Estate Agents.....are they all low life scum?

[sully]

Generally, if you use an established local independant, they are likely to be better. Like everything important in life, you just need to be more careful how you choose.

We've just sacked a letting agent who found it impossible to listen. Unfortunately, the person we'd dealt with previously is managing it at arms length now, so has now been advised how useless his manager is!

As for estate agents, I have to say I've generally had good dealings with them. But then again, I've never tried using Fox & Sons, Mishons, etc, who generally seem to get bad feedback from those who use them.

Mishons even had to be advised of the law recently after twice illegally putting their boards up at the end of our road!

 

[Skaville]

I have been selling and aquiring a property for seven months. I have been working with two estate agents. The ones we are buying from (Brand Vaughan) are absolutely terrific. Great integrity, responsive, just a pleasure to deal with. I know that if I ever sell a property again I will be going with them. I cannot recommend them highly enough.

The ones we are selling through on the other hand are awful. We have caught them out with several plain lies. They have nearly lost the whole chain through their bullshit and caused untold stress along the way. I won't mention any names as I am planning to complain as high as I can go to challenge their fees.

However, the point of my message is this. I work in recruitment another industry was subject to this kind of thread on NSC. There are good in bad in any sector, so please stop tarring all with the same brush. Thaks for listening

 

[The Kid Frankie]

We\'ve just sacked a letting agent who found it impossible to listen.

This seems to be a common problem for individuals in sales/customer liaison positions these days. People are so wrapped up in what they want from a sale/contract/deal that they never take the time to shut up and listen to what the consumer wants. It\'s so simple it\'s staggering. I had a recruitment consultant contact me a few months ago trying to persuade me to put myself in for a certain job. I was asking him very simple questions like \'what is the salary?\' \'what are the hours\' etc. He was coming back with very short, half arsed answers and just kept repeating \'so I will put you in for this then yeah?\' In the end I told him not to bother. If he had just listened to my questions and given me a straight answer then I probably would have agreed. It\'s the simplest of sales techniques but seems to be totally ignored these days.

 

[Mellotron]

So you know more about selling houses than the agent does ?

Oh WOW. You are an estate agent's DREAM.

 

[glasfryn]

you might think its bad in the Brighton area (and I have bought and sold houses all over that area) but we had a hell of a job selling in Wales(unfortunately most of the locals knew our neighbours and what they were like) so we eventually sold it through the internet to the highest bidder as it was going to rental (normally I who not even consider doing this as it is hardly fair to a decent neighbour ...........but as the were'nt it went ahead)

we used John Hilton in Lewes road (not sure if they are still there ) and had some great service from them.
we have also used a few of the ones already mentioned and they are s***e to many trying to get a commission and they were expert liars.
have you thought about using one of the swap sites I am sure there must be someone in Swindon who wants to move to the Brighton area or even using on of the estate agents in Swindon I am also sure they would love to put one over on their Brighton counterparts
whatever good luck..........moving is a pig!

 

[Pbseagull]

My Mums house has been on the market now for 2 weeks, in that 2 weeks its had about 7 viewings...estate agent called me today and said " its to expensive we need to lower the price"....

I informed him it had 7 viewings and she was the one who valued the house...her reply was " but we would prefer a lower price so we can sell it quick"..

What she meant to say was lower the price so we can get our commision quickly...

In the most polite way I could I told her it will stay on the market for the price that YOU suggested for a couple of months as we are in no real hurry...

Scum the lot of them..

I suspect that you are dealing with a corporate agent as that is pretty much standard practice with them. Two weeks is nowhere near a long enough period to gauge how correct the asking price is, about 4-6 weeks is much more realistic.( the month of August is generally one of the quietest due to school/annual holidays, so even more reason not to reduce yet) have you been given feedback from the 7 viewings?. I have worked as an Estate Agent for 25 years, we are not all scum but I do understand your feelings. When somebody decides to sell their home it is a huge decision, agents are not just selling property they are dealing with peoples lives and it does anger me how some of them act but I suppose it is pretty much the same with most industries. Estate Agents are sale people no more & no less. I feel that it's the easiest job in the world if done properly, I pride myself on my local repututation, unfortunately the same cannot be said for a great deal of them. I would reccommend that you talk to a good local Independant Agent who knows the market in your mums area and will give you honest advice, If your mums house is with a corporate Agent I suspect that she may be locked in on a 12 week or more sole agency agreement. Good luck.

If you ever want unbiased advice please PM me.

 

[SK1NT]

How did you work out Mishon Mackay?

you said the initials...

They are in Boundry road Portslade initial MM thats all

I think a lot of estate agents back in the boom were wankers (wide boys), as they could do f all and still get paid a load. Now they are having to actually be nice to customers and do a job to make cash.

They are still scum... but not as bad, in my experience as they use to be.

We had a hot blonde girl living next door to us and her bf and her would park in our private car park with their flash cars... She was a rude, self absorbed bitch.

Years ago i wanted to rent my flat out and guess who came over, the annoying rude bitch that kept parking in our carpark,. She was the letting manager for Dexters Estate Agency.. She was pretty embarassed.

Shes now regional manager and on shit loads of cash at about 27-29 years old... and she was so up herself u just wanted to hit her. Fit though

 

[beorhthelm]

However, the point of my message is this. I work in recruitment another industry was subject to this kind of thread on NSC. There are good in bad in any sector, so please stop tarring all with the same brush. Thaks for listening

while true, i think Estate Agents along with recruitment are usually majority bad. Recruitment is worse imo, they will outright lie as a matter of routine. Estate agents arent so much bad as just seem to do very little for a large amount of cash. if they charged a few hundred notes for showing my property in their window and showing round a dozen people a month , i'd have been quite happy with the service.

 

[beorhthelm]

oops.

 

[Skaville]

while true, i think Estate Agents along with recruitment are usually majority bad. Recruitment is worse imo, they will outright lie as a matter of routine. Estate agents arent so much bad as just seem to do very little for a large amount of cash. if they charged a few hundred notes for showing my property in their window and showing a dozen people a month round, i'd have been quite happy with the service.

I think you should just take your appalling grammar and ridiculous sweeping generalisations and bore off. Alternatively, reply with your profession and I'll respond with a torrent of abuse based on very little fact. Then we'll be even.

 

[beorhthelm]

I think you should just take your appalling grammar and ridiculous sweeping generalisations and bore off. Alternatively, reply with your profession and I'll respond with a torrent of abuse based on very little fact. Then we'll be even.

tetchy. yes they are sweeping generalisations, ones that seem to be pretty consistant with others experience. i know my grammer was poor and was trying to edit it, but t'interweb is a bit wonky here so gave up. i work as a sometime sys admin

 

[beorhthelm]

I think you should just take your appalling grammar and ridiculous sweeping generalisations and bore off. Alternatively, reply with your profession and I'll respond with a torrent of abuse based on very little fact. Then we'll be even.

tetchy. yes they are sweeping generalisations, ones that seem to be pretty consistant with others experience. i know my grammer was poor and was trying to edit it, but t'interweb is a bit wonky here so gave up. i work as a sometime sys admin

 

[Westdene Seagull]

I think you should just take your appalling grammar and ridiculous sweeping generalisations and bore off. Alternatively, reply with your profession and I'll respond with a torrent of abuse based on very little fact. Then we'll be even.

I'm guessing you're a recruitment agent. Unfortunately his generalisation is fairly accurate. My partner is currently out of work - found an ideal opportunity, spoke to the recruitment agent who put her forward. She has chased and chased and chased by email and phone and he refuses to speak to her. He works for a very big outsourcer whom I have contacts in - my partner now has his line manager details, hopefully that will teach him to pick up the phone or send an email. Her experience of recruitment agents ( and mine ) is broadly similar to this one.

 

[Lifelong Supporter]

I bought a flat in Eastbourne and the agents :

a) listed the maintenance charge but ignored the reserve charge and surchage

b) referred to central heating, the radiators were water filled and I assumed gas. Oh no the central hearing was oil. They omitted to mention that in the particulars or on viewing.

 

[Uncle C]

I certainly know more about their tactics than they think I do

If you are surprised by the overpricing to get a new customer and the resultant phone call to reduce the price, then its blindingly obvious you dont.

 

[Brightonfan1983]

What's to stop people selling it themselves? I've never been involved in selling/buying a house, but I know that some are sold privately.

What's the up/downside to that?

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Few things have given me greater pleasure than when I sued an estate agent who kept money from my wife and then did a bunk to Malta. I got every penny back plus interest and costs. Once we had tracked him down in Malta I think he knew the game was up

To answer you question, some most definitely are.

 

[Don Quixote]

They are absolutely the scum of the earth and I have no time for them. Remember they are working for the seller, and they always want the best deal for themselves.

 

[Uncle C]

They are absolutely the scum of the earth and I have no time for them. Remember they are working for the seller, and they always want the best deal for themselves.

This is wrong - they are working for themselves, everything else is a sham.

 

[Pbseagull]

They are absolutely the scum of the earth and I have no time for them. Remember they are working for the seller, and they are duty bound to get the best price for them.

amended for you!