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Estate agent question?

My deraly beloved house is listed with a local estate agent, my friend (yes there is only one) rang them to ask them to send my house dtails to her as part of my efficiency testing (well I will be paying them a lot of money if they ever sell it) yes they say they'll send out those details & also details of the house down the road which is cheaper.

I can see it from both sides, if I was looking for a house I'd want all relevant information but there was no explanation of the difference in prices, ours isn't falling apart like theirs, we even have tiles on our roof!

Whilst I am moaning there latest press advert has one house (not mine) labelled "priced to sell" well if that is priced to sell how are the others priced:confused:

I feel much better for that, thanks, any opinions on disposing of estate agents welcome, I thought I'd chosen the best:eek:

moaning mini

Comments

  • bunking_off
    bunking_off Posts: 1,264 Forumite
    Mini

    I can see you're getting frustrated, but then again if you were the other seller you'd be even more frustrated if the estate agent sent out your property details with a rider "but it's falling apart compared to the place up the street...".

    If you're not happy with your estate agent, I'd advise telling them and warn them that if they don't buck their ideas up you'll be serving formal notice on a certain date. Obviously, then go ahead and serve notice if things don't improve. In the meantime, by all means speak to other agents so they can be preparing details in the background. I found that when I did this, I miraculously got some extra viewers from my original agent, and lo and behold it sold during the notice period. Funny what the prospect of losing a few £K can do for motivating estate agents.

    You are at liberty to change agents. Complications can happen if someone originally introduced by the first agent decides they want the house, but I believe the agents are generally grown up about it.
    I really must stop loafing and get back to work...
  • I could write a book about idiosyncratic estate agents (perhaps I will).

    You just have to accept that they are trying to get as many houses viewed as possible and it really doesn't matter to them whether Mr. Bloggs buys your house or the one nearby as long as he buys something.

    It helps to pester them a bit. Try phoning or calling into their office regularly and asking how many viewings they have arranged for you, and how the numbers compare with other houses being viewed.

    Also when I say this I am not defending them but things are a bit slow at the moment.
  • I would add that at least the agents are sending out your details.
    What did your friend ask for??? Did they specify "no run down properties"? It sounds like their just doing their job......quite efficiently.

    If you want to know how one property was "priced to sell" then ask the agents. Maybe its been reduced, or they have given the agents 2 weeks notice or something.

    Ask for your house details to be worded differently.

    dont worry about the house down the road being cheaper, the type of buyer looking for a house like yours will not be interested in theirs, and visa-versa.

    I agree that you should ring at least each week to see what the level of enquiries are like.
    Anything I write is based on my opinion only. Before acting upon any advice from anyone on a forum further professional advice should be sought.
  • mini
    mini Posts: 833 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    Thanks everyone :)

    I have been calling in each week they greet me by name, I have been incredibly polite where as usually I would complain as I haven't wanted to upset them. I'm going to investigate other agents this week, I agree with the slow market comments. I had no idea home selling was so stressful, I have calmed down a little & am viewing it more positively,

    no viewings = less tidying up

    no offers = more time to save up

    But it's also frustrating at times! (<understatement;) )

    mini
  • bridiej
    bridiej Posts: 5,775 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    If your friend rang up and specifically asked for the details of your property and no others then I'd have a serious word with the agent.

    I just pop in now and then.... :)
    transcribing
  • I'm not a great fan of estate agents but it doesn't sound like they've done a great deal wrong in this case, yet. Rest assured though, that if they send out both sets of details to genuine buyers, and by some chance they are interested in both properties, they will push the run down house in preference to yours in order to get it off their books.

    I've sold several properties in the last year, and have only encountered various degrees of incompetency and deceit from estate agents.

    The latest has resulted in a sale falling through, so I've sacked the estate agent, and am looking for a new one. One of the estate agents I asked to do a viewing phoned me today to ask if I had decided to list my property with them as he 'had 4 very keen buyers waiting to view'. I told him no because I'd decided to use a different estate agent who was charging 0.5% less commission (which was true). Now call me suspicious, but if he had 4 people lined up, wouldn't he have offered to match the lower rate in the event of one of these 4 buyers buying the property, as he'd then get a decent amount of commission for doing virtually no work at all? Not surprisingly he refused to budge, so I'm afraid his 4 phantom buyers will never get the chance to view my flat!

    Anyway my advice is to remember that in the end the estate agent isn't working for the seller, he's working for himself and his profit. In today's market that's getting ever harder to come buy so treat everything they say with a pinch of salt and watch them like a hawk.
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