Or are Estate Agents generally bloody awful?

[anonymouslady]

Have a BTL property (wasn’t strictly BTL, bought it, lived in it, then had to move away for work so rented it out). Been toying with selling it for a while. SW London area. Made a few enquiries of agents. They’ve been chasing for me to put it on saying they’ve had a number of disappointed buyers looking in that road.

So they value it at a decent value. I think, yes, I’ll get rid of it, it’s a pain in the arse to run (as my last managing agents shut up shop without warning and buggered off with my tenants deposit, having not paid it into one of the protection schemes like they’re supposed to - so I’ve had to do that myself - barely washes its face each month as it is!) so doing it all myself. And there’s always something needs doing.

So sign up with an agent but they’re not returning my calls/keeping me updated. When I last spoke to them they said I needed to drop the price. But I’ve tried to call them about it several times and they just don’t return my calls.

Are they all crap? Do they all hook you in on the valuation then “advise” you just to drop and drop?! This property is my main pension plan so want to get as much out of it as possible (it’s also my DC’s inheritance if anything happens to me - I do have life insurance but this would also be part of what covers DC)

No they're not all crap, like most walks of life some are good at their job, some are bad and some in between.

Is it a local agent or a "purple bricks" type agent?

Sounds like the agent is shit, however the London market is grinding to a halt at the moment.

Market isn't great but they should he better than that. Maybe wait until your lock in period is up and cance then put it with another agent.

Local agent. Actually bought the property through them years ago. Yeah I’ve a 12 week lock in period so may go elsewhere post-that

We only had a very good experience with an estate agent when selling our parents' house over the summer.
Researched agents in the area.
Selected 3, interviewed all of them. One stood out.
Deciding question was "why haven't you suggested doing an open house?" The answer was, because there is no parking available to accommodate what will be a lot of interest - fair enough.
Put house on the market and had a lot of interest. Got 2 asking price offers, went with the offer that was able to proceed immediately.
All done and dusted in just under 3 months.

No, they aren't ALL crap, but a good proportion are. My friend has just sold her accidental BTL in Kingston. It took a while, but it finally sold, much to her huge relief. Most of her potential buyers were young couples who wanted parking and show case homes. They didn't really care that they were being offered a freehold for the price of a leasehold. They very much wanted something immaculate - if not close too it.

I would use this time between now and the New Year to get the house up to scratch if it isn't already and dump the agents now, so that it will reappear on Right Move as a new property in January.

I'm sure they aren't all rubbish, but I have never met a good one. Foxtons of course has always been the worst experience and I wouldn't let a property as a tenant, or as an owner, if Foxtons was the agent.

If they're not returning your calls, I really don't think they can hold you to a 'locked in' period. I would find another agent.

We sold a house last year in Surrey. The first agent was not great, feedback was obviously made up, as they said things which weren't true. Same issue as you with the suggested price reduction - it was a hefty 10% reduction suggested within 4 weeks (considering people will probably offer 10% less than asking to start with anyway). Whilst we were tied in, we gave notice early (which incentivise them to try harder for their remaining 3 weeks.) Then we lined up a new great local agent who was more proactive and less salesy in the meeting. Interestingly, we also asked to meet the junior agents in this second meeting, as the Director who came out in the first agency was never who actually showed the flat.

Stick with it OP, selling a house is always painful and this market is tough, but someone will love the house.

Irked (50 years exp of buying/selling) by 1) their ignorance of the architecture/history/nomenclature of houses: eg. 'Edwardian' houses routinely described as 'Victorian'; the 'Belfast' sinks they so love, are usually 'London' sinks (nothing wrong with that, but why not get it right ?).
2) they routinely admit important details from property descriptions; eg. flats described as leasehold, er.....would that be one year or a 999 year lease ? Council tax bands, maintenance charges, rights of way......who cares ?

@spanglydangly YANBU there MIGHT perhaps be a tiny minority of decent ones out there, but the overwhelming majority are appalling in my experience. The mix of good and bad is definitely slanted towards the bad in this particular profession!

Not all of them, no. My selling estate agent has been outstanding, my conveyancers on the other hand have not. I started a thread about it weeks ago, and I'm STILL waiting

&@Armadillostoes in my experience they're generally fine!

Just had to work alongside one when dealing with a vulnerable client and they went above and beyond the whole way.

It's a truly ridiculous thing to say that only a tiny minority are ok, you I presume don't deal with them on a regular basis?

I think they charge a lot of money and don't do much to earn it. I would use an online estate agents like Purplebricks.

I'm sure they aren't all rubbish, but I have never met a good one. Foxtons of course has always been the worst experience and I wouldn't let a property as a tenant, or as an owner, if Foxtons was the agent.

This. Verbatim.

@spanglydangly actually I do have experience on a regular basis! You might not like the fact that my experience doesn't suit your opinion but there it is. Unlike you, I am not daft enough to presume about the experience of a random stranger on the internet, so do you have regular and ongoing experience or not?

Also, professions and industries do develop cultures and patterns of behaviour. There are reasons why people might act in a particular manner in a given professional content. You aren't dealing with a random selection of humans when commenting on experiences of people in a specified role.

@Armadillostoes I'm not daft, but thanks for that! So what does that say about people in your profession? If they don't like contradiction then the others are daft? So I assume that everyone in your profession is rude, can't take contradiction shall I?

Yes, I do have a lot of ongoing professional contact with estate agents. I think most of them are perfectly capable, normal people, few arseholes as in any profession. I'd think if they called me daft they were total arseholes, but none are that unprofessional!

@spanglydangly you seem a bit confused. The daftness was in relation to presuming that I had no ongoing experience, when you had no evidence either way. That is foolish, as you were making an assumption with nothing to base it upon.

I am not saying that "because person X is like y, then everyone in person X's profession has that characteristic." What I am saying is that certain behaviours are actively encouraged and modelled in certain professional settings, and therefore commonly displayed by a particular group, at least at work.

Unlike you, I am not daft enough

No confusion you called me daft!

Can you see that now @Armadillostoes

@spanglydangly-Oh dear! I did indeed call you daft! I wasn't denying that. I was saying that you were confused because you hadn't understood the reason why I thought you were daft.

That said, you sound really affronted, and I used the word "daft" because so didn't mean it to sound too horrible. I thought you said something a bit silly, I didn't though intend that to equate to you "you are really stupid". I didn't and don't want to upset you.

@Armadillostoes you're rude and can't accept people having a different opinion. I wouldn't want to come across you in a professional capacity if this is how you are. I'm yet to meet an estate agent with your level of rudeness, but I'll keep trying.

@spanglydangly I have no problem with you having a different opinion. I just objected to you assuming that I had no ongoing experience. It was a foolish assumption and I called you out on it. That was all.

OK away from the flaming argument above, can I say that's mildly concerning that this is your "pension plan" - I'm no financial advisor but this whole thing about "property is a one way ticket, nothing better than bricks and mortar"...diversification is key but I doubt anything I could say would influence, such is the fervour around property on Mumsnet. (I am a homeowner before anyone accuses me of sour grapes).

Oh sorry, I mean it’s part of my pension plan but is the major part at the moment. I have a work pension which is at 12.5% (and am a high earner) plus some stocks and shares plus savings. But I mean because of when I bought it (2003) and the growth since then, it has become my major source of pension (either the capital if I sell which Id then invest elsewhere) or the capital plus income once mortgage paid off (8 years) if I keep it

I think the bigger national agencies are generally worse than the local ones. Local ones are often small businesses run by experienced people who have been in the industry for a long time, so they can provide a bit more service.