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Original poster

Estate Agent etiquette - was I wrong?

46 replies

ZoomRoom · 01/10/2020 15:50

This happened a couple of weeks ago but still wondering if I did something wrong.

I saw a house I really liked listed with estate agent #1, I phoned, told him I was SSTC and very keen on the house and ticked all our boxes, could I view ASAP? He said he was incredibly busy and the first opportunity was two days' later, but he'd have to check with the vendors it was okay before confirming.

An hour or so later my DH then noticed the house was listed with another agent. I really had a gut feeling this was the right house and we needed to view ASAP so I phoned estate agent #2. They also said they were busy and could only accommodate a viewing two days' later. I said no thank you as I'm waiting to hear back from Estate Agent #1 for a viewing the same day so don't worry.

Well then Estate Agent #2 was suddenly free! They said no problem I could see it immediately! An hour later they showed me around, I met the (lovely) vendor and I put in an offer which was accepted right away.

I then phoned Estate Agent #1 (who hadn't even called back to confirm the viewing he'd proposed) and told him I had now seen the property with Estate Agent #2 and put an offer in and it was accepted, it that it had all happened really quickly.

He was really pissed off with me and said if I was that serious I should have insisted, and he told me that calling the other Estate Agents at all was bad form, and I'd used my contact with him as leverage to get a viewing sooner with them. I didn't even know that was a thing!

My DH thinks he's just annoyed he missed out on the commission but did I go against buying etiquette?? I hate confrontation and it kind of soured it all a little. :(

OP posts:

Joopy · 01/10/2020 15:52

Not wrong at all. Congratulations on your new house.

ihatethecold · 01/10/2020 15:53

You did nothing wrong. They are lazy estate agents. His loss.

Figmentofimagination · 01/10/2020 15:54

I don't see anything wrong with what you did. You seem keen enough if you said you were SSTC and the property ticked all the boxes for you. What more could you do? Go round to his office and beg? He was busy, he didn't call you back, it's his loss.

The vendors will have listed with multiple agents to reach more people. Plus I'm sure they would have signed a multi-agency contract if they were with 2 agents so he could still get something.

FizzyPink · 01/10/2020 15:54

I’d have done the same. He obviously knew there was another estate agent working on it so should have made it a priority to fit you in. He just couldn’t be bothered and is now annoyed at his own laziness

IsThisNameTaken · 01/10/2020 15:55

Nothing wrong at all, their fault for not taking you seriously. You shouldn't have to 'insist' to get them to do their job properly!

MangoBiscuit · 01/10/2020 15:56

I think your DH is right. You did nothing wrong, congratulations on the house.

Original poster

ZoomRoom · 01/10/2020 15:57

Oh, phew. Honestly thank you so much. I've had a bit of a tight knot about it, what was otherwise a really exciting whirlwind of a day; I'll let it go now.

I did wonder if it had been my DH phoning him back whether he'd have had such a go. Maybe not.

OP posts:

Burnthurst187 · 01/10/2020 15:58

You did nothing wrong, EA's need a taste of their own medicine anyway!

We went to view a house last wkend that stayed it had its own driveway. We get there and DH says the driveway layout looks a bit odd, oh it's a shared driveway EA happily tells us. We left shortly after

Palavah · 01/10/2020 15:58

You did nothing wrong. I wouldn't have bothered calling him back.

The estate agent works for the vendor. You dont have a contract with the vendor. Ea is just annoyed he lost himself the opportunity.

NoSquirrels · 01/10/2020 15:59

He sounds like a crap agent. Very unprofessional of him. Don’t give it another thought.

Fleabagster · 01/10/2020 15:59

I think you’ve dodged a bullet! Thank goodness you didn’t end up with going with the first agent who is clearly very unprofessional. You did nothing wrong.

EL8888 · 01/10/2020 15:59

Serves him right. He was being a lazy bastard

Bernardstolemywatch · 01/10/2020 16:00

Yeah and if you’d insisted he would have thought you were a pain. You can’t win. I don’t think you’ve done anything wrong. He’s just annoyed he’s lost his commission.

Original poster

ZoomRoom · 01/10/2020 16:08

@Bernardstolemywatch

Yeah and if you’d insisted he would have thought you were a pain. You can’t win. I don’t think you’ve done anything wrong. He’s just annoyed he’s lost his commission.

Exactly that! I told him I was proceedable and had already had my solicitor waiting and that this house ticked every box and I had a good feeling about it - other than beg I don't know how much keener I could have come across!!

I'm very glad to have bought through the other agents, they've been nothing but helpful and professional.

OP posts:

YouokHun · 01/10/2020 16:18

EA1 needs to up his game. You owe him nothing.

Derbee · 01/10/2020 16:22

You did nothing wrong OP. Congrats on your new house

Covert19 · 01/10/2020 16:39

Estate agent etiquette is weird.

You don't have to please anyone but yourself in these situations and any way you can get your mitts on the house of your dreams - short of paying bribes - is fair play.

Covert19 · 01/10/2020 16:40

And of course it's good to know the agent you have gone with is professional and responsive - they'll be involved in the negotiations for the purchase, so you don't want a lackadaisical one.

Good luck!

whataballbag · 01/10/2020 16:41

As an estate agent, he's just pissed off he's lost their commission. If he wanted to he would've pulled his finger out and got you the viewing just as quick!

Beautiful3 · 01/10/2020 16:53

You did nothing wrong. He was pissed because he lost out on commission.

BlueJava · 01/10/2020 16:59

I don't think you did anything wrong - I would have done the same myself.

However, I wouldn't have told Estate Agent 1, I'd have just let it go. If they rang back I'd have said, "Oh no worries, I think we may have found somewhere, thanks anyway".

doublehalo · 01/10/2020 17:07

The vendor will have signed contracts with both agents which will include that they will get their fee if someone they introduced to the property ends up buying it.

It's possible they will argue that they introduced you to the property as you saw their listing first and called them first.

FippertyGibbett · 01/10/2020 17:07

Ignore him. He might just try a bit harder for his next customer.

TheShapeJaper · 01/10/2020 17:08

You did absolutely nothing wrong. They were too slow and are looking for someone to blame... Congratulations on your new house!

mountains76 · 01/10/2020 17:37

I think you were wrong here. Every estate agent I've encountered has behaved with the utmost integrity and given the incredible amount of work they put in for very little pay (sometimes as little as 5K on a sale) they deserve a bit more commitment from you as a buyer.

Perhaps you should send him a bunch of flowers.

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