No wonder people can't sell !

japmis

lessonlearned wrote: »

I advised japmiss to be more pro-active because he seems to be under the misapprehension that all a prospective purchaser needs to do is to register his details with the EA and then wait for the EA to find him a suitable property.

Because it hasn't happened that way for him, he has become frustrated and angry. As I hope I've now explained to him, and anyone else who needs to learn - that's not how it works.

Lashing out at all EA's and tarring them with the same brush, accusing them all of only wanting to "pull the wool over your eyes" is just a lazy generalisation, barely worthy of comment.

I'm frustrated and angry with EAs for persistently lying to my face, not for not hand holding me thru the process. It's not only EAs who want to pull the wool over your eyes, it's mortgage brochures and vendors too. As a first time buyer, the process IS daunting as no one is on my side, except myself!

I've never suggested in any of my posts that I think all I need to do is register with EAs and sit back let them do all the groundwork. There really is no need to be so accusatory towards me.

(30, female)

lessonlearned

japmis wrote: »

I've organised all the viewings myself e.g. looking up properties on rightmove/primelocation/zoopla and calling the EA for an appointment.

Not ONCE have they phoned me suggesting a suitable* property.

What I've learnt so far from house hunting is that it's like the X-Files = TRUST NO ONE. Nothing ever adds up, you have to do all your own ground work and people are constantly trying to pull the wool over your eyes.n
Sorry if I'm being a tad cynical!!




*they call once a week with "hey yeh there's this property it's out of your price range and needs tonnes of work but yeh you wanna have a look cos it's perfect for you and like loads of people have already been it's gonna go real fast this one" (insert expletive)

Sorry if I mistook your gender.

I am quoting your initial post in full because it shows just how angry and frustrated you have become. It also demonstrates that your are clearly misguided in your understanding of what it is that an EA does and that you have very little knowledge of how the buying process works.

It also highlights just how accusatory and offensive you are being with your ridiculous "they call you once a week etc rant".

You say you are being lied to by everyone, EA's, Vendors, Mortgage Brokers. How do you know this for sure.

I would suggest that either you do not fully understand the proceedings in hand and are floundering or it is down to your own adversarial approach.

Your tone in all of your posts is certainly very agressive. It is not a fight in the arena, it's a business transaction. Stop being such a drama queen and take the business more seriously.

I gave you a piece of friendly advice about how EA's actually work, and how it pays the purchaser to be more pro-active in their property search. You retaliate by coming out all guns blazing.

Re me accusing you of not being pro-active enough. You are not.

Re-read your second paragraph of your post. I quote in full

"Not ONCE have they phoned me with a suitable property".

If you had read my advice about keeping in touch with them you you will see exactly what I mean. I'm afraid it is up to the prospective purchaser to keep in touch with the agent. A quick phone call to say "Hi, I'm still here, I'm still house-hunting, what have you got that's new in."

Keep your cool, keep calm, stay friendly, stay pro-active and you will get there.

My persistent lady who was looking for a rental trusted me and took me at my word. I told her to stay in touch and she did. She got her flat.

If she hadn't stayed in touch she would have gone into my contacts book and the flat would have come and gone before I had had the opportunity to go through my book looking for likely candidates to phone.

Take a leaf from news-group monkeys book. He realised his job hunting tactics were not working and decided to change his approach and become more pro-active. He found out it worked for him.

You may not believe me but I wish you well. Good luck with your endeavours.

onlyroz

My experience with estate agents is the opposite of what is being described here. When I was house hunting I registered an interest with a number of estate agents detailing our budget and the sort of house we were looking for (3 bed, end-terrace or semi) and we were then blitzed with details of hundreds of properties that were completely outside our requirements. If we asked for three bed then that means we're not interested in four or five bed. If our budget is £250k then we clearly can't afford £300k so why waste both of our time with such properties?

And when we were selling our flat the estate agent proudly told us about the several thousand people that had been spammed with the details. Erm great - another few thousand people cursing that they'd ever signed up with the agent.

Hasn't anybody ever heard of targeted marketing?

lessonlearned

onlyroz wrote: »

My experience with estate agents is the opposite of what is being described here. When I was house hunting I registered an interest with a number of estate agents detailing our budget and the sort of house we were looking for (3 bed, end-terrace or semi) and we were then blitzed with details of hundreds of properties that were completely outside our requirements. If we asked for three bed then that means we're not interested in four or five bed. If our budget is £250k then we clearly can't afford £300k so why waste both of our time with such properties?

And when we were selling our flat the estate agent proudly told us about the several thousand people that had been spammed with the details. Erm great - another few thousand people cursing that they'd ever signed up with the agent.

Hasn't anybody ever heard of targeted marketing?

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Good grief what do you lot actually want. :rotfl:

EA's aren't sending you any house details, EA's are sending you too many house details. Poor devils can't put a foot right can they.....;)

An experienced estate agent will be well aware that more often than not a purchaser will eventually buy something that is nothing even remotely like they said what they are looking for.

For example they might have started out looking for a nice country cottage and, for all sorts of reasons, they decide they need something more practical and decide on a modern town house.

This happens all the time, not because the EA has sent them inappropriate house details.

The EA is just keeping an open mind and yes, being a bit opportunistic. They might not have exactly what you say you are looking for so they will send you other options to consider.

A purchaser should also keep an open mind and should be prepared to give lots of different properties some consideration - to see what suits best.

Re the £300K house details when you've stated your budget is only £250K. Perhaps the EA knows something about this property which leads them to believe there might be some wriggle room here.

A highly motivated seller who might be prepared to discount if the right purchaser comes along, a worrying survey - could be anything.

Don't forget purchasers often play down how much they are prepared to pay too. Often they will stretch a little if the right property presents itself. (Usually not first time buyers though, they are usually stretched to the limit anyway).

Has anyone heard of targeted marketing. Try explaining it to the youngsters in the mail room........

As I've said before - what kind of service are you prepared to pay for.

The poor kids (and they often are very young and inexperienced) who work in a high street EA office, are paid peanuts and get shoved in at the deep end with very little training.

That's how I started - on the reception desk. I was 19 and as green as could be. I started at the bottom and worked my way up the food chain.

After a few years I switched from an EA's office to working on site for developers. I immediately trebled my salary but by that time I was damn good at my job.

From there I was offered the chance of a lifetime and began working for a large international company working abroad. From there I set up my own company. Several years ago I retired to look after my sick husband.

Sadly I can no longer do this - I've had to give in and he is now in a nursing home.

Although I am now officially "retired" - joke - I am about to relaunch another property company, mainly as a figurehead and "power behind the throne" driving the business forward whilst making my sons do the bulk of the work. As they should - it's their turn.:rotfl: Time for Mum to put up her feet now and then.

I dip in to these threads from time to time and offer advice based on my long and yes distinguished property career. Yes I know that may make me sound cocky but generally I do know what I'm talking about. If I don't know the answers to questions raised then I don't chip in. Probably not for much longer though - as from next week I start marketing my elderly parents property and helping them move.

My record speaks for itself. I would not have survived and thrived in the business without being honest, reliable, hard-working and above all, ethical.

To those of you who think being an EA is easy money - well let's just say you couldn't be more wrong.;)

The weak, lazy, incompetent, unethical ones soon get rumbled. They don't last long - certainly not for the 30 years that spanned my career.

Yorkie1

I've appreciated your posts on this thread, LL.

I think the frustration of the OP is that when they asked the EA to provide a particular service, the EA said yes. The OP assumed the EA would deliver on that promise, but the EA failed to do so.

If the EA wasn't able to provide that service, then it would have been easy to say so.

lessonlearned

Thanks for the vote of confidence.

I often think that EA's are viewed in much the same way as Traffic Wardens and Tax Collectors, everyone just loves to hate us.

And of course there are a fair share of armchair EA's who think they can do better.

Well my advice is if you can do better and you really think you can deliver a better service then go for it. Set up your own agency. If you are as good as you think you are you will clean up.

If you can offer a better service than the competition then you will wipe the floor with them and steal the business from under their noses.

Many years ago a couple of "just housewives" in my city - no I'm not being rude that is how they were described at the time - decided that they would do just that.

When they had bought and sold their own properties they were so disenchanted with the service they received they felt that they could only do better. So they did.

They became one of the biggest and most successful firms around. They are both now long retired. Their beautiful office premises have just been sold at auction. Pity I can't afford them - I would have been there like a shot.

Actually these days setting up costs are very low. In the age of the internet you don't really need a high street presence. Nice to have but not an essential.

Re over-promising and under-delivering. I couldn't agree more.

There are lot of businesses and service industries that do this - not just EA's. From the customer's point of view it is infuriating.

Ultimately it's why so many businesses do fold and go under. Let's face it if you continually disappoint and alienate your customers then you can't expect to have a successful business.

Anyway I need to get cracking. I've "played" on here long enough - there's work to be done and it won't do itself. Unfortunately.

sussexchick

hello all

Just wanted to say many thanks to those that have posted their experiences, good and bad, and to the lovely LL who has given me so much advice. Thank you

I have totally re-thought my approach on house hunting and have taken on board so much information, which you have all kindly given. My only defence would be that I am nieve and trust far too many people in this world. Now put me in my own line of work, and I know what I'm talking about ! ..... then I can give you a good run for your money ! :rotfl:

I suppose my first post was also rather 'rantish/letting off steam', combined with a fear of starting a new job in a new area.

I shall update you kind peeps shortly ..................

Better_Days

lessonlearned wrote: »

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Good grief what do you lot actually want. :rotfl:

EA's aren't sending you any house details, EA's are sending you too many house details. Poor devils can't put a foot right can they.....;)

The problem I find with EA's is they seem to be unable to distinguish between 'must have' features and 'would like' or 'don't mind' features. When we were looking to buy last year I told every EA that I must have a bungalow or a house with a downstairs toilet. If it is the latter there must be a room downstairs that can be used as a bedroom. This is because of my mobility problems. The property must have a rural outlook. I am sick of EA's ringing me up about properties that have been on the market for ages which are unsuitable. It is a waste of their time and my very limited energy.

I suspect that the reason why some sales fall through is because of pushy EA's trying to persuade a buyer that a property is suitable when it isn't really.

We are now in rented and will be cash buyers, I will be asking EA's to contact me via email, but what is the betting that they wont take any notice and be ringing me up to try and flog unsuitable properties again?

Over the past year or so I have had a lot of experience of the local EA's through viewings, valuations, and our lengthy chain. Although the EA who sold my property was excellent, she was certainly the exception. My buyer commented that she got a much better information regarding the position of the chain from my EA than from hers. The poor reputation of EA's, around here at least, is deserved.

lessonlearned

Interesting comments about your difficulties about finding properties suitable for those with mobility issues.

I understand completely because my husband is a wheelchair user. I have become something of an expert on property which is best suited to disabled or elderly people. I had to.

Not all bungalows are always automatically suitable. Many of them are unfit for the purpose for which they are supposed to be intended.

A little tip for you.

All new builds constructed after 2007 have to comply with EU regulations to make them more wheelchair user friendly in order to "future proof" our housing stock for an ageing population.

For example better access, ie no large flights of steps to the front door, wider staircases to take a stair lift etc, wider doorways for wheelchairs and zimmer frames.

Hope that helps you in your search.

Another point that is often overlooked is that often apartments have a larger square footage than say a town house, so don't automatically rule them out. They can be a perfect solution for people with mobility issues.

Some smaller 2 or 3 bed bungalows can be very "pokey", very small bedrooms. Fine if are fit but useless if you need mobility aids such as zimmer frames, wheelchairs, bathing equipment or need a hospital type bed.

My friends mother bought a 2 bed bungalow. It was fine until she fell and smashed her leg and became a wheelchair user. Luckily my friend's husband was a builder. He had to rip the place apart and rebuild it, enlarging the bathroom to make it big enough to take bathing equipment, knocking out corridors and widening doorways, building ramps.

I recently viewed a fabulous development, all apartments. It was not a retirement development but many of the apartments had been purchased by downsizers and retirees who were buying suitable properties that would be "future proof" for their changing needs.

Easy access, full size lifts, wide doorways, no silly corridors with bends in the middle, large bathrooms that could accommodate ability aids and equipment. Each ground floor apartment came with a small patio and garden, the first floor apartments each had at least one proper balcony - not a Juliette balcony where you can't sit out and the top floor "penthouses" had fabulous roof gardens.

Each apartment was very spacious with a generous square footage, far bigger than many bungalows, town houses or semis which were around the same price.

Good luck with your search.

onlyroz

Better_Days wrote: »

The problem I find with EA's is they seem to be unable to distinguish between 'must have' features and 'would like' or 'don't mind' features. When we were looking to buy last year I told every EA that I must have a bungalow or a house with a downstairs toilet. If it is the latter there must be a room downstairs that can be used as a bedroom. This is because of my mobility problems. The property must have a rural outlook. I am sick of EA's ringing me up about properties that have been on the market for ages which are unsuitable. It is a waste of their time and my very limited energy.

I suspect that the reason why some sales fall through is because of pushy EA's trying to persuade a buyer that a property is suitable when it isn't really.

I agree with this. Other comments on this thread appear to suggest that a typical estate agent is in no way interested in finding out what the buyers actually want. In most cases maximum cost is an absolute and if potential buyers down-play their true maximum it's because they know the estate agents will do their best to push people beyond this. People can usually categorically say how many bedrooms they require as well, because they know how many people will have to live in the property.

It's just lazy marketing to blitz all potential buyers with every single property on offer, and can only result in wasted time and frustrated buyers. It's fair enough saying that estate agents are on the side of the seller, but it's the buyers who have the money and they *will* just walk away if they're confronted with lazy marketing and overly aggressive sales tactics.