ceiling price of one road I know well.

I would avoid foxtons for this reason.

Doozergirl

The programme showed that the Foxtons salespeople might show you more expensive properties that will, of course be a bit bigger and may have you drooling. Most people can't control their heart in these situations.

The example I remember being used involved a pretty expensive house and rich American buyers (no clue of the housing market and probably enough money not to care how much it was really).

The programme was pretty lame tbh. The worst bit was the fact that AH had shared some confidnetial information with the agent. The rest was really putting a spin and a big fat cherry on nothing.

I'd use Foxtons to sell a house, certainly, if they can get top price! I'd be wary when buying BUT I am anyway. I won't have the wool pulled over my eyes as far as value is concerned and as a MoneySaver, you should be researching comparables properly . I wouldn't really worry about it. You know what could happen and you know not to let people take advantage of you.

Do whatever it is you were going to do with your eyes open. Whatever happens at Foxtons happens randomly across the whole country.

lynzpower

When I said Id avoid Foxtons, I did mean to buy, not to sell

Sybarite

Foxtons have a terrible reputation & justly deserved. MY ex uni warned foreign & home students against letting through them as they'd had so many complaints.

A friend's boyf also works in one of the LDN branches & warned me never to go through them unless absolutely necessary. For lettings they have huge admin charges & overprice the property & will try every trick in the book to cling on to your deposit.

In fairness sometimes the staff may not want to be such shysters, but they are under enormous pressure to sell & meet targets.

If you're selling you can always get Foxtons to value it & then instruct an alternate (more reputable) agency you'd like to sell at that price. I'd offer what I thought was the market worth was after all, irrespective of the estate agent's claims. Remember, your potential buyers aren't going to be looking in just one estate agent's window. Might be tempting to think Foxtons will max out your sale price, but that's useless if the property just sits there, conversely they aren't going to be adverse to telling you to accept a lower price if they need to make a sales target if they're that unscrupulous.

Remember someone has to pay for all those foe graffiti minis & offices that look like coffee bars - they have to keep turnover high.

theGrinch

Foxtons and Alexander Hall were accused of collusion in a bid to pressure buyers into paying more. Alexander Hall was alleged to have passed on private (bank) details over to Foxton in breach of some rules or code of conduct. highly unethical but possible given the similar directors and shareholders.

personally, this is enough (regardless of today's practice) to say thanks but no thanks I dont wish to give my patronage to a firm that has or does indulge in such practices. there are many fee free brokers out there ie L&C which I used and found excellent.

lynzpower

L&C also take a fair amount of stick as well- there are a couple of posts today about them and how carp they are

Bargain_Rzl

I used Alexander Hall for my recent purchase - AFTER the documentary - because they were recommended by several different people. They were fab! I agree entirely about Foxton's overvaluing though.

scorpio_princess

Sybarite wrote:

Foxtons have a terrible reputation & justly deserved. MY ex uni warned foreign & home students against letting through them as they'd had so many complaints.

A friend's boyf also works in one of the LDN branches & warned me never to go through them unless absolutely necessary. For lettings they have huge admin charges & overprice the property & will try every trick in the book to cling on to your deposit.

In fairness sometimes the staff may not want to be such shysters, but they are under enormous pressure to sell & meet targets.

If you're selling you can always get Foxtons to value it & then instruct an alternate (more reputable) agency you'd like to sell at that price. I'd offer what I thought was the market worth was after all, irrespective of the estate agent's claims. Remember, your potential buyers aren't going to be looking in just one estate agent's window. Might be tempting to think Foxtons will max out your sale price, but that's useless if the property just sits there, conversely they aren't going to be adverse to telling you to accept a lower price if they need to make a sales target if they're that unscrupulous.

Remember someone has to pay for all those foe graffiti minis & offices that look like coffee bars - they have to keep turnover high.

Ah, so it's not just me who thought their ultra-trendy offices look like coffee bars?! I don't live in London (or anywhere else where they have a Foxtons), but the last time I was there - along the Holloway road I think - I had to do a double take! Is it a sushi bar? A coffee bar? A boutique? No, an estate agents!! Seemed a bit OTT to me

I think Foxtons belong to the same group as an estate agent round my way - not sure of I should name them! They think they're the best and most professional EA for miles, but the truth is they are a bunch of you-know-whats. My parents are looking for a house, and it always puts them off if they see a house they like is being sold through them. It's beyond me why people keep using them! They treat vendors and buyers with contempt, and believe they're far too important to actually keep in contact with a customer, not to mention be honest with them. I've seen what goes on there too because an ex boyfriend works for them (of course this has nothing to do with why I don't like the company....)