housenetwork - a review

not_loaded

Interesting contribution, but the absolute opposite to my experience with HN.

£450 ish. Yay!!

sophie27

Me too. I have found them excellent. We had on with a normal estate agent previously - a London chain and they tried to get us to accept offers 20k under! HN got us an offer close to our asking after only 2 weeks on the market.

Must admit any issues with the buyer and you do need to push them. I agree on the feedback thing too but it can't really be helped if people get back to them. I know if I spent time viewing a house and wasn't interested, I can be put off by the estate agent phoning me constantly to find out how I feel. They work on a automated system rather than a proactive approach - suppose because you pay the fee up front. We used the conveyancing company linked to them (Premier Property) and they have been very quick and organised.

pilotj

The thing is the problems we've found have been way beyond having to 'push them', they've actually said they've tried to contact the viewer for feedback when they haven't, I know this because I've been the 'viewer' and they simply haven't contacted me. And they haven't passed on potential viewers who've really phoned them on to us, they've claimed that noone has contacted them. Surely this is worse than just being a bit inefficient and automated.

not_loaded

If you know for sure this is the case then put a complaint in. You'll get a detailed response.

I complained about a problem and I feel it was dealt with well. Only you can decide where you want to go with an EA.

Maybe you want to move on?

pilotj

Oh, and I'd be interested in knowing if the people who've had good experiences with HN are the ones who paid a bit upfront and more on completion and if the negative experiences were reserved for those who paid everything upfront as we did.

not_loaded

I paid 100% up front including their special conveyancing deal with HN Conveyancing (premier property lawyers).

Other than the one-time mistake I referred to above, all good.

pilotj

not_loaded wrote: »

If you know for sure this is the case then put a complaint in. You'll get a detailed response.

I complained about a problem and I feel it was dealt with well. Only you can decide where you want to go with an EA.

Maybe you want to move on?

Hi, I did complain and explained this in detail (with evidence) and included more serious complaints. The manager replied and said he had dealt with everything and it wouldn't happen again but 1. I don't believe him as when I've looked back at the records he was responsible for one of the problems and he said he had spoken to all those responsible and 2. the next few days were as bad. I emailed again and asked to stop using them and for some refund (not necessarily everything) and he replied with a link to their refund policy which as far as I could understand only guaranteed someone would take the pictures and they would market it online, after that they wont take responsibility for anything. He said he's look into my futher complaints and get back to me but he didn't until I complained again. Still no joy and I'm not sure where to go from here.

not_loaded

Yes, as I said a couple of posts back, only you can decide where you want to go with an EA, and maybe you want to move on?

In the big scheme of things at least it’s not 1½% High Street EA money you’ve lost. I know that doesn’t make it right though…

You currently have the marketing machine up and running, which for another EA would look pretty much the same to internet searchers. By moving EA, you’ll commit by signing a contract to the much larger commission the High Street guys want. Are you certain you’ll get significantly better service?

A lot of posters here complain about the High Street EAs.

pilotj

I'm pretty certain that if someone contacts my local EA to say they'd like to view the property the EA will pass this information on to me, or at least notice that someone has tried to get in touch with them. I'm more than happy to move on from HN but I don't feel it's fair that they get away with it, it's starting to feel like a scam if I'm honest.

Gixer77

I have all but given up with HN and am going with a local agent alongside them, as I'm fed up of the impersonal nature of their service. Every ticket I raise with them gets handled by a different call centre body. My "account manager" never contacts me. When I have viewings they then EMAIL them asking for feedback, instead of calling them. If no reply to the email they simply send another email. PICK UP THE PHONE !!!!!!!!!

I had a viewing cancelled on Saturday and I asked them to chase as to why she backed out (ie found a property, didn't like the area) and they EMAILED her asking, and have had no reply. If repeated emails don't get answers they simply "put it on file" and will contact me if they "get in touch". RING THEM!

I had a lovely young couple view and they adored the house but said it wasn't close enough to the town centre for them to walk or cycle. I asked HN to tell them there was a bus stop into town 2 mins from my door, and I never got a reply as to whether they passed this info on. A local agent would have rung up, highlighted the point, and possibly talked them round.

I realise now that I need someone who has been in my house and has seen it close up, so they can REALLY *sell* it to any potential buyers. They can chat about it because they've been in the house, sat on the sofa, walked round the garden etc.

Every time a viewer rings they will get a different person, every time they ring with a query they'll get a different person. The "Account manager" doesn't deal with these issues personally, I think they just process the sale paperwork and are supposed to be on hand for any serious queries I may have. I've just lost all faith. Houses within a mile of mine are shifting like hot cakes. I don't live in a demilitarized zone, my house is tons nicer than some that are shifting nearby for more money. So !!!!!! is the problem?

Hopefully a local agent will help get it shifted. I'm not even in a chain which makes it way easier!

So beware. The "personal service" from a local agent who has seen your house firsthand, can make all the difference I think. Specially if they are smaller specialised agents and not the big chains, cos they rely more on shifting your house to pay the bills.