hoew truthful are Estate Agents?

csgohan4

Surrey_EA wrote: »

When you have any industry that has tens of thousands of people employed within it, you will get some that are very good, some that are average, some that are awful, and hopefully only a relatively small percentage that are lying little 5hits.

To put my point across, there is no loss in having distrust for the EA either as a buyer or seller.


But trusting them totally will only end up with egg on your face much more likely.


Why take a chance on others when you can control what happens.


I always take with a pinch of salt what EA will say and others will do also.


Good for you that you see all the good EA, but buyers have everything to lose if they are played by the EA and nothing to gain.

Surrey_EA

csgohan4 wrote: »

To put my point across, there is no loss in having distrust for the EA either as a buyer or seller.

But trusting them totally will only end up with egg on your face much more likely.

Why take a chance on others when you can control what happens.

I always take with a pinch of salt what EA will say and others will do also.

Good for you that you see all the good EA, but buyers have everything to lose if they are played by the EA and nothing to gain.

I think that would be a very wise mindset for a buyer to have, move ahead cautiously and do not get coerced into making a decision, everything should be analysed and thought through carefully. Given how few house purchases most people will make over their lifetime it's no surprise that most don't have a great understanding of the system, and should be wary of those that might not have their best interests at heart.

My point is that not every EA is untrustworthy although some undoubtedly are. Unfortunately it is unlikely to be obvious which is which until it's too late, so again I agree, take things with a pinch of salt, but not everything you hear will be a lie.

I have done this far too long, and spoken to far too many EAs to be naive enough to believe that all are good. However, in my personal experience the good do at least outweigh the bad.

alumende27

Did the prospective buyer say where they were attempting to buy a house? I can believe in some areas that the estate agent might be telling the truth.

Case in point, we sold a house in Cambridge last year. We had about 30 viewings in the first week, and enough offers (over the asking price) that we ended up going to sealed bids.

Granted Cambridge is somewhat of an anomaly, but it would be unwise to dismiss out of hand that the estate agent is just trying to make you pay more and that there are no other interested parties.

I've never had any reason to doubt that whenever I have made an offer on a house, the estate agent has passed on the offer verbatim. Likewise when selling, although they've given advice on whether an offer is ridiculous (although it's usually fairly obvious...)

That said, I have found some estate agents somewhat less than honest on other issues relating to the houses themselves*, although they do often rely on the owner to give them honest answers.

On the issue of wanting evidence of funds. As a seller I would certainly expect some evidence of funds, or at least having the estate agent assure me of same, before accepting an offer (especially when there are multiple offers). I have been messed around before by people who supposedly had the money but then weeks into the process admitted they couldn't get a mortgage.

* Buying a house to find out the previous buyer pulled out because the survey indicated subsidence...

Thrugelmir

csgohan4 wrote: »

To put my point across, there is no loss in having distrust for the EA either as a buyer or seller.


But trusting them totally will only end up with egg on your face much more likely.


Why take a chance on others when you can control what happens.


I always take with a pinch of salt what EA will say and others will do also.


Good for you that you see all the good EA, but buyers have everything to lose if they are played by the EA and nothing to gain.

I've found potential buyers and sellers far more of a hassle than any EA over the years. After all EA's are from the same race. Occupation means very little. Human nature is what it is.

abbiewaye

Hello everyone,
I was hoping you could help me. I have had a bidding war with one other party for a flat. A couple of days ago they offered an amount and I offered £5k more (my maximum budget and well over the asking price at this point). The agent has the taken it to sealed bids/best offer by Monday (even though my offer is the highest!)
My question is: does any one know the legalities surrounding if the other bidder decided not to bid at this point - would I be informed? My concern is that they may do so (as they had not yet responded to my higher offer) and I do not want to be bidding against myself!!
I would greatly appreciate any thoughts!

Davesnave

Abbiwaye, you should really start your own thread.

However, with sealed bids there is no compulsion on the vendor to actually sell to the highest bidder. Most will, but there's nothing in law to say they must.

So, it's up to you whether you just submit your last bid again, or go higher, and there's no way to tell what the other party will do. You are also at liberty to say that your last bid was your final offer and you won't bid again.

abbiewaye

Many thanks - I just wondered whether the agent is legally obliged to let me know if the other party withdraws ie that I am the only bidder!

AdrianC

abbiewaye wrote: »

Many thanks - I just wondered whether the agent is legally obliged to let me know if the other party withdraws ie that I am the only bidder!

Just pause and think for a moment...

You want the EA to let you know whether or not the other bidder's put a bid in before you put one in, right?

But that means that you're expecting the other bidder to put a bid in without knowing whether or not YOU'RE putting one in. So you're expecting the other bidder to do something you aren't willing to do. What if they have the same idea? Are you planning on playing rock, scissors, paper for the house? On the count of three...

Davesnave

When we were buying our current property, we acknowledged it was cheap and went straight to asking price, no messing.

But it wasn't like LocationX3; we heard nothing.

A few days later we were rung by the agent, who said another couple were also 'interested' at the asking price, so would we like to bid again, "to give yourselves a better chance."

We responded that we thought our chance was pretty good, as we had the full asking price in cash, and we'd even forgo a formal survey if the vendors would just get on with it.

Our offer was accepted in another day or two.

Later, having moved in, we met the other couple who were 'interested.' They existed, but they had a property to sell, and this one would have been a compromise, as they really needed another 5 acres.

We weren't lied to, because the others were 'interested,' but the impression given suggested much more than that.

abbiewaye

Thank you - good point that they don't know whether I'm putting ins bid or not, but I am wondering this because I had already offered £5k more than them and they hadn't responded to this yet before the EA jumped in and took it to sealed bids. So for all I know the final £5k was too much for them already so I'm reluctant to put yet more in!