Should I change agents?

Benzine

My house has been on sale for a month with just 5 viewings so far. I know a month isn't long but in this time they have;

-taken 2 weeks to get me a free premium listing on rightmove that they promised
-taken poor photos of the front of the house and included none of my yard (I'm in a terrace and this is a selling point). This took 2 weeks to rectify and I had no viewings in the first 2 weeks. 
-failed to return any calls I've made to them
-booked viewings without checking with me first

I'd like to change agents as they don't deserve their fee. I don't have a tie in period, just 2 weeks notice. What happens in that 2 weeks though? Will they continue to market and try to sell the property or is it just dead time? 

Crashy_Time

Change agents and also think about changing the price, we are heading into very tricky economic waters now.

kenneth77

I've just cancelled the agreement with my agents for a not too similar issue. If you read past my last few points we had a few niggling issues and fell out of love with them. Obviously you need to check the terms of your contract but we had to give a 2 weeks notice period which weirdly our agent did without me even confirming  I emailed them saying that I was considering removing for sale and they replied saying they'd started the 2 week notice period. You may be asking to pay for their marketing costs tho, again depends on your contract
 Thinking of trying a pay on sale online option now rather than dealing with someone in an office monday to friday who's never been in the house and having some control over the listing and queries 

kenneth77

oh and further to last the can continue to list for 2 weeks but you can also ask to remove it from sale immediately but I believe you're not allowed to advertised elsewhere in that 2 week period 

Benzine

Thanks for the advice. I think a good estate agent can offer more than an online one but all my current one has done is basically put it on rightmove. I think I might tweak the price and look at an online agent now. 

yksi

I have lived your nightmare. They failed to return more than a dozen calls and did nothing even after I made complaints to their head office. The photos were poor, they ignored me screaming for the price to be dropped, the receptionist always promised they would call me back, the emails went unanswered, it went on and on. I ended up selling my property myself. I phoned and told them immediately that it had been sold and arranged for the new owners to collect the keys, which they did. A month after the sale, I received a text message that they had arranged a viewing for the following day, and when I called, I miraculously got hold of the idiot who was supposed to be in charge of the sale. He was not amused when I told him it had been sold elsewhere a month earlier and that if he had ever read his emails or responded to his phone messages then he would have known...

Quite frankly I don't understand how the business hasn't gone bankrupt. It's a national franchise and now that I am searching for a home in a different town, just seeing that red and white logo puts me off potential properties!

AskAsk

it is important to get a proactive agent.  they can generate the sales and not just rely on people calling from rightmove.  if the agent does not answer your calls, then imagine how he is dealing with prospective buyers.

Crashy_Time

If there are no buyers he can`t deal with them though? I can`t see an agent scaring off his own paycheck TBH.

AskAsk

Crashy_Time said:

If there are no buyers he can`t deal with them though? I can`t see an agent scaring off his own paycheck TBH.

you would think so but it is not always the case.  just reviews on trustpilot for some bad estate agents and you will hear people say they can't get an appointment from the agent as their calls are never answered.  i have found this myself with some agents.  i call to ask about a property to get an appointment and never hear back, but the property remains for sale.  in these circumstances, i can't be bothered to chase and just move on.

eddddy

Benzine said:

I'd like to change agents as they don't deserve their fee. I don't have a tie in period, just 2 weeks notice. What happens in that 2 weeks though? Will they continue to market and try to sell the property or is it just dead time? 

An EA would usually continue to market the property during the notice period - because they'd still hope to introduce somebody who eventually buys the property - so they get their fee.

As long as you're sure there is no minimum contract period, the other thing to check for is fees - maybe a 'withdrawal fee' or 'marketing fee' etc, which becomes payable when you terminate the contract.

You should also get a list of prospective buyers that they've introduced (i.e. people who have viewed), to pass on to the next EA - with instructions to the next EA to refer them back to the first EA, if they get in contact.

Benzine

Thanks all for your comments and advice. I'll be handing notice in shortly and trying another agent. I don't see how anyone else could be much worse so it doesn't feel like much of a risk!