Estate agents when buying

[HouseIsOnFire]

Hi everyone,

In a bit of a tailspin after going under off a week after going to market!

I was wondering if people could share current experiences of contacting estate agents, and how they deal with a lot of the twaddle?? I know it is a seller's market, but I'm curious if this is happening to everyone?

So far, I have been:

Asked to send in AIP before I can set up a viewing

Asked max budget (fine) but then being asked how much my deposit is? (I'd never tell them this pre-negotiation!)

One said I couldn't view without seeing the EA's mortgage advisor

I was told by one that my AIP coming from L&C would be an issue as they only do affordability checks, not credit checks and so if I was to put in an offer there would be delays

Told I could ring on the day to see when viewings would take place (despite explaining I'm relocating from 300 miles away!)

And just complete inflexibility on viewings, i.e. one went up yesterday and they are only doing viewings on one day between 10-1130!

Is anyone else having the same issues? A friend thought it might be because I (admittedly true) do sound very young on the phone, but I don't know how to change that! I am in a reasonable position - offer accepted on house and realistic budget (50k over most of the viewings I was trying to book).

It's just so infuriating! Please tell me I'm not alone/excellent coping mechanisms!!!

It's crap - we wanted to view a house last weekend but the estate agent wouldn't do it as 'We are conducting the viewings during office hours only' - not quite as bad as you but we were 120 miles away and wanted to arrange 2 or 3 viewings over a Saturday.

Our place is on the market and despite the agent saying they would do the viewings, we've done them all as people wanted to view in the evening or at weekends (sensible) and the agents wanted to charge a fee for viewings outside office hours. It really does be the question what the hell agents are doing for their fees.

Also, the lack of knowledge agents seem to have on the houses they're selling - no idea when boiler was renewed, no idea re planning permission for extension etc etc.

It's crazy isn't it? The number of leasehold properties and they can't say the length or charges!

I lucked out - I had an open house done by the estate agents so all the viewings were in one day, so maybe this is karma!?

Really surprised how few do Sunday viewings as well. I'll be in the area for 4 days, but right now struggling to book anything not on the Saturday!

@reprehensibleme

It's crap - we wanted to view a house last weekend but the estate agent wouldn't do it as 'We are conducting the viewings during office hours only' - not quite as bad as you but we were 120 miles away and wanted to arrange 2 or 3 viewings over a Saturday.

Our place is on the market and despite the agent saying they would do the viewings, we've done them all as people wanted to view in the evening or at weekends (sensible) and the agents wanted to charge a fee for viewings outside office hours. It really does be the question what the hell agents are doing for their fees.

Also, the lack of knowledge agents seem to have on the houses they're selling - no idea when boiler was renewed, no idea re planning permission for extension etc etc.

Completely agree about lack of knowledge. When we were selling our house, I ended up doing the second viewing to our buyers because they could only do it in the evening. It was enlightening to find out what our EA had been doing (or rather not been doing) during the initial viewings..

for example, the buyers had misunderstood the EPC rating - they said they kept asking questions to the estate agent who couldn't answer anything. They even thought that our house was oil-powered rather than mains gas/electric because the EA couldn't answer anything as basic as that! They told me that they had had serious reservations about coming back for a second viewing because they didn't want an oil heated property - when I said that we were typical mains gas/elec they said that was a relief to them. So our EA lack of any attention almost cost us a sale! Plus we are in the middle of a housing estate in a large town in a 20 yr old house, it was always going to be a mains gas/electric house!!

i was looking in Lincolnshire area, during the lockdown boom. i found the estate agents so rude. i explained to them i had a good deposit and mortgage ready, they didn't care and wouldn't let me view numerous properties.
booking viewings was a nightmare. they would list a house and then arrange all the viewings the following day. (bare in mind i would have to travel nearly 3 hours to view, with kids in tow)
when i would ask for a different day to view they would say no because its going to sell. (practically laughing at me down the phone and being very unfriendly)
they would make every property best and final offers and cause gazumping.
massively overpricing property aswell!
now however the market in Lincolnshire has slowed downed. suddenly i'm getting loads of emails and calls from estate agents. suddenly i'm now a priority to them and they couldn't be nicer.
I'm getting send alot of properties that i was originally interested in but couldn't get a viewing for! sales have fallen through so now they are taking me seriously as a buyer.
its all the bigger franchise estate agents that take the piss like this.
we are currently in the process of buying a very nice house from a smaller local estate agent and the process has been great.
i never understood why people were so rude about estate agents.......now i understand why...some can be so rude

It's just so infuriating!

Have just had 2 back to back out and out lie that I needed to use their mortgage advisors, and another try and move appointments, except they couldn't do Sat-Mon or Thurs so the EA then says "I guess I'll have to accompany you myself on Tuesday when planned".... is that not their job!?

IME you need to be flexible and quick in this market. Ours was sold pre-marketing to the first people to view, so I understand feeling of suddenly having to act extremely quickly.

We made ourselves available so that when a house came up at least one of us could dash 1.5hrs away to view. We had a list of non-negotiables, desirables and dealbreakers, so able to trust the other's judgement.

I’m in the middle of buying a house, and was buying a different one prior to this which fell through.

I wasn’t asked to provide anything pre viewing, but I was asked about my position, e.g. FTB, in rented, have an AIP in place and a deposit.

It was only when my offers were accepted that they wanted a copy of my AIP and proof of deposit along with my ID sent through within 24hrs.

I had a couple of different AIP’s while I did my research as they don’t mark your credit score, I initially sent over an AIP from Halifax, but ended up going through L&C and have a full offer from Accord now. The AIP company is immaterial really, they just want to know that you’re a credible prospect with a good chance of getting the mortgage.

Also yes, you need to be quick.

My current purchase went on right move on Thursday evening, the following day I called to enquire and it turned out they they had a full day of viewings from 9am till 7pm that exact day (I asked to go and see it straight from work at 7pm). I assume the EA had already contacted a lot of people she had on her books for many of these viewings before it even went on Rightmove. I called the agent first thing on Saturday morning to offer, was told it was best and final immediately, offered £12.5k over the asking (it’s a truly beautiful house with absolutely nothing needing doing), but they accepted it and took it off the market that day. I emailed my docs to the EA ready for her to review on Monday morning. Thankfully my mortgage valuation agreed with my offer so no issues there.

I think the EA’s tend to be pretty astute in knowing what will go immediately and what will stick around for a while.

Yeah, I think a few are just taking advantage of the current market to make demands!

I just want to ask them what on earth they're on!

I was lucky enough to be in a position. In which I didn't have to move and wouldn't be creating a chain if I did.
After suffering a few of the "no viewings without meeting our financial advisor who is not really a financial advisor and who won't force you into an aip but who has a few mortgage proposals lined up" EAs I decided to play hardball too.
I ligned up an independent mortgage broker.

The mortgage broker had all our details and had checked our affordabilitywithout creating an aip. All EAs who needed financial reassurance before viewings were given the broker's details. If they didn't like it, we didn't book the viewing. One of those gatekept houses is still looking for a buyer... another has pulled out of the market. I don't even know if the sellers ever knew we were interested.
For our offer which was accepted, the aip was created and sent to the EA before the house was taken off the market which is fair enough.

There are terrible agents out there, and great ones. I wonder if it’s because it is not a licensed profession and the commission is low? While the agents I sold through were excellent, I also can’t fault the agents that showed me houses when looking in SW London. Other than one lying about the sellers willingness to move in to rental (after that discussion and I found out her position was the opposite, I never saw him again and another agent took over), all the agents (even the dreaded Purple Bricks one) were knowledgeable and flexible.
I think not only does the system need an overhaul, but estate agents need proper training and qualifications. You need to take an exam in the US - it’s not arduous, but does require commitment.

I feel as a seller I'm having a very different experience.
We went on the market just over a week ago and have had 9 viewings.

Our Estate Agent emails and says "I have someone wanting to view tonight at 6pm, can you do it"
We have had people viewing every day, in the evening, at the weekend.
Really hoping they advise they go to closing date as it's exhausting trying to keep the house tidy especially over the holidays with young children.

The housing market does seem to move very quickly at the moment, however it is always a PITA when EA want you to 'speak to our in-house financial adviser' As long as you can prove you are a serious buyer - and what could do that better than having your own house under offer - then I don't think they need quite that level of detail about your finances. An AIP and a house under offer should be quite sufficient!

We've had a bad experience too. The lack of knowledge has been appalling to the point that I actually put a note through to door for the seller to know. For instance, was told that the property and surrounding garden was freehold and therefore no fees.
I said but it looks like a managed development so could still be fees and was told nope the open lawn is public land. It isn't. The fees are £125 a month mainly for a gardener to ensure the frontage of each home remains uniform. Also told it came with two parking spaces. It doesn't. I found this out by buying the title on line and then sent it to the EA to ask for clarification. Told it was oil but it's mains gas. All of this by three different agents at the firm so not just one useless person.

@justwondering21 what a nightmare! I know I'm super lucky the open day worked!

I left our EA with a couple of sides of notes, but it does concern me there were no other questions!!

It does stop the time wasters though. And wanting to know deposit amount is useful, as buyers with a minimum deposit won't be able to compete in the current market with most houses going for offers over asking or if mortgage company down value the house.