Estate agent hates me!

liss90

I posted earlier regarding an offer put on a house which was refused. I also like a house which is being marketed by the same estate agent.
Anyway I called and asked for a second viewing for friday and the estate agent got all arsey with me!
He asked if my offer still stood with the other property, I said yes but as it had not been accepted we need to still keep looking. I also told him I was worried about the bowing in one of the ceilings and told him a friend had told me that it could be serious if the whole fireplace had not been removed properly.
He went all silent on me and then said how could a friend possibly know without looking and that there is no bowing to ceiling. I basically replied yes there is and that the vendor had said there was bowing when I asked her.
The estate agent basically got stroppy and I got the impression I was not welcome to look at the other property.
He has told me when we first looked at the property that there are two offers already and final offers are needed by noon friday. Told us it will cost thousends to put right. Feels that he is doing the most he can put us off. We are driving down from London with a 18mth old baby twice in one week (1hr30mins each way)
We have a mortgage in principle, a solicitor lined up and he is making me feel like a pest who is wasting his time!

Ember999

liss90 wrote:

I posted earlier regarding an offer put on a house which was refused. I also like a house which is being marketed by the same estate agent.
Anyway I called and asked for a second viewing for friday and the estate agent got all arsey with me!
He asked if my offer still stood with the other property, I said yes but as it had not been accepted we need to still keep looking. I also told him I was worried about the bowing in one of the ceilings and told him a friend had told me that it could be serious if the whole fireplace had not been removed properly.
He went all silent on me and then said how could a friend possibly know without looking and that there is no bowing to ceiling. I basically replied yes there is and that the vendor had said there was bowing when I asked her.
The estate agent basically got stroppy and I got the impression I was not welcome to look at the other property.
He has told me when we first looked at the property that there are two offers already and final offers are needed by noon friday. Told us it will cost thousends to put right. Feels that he is doing the most he can put us off. We are driving down from London with a 18mth old baby twice in one week (1hr30mins each way)
We have a mortgage in principle, a solicitor lined up and he is making me feel like a pest who is wasting his time!

Tell me about it! Done that, wore the T-Shirt, bought the T-Shirt as they say! I had a similar problem with Your-Move....A buyer with a Mortgage in Principal, no property to sell etc. an ideal person they should be begging for! Can you get them to make appointments? nope, can you get them to contact the vendors and ask questions? Nope....tell you what I did....

Contact Land Registry, got a copy of the deeds of the house I was interested in, searched online to locate their phone number once I had names and addresses in full from deeds and contacted the vendors myself..result? Success...deal with Your-Move? they make your life a nightmare...how they sell any houses it makes me wonder!

Somerset

I'd personally get arsey and persistent with the estate agent. He's not doing you a favour - it's his job ! If you want to look at more than one property on his books - it's your money so it's your choice/perrogative. You obviously have concerns about the ceiling in the first property. You want to see another house - so what !
If it was me I'd be in his office asking him to justify his refusal to show me property for sale. I'd be in his face, but that's just me. It's preferable to have a good relationship but if people are obstructive ( or possibly have their own agenda ?? ) I'd confront the problem. You don't have to justify or explain yourself. Buying is a huge financial committment, you have to be happy you've made the best choice. Letting an estate agent dictate what you can and can't see is unacceptable.

dag_2

Forgive me if this seems like a flippant response - but I think your best bet is to pretend to be a different person.

From the vendor's point of view, in theory, estate agents are supposed to screen out trivial viewings. But in practice, I've never yet heard of an estate agent insisting on seeing proof of identity before showing a client round a property.

If there are more than a couple of reps working at that office - and especially if it's a very busy one - you could just make up false details for yourself, and they won't even notice that they've already seen you. Only give your real details later on, if and when you're thinking of making an offer. At that stage, estate agents aren't going to mess about and risk blowing the sale, so they'll probably forgive you for faking it earlier on.

liss90

The estate agent has let us see the property on friday morning at 10am but is not happy! There is huge potential for the second property and it is very cheap (95k) but it does need work. The potential is the land at the back - I would say that there is at least a 250- 300 ft garden which is not over looked at all. The neighbours have built a bungalow at the end of theirs. When we were looking around other people were as well and he was trying put them off as well. Houses in this road normally sell for at least 150k - so a profit to be made if wanted. I am now beginning to wonder if he has a builder to buy lined up!
I just get the impression that he thinks we are time wasting or knows that as ftb with a mortgage of 120k we could get this property if wanted. The way he spoke to me was so rude - how dare he? Our offer has not been accepted on the other house although in a few days it will probably will be!

Tim_L

You can easily withdraw the first offer if you like right up until the exchange of contracts, so don't allow this estate agent to pressure you one way or another. Why not ask him directly if he has some reason for not wanting you to view the second house? Put him on the defensive.

I must admit I've a bit of a problem with estate agents in general. As a sales job it's one of the easiest there is: you persuade people to sell their houses with you (often on extremely restrictive and expensive terms), and eventually the house sells for a large amount of money of which they take a percentage. I've never ever had a viewing with an estate agent where they did anything at all to sell the house except follow me around holding the keys.

Then while the sale is actually progressing they do sod all but explain that they are looking up and down the chain and sorting out problems, while in fact when problems occur they are announced and dealt with by the solicitors usually. But for some reason they do seem to think of themselves as whizzkid salespeople brokering amazing deals.

mylittlefriendbaxter

Ever thought that maybe the agent knows the 95k place is a bargain and is selling it to a mate on the sly?

Maybe he is putting people off so his builder buddy can buy it for 95k, bung the agent 5 under the table, then the builder can sell it for 130 after renovating it. Wouldn't surprise me at all.

Pal

Or the estate agent is buying it themselves.

If you are interested, post a direct offer through the door and cut the estate agent out of the loop.

Ember999

Pal wrote:

Or the estate agent is buying it themselves.

If you are interested, post a direct offer through the door and cut the estate agent out of the loop.

Yes, this is my advice too....cut the Estate Agent out of the loop, just like I did - see my earlier post above!

As you will be cutting the useless, time-wasting, Estate Agent of the the loop, make a direct offer to the vendors who will negotiate better as they have no exhorbitant Estate Agent fees to pay.

That's what I did, I am now in the process of buying my cottage and the vendor and I removed the useless Estate Agent...we both are having the last laugh

Tim_L

If you've received details of the second house from the estate agent it's usual for them to press the vendor for fees even if you contact them direct. The T&C usually contain something about 'introductions'.

Ember999

Tim_L wrote:

If you've received details of the second house from the estate agent it's usual for them to press the vendor for fees even if you contact them direct. The T&C usually contain something about 'introductions'.

We managed to avoid this as the vendor simply told the agent that she was removing it from the market as she hadn't had offers high enough and she was going to be renting it out rather than selling. I am glad she told 'Your Move' to get lost! they were rubbish and almost cost her a sale with me due to the shocking way they treated me and her!