House not selling. Should I complain to EA?

[BadcatBertram]

House been on market for 3 months. When their valuer came out, he recommended we put it on the market for figure which I considered fairly high but he assured me the agency had buyers lined up and it would sell no problem.

Now I know they all do this so I fully expected that the price would have to reduce if there was no interest. 1st viewing booked straight away but was basically the daughter of a nosey neighbour who's house wasn't even on the market. 2nd viewer cancelled appointment with no explanation sought by the EA. Only other viewing was over a month ago and I haven't even had a phone call from EA with any feedback at all.

I think the price is too high but my exDP refuses to lower the price. Now, the point is that EA haven't even suggested we reduce the price - they just seem to be of the opinion that it will sell eventually, without doing anything proactive. Other than to arrange or cancel the viewings, I've had one phone call telling me that the views on Rightmove are average. I haven't complained yet because my solicitor is putting pressure on my ex to drop the price but tbh, the EA is there to give us advice on dropping the price if needs be and I feel like I'm doing the work for them.

Sorry it's long, it's so frustrating that they've done nothing but will still get their fee at the end - and it's a flat fee, not a percentage, which speaks volumes. WWYD - I just need to tips on how to handle them but I'm not too clued up on exactly how an Agent proactively sells a house. Thanks.

Are you under contract with them? Give them notice and find a different agent if you can. The market is quite slow where I am at the moment but even so my agent has been getting lots of viewings and providing me with regular feedback. What is happening with other properties in your area? That may give you a guide as to whether it's a lack of buyers in general. You should at least be getting viewings if it's priced accurately. Good luck with it.

As well as binning the agent, can you rope in a blunt friend to "do a Beeny" on it to advise on what needs to be done to give your home kerb appeal?

Get a few agents out to do a valuation. Useful to compare to see what is realistic. They may also give you some advice on what if anything needs to change.

Could you post a link on here? We could comment, appreciate entirely that you may not want to do this!

Thanks for the replies. The house is an end of terrace 50's style ex council house. It's surrounded by council flats although some of them are private now. It's in the better part of a not great area - however, the road is very quiet and all the neighbours in the houses and flats are great. Inside is reasonable but I'm under no illusions. It's just a little dated in my opinion. Trouble is, there are lots of other houses similar to mine for sale in the area and for less money!

The EA said 'it looks nice, hopefully it will sell' (??) even when I said I didn't think the interior was great (nothing major, just not very modern) they disagreed and said it was fine! Surely they should be trying to persuade me to be realistic, not the other way round!

This agent doesn't charge an upfront fee, BUT they have a rule which states that if you change to another agent and sell within 6 months, you still have to pay them their fee??!! Has anyone else heard of this rule? How would they enforce it if I refused to pay?

I imagine they would start legal proceedings. I'd you raise the clause with them before signing the contract?

Also, the fact that I'm not actually getting people through the door tells me it's more of an area/price issue. If my ex finally agrees to drop the price I will have to have strong words with the agent - if they haven't totally forgotten that I exist that is!

Yes Alpaca, I knew about it but I was so desperate to sign up because my ex had taken months to agree to actually put house on market that I just went ahead while I caught him in an agreeable mood. Daft I know. I just didn't think they'd be so inactive. I thought by now they would be trying to get me to drop the price.

Ah I see. I'm sorry, OP. do you think he will agree to drop the price? Surely he would want a percentage of £X rather than a percentage of £0 which is what he has at the minute.

most estate agents contracts sign you up for a period of weeks, not months. It is true that if you took it off the market with them and then one of the people that had viewed through them initially came back and offered they would make a claim on the fee, but you should be able to terminate the contract, with some notice, and then go with someone else. The first agent shouldn't be able to make a claim on anyone new coming round. Read the small print on the contract first to make sure what it says and, if need be, discuss with another local agent. They will want your business and should be able to give you advice - a reputable agent wouldnt want to get into a legal war with another agent so they should be able to explain the small print to you.

Hi

Which area are you based?