7 Jan 2022 12:29
Essence wrote: My buyers have just pulled out days away from exchanging contracts after 4 months! gutted…
Any reason why?
8 Jan 2022 19:28
darko wrote: Rez wrote: Nice edit darko
I thought it was a bit harsh
Ps your story sounds about right. I don’t know what it is about estate agency / used car sales / recruitment agencies but they all seem to attract the same class of hopeless muppets
we bought our house with purple bricks and can’t fault it at all compared to the absolute disaster we had with previous agents
Nothing like a bit of generalising about an entire industry.
So in the same post you said that estate agency as an industry attracts hopeless muppets you explain that had a faultless experience of purple bricks estate agency (who are shit usually but fair play to you)
Can you spot the flaw in your post that removes your credibility?
I started my own agency after working for a lot of muppets , they exist in every industry that I’ve ever worked in, in fact more so in the media and retail in my experience , so far we’ve moved 2000 families in 7 years and I’ve personally met them all, thanked them all and every one has been happy. We’ve been voted the best agency in the region for independent customer feedback and because as an agency we give some of the money made back to local community charities that work within the housing sector we’ve taken several people out of homelessness simply using the money that more fortunate people pay to move home themselves. And we’ve done this with an office staffed, other than with one manager , by apprentices as young as 17 who’ve never worked in estate agency or often in any job before meaning no ingrained dodgy work ethics or back handed practices.
But yeah it’s an entire industry of useless muppets and you understand it so well you can make mass generalisations that are entirely correct. Go you.
8 Jan 2022 19:46
I’m a solicitor and I fucking hate estate agents. Agree with the used car sales men comments. I barely speak to them because they try to talk to me like an equal
posted 8 Jan 2022 19:52, edited 8 Jan 2022 19:52
Ulster_Blue wrote: I’m a solicitor and I fucking hate estate agents. Agree with the used car sales men comments. I barely speak to them because they try to talk to me like an equal
Ironic that the nastiest comments and the biggest trolls on this thread are basically everyone who isn’t an estate agent.
darko
1082 posts since 4/10/12
10 Jan 2022 09:06
when we moved into our last rental the house and garden was a shit hole, I spent about 4 days with my old man cleaning the garden up, ripping out brambles and nettles, putting some bark chippings down, making wooden borders and planting it up with shrubs and flowers. This was pre-lockdown so was a worthwhile exercise because we spent loads of time at home.
Throughout our tenancy we dealt directly with the landlady, who was a lovely person and really understanding about any concerns we had with the property
When we gave the keys back, the wanker at the agency (who happened to be the owners son) tried to charge me £100 for ‘slab cleaning’ because there was algae on the slabs out back, obviously caused by the fact it’s in the shade 90% of the time. This is despite the fact that I probably spent several hundred £££ of my own money improving the house and garden, and I’m also a part time gardener and could have ‘cleaned the slabs’ myself if I knew it was going to be an issue, but nope he refused and we had to cough up £100.
just one of many stories, maybe it’s something about letting agents rather than estate agents ay fuzzy?
10 Jan 2022 09:13
Fuzzy, I'm sure you run a tight ship with your company and kudos to you. Sounds like you're doing the right thing.
But for you to not recognise that most of your competitors are useless twats and for the industry as a whole to have a bad reputation is naive.
posted 10 Jan 2022 09:39, edited 10 Jan 2022 09:39
Been lucky in Bath by the sounds of things when it comes to letting and estate agents. When I rented the letting agent was quick to fix and resolve any issues with the landlord. Despite the minor inconvenience of them carrying out quarterly inspections I received my deposit back without issue.
When it came to buying, found the experience with local independent estate agents to be overall very positive. However, found the nationwide chains to be a tad grating, especially as they'd try and push their mortgage broker and/or conveyance services every time you wanted to book a viewing. We've done a couple of Purple Bricks when looking for our second property and it's only as good as how much effort the vendor can be bothered with. Had one where they hadn't really bothered with presenting the property in a good light or trying to sell it to us, he let us into the place, told us to feel free to look around while he sat there reading a paper and drinking a cup of tea, while the other one was the complete opposite.
10 Jan 2022 12:29
I'm sure its a generational thing as much as anything…
Most of us are a similar age and dealing with properties that are vastly overpriced and our margins are tiny and hugely important, so we need an agent that is sensitive to that. Where as if we was the generation before and we was selling our third buy to let property with a 400% upturn then I'm not sure you would care so much.
Saying that, it does seem like even when they are working for you and doing a 'good job' they are hardly nice guys.
I recently let a property in a popular location with Dext*rs. We set the Saturday for an open flat and the agents were minging, constantly ringing up and trying to get their 'perfect tenant' in for an earlier viewing.
One of the agents asked to pop to see the flat on the Thursday just to check the spec, and whilst she was there she done a video viewing without our permission.
They were falling over themselves to fuck each other over.
10 Jan 2022 13:45
I think a lot of it is down to how shite the system is in this country i.e. there are no timeframes declared and anybody can pull out at any time with no financial penalties whatsoever.
We moved late last year and it was a nightmare, dragged on for months and months despite there only being three properties in the chain. Our estate agents were hopeless (and the solicitors they recommended weren't much better) - literally couldn't get a straight answer out of anybody as to why it was taking so long when there didn't appear to be anything contentious going on.
It only went through in the end because the sellers of the house we were buying gave an ultimatum to complete by a given date or they would pull out (something we knew was the only play left but we didn't want to risk missing out on the house).
Transpires the buyers and sellers of the flat one below us in the chain had been arguing the toss for over a month over who should pay a £900 legal fee. Had the estate agents told us that (we shared the same estate agent as the buyers of our house) I'd have offered to pay some / all of it myself just to get moved & we'd have all saved a few grand on stamp duty.
Even on the day of moving we didn't get confirmation we could collect the keys until 4pm, again due to a dispute over a legal fee (literally £25 or something pathetic like that) which was owed to the solicitors and both parties were being petty and refusing to pay it.
Rez
8989 posts since 5/4/09
10 Jan 2022 13:51
I once had an estate agent tell me to my face that the lock on the front door worked when I was showing him, in person, that you could push the door straight open with ease. It was even backed up by the survey.
This was between exchange and completion, when the previous owners had left and I obviously wanted the house to be secure.
Rez
8989 posts since 5/4/09
10 Jan 2022 13:55
When I was viewing a flat once an estate agent was trying to pal up by saying he was trying to get into the industry I work in.
When I asked if he had a portfolio he admitted it was a lie and then apologised, bizarre.
Rez
8989 posts since 5/4/09
10 Jan 2022 14:02
Had a building survey come back on a flat and it required major and urgent works done to the basement. Pulled out, but offered to send them the report to save the next buyers/alert the vendors.
They just put it back on the market for 25k more and last time I checked, it hasn't been sold in the last few years. This is one of the 'reputable' trendy small estate agents, who were just as aloof and arrogant as the big chains.
