No wonder people can't sell !

sussexchick

Hi Folks

I have recently had the need to contact various letting agents and estate agents due to a pending job relocation. As I don't know the areas that well, via Rightmove, I sent out an alert to all agents asking for guidance for renting and at some point, maybe buying at a later stage.

I have a good deposit held ready for when I eventually decide to buy again, and will have nothing to sell as I'm in rented accommodation.

Now, you'd think that most estate agents would be calling or emailing me wouldn't you ! Pah ! - you thought wrong ! :eek:

I have had, since the weekend, the grand total of 1 solitary agent make contact with me via email :mad: and when I returned the email asking for a meeting with them to discuss the area in better detail, they have yet to make any further contact !

I find this shocking given that people are desperate to sell or rent their property to people like me !

So it begs the question, do you know exactly what your estate agent is doing to sell yours ? ........................

SC
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artbaron

Some are terrible. I think I posted elsewhere about an estate agent who turned up late to a viewing, didn't apologise then said literally not one word apart from "Have a look round", then "I like your shirt" when the viewing had ended. Oh, and "I don't know," to every question I asked. I actually searched for the phone number of the seller so I could ring them up and tell them how useless their agent was but they appeared to be X-directory.

The agents I got round were very good, though. Three of them all came round the next day (not all at once) and spent time explaining the process, showing me charts, looking round and giving me advice. The ones I chose gave a very good service but it's true, some are shocking.

martinsurrey

No offence but agents are there to sell/rent houses, not hand hold you through life choices.

They are not Kirsty and Phil on Location Location Location.

Do your own research on where you want to live location wise, then agents will help you find somewhere in that place, if they have any.

I can just imagine your meeting (if you managed to get one).

You - “I want somewhere I can grow as a person, in a location that reflects who I am, and what I stand for”
Agent – “I have a first floor flat in the suburbs; does that reflect who you are?”

sussexchick

I feel terribly sorry for those wanting to sell !

The housing stock doesn't appear to be that good at the moment but have blamed that on the time of the year.

But it makes you think though ................

sussexchick

martinsurrey wrote: »

No offence but agents are there to sell/rent houses, not hand hold you through life choices.

They are not Kirsty and Phil on Location Location Location.

Do your own research on where you want to live location wise, then agents will help you find somewhere in that place, if they have any.

I can just imagine your meeting (if you managed to get one).

You - “I want somewhere I can grow as a person, in a location that reflects who I am, and what I stand for”
Agent – “I have a first floor flat in the suburbs; does that reflect who you are?”

Fortunately I don't take things personally and you are entitled to your opinion.

As for the proposed meeting .... sorry but calling in and asking local agents what the area is like etc, isn't that what they are there for ???

martinsurrey

sussexchick wrote: »

Fortunately I don't take things personally and you are entitled to your opinion.

As for the proposed meeting .... sorry but calling in and asking local agents what the area is like etc, isn't that what they are there for ???

I'm sorry if that was a bit harsh, but its for your own good as well.

Basing where you live on what an agent tells you will lead to trouble, they will never say, “I have this house, it’s in the knife crime area of the city, so it’s always exciting!”

They are there to sell and rent houses, they work for the people who pay them, the sellers, not buyers (so not you).

A fair few agents would end up shifting one of their worst houses on you by playing it off as an "up and coming area" or one of any other sales tactics.

Do your own independent research and then contact agents when you know what you want.

sussexchick

martinsurrey wrote: »

I'm sorry if that was a bit harsh, but its for your own good as well.

Basing where you live on what an agent tells you will lead to trouble, they will never say, “I have this house, it’s in the knife crime area of the city, so it’s always exciting!”

They are there to sell and rent houses, they work for the people who pay them, the sellers, not buyers (so not you).

A fair few agents would end up shifting one of their worst houses on you by playing it off as an "up and coming area" or one of any other sales tactics.

Do your own independent research and then contact agents when you know what you want.

Thanks for your reply - your 2nd post explained the reasons behind your 1st harsh comment !

I would naturally check out the crime stats etc (saw a fab link on here quite recently) and yes I agree EA are working for the sellers not the buyers. But without helping to entice buyers through the front door, especially those that would actually like to consider buying, how can they possibly help the seller ?

Everyone is competing for a buyer, so why not spend time helping those potential buyers ?

martinsurrey

sussexchick wrote: »

Everyone is competing for a buyer, so why not spend time helping those potential buyers ?

Don’t confuse helping buyers, with lying (or flexing the truth!) to them to get them to buy something they have for sale.

The former is what nice people do, the latter is what EA’s do.

sussexchick

martinsurrey wrote: »

Don’t confuse helping buyers, with lying (or flexing the truth!) to them to get them to buy something they have for sale.

The former is what nice people do, the latter is what EA’s do.

Good point and taken on board - thank you

somethingcorporate

You put far too much faith and trust (and intelligence) in LA/EAs. I've dealt with dozens and am yet to find a good one.

The one good tip (I have repeated here before) is you always know when one is lying as you can see their mouths moving.

sussexchick

Yes, you are probably right in that I put far too much trust in LA/EA's.

Find it quite scary that people like me (who don't have that much experience in renting/buying/selling) etc, (and I lived in my previous home for 16 years) , can be so easily swayed by the smooth operator that is An Agent ! ... I truly hope that not all agents are like that though ? !