to be annoyed with Estate Agents?? ** RANT ALERT **

[sparklesandwine]

i got a call at 5.30 last night to ask if someone could view the house at 9.45 this morning not great notice but ok, i was out last night and did a bit before i left then got dp to do the rest and then got up extra early to make sure the dc and house were ready, at 9.35 this morning i get a call from the EA saying that the people have just been into the EA and seen the details and think 3 storeys might be too much for them as they are elderly WTF!!! why couldn't the EA tell them that its 3 storey's in the farking first place and save me the hassle??

Then the EA asked if someone could come tomorrow PM but she didn't know what time so could she 'let me know sometime tomorrow' - i've got 4 dc and we go on holiday on Sat i've done no packing or anything i ended up having a bit of a go saying the late notice was annoying and that she would now have to wait for viewings until we are away as i can't keep the house tidy and pack for 2 weeks hol, do you think thats fair of me to say ((i was a bit snotty with the EA ))

Estate agents are a pain in the backside. An ex-bf had one let themselves into his house 9am one Sunday morning (with no prior notice to us that they were coming) to show people around - his Mum was selling the house but he was still living there at the time. We happened to be... ahem... in bed at the time. Luckily he heard them as they got into the hall. He had to scramble down the stairs in his dressing gown to ask them to come back an hour later (so we could make ourselves respectable so these poor folk could view the house). God knows what they thought being asked to leave then come back again!! If that had been me, I probably wouldn't have come back again. If we'd known they were coming, we wouldn't have lain in, but surely you're entitled to a lie-in in your own house even if it is up for sale?

We told Countrywide to get knotted after their total lack of communication in the first few weeks. We then went with a small local EA who were much better, though we often had to phone for feed back.

They found us a buyer quite quickly (10 days) but after 2 months of faffing (by the buyer) he pulled out . I know, it happens!

However I couldn't stand any more of the constant tidying, and I was making DD miserable because I couldn't just let her relax! so we took it off the market

I think the whole buying/selling thing is a real pain and even the most helpful EA is gonna irritate you at certain points in the process.

I'd definately reccommend dumping a bad one though! It was the best thing we did!

I guess if you want to sell your house you have to do your best to fit in viewings when the potential buyers want to come. If you ask for more notice, someone who may have bought your house may see somewhere else in the meantime.

Why do they not ask potential buyers some simple screening questions before they waste your time? Something like 'are you actually in a position to buy'?

We had so many that would come round and, when we casually asked something like 'how soon are you looking to move?' They would reply with 'oh we aren't even up for sale ourselves yet, only checking out what's available'? In other words... just on a jaunt being nosy

In the end we did a part-exchange with a builder on our last house move last year. Went very smoothly.

You are entitled to refuse viewings at times inconvenient to you. Don't get me started on the subject of estate agents, they are either very good or very bad, no middle ground.
I agree that it was unreasonable of the EA to agree to show an elderly couple around a potentially unsuitable property, but if the clients request it, they have to go with it. Older couples can be really hard work. My parents for example were set to buy a bungalow, but then bought a house with lots of steps up to the front door, because it was in 'the right area' and later they had to put in a stairlift!
I have moved/ bought and sold houses a lot, and basically you have to carry on your daily life during the process, and prospective buyers and EA's should understand this.

sparklesandwine - sure you're not living in the same area as me? Such similarity in the problems, yet we're supposed to be able to do this with no hassle because it's shared ownership!

Communication is absolutely dire. We have done all the chasing. We've had enough - we had a second buyer pull out today. From the shared ownership company to now, it's been 3 months that the house has been on the market. Absolutely pants.

Countrywide.. crock of you know what. Numpties.

And I think being 'qualified' in terms of "Can you get a mortgage - yes/no ?" is one thing, but surely what's actually more important is "Can you afford to repay the mortgage, this is how much it's going to cost - yes/no?".

TBF my estate agents have actually begun to earn their commission. They have been on the hopne contstantly chasing up the buyer and the agents for the one we are buying trying to get it all tied together, and keeping people 'sett'. Initially I thought £3k for very little was too much but given the time taken (since before Easter and not thier fault) they have probably earned their fee.

Now solicitors, that's another matter entirely. Wht do they insist on using the post in the middle of a postal strike even thought they have my e mail address! and do hey have to take 3 weeks to answer one letter (the vendors sols). And at least with estate agents of you pul out they get no fee with sols they get paid regardless

I'm fed up with EAs and i'm one of them. Most are crap as the OP has said which then gives a bad name to the ones with a conscience (yep, some of us have them!)
The company i work for have rules we must follow inc reasonable viewing times, notice to clients and if a purchaser says they'll look at two beds when they really want a three we refuse to show them. Its a waste of my time and our vendors.
Oh how i hate the wideboys....

Have to sing the praises of our EA to be honest..

He has come around himself every time we have had a viewing.

We sold within 1 month of putting it on the market.

He phoned every couple that viewed and got feedback.

And once an offer was put on the table, he checked all the way into their chain and made sure that everyone had agreed a sale and that they had a mortgage in place.

Only charging 1.25% which is well below the going rate around here..

Couldn't be happier - but he is a very small outfit, his own company works with a couple others..

So there are some good ones but admit not many....

By reverse, our solicitor has been very quick to get the paperwork out. When our first buyer pulled out - one month after we accepted their offer - we received the draft contract on the house we're buying. We still have said draft contract, unsigned, 3 weeks later... because we don't know if we can proceed now. I wish people would do their sums before they put offers on houses and then pull out because they've got the money jitters.

Maybe it's a bit of everything then. Estate agents and lack of communication/being fobbed off once the offer's accepted... the prospective buyers being able to change their minds.

The law needs to change, I think.

You can get the draft contract way ahead of other legal bits though , like searches and fixtures/fittings enquiries, so don't assume just because you have that you are ready to go plus iof you offered before you went under offer the paperwork could have got ahead. Perhaps with shared ownership mortgage companies are a bit more circumspect as to how much to lend relative to the price since they may not have exclusive charge over the property.