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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To hate 90% of estate agents (slightly lighthearted)

37 replies

Shsussshs · 26/02/2019 21:22

Kind of expecting to get flamed for this, but some of them are truly awful.

A few reasons why...

Never ring you back when they say they will.

Arrange viewings and cancel at the last minute due to a double booking. I had travelled 40 minutes to be turned away.

Blatantly lie about not knowing when viewings will be available. I went to have a nosy at the place (it was a new build estate so I was going to look at the ‘show home’) and found the estate agent showing people around, asked if I could look whilst he was there and got shown around, he didn’t know I had already rang just hours before

The list goes on...

Any stories of estate agents messing you around?

OP posts:

flimbo1212 · 26/02/2019 21:24

I hate them too. On the rental side of things

Rent out houses that have broken items, and then, on move out, refuse to give your deposit back, for the items that were broken in the first place

Absolute robbing bastards

Cookit · 26/02/2019 21:27

We had our place up on the market the other year with no offers (of course at the start the EAs were always super bullish and then when interest was low they’d just blame the market). I hated, hated, hated the process.
Now they still call me up every now and then ... do I want a new valuation? No. Am I thinking about selling again? No, I know of too many people in London at the moment unable to sell. “Oh, well they must have problems with the agents they picked ... put them in touch with us and I’m sure they’d have an offer.” FFS, it’s not Brexit and a cooling market generally, no, it’s the wrong agent .

Cookit · 26/02/2019 21:28

My other issue with them is that everything is still quoted before VAT. No other business or industry would get away with that!

adriennewillfly · 26/02/2019 21:32

There's no néed for them. People are gradually realising that sites like Purple Bricks can do their job for virtually nothing. Get your property on Rightmove and Zoopla. Get good photos and price it well - nothing to do with the estate agent you have.

bubblegumbottles · 26/02/2019 21:34

My ex is one so naturally, I have no time for them😂

MsAdorabelleDearheartVonLipwig · 26/02/2019 21:46

A friend of mine was being shown round a house that needed a bit of work. The estate agent was basically making up random work and nonsense technical terms to describe it. My friend put her right and told her she was talking a load of bullshit and that he knew this because he was a builder. Awkward.

Cside · 26/02/2019 21:51

God yes, what winds me up most is the astronomical fees they charge for doing next to nothing!

Original poster

Shsussshs · 26/02/2019 21:52

We’ve never had our full deposit back, despite monthly inspections that were all great. They always find something small but with a hefty price tag.

Purplebricks is the way forward, unfortunately not many people use them in our town (yet).

Uber, the world's largest taxi company, owns no vehicles. Facebook, the world's most popular media owner, creates no content. Alibaba, the most valuable retailer, has no inventory. And Airbnb, the world's largest accommodation provider, owns no real estate.

OP posts:

ShirleyPhallus · 26/02/2019 21:52

I once posted that they went to some sort of special wanker-school, got reported for it and then MN contacted me to say they’d deleted the post but agreed with me

CheshireChat · 26/02/2019 21:57

I thought they had to stop charging fees starting June, can only be a good thing.

Original poster

Shsussshs · 26/02/2019 21:58

@ShirleyPhallus
I don’t think I’ve ever laughed out loud at a MN post but that is hilarious

OP posts:

flimbo1212 · 26/02/2019 22:11

£1550 the estate agent quoted - after we moved out ....

For redecorating the entire property

For 'removal of bluetack'

I mean fuck right off , right there

willstarttomorrow · 26/02/2019 22:27

I was responsible for a lovely volunteer at the start of the recession who was an estate agent by trade and was apparently being begged by various agencies to come and work for them. My guess is that she was successful because she was not a slimey, patronising arse.
I have never bought a house because of the agent, on every occasion it has been despite of them. Misogynistic, lying bastards who seem to believe they are great sales people. All bluster and very easily wrong footed. Their letter heads are hilarious. Due to no actual proper professional qualifications they list every qualification including the 10 metres swimming badge and scout camp.

magimedi · 26/02/2019 22:30

Some years ago when I was house hunting an estate agent showed me the details of a house.

I said it was nice but was not interested as the garden faced North.

He replied: 'Well, yes, but it depends which way you look at it'!

Sums 'em up for me.

Pheasantplucker2 · 26/02/2019 22:55

Vile breed. There's a particularly appalling one in our town who periodically goes into liquidation owing significant money, often to small local businesses, then reopens the next day changing their name from Cunts of local town to Cunt lettings of local town. They've done it at least twice to my knowledge. I don't understand how it's legal to do it. They swan around in leased swanky cars that are all on the verge of repossession because they owe so much to the lease companies (according to their company house reports). They really are vile.

AlanThePig · 26/02/2019 23:07

The one selling my next door neighbours property had included a lovely photograph of my front garden. The description could have applied to it too so anyone who didn't realise would assume my front garden was included in their property.

They were most surprised when I told them to remove the photo, couldn't see the issue. They told me they had included it as 'the property enjoys a vista over it '. Again they were unimpressed when I pointed out that to enjoy that particular 'vista' from that house would involve either the ability to see through walls or a series of mirrors.
Twats.

Bayleyf · 26/02/2019 23:11

We had an estate agent manage to break to lock on a bathroom door while showing us around.

Thankfully we were locked out of the bathroom not locked in it, but it meant we didn't see it till after putting in an offer (back in the days when you had to queue to get in to a viewing).

Thankfully for us the bathroom was fine, but the vendors were understandably pissed off.

SpringForEver · 26/02/2019 23:31

If they actually turn up and don't leave you at home waiting to go out, or outside a house waiting to go in they tend to leave lights on and blinds open, or break the blinds anyway.

Purple Bricks might be the way to go but they need to sort their awful website out so you can find what you put in the search rather than all the dross that is lumped in with everything else. Very off putting, and I gave up looking, so if you are planning on using them to sell, maybe consider that people won't be able to find your property on the site.

endev · 26/02/2019 23:33

My estate agent told my buyers that I wanted to move quickly when I had specifically said I didn't, because I couldn't deal with the stress of being hurried. which meant that they hurried me at every turn, threatening to back out. I eventually had to arrange for my 4bed house to go into storage, because my vendors couldn't confirm completion date in time. We eventually completed on same day, but it was too late for my stuff which had been in storage and be homeless for a week.

TrixieFranklin · 26/02/2019 23:56

I'm an estate agent, have been since I left uni. I've received verbal abuse on several occasions based purely on my profession from perfect strangers who I've never dealt with in a professional context and just mentioned in passing what I do, including in front of my very young children. Hmm.

Ihavealwaysknown · 27/02/2019 00:06

🙄 we keep getting letters telling us our area is very much in demand and they have a client wanting to buy a 3 bed house with 2 reception rooms in the area.... it then goes on to tell us for a fee of only £999 they can find us the perfect buyer 🙄

No thank you, stop cutting down trees to send me this rubbish, if I wanted to move I would contact you

RomanticFatigue · 27/02/2019 00:15

My ex is one so naturally, I have no time for them😂

Same. I used to post on estate agents moan threads that he was one of the nice guys. He wasn't. Wanker.

AlanThePig · 27/02/2019 10:23

And right on cue, I've just had a leaflet pushed through by next doors agent with "WE HAVE SOLD THIS PROPERTY QUICKLY! NOW WE NEED YOURS!" plastered all over it.

Well no, I don't class being on the market for 9 months as being 'quickly' personally and the fact that you reused most of the last agents photos from when it sold in 2015 speaks volumes about your efforts and the efforts of the seller, who incidentally has done bugger all to the house but is trying to resell for £50k more than he paid for it 3 years ago.

SarahSissions · 27/02/2019 10:39

My question is only 90%?

AnxietyDream · 27/02/2019 11:21

I must say we were house hunting for ages and never had problems with cancellations and double bookings. Maybe it's area dependent.

They do all talk bollocks though, which is kind of amusing. I.e going on about how everything is 'conveniently in arms reach' in a tiny kitchen, or how great it is not to have much lawn to mow if there practically no garden.

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