To be annoyed at Estate Agents? Shit service.

[icouldlieandsayilikeit]

So as not to drip feed there have been other things they’ve done but after speaking to a manager I drew the line under it but these new incidents have annoyed me but I could be being unreasonable and need perspective.

I had 2 viewings of my property booked in today (I get a text reminder the evening before and I only got 1). Finished work early and so I rang them as didn’t want to be just hanging around waiting only to find out the second one had been rescheduled and they never told me.

I drove him anyway (I live in a flat) so just waited in the car park and could clearly see that the other viewing lasted all of 5 minutes.

Aibu to be annoyed?

What do you want them to do? Force viewers to stay for half an hour? Tel them they can't reschedule or pull out if they change their minds?

Just give the agent a key and let them get on with it!

Eh? What do you want viewers to do, stay and look about for a minimum time?

I don’t mind about the rescheduling.

I would however rather be told so that I can get back into my house instead of just waiting around.

5 minutes just doesn’t seem very long and I’m worried they would have just rushed through.

I did viewings myself where I let them look on their own and they asked me questions and those all took 15-20 minutes.

Slightly poor form that the EA haven't advised about the reschedule.

But as for a 5 minute viewing, if the viewer has decided it's not for them after 5mins there's not a lot that can be done. You can't hold people at the property against their will!!!

Viewers are generally likely to be more polite, and perhaps less honest with the vendor compared to the EA.

I've had viewers not bother to look upstairs in houses. They'd already decided they were never going to buy the place, so at that stage there's no point wasting any more time, the viewing is over. Unlikely that people do that when they're with the owner, as they don't wish to appear rude.

Flats don't take a long time to look around, though, do they? I think as a buyer you sometimes have made up your mind as soon as you walk through the door, so no amount of time will make you change it. I'm not sure what you mean by not wanting to be hanging around - does the EA have a key? If so, maybe they didn't bother to tell you as they presumed you would be at work, so unaffected by the rescheduling? Maybe make sure they are aware of what you want to know and when: I worked in an EA office years ago - some buyers wanted to know about every viewing in advance, wanted feedback, etc, and others didn't want to be bothered at all until there was an offer. So let them know and if you still feel unhappy with them, change agent.

My four bed house took 10 min to view. We still bought it.

Us too! We spent much more time in houses we did not buy. We discussed the reasons why not, added to our list of unacceptable things.

We barely made it out of the hallway of the house we bought before we had a pretty good idea. Then it was just a case of making sure there were no disappointing rooms, going off to do the math, putting in an offer and arranging a surveyor.

When I was buying I ususally knew within five minutes if I wasn't going to buy.

Stupid things: the smell in the communal areas, the neighbours' dogs or cars, the traffic noise, the lack of light in the hallway, the way it reminded me of my worst enemy.. Who knows - instinct. Most people decide within five minutes if it is a definte "no".

I sold a flat near a railway line and although it was obvious from the listing that it was near a railway line almost everybody came to view because it was a good price for the size and then as soon as they heard a train go by or looked out of the back window and saw how close the railway line actually was they rejected it on the spot.

You can't make people like it.

If you expect good service from an Estate Agent you are likely to be disappointed. Good ones are rare.