Estate agents and their psychological games

phoebe1989seb

michaels wrote: »

I had an agent round just for a valuation and he called a few days later saying he had a very interested cash buyer to show round if I would just sign up with him to sell - again a lot of me thought this is just a ploy to push me in to selling with that agent, I wonder if this is a common trick?

I think it might be as the same thing happened to us the first time we attempted to sell our last house a few years back.......we did intend to sell and one of the EAs we had to value the house called soon after saying he had someone very interested (cash buyer) who would like to view. At that point we had already made up our minds to go with that particular EA, but hadn't told him that yet.

We agreed to have the potential buyer round - we feared due to the unusual nature of our house it may prove difficult to sell, so didn't want any opportunities to achieve a sale to pass us by - and they were indeed über-keen. However, the promised offer never did materialise - they viewed twice and made all the right noises - as the EA then let on that whilst they weren't having to sell to buy, they were relying on an inheritance (that hadn't yet been received) and on top of that they did still need to get a small mortgage to buy :mad:

We did sign the EA's contract but got the strong impression these buyers were not for real, but just a ploy to suck us in. After two months - and no serious offers - we pulled the house off the market, completed the renovations and didn't try to sell again till 2011 when luckily we accepted a (genuine) offer within the first two weeks.

Better_Days

Cash buyer - if they exist - may well be an investor looking for a BTL - and as such may offer low.

It sounds to me that you don't really like any of the EA's. Have some more round. I went through 7 or 8 before I found one I liked. Have you asked around for recommendations? Certainly don't go for a long tie in - 4 to 8 weeks is I think reasonable. Negotiate on fees if you think they are too high. Avoid the corporates and their hard sell tactics. Avoid male EA's with pointy shoes - a tell tale sign of 'ducking and diving, dodging and weaving'!!

mrcow

The only real way to determine how good an estate agent is is to go and look at some houses they are selling.

That way, you can see how interested they are in selling properties.
And you can see how they treat propsective buyers.
It can be quite an eye opener.

cabbage

We had a similar experience. Started looking at houses to buy to see what was on the market. One estate agent said they had a potential buyer who tried to buy one further up the street. They were SSTC so we put our house on the market and the buyer bought elsewhere (if they existed at all). We took the house off the market after 2 months.

Having said all that, this EA is the most pro active of all the ones in the town. They are the best of a bad bunch.

I used to work in estate agency in the late 80's and early 90's and we worked really hard to sell properties, get interested buyers who could proceed viewing properties, we had a hotbox and rang everyone when a new property that matched came on the market. We rang the solicitors weekly for updates to sort any problems and rang all vendors weekly with an update on what interest was shown in the property, viewings were fedback to vendors within 2 days. We were open 7 days a week and evenings etc....

Now its a Monday - Friday or possibly Saturday morning affair. They don't type up the for sale details or proceed to update through purchase and completion. Its very casual and they want the sales to come to them. Trying to arrange an accompanied viewing takes at least 7 - 10 days. Viewings are sometimes never followed up. They don't even bother to ring you when a new property comes on the market.

I know its a different era now and many people choose their house on Zoopla or Rightmove but things have deteriorated and the personal touch has gone.

If i had the money I would like to set up my own EA and show them a thing or two about customer service.

Dan-Dan

ValHaller wrote: »

He is the one I would kick out of the door immediately. 'geezer' 'sugar as idol' is enough - how will my buyers react to him and his outfit?

3 largely encapsulates 2 - 139500, 139000 and 135000 are essentially different manifestations of the same 140000 ceiling

For me, it is between 1 and 3, although I do have a distaste for 1 bringing on the primed 'buyer'

But yet he is the only one who appears to be realistic about the selling price , combine that with low fee and no lock in...?

ValHaller

Dan-Dan wrote: »

But yet he is the only one who appears to be realistic about the selling price , combine that with low fee and no lock in...?

A Quizzical Squirrel says, you can separate out the agent and the price you put it on at.

No 3 says 135 with a view to selling at that price. This is the same predicted outcome as 2, although 2's strategy of asking 139 is more realistic. So put it on at 139 with 3 - it amounts to the same thing and you get an enthusiastic and polite agent, rather than a geezer in the mould of sugar.

As for tie in, 16 weeks is excessive - but I do believe that when you choose an agent, it is reasonable to give them 6 to 8 weeks unchallenged, to do their thing without breathing down their necks. If you don't feel you can trust them with that, then you shouldn't employ them!

Dan-Dan

maybe its important to go INTO the EA`s office and see the whole team in action , because very often the guy sent to see you may well not be the one doing the viewings anyway!

lessonlearned

cabbage wrote: »

We had a similar experience. Started looking at houses to buy to see what was on the market. One estate agent said they had a potential buyer who tried to buy one further up the street. They were SSTC so we put our house on the market and the buyer bought elsewhere (if they existed at all). We took the house off the market after 2 months.

Having said all that, this EA is the most pro active of all the ones in the town. They are the best of a bad bunch.

I used to work in estate agency in the late 80's and early 90's and we worked really hard to sell properties, get interested buyers who could proceed viewing properties, we had a hotbox and rang everyone when a new property that matched came on the market. We rang the solicitors weekly for updates to sort any problems and rang all vendors weekly with an update on what interest was shown in the property, viewings were fedback to vendors within 2 days. We were open 7 days a week and evenings etc....

Now its a Monday - Friday or possibly Saturday morning affair. They don't type up the for sale details or proceed to update through purchase and completion. Its very casual and they want the sales to come to them. Trying to arrange an accompanied viewing takes at least 7 - 10 days. Viewings are sometimes never followed up. They don't even bother to ring you when a new property comes on the market.

I know its a different era now and many people choose their house on Zoopla or Rightmove but things have deteriorated and the personal touch has gone.

If i had the money I would like to set up my own EA and show them a thing or two about customer service.

Hi Cabbage

I am in a similar situation to you. Used to be an EA, and then gravitated towards working directly for developers on site. Eventually set up as an independent, now retired.

I have recently sold and am now actively house hunting.

I have to say I am both astonished and appalled at how things have changed since "my day";)

Generally the poor levels of service that I have encountered are very disappointing. However to be fair there are some excellent individuals still around - it's the corporate ethos that seems to let things down.

Nickmack - I suggest that you interview a few more EA's before you make up your mind.

However, do bear in mind that the person who values the property and sells the firm to you is unlikely to be the person who will be dealing with your sale. That will be down to the office minions.

You need to go into the agents and meet everyone involved. You could do a mystery shop - ie ring up blind and ask them to show you few properties. You will then be in a better position to make an informed decision as to which agent to use.

Remember it isn't always about price - value is more important.

I would second the advice to try a couple of smaller, possibly independent firms. Big isn't always better.

The big corporate chains will have to follow edicts from Head Office and this often doesn't allow for enough flexibility to adapt to local market conditions.

Good luck.

lessonlearned

Better_Days wrote: »

Avoid the corporates and their hard sell tactics. Avoid male EA's with pointy shoes - a tell tale sign of 'ducking and diving, dodging and weaving'!!

:rotfl::rotfl:

Yep - Lounge Lizards......

Gospel According to My Elderly Aunt

"A man who wears slip-on shoes is not to be trusted - he's looking for a quick getaway. A man who wears Oxford Brogues is a safer bet"

So now we know.....;)

nickmack

Thanks for all your comment and opinions.

I would imagine most estate agents are pretty thick-skinned, so we're not too worried about them getting 'offended' while we decide.

The idea of this thread for me is to solicit opinion on their behaviour so far and whether the lines and promises they've made are realistic given the situation.

As I mentioned, number 1 did agree to drop the 16 week tie in, there is just a two week notice period as per the other contracts.

As a couple of people mentioned, we realise the agent and valuation are not tied together and also the enthusiastic 'face' of the agent is not always the one doing the viewings and dealing with the sale. All of them are local agents with a few offices in the vicinity.

Number 3 has not followed up since the valuation, whereas the other two have. We're not sure whether that means they're patient, busy, or don't have anyone on their books who might be interested right now.

At the moment we're planning to delay signing any contract until after number 1 comes round with their 'cash buyer' on Monday. We'll see what comes of that and then decide what to do next. Number 2 wants to have the signed contract today and take pictures on Monday, so we'll tell him the truth, that another agent has introduced a potential buyer and we're waiting to see the outcome before doing anything further.

Any other experiences or comments are welcome!