Why do estate agents have a bad name?
Apr 19th 2006, 8:30 am
#1
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Location: Melbourne
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Why do estate agents have a bad name?
I'll tell you why - they don't know what they're doing and they really don't care. Apologies to any estate agents out there who don't fall into this category but I'm afraid you're all tarred with the same brush.
We agreed a sale with a couple who we were told by the agent were in rented had a mortgage in place and wanted to move in quickly. Great we thought. We should of exchanged last week, but after alot of back tracking and messing about, the agent has finally told us that they do have a place to sell and they have gone away on holiday and can't be contacted. When Mr. Bookie finally came down off the ceiling, we told them to put it back on the market. So basically we've lost 4 weeks of potential buyers and have had to put off shippers etc.
We dropped the price for our buyer, agreed to all their terms and what we would leave in the house even down to my nearly new washing machine which I was going to take and now we get this.
The estate agent has done nothing except very skillfully avoid telling us the real situation and failing to return telephone calls.
My faith in human nature has taken a bashing.
Off for a wee dram.
We agreed a sale with a couple who we were told by the agent were in rented had a mortgage in place and wanted to move in quickly. Great we thought. We should of exchanged last week, but after alot of back tracking and messing about, the agent has finally told us that they do have a place to sell and they have gone away on holiday and can't be contacted. When Mr. Bookie finally came down off the ceiling, we told them to put it back on the market. So basically we've lost 4 weeks of potential buyers and have had to put off shippers etc.
We dropped the price for our buyer, agreed to all their terms and what we would leave in the house even down to my nearly new washing machine which I was going to take and now we get this.
The estate agent has done nothing except very skillfully avoid telling us the real situation and failing to return telephone calls.
My faith in human nature has taken a bashing.
Off for a wee dram.
Apr 19th 2006, 8:33 am
#2
Account Closed
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 15,019
Re: Why do estate agents have a bad name?
Originally Posted by Bookie
I'll tell you why - they don't know what they're doing and they really don't care..
Apr 19th 2006, 9:06 am
#3
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Joined: Feb 2006
Location: Northern suburbs, Brisbane
Posts: 312
Re: Why do estate agents have a bad name?
I agree, Estate Agents don't work for us even though we pay them. And when we are buyers they don't seem to work for us either! I hate them! Hate the way they make you feel you are so insignificant no matter what position you are in. Hate them!
Sorry to any decent estate agents out there, I'm not talking about you - there again, I don't suppose many agents are on here.
Good luck to everyone dealing with Estate Agents - you need it!
Sorry to any decent estate agents out there, I'm not talking about you - there again, I don't suppose many agents are on here.
Good luck to everyone dealing with Estate Agents - you need it!
Apr 19th 2006, 9:21 am
#4
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Re: Why do estate agents have a bad name?
Isn't there some kind of estate agents body you can report them to?
Originally Posted by Bookie
I'll tell you why - they don't know what they're doing and they really don't care. Apologies to any estate agents out there who don't fall into this category but I'm afraid you're all tarred with the same brush.
We agreed a sale with a couple who we were told by the agent were in rented had a mortgage in place and wanted to move in quickly. Great we thought. We should of exchanged last week, but after alot of back tracking and messing about, the agent has finally told us that they do have a place to sell and they have gone away on holiday and can't be contacted. When Mr. Bookie finally came down off the ceiling, we told them to put it back on the market. So basically we've lost 4 weeks of potential buyers and have had to put off shippers etc.
We dropped the price for our buyer, agreed to all their terms and what we would leave in the house even down to my nearly new washing machine which I was going to take and now we get this.
The estate agent has done nothing except very skillfully avoid telling us the real situation and failing to return telephone calls.
My faith in human nature has taken a bashing.
Off for a wee dram.
We agreed a sale with a couple who we were told by the agent were in rented had a mortgage in place and wanted to move in quickly. Great we thought. We should of exchanged last week, but after alot of back tracking and messing about, the agent has finally told us that they do have a place to sell and they have gone away on holiday and can't be contacted. When Mr. Bookie finally came down off the ceiling, we told them to put it back on the market. So basically we've lost 4 weeks of potential buyers and have had to put off shippers etc.
We dropped the price for our buyer, agreed to all their terms and what we would leave in the house even down to my nearly new washing machine which I was going to take and now we get this.
The estate agent has done nothing except very skillfully avoid telling us the real situation and failing to return telephone calls.
My faith in human nature has taken a bashing.
Off for a wee dram.
Apr 19th 2006, 9:37 am
#5
Worongary
Joined: Sep 2005
Location: GC hinterland
Posts: 10,288
Re: Why do estate agents have a bad name?
Originally Posted by Bookie
I'll tell you why - they don't know what they're doing and they really don't care. Apologies to any estate agents out there who don't fall into this category but I'm afraid you're all tarred with the same brush.
We agreed a sale with a couple who we were told by the agent were in rented had a mortgage in place and wanted to move in quickly. Great we thought. We should of exchanged last week, but after alot of back tracking and messing about, the agent has finally told us that they do have a place to sell and they have gone away on holiday and can't be contacted. When Mr. Bookie finally came down off the ceiling, we told them to put it back on the market. So basically we've lost 4 weeks of potential buyers and have had to put off shippers etc.
We dropped the price for our buyer, agreed to all their terms and what we would leave in the house even down to my nearly new washing machine which I was going to take and now we get this.
The estate agent has done nothing except very skillfully avoid telling us the real situation and failing to return telephone calls.
My faith in human nature has taken a bashing.
Off for a wee dram.
We agreed a sale with a couple who we were told by the agent were in rented had a mortgage in place and wanted to move in quickly. Great we thought. We should of exchanged last week, but after alot of back tracking and messing about, the agent has finally told us that they do have a place to sell and they have gone away on holiday and can't be contacted. When Mr. Bookie finally came down off the ceiling, we told them to put it back on the market. So basically we've lost 4 weeks of potential buyers and have had to put off shippers etc.
We dropped the price for our buyer, agreed to all their terms and what we would leave in the house even down to my nearly new washing machine which I was going to take and now we get this.
The estate agent has done nothing except very skillfully avoid telling us the real situation and failing to return telephone calls.
My faith in human nature has taken a bashing.
Off for a wee dram.
our lying usless basterd sorry estate agent sold our house not once but twice ( yippee we said each time )
only to find out later down the road that the lying usless basterds had taken offers from people without the abilty to pay
( ie dreamers without mortgages offers who subsequentley couldnt raise the required dosh )
please help form an angry mob so we can go an lynch a few of the lying usless basterds sorry estate agents
yours from my quite padded cell
steve
Apr 19th 2006, 11:23 am
#6
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Joined: Apr 2005
Location: Western burbs, Melbourne
Posts: 2,261
Re: Why do estate agents have a bad name?
Yes they do deserve the crap name.
We had a house to sell in UK- my late FILs- while we were in Oz.
Estate agent claimed that he showed 200 people through in 18 months...we went back, appointed new agents and had a sale within 1 month.
Lying cheating scum.
We had a house to sell in UK- my late FILs- while we were in Oz.
Estate agent claimed that he showed 200 people through in 18 months...we went back, appointed new agents and had a sale within 1 month.
Lying cheating scum.
Apr 19th 2006, 11:33 am
#7
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Joined: May 2003
Location: Alloha snack bar
Posts: 24,246
Re: Why do estate agents have a bad name?
Originally Posted by Bookie
I'll tell you why - they don't know what they're doing and they really don't care. Apologies to any estate agents out there who don't fall into this category but I'm afraid you're all tarred with the same brush.
We agreed a sale with a couple who we were told by the agent were in rented had a mortgage in place and wanted to move in quickly. Great we thought. We should of exchanged last week, but after alot of back tracking and messing about, the agent has finally told us that they do have a place to sell and they have gone away on holiday and can't be contacted. When Mr. Bookie finally came down off the ceiling, we told them to put it back on the market. So basically we've lost 4 weeks of potential buyers and have had to put off shippers etc.
We dropped the price for our buyer, agreed to all their terms and what we would leave in the house even down to my nearly new washing machine which I was going to take and now we get this.
The estate agent has done nothing except very skillfully avoid telling us the real situation and failing to return telephone calls.
My faith in human nature has taken a bashing.
Off for a wee dram.
We agreed a sale with a couple who we were told by the agent were in rented had a mortgage in place and wanted to move in quickly. Great we thought. We should of exchanged last week, but after alot of back tracking and messing about, the agent has finally told us that they do have a place to sell and they have gone away on holiday and can't be contacted. When Mr. Bookie finally came down off the ceiling, we told them to put it back on the market. So basically we've lost 4 weeks of potential buyers and have had to put off shippers etc.
We dropped the price for our buyer, agreed to all their terms and what we would leave in the house even down to my nearly new washing machine which I was going to take and now we get this.
The estate agent has done nothing except very skillfully avoid telling us the real situation and failing to return telephone calls.
My faith in human nature has taken a bashing.
Off for a wee dram.
Estate agents are tossers. Good luck next time.
Apr 19th 2006, 11:39 am
#8
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 9,397
Re: Why do estate agents have a bad name?
With the odd exception, Australian ones are appalling. They are in it purely for the money and to do as little as possible.
Measure the rooms? Oh, we don't do that - unless you pay.
Advertise? Oh, we don't do that unless you pay.
And the buyer is confronted by a feral youth whose attitude is - "write a cheque and don't bother me any more".
Measure the rooms? Oh, we don't do that - unless you pay.
Advertise? Oh, we don't do that unless you pay.
And the buyer is confronted by a feral youth whose attitude is - "write a cheque and don't bother me any more".
Apr 19th 2006, 10:32 pm
#9
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Joined: Mar 2006
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Posts: 374
Re: Why do estate agents have a bad name?
Originally Posted by Bookie
I'll tell you why - they don't know what they're doing and they really don't care. Apologies to any estate agents out there who don't fall into this category but I'm afraid you're all tarred with the same brush.
We agreed a sale with a couple who we were told by the agent were in rented had a mortgage in place and wanted to move in quickly. Great we thought. We should of exchanged last week, but after alot of back tracking and messing about, the agent has finally told us that they do have a place to sell and they have gone away on holiday and can't be contacted. When Mr. Bookie finally came down off the ceiling, we told them to put it back on the market. So basically we've lost 4 weeks of potential buyers and have had to put off shippers etc.
We dropped the price for our buyer, agreed to all their terms and what we would leave in the house even down to my nearly new washing machine which I was going to take and now we get this.
The estate agent has done nothing except very skillfully avoid telling us the real situation and failing to return telephone calls.
My faith in human nature has taken a bashing.
Off for a wee dram.
We agreed a sale with a couple who we were told by the agent were in rented had a mortgage in place and wanted to move in quickly. Great we thought. We should of exchanged last week, but after alot of back tracking and messing about, the agent has finally told us that they do have a place to sell and they have gone away on holiday and can't be contacted. When Mr. Bookie finally came down off the ceiling, we told them to put it back on the market. So basically we've lost 4 weeks of potential buyers and have had to put off shippers etc.
We dropped the price for our buyer, agreed to all their terms and what we would leave in the house even down to my nearly new washing machine which I was going to take and now we get this.
The estate agent has done nothing except very skillfully avoid telling us the real situation and failing to return telephone calls.
My faith in human nature has taken a bashing.
Off for a wee dram.
.We sold ours in the UK without an agent, we purchased a professional for sale board and advertised on the internet, we were lucky, we sold to first viewer for the full asking price.
A bit different in Australia, when you have agreed a price you sign a contract there and then, no waiting for a chain, the sale can be completed within 30 days but normally 60 days is more the norm. If the people you are buying from have not found a house at the end of the time period then its out into the rented market for them. It was a bit worrying the first sale that we did, we moved out of the house and into a holiday unit overnight whilst furniture spent an uneventful night in storage until moving into our present home.
There is no gazumping here either so I suppose thats a good thing.
Make your real estate work for their money in Oz, Qld has a fixed maximum commission that they can charge, I believe this is set by the state government, they can not charge any higher than this and you are able to negotiate a lower figure but to date I have only found real estate agents who charge this set fee and will not negotiate, therefore I believe in making them work for their money. When you are buying get them to pick you up and show you all the houses they have, dont be embarrassed they do it all the time. Be prepared to barter on the price, think nothing of offering 10-15% less. Always have a subject to finance clause in your contract even if you are a cash buyer, it will give you another outer should you need it.
Apr 19th 2006, 10:53 pm
#10
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Joined: Mar 2006
Location: Set adrift on memory bliss
Posts: 690
Re: Why do estate agents have a bad name?
Originally Posted by Mandy&Cliff
Yep, they are in the same league as the sheepskin coat wearing 2nd hand car brigade .
We sold ours in the UK without an agent, we purchased a professional for sale board and advertised on the internet, we were lucky, we sold to first viewer for the full asking price.
A bit different in Australia, when you have agreed a price you sign a contract there and then, no waiting for a chain, the sale can be completed within 30 days but normally 60 days is more the norm. If the people you are buying from have not found a house at the end of the time period then its out into the rented market for them. It was a bit worrying the first sale that we did, we moved out of the house and into a holiday unit overnight whilst furniture spent an uneventful night in storage until moving into our present home.
There is no gazumping here either so I suppose thats a good thing.
Make your real estate work for their money in Oz, Qld has a fixed maximum commission that they can charge, I believe this is set by the state government, they can not charge any higher than this and you are able to negotiate a lower figure but to date I have only found real estate agents who charge this set fee and will not negotiate, therefore I believe in making them work for their money. When you are buying get them to pick you up and show you all the houses they have, dont be embarrassed they do it all the time. Be prepared to barter on the price, think nothing of offering 10-15% less. Always have a subject to finance clause in your contract even if you are a cash buyer, it will give you another outer should you need it.
.We sold ours in the UK without an agent, we purchased a professional for sale board and advertised on the internet, we were lucky, we sold to first viewer for the full asking price.
A bit different in Australia, when you have agreed a price you sign a contract there and then, no waiting for a chain, the sale can be completed within 30 days but normally 60 days is more the norm. If the people you are buying from have not found a house at the end of the time period then its out into the rented market for them. It was a bit worrying the first sale that we did, we moved out of the house and into a holiday unit overnight whilst furniture spent an uneventful night in storage until moving into our present home.
There is no gazumping here either so I suppose thats a good thing.
Make your real estate work for their money in Oz, Qld has a fixed maximum commission that they can charge, I believe this is set by the state government, they can not charge any higher than this and you are able to negotiate a lower figure but to date I have only found real estate agents who charge this set fee and will not negotiate, therefore I believe in making them work for their money. When you are buying get them to pick you up and show you all the houses they have, dont be embarrassed they do it all the time. Be prepared to barter on the price, think nothing of offering 10-15% less. Always have a subject to finance clause in your contract even if you are a cash buyer, it will give you another outer should you need it.
Apr 19th 2006, 11:03 pm
#11
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Joined: Jan 2006
Location: Magnolia, TX
Posts: 2,762
Re: Why do estate agents have a bad name?
Originally Posted by benny the ball
Just out of interest, where on the internet did you advertise. How easy was the whole process. I'm interested because I might try this approach.
We're using www.housenetwork.co.uk. We get a professional for sale board, our property's advertised on all the property websites (rightmove etc), they arrange viewings, send brochures out, pass on offers. They don't value so we got other valuations and picked our own price. We do all the viewings but lets face it we would do with a high street agency. They take masses of photos, do virtual tours and a floorplan. There is an upfront fee of £199+VAT and if you sell through them it's about the same again. Also they don't have mailing lists but all high street EAs we talked to said most buyers use the internet these days.
Admittedly we've had no viewers yet but then neither have people we know round here with High Street agents.
We sold our last house completely privately by making our own board but then it was the height of the boom and our house was on a road with more passing traffic.
I would rather cut the price of my property by the amount of EAs commission than give money to the robbing b's.
Lou
xx
Apr 19th 2006, 11:05 pm
#12
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Re: Why do estate agents have a bad name?
Originally Posted by Amazulu
It's no consolation & I'm not trying to lecture but next time insist on documentary evidence that they have a mortgage & deposit, ie letter from their bank & mortgage provider.
Estate agents are tossers. Good luck next time.
Estate agents are tossers. Good luck next time.
I'm far too trusting, but hey, you learn the hard way.
Apr 19th 2006, 11:24 pm
#13
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Re: Why do estate agents have a bad name?
Originally Posted by benny the ball
Just out of interest, where on the internet did you advertise. How easy was the whole process. I'm interested because I might try this approach.
There was another thread on here a short time ago regarding selling houses without agents.
Apr 19th 2006, 11:35 pm
#14
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Re: Why do estate agents have a bad name?
we agree crap useless estate agents ...dont they understand what you tell them
we said to ours to check out time taster and what did they do sent out a time waster who cheeky sods put a offer in and did even have the funds which we found out after easter and wasted a week on them ...we have two offers and lost them via the agent so put the house up with another agent and have to start all over ago...
we have lose around 4 months by agents farting around ....
we was hoping for june but think it will be sep n
so every one out there you think the visa is a pain wait til you try and sell your house stressed isn the word :scared:
cheers kez and wayne
{need a few of them}
we said to ours to check out time taster and what did they do sent out a time waster who cheeky sods put a offer in and did even have the funds which we found out after easter and wasted a week on them ...we have two offers and lost them via the agent so put the house up with another agent and have to start all over ago...
we have lose around 4 months by agents farting around ....
we was hoping for june but think it will be sep n
so every one out there you think the visa is a pain wait til you try and sell your house stressed isn the word :scared:
cheers kez and wayne
{need a few of them}
Apr 20th 2006, 12:31 am
#15
Brisbane bound
Joined: Sep 2004
Location: Brisbane
Posts: 389
Re: Why do estate agents have a bad name?
Originally Posted by benny the ball
Just out of interest, where on the internet did you advertise. How easy was the whole process. I'm interested because I might try this approach.
Or there is houseweb which advertises your house for a private sale on a whole number of property websites for £129.
You can read the full article on Which.net (have to sign up for a free trial). Hope that helps
Martyn
