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Original poster

Advice on dealing with Estate Agents

26 replies

Sofia109 · 11/04/2023 18:22

Does anyone have any constructive advice on how to handle estate agents?

I find some of them a bit tricky to deal with and feel like they're trying to catch me out sometimes.

Do most people just give them the minimum information possible?

When you call about a property, the first thing they want to know is if you're local, as i think they prefer local buyers, who are less likely to pull out. They seem less keen on buyers who are looking at a few different areas/towns, not just the area the property is located in.

One thing i have realised is not to get into any discussion with them about prices and the general housing market. Everyone buying a house today is fully informed on where the market is and what is expected, but the EA will try to convince you everything is on the up and buyers are still offering over asking, which we know is not the case.

I know they are just doing their job, but i think you have to be careful.

There are probably a lot of things not to say, that im unaware of.

Appreciate any advice.

OP posts:
Malbab · 11/04/2023 19:45

When we bought last year and we're looking at houses, the agent kept telling us there are several offers already, people very interested etc these are for houses that been on market sitting for several months, I still check on land registry and these houses never appear as sold!

Karmatime · 11/04/2023 20:00

I think the best advice is to take everything they say with a big pinch of salt and remember they are working for the seller and not the buyer. I can understand them trying to establish that you are a serious buyer and asking whether you are in a chain and I suppose they would ideally like you to be looking in a narrow search area that neatly falls within the area they cover!
Estate agents will always talk up the market to buyers and try to create a sense of urgency in my experience.

Toooldtoworry · 11/04/2023 20:07

Don't use their mortgage adviser as its a conflict of interest. If they push tell them it's classed as a conditional sale which is illegal. You want your finances to remain confidential.

Know the property you are viewing, such as how long it's been on the market, what other property nearby sold for. Drop in conversation when viewing about price drops and surveyors down valuations recently.

DogInATent · 11/04/2023 20:13

Never discuss what you can afford, what you think a property is worth, or mention that you're prepared to pay more than the offer you're making in front of the EA. EAs work for the Vendor. The EA is an inconvenience that Buyers have to put up with, they do not have your interests at heart.

ShadowPuppets · 11/04/2023 20:14

Tell them your budget is 10% lower than it actually is.

pilates · 11/04/2023 20:26

Don’t over share and take what they say with a pinch of salt.

loopyloutoo · 11/04/2023 20:29

Can't stand them. Keep information vague

RocketIceLollie · 11/04/2023 20:31

Yeah don't overshare I agree with the person up who said that. It's a buyer's market at the moment and these agents only make money if they actually sell.

Original poster
Sofia109 · 11/04/2023 20:36

Great advice so far everyone, i'm learning! So what do i say if they ask what my budget is, as they will probably not allow me to view a house if it is lower than the house im asking to view? Plus if im enquiring about another property that is significantly cheaper? I guess they've got me then lol

OP posts:
Original poster
Sofia109 · 11/04/2023 20:40

Malbab · 11/04/2023 19:45

When we bought last year and we're looking at houses, the agent kept telling us there are several offers already, people very interested etc these are for houses that been on market sitting for several months, I still check on land registry and these houses never appear as sold!

Yes they did that when i was selling a previous house - they said they would get any would-be buyers to bid higher by creating a sense of urgency - i asked how they would do that, and they said we'll just tell any viewers there's already been other offers!! So lie then?

OP posts:
Polik · 11/04/2023 20:43

In my view, Estate Agents are almost as bad as politicians for lying.

They are just a bunch of lying wankers - from start to end. It's close to being immoral the amount of lying they do to buyers.

PurpleBananaSmoothie · 11/04/2023 20:57

Obviously EA are working to sell the property as quickly as possible and if they are working on a % they are wanting a higher sale price. Our EA is actually working on a fixed price based on the listing price.

Everyone buying a house today is fully informed on where the market is and what is expected, but the EA will try to convince you everything is on the up and buyers are still offering over asking, which we know is not the case.

It seems to be very mixed as to whether things are going quickly or not. We sold our house in February for £20k over asking within a week. It was really surprising because the news reports had made it seem like it would be a slow process. The town we are moving to, most houses are selling in 2-3 weeks. We put an offer in on a house that already had two offers at asking price. The house we are hoping to buy we just went straight in at asking because we really liked it. Surveyors are also asking about interest in the house, how long it was on for, how many viewings and how many offers were received and taking that into consideration in their valuation.

pilates · 11/04/2023 20:57

You’re not a fan then Polik 😂

m00rfarm · 11/04/2023 21:36

As an agent (albeit in the Algarve) can I show the other side of the coin? Caveat - there are 1000s of useless and lazy agents and as many good ones - but only the rubbish ones seem to get any press. With the below, I am speaking from my own perspective.

We need to know if you can afford the property that you want to view. It is wasting everyone's time if you are looking at a property of 350k and can only afford 250k. Being honest with the agent on budget means they can advise you if there is a property that will accept a lower price. The commission in the UK is so low compared with the Algarve, the price drop is not going to make a massive difference to their pay packet.

We use independent mortgage advisers. Sometimes the adviser we use is able to get more funds for the buyer at a better rate. We don't actually care which one you use, but it makes life easier if you use the one we work with as it provides a more linked up process.

Same goes with the lawyer. We recommend independent lawyers and 100% of our sales/purchases proceed more smoothly. We don't get commission for this - but we DO get a purchase that is more or less guaranteed to go through to a sale.

If a property is on with other agents as well as us, don't expect us to know whether there are other offers or not. Equally, if it is an exclusive property, we may have had several offers - some of these do not proceed because the owner doesn't accept, others because they cannot get the required funds, or they simply change their minds. 100% there are some agents who lie at this point - this is irritating to everyone. But equally, if we have had offers, then we will tell you.

Keeping your information vague as advised by a few people above is no help to anyone. Yes, the agent is working for the seller, but why would you want to alienate them? What is the benefit? The agent deals with many people every day and if we feel someone is not being honest with us or deliberately vague, we assume (from experience) that they do not have the money or are not serious about purchasing. An agent who wants to work with you is going to help with your purchase. If we think you are being dishonest or hiding something, then we will likely not recommend a seller accepts your offer.

Many agents in the UK get 1% commission. By the time the company gets their percentage, 50k here or there makes very little difference to them.

Agents are people - there are good and bad ones. It should be fairly clear from the initial conversation which one you are dealing with.

m00rfarm · 11/04/2023 21:37

Polik · 11/04/2023 20:43

In my view, Estate Agents are almost as bad as politicians for lying.

They are just a bunch of lying wankers - from start to end. It's close to being immoral the amount of lying they do to buyers.

Thank you for your kind words. Your profession is?

DogInATent · 11/04/2023 21:53

Sofia109 · 11/04/2023 20:36

Great advice so far everyone, i'm learning! So what do i say if they ask what my budget is, as they will probably not allow me to view a house if it is lower than the house im asking to view? Plus if im enquiring about another property that is significantly cheaper? I guess they've got me then lol

What you really need to be very cautious of is discussing offers with your partner in front of them, and say, "I think it's worth £250k and we could afford that, but let's offer £240k" in which case they will advise the Vendor to reject your offer knowing you'll go higher.

Your general budget is a relatively trivial detail.

Original poster
Sofia109 · 11/04/2023 22:10

Polik - haha you made my day! Good to hear some honest talking after speaking to estate agents all day!!

OP posts:
Cattenberg · 11/04/2023 22:15

Toooldtoworry · 11/04/2023 20:07

Don't use their mortgage adviser as its a conflict of interest. If they push tell them it's classed as a conditional sale which is illegal. You want your finances to remain confidential.

Know the property you are viewing, such as how long it's been on the market, what other property nearby sold for. Drop in conversation when viewing about price drops and surveyors down valuations recently.

For my last purchase, I used the estate agent’s mortgage adviser and he was fine at first, but unfortunately the sale process dragged on for a very long time and he seemed to lose all interest in helping me. I ended up “sacking” him and going for an advisor at an independent company. She was brilliant - lesson learned.

When buying my first home several years ago I went with the conveyancing company recommended by the estate agent. They actually paid fees to the estate agent to be recommended. I wasn’t very impressed with their service and I later found out that my next-door-neighbour had used them too and was furious, as apparently they’d caused one of her purchases to fall through.

In future I will go by personal recommendations and give anyone put forward by the estate agent a swerve.

Polik · 11/04/2023 22:18

I'm a school DSL. Clearly not an estate agent.

We've also recently completed on a purchase and our vendors EA (who was the EA showing 80% of the homes in the area we were looking in) was an absolute nightmare. This may be the cause of my bias!

Some wankerish things she did:

  • 4 months after offer when our vendors solicitor was being too slow, meaning our solicitor couldn't progress - EA idea was to persuade vendor to put house back on market as a way to make everyone in the 6 house chain panic and force vendors own solicitor to go faster.
  • sent really rude and unprofessional emails, cc'ing in people who should not have direct contact for conflict of interest reasons. Ie, EA sent rude email to my solicitor cc'ing me, my husband, the vendor, vendors solicitor, my EA. One time even included the people buying my house and the people our vendor was buying from. Not BCCing, sending us all one, ranty, rude email.
  • Once solicitors got moving, EA told vendor to keep house on the market until exchange. Even though all 6 house sales/purchases were going smoothly and we were several weeks from exchange. Just to add needless pressure to everyone.
  • I got a friend to request a viewing on our purchase during this time - EA wasn't actually allowing any viewings by bullshitting the interested buyer suggesting seller is expecting wildly inflated offer amounts and won't allow viewings without willingness to offer this much.
  • this gave us some perspective on the house we offered on previously. Same EA. It came back onto the market suddenly, after being sold for several months. We wanted the house. EA kept delaying and putting barriers up. We overcame because we wanted to view - even agreeing to only considering on inflated offer. We offered higher than the inflated amount she suggested because we wanted the house. Massive delay from offer to answer. Then house suddenly is no longer available. Turns out the EA was playing games again by putting house back on market to pressure the chain - with no intention of selling again. House completed to the original buyers. Waste of our time and total lack of consideration for us in this game playing, as hopeful buyers.
  • Another house we viewed earlier with same EA. EA was rude and disinterested throughout the viewing (which she hadn't been with other properties). We were ready to offer, but EA worked hard to dissuade and put us off. I don't know why, but seems she did not want that seller to sell to us.
  • Upon completion, we picked keys up from our vendor directly rather than EA (at EA request) Spent about 3h parked outside vendors house with our moving vans waiting for completion, so had a good chat and cuppa. We were expecting to need to tread carefully not to say anything bad about our sellers EA. But turns out our vendor hated her and thought she was as incompetent as we thought. Seller was especially upset at having to allow viewings when seller knew she nearing exhange so had no intention of selling yo someone else. Seller told us that one family bought children and grandparents to see the house on second and third viewings - our seller all the time knowing she was 3 weeks from exchange and had no intention of breaking the chain at that point. So deciptful.

Deciptful. The whole thing. The lying and game playing - so needless and unprofessional.

ChampagneCommunist · 11/04/2023 22:25

I'm a property lawyer, so see how they operate.

  1. Never forget the seller is their client. Are you paying their bill? No? Then you are the product.
  1. Recommended solicitors - local estate agents do recommend me, but I don't pay them a referral fee for doing so. Always ask the EA which of their recommended solicitors are paying a referral fee. And then, when you get a vote from the solicitors, ask them if they are paying a referral fee to the agents.
  1. Never use their mortgage broker
  1. If you can't get a viewing, approach the seller directly with a note through the letterbox & tell them why you are making a direct approach
  1. Expect EA activity to ramp up at month end and the end of a quarter - it's commission related
thaisweetchill · 11/04/2023 22:26

m00rfarm · 11/04/2023 21:36

As an agent (albeit in the Algarve) can I show the other side of the coin? Caveat - there are 1000s of useless and lazy agents and as many good ones - but only the rubbish ones seem to get any press. With the below, I am speaking from my own perspective.

We need to know if you can afford the property that you want to view. It is wasting everyone's time if you are looking at a property of 350k and can only afford 250k. Being honest with the agent on budget means they can advise you if there is a property that will accept a lower price. The commission in the UK is so low compared with the Algarve, the price drop is not going to make a massive difference to their pay packet.

We use independent mortgage advisers. Sometimes the adviser we use is able to get more funds for the buyer at a better rate. We don't actually care which one you use, but it makes life easier if you use the one we work with as it provides a more linked up process.

Same goes with the lawyer. We recommend independent lawyers and 100% of our sales/purchases proceed more smoothly. We don't get commission for this - but we DO get a purchase that is more or less guaranteed to go through to a sale.

If a property is on with other agents as well as us, don't expect us to know whether there are other offers or not. Equally, if it is an exclusive property, we may have had several offers - some of these do not proceed because the owner doesn't accept, others because they cannot get the required funds, or they simply change their minds. 100% there are some agents who lie at this point - this is irritating to everyone. But equally, if we have had offers, then we will tell you.

Keeping your information vague as advised by a few people above is no help to anyone. Yes, the agent is working for the seller, but why would you want to alienate them? What is the benefit? The agent deals with many people every day and if we feel someone is not being honest with us or deliberately vague, we assume (from experience) that they do not have the money or are not serious about purchasing. An agent who wants to work with you is going to help with your purchase. If we think you are being dishonest or hiding something, then we will likely not recommend a seller accepts your offer.

Many agents in the UK get 1% commission. By the time the company gets their percentage, 50k here or there makes very little difference to them.

Agents are people - there are good and bad ones. It should be fairly clear from the initial conversation which one you are dealing with.

Here here 👏🏼

m00rfarm · 11/04/2023 22:33

Polik · 11/04/2023 22:18

I'm a school DSL. Clearly not an estate agent.

We've also recently completed on a purchase and our vendors EA (who was the EA showing 80% of the homes in the area we were looking in) was an absolute nightmare. This may be the cause of my bias!

Some wankerish things she did:

  • 4 months after offer when our vendors solicitor was being too slow, meaning our solicitor couldn't progress - EA idea was to persuade vendor to put house back on market as a way to make everyone in the 6 house chain panic and force vendors own solicitor to go faster.
  • sent really rude and unprofessional emails, cc'ing in people who should not have direct contact for conflict of interest reasons. Ie, EA sent rude email to my solicitor cc'ing me, my husband, the vendor, vendors solicitor, my EA. One time even included the people buying my house and the people our vendor was buying from. Not BCCing, sending us all one, ranty, rude email.
  • Once solicitors got moving, EA told vendor to keep house on the market until exchange. Even though all 6 house sales/purchases were going smoothly and we were several weeks from exchange. Just to add needless pressure to everyone.
  • I got a friend to request a viewing on our purchase during this time - EA wasn't actually allowing any viewings by bullshitting the interested buyer suggesting seller is expecting wildly inflated offer amounts and won't allow viewings without willingness to offer this much.
  • this gave us some perspective on the house we offered on previously. Same EA. It came back onto the market suddenly, after being sold for several months. We wanted the house. EA kept delaying and putting barriers up. We overcame because we wanted to view - even agreeing to only considering on inflated offer. We offered higher than the inflated amount she suggested because we wanted the house. Massive delay from offer to answer. Then house suddenly is no longer available. Turns out the EA was playing games again by putting house back on market to pressure the chain - with no intention of selling again. House completed to the original buyers. Waste of our time and total lack of consideration for us in this game playing, as hopeful buyers.
  • Another house we viewed earlier with same EA. EA was rude and disinterested throughout the viewing (which she hadn't been with other properties). We were ready to offer, but EA worked hard to dissuade and put us off. I don't know why, but seems she did not want that seller to sell to us.
  • Upon completion, we picked keys up from our vendor directly rather than EA (at EA request) Spent about 3h parked outside vendors house with our moving vans waiting for completion, so had a good chat and cuppa. We were expecting to need to tread carefully not to say anything bad about our sellers EA. But turns out our vendor hated her and thought she was as incompetent as we thought. Seller was especially upset at having to allow viewings when seller knew she nearing exhange so had no intention of selling yo someone else. Seller told us that one family bought children and grandparents to see the house on second and third viewings - our seller all the time knowing she was 3 weeks from exchange and had no intention of breaking the chain at that point. So deciptful.

Deciptful. The whole thing. The lying and game playing - so needless and unprofessional.

THere are crappy agents, as well as crappy doctors, crappy teachers and crappy School DSLs (no idea what a DSL is - thought it was something to do with wifi). But throwing the whole profession out seems a little OTT.

One issue we come across frequently is that the seller tells the agent to tell the buyer something that they would NEVER say directly to the buyer. And that can throw the whole thing into disarray. Drives me mad - and the less experienced will just go ahead and do what the owner suggests. Then, of course, the owner denies any knowledge of this activity and blames the agent (not saying this happened in your case).

Here we have something called the "complaints book" which is a legal requirement for all companies. You could really do with that in the UK. The problem is, the more shit an agent is, the more desperate they are to make the sale as they are generally not earning enough.

Cattenberg · 11/04/2023 23:40

Seller was especially upset at having to allow viewings when seller knew she nearing exhange so had no intention of selling yo someone else. Seller told us that one family bought children and grandparents to see the house on second and third viewings - our seller all the time knowing she was 3 weeks from exchange and had no intention of breaking the chain at that point. So deciptful.

The seller didn’t have to allow any of this! She was the paying client. Why didn’t she just say no?

DogInATent · 11/04/2023 23:48

The seller didn’t have to allow any of this! She was the paying client. Why didn’t she just say no?
Most people don't sell houses with any frequency, they aren't comfortable being assertive within large financial transactions, and they rely on the EA to provide professional advice.

As a Seller I have always preferred dealing with the Buyer directly. The EA offers very little to the transaction, other the the opportunity to increase the risk of miscommunication.

Cattenberg · 12/04/2023 00:25

The only time I sold a property, I looked up an estimate of its value on Zoopla first. Thank goodness I didn’t try to sell the property myself, because the estate agent knew it was worth significantly more, and sold it for the sale price within a week.

I feel she also earned her money when my buyers tried to gazunder me close to exchange. It wasn’t due to any survey findings (the buyers didn’t bother with a survey), they were just trying it on. The estate agent managed to persuade them to stop playing silly buggers.

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