Dr Gloom 21912 Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 This is an industry that needs regulating. I’m about to put my house on the market. One agent arrives to value it, and pulls out a list of names of all the potential buyers he has registered with him, some of whom we recognised as they live in our area, with their top end budget figure next to their name. We’re not listing with that sleazebag. I’m tempted not to sell at all now, if only to deny these sharks their commission. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fish 10849 Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 That's shocking, bet he had a massive knot in his tie as well. We've been fortunate, I think, but something as simple as the blind bids can screw your house purchase. We missed out, and the estate agent wouldn't say by how much we fell short of the accepted bid. So we had no idea if we were miles off, if we'd put in a slightly higher bid would we have been successful? Also I'm convinced the "woman at the top of the chain who had to exchange by 4pm" is a total fabrication. When we lodged our interest we were told explicitly there wasn't a chain at all. All types of agents are arseholes, imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renton 21567 Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 10 minutes ago, Dr Gloom said: This is an industry that needs regulating. I’m about to put my house on the market. One agent arrives to value it, and pulls out a list of names of all the potential buyers he has registered with him, some of whom we recognised as they live in our area, with their top end budget figure next to their name. We’re not listing with that sleazebag. I’m tempted not to sell at all now, if only to deny these sharks their commission. Any possibility you could do it privately? You're right though, scummy industry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewerk 30544 Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 What about Purple Bricks? There seems to be a decent commission saving with them if your house is worth a reasonable amount. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fish 10849 Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 Don't know enough about them, don't they put on you a lot of the responsibility for chasing and arguing with other parties? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renton 21567 Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 4 minutes ago, The Fish said: Don't know enough about them, don't they put on you a lot of the responsibility for chasing and arguing with other parties? Estate agents do Fuck all once the sale is agreed though. That's the job of solicitors. Why are you considering moving Gloom? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fish 10849 Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 He heard you were moving nearby? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Gloom 21912 Posted April 10, 2018 Author Share Posted April 10, 2018 22 minutes ago, Renton said: Estate agents do Fuck all once the sale is agreed though. That's the job of solicitors. Why are you considering moving Gloom? got the seven year itch. our house has doubled in value in those years we've had it - though it's the estate agents telling us that, so fuck knows if there's any truth in it. it's also with one eye on secondary school catchment areas as we aren't in the right spot for one as things stand. think it might be a good time to trade up as prices have cooled in london amid brexit uncetainty. i think we're going to end up with the softest of soft brexits and prices will inevitably pick up again, so seems as good a time as any to do it. @ewerk don't know much about purple bricks, other than what i gleaned from a quick scan of their site - they don't take any commission. how does that work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christmas Tree 4725 Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 1 hour ago, Dr Gloom said: This is an industry that needs regulating. I’m about to put my house on the market. One agent arrives to value it, and pulls out a list of names of all the potential buyers he has registered with him, some of whom we recognised as they live in our area, with their top end budget figure next to their name. We’re not listing with that sleazebag. I’m tempted not to sell at all now, if only to deny these sharks their commission. What am I missing here? Estate agents quite regularly have lists of people looking for something in a particular area and what their budget is? Surely you just get a few quotes, and then price it accordingly. I don’t disagree that they get money for nowt though. What about sarah beenys online firm. They are certainly hammering the TV ads at the minute. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Gloom 21912 Posted April 10, 2018 Author Share Posted April 10, 2018 6 minutes ago, Christmas Tree said: What am I missing here? Estate agents quite regularly have lists of people looking for something in a particular area and what their budget is? Surely you just get a few quotes, and then price it accordingly. I don’t disagree that they get money for nowt though. What about sarah beenys online firm. They are certainly hammering the TV ads at the minute. this isn't normal practice - even in the wild west of estate agency. they are providing the names and the exact budgets of their registered buyers to prospective vendors. this gives potential buyers no room to negotiate price as vendors already have their personal data and know exactly what they can afford to stretch to. even if it isn't illegal, it is surely immoral. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewerk 30544 Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 14 minutes ago, Dr Gloom said: @ewerk don't know much about purple bricks, other than what i gleaned from a quick scan of their site - they don't take any commission. how does that work? A fella I worked with used them. You pay them a set fee to list your house and an additional fee to carry out the viewings, they don't take any commission. They basically work like any estate agent except they don't have physical offices, which isn't a problem nowadays seeing as everyone looks for houses online. I think it'd work out about £1500 in London for them to do everything, which I'm guessing would be a fair saving on a commission based service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex 35059 Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 1 hour ago, Dr Gloom said: This is an industry that needs regulating. I’m about to put my house on the market. One agent arrives to value it, and pulls out a list of names of all the potential buyers he has registered with him, some of whom we recognised as they live in our area, with their top end budget figure next to their name. We’re not listing with that sleazebag. I’m tempted not to sell at all now, if only to deny these sharks their commission. Aye, a lot them have completely lost sight of the fact you're paying them to do you a service, i.e. get the best price. They think you should be licking their hoop for going to them and you're a twat if you don't make their job as easy as possible. Can only imagine how bad it is in London. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Gloom 21912 Posted April 10, 2018 Author Share Posted April 10, 2018 (edited) @ewerkit looks like they take a fee of just over a grand regardless of whether they sell the place or not. still, if they do sell it, it's a massive saving to be fair. interesting. Edited April 10, 2018 by Dr Gloom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Gloom 21912 Posted April 10, 2018 Author Share Posted April 10, 2018 1 hour ago, The Fish said: That's shocking, bet he had a massive knot in his tie as well. We've been fortunate, I think, but something as simple as the blind bids can screw your house purchase. We missed out, and the estate agent wouldn't say by how much we fell short of the accepted bid. So we had no idea if we were miles off, if we'd put in a slightly higher bid would we have been successful? Also I'm convinced the "woman at the top of the chain who had to exchange by 4pm" is a total fabrication. When we lodged our interest we were told explicitly there wasn't a chain at all. All types of agents are arseholes, imo. he was some sight like ill fitting, double breasted suit, windsor knot, tie clip and some weird spider broach on his lapel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renton 21567 Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 (edited) Wlhalt a surprise. CT sees no issue with an estate agent (a profession that requires no competencies) sharing confidential data with prospective vendors. There's an agency here on the coast, let's call them Crook and co., who I had to deal with a few years back when I was desperate to buy a house during the last boom. We would regularly put in full price offers (as cash buyers) and never hear from the EA or be given the opportunity to increase the offer. At that stage they had a near monopoly and we weren't selling with them. Not too hard to connect the dots. Edited April 10, 2018 by Renton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex 35059 Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 49 minutes ago, Christmas Tree said: What am I missing here? Estate agents quite regularly have lists of people looking for something in a particular area and what their budget is? Surely you just get a few quotes, and then price it accordingly. I don’t disagree that they get money for nowt though. What about sarah beenys online firm. They are certainly hammering the TV ads at the minute. Too easy tbh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Gloom 21912 Posted April 10, 2018 Author Share Posted April 10, 2018 I also think the way the buyer has to pay for the survey is the wrong way around - the survey should be provided by the vendor and built into the asking price. I’ve had house purchases collapse in the past after wasting plenty of time and thousands of pounds on solicitor’s fees and surveys. Come ro rhink of it, I’m not too sure why I’ll about to embark on this tortuous process one more. I’ve been reminded of why I haven’t done it for 7 years. The people in the industry are vile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adios 717 Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 All agents are cunts, Pierce Brosnan being the worst of them. Property is defo a market ripe for an internet company to come in and change the face of it. We're already starting to see it with AirBnB. What do people think has held up progress on that front? Will AirBnB eventually take over the long-term rental market too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renton 21567 Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 3 minutes ago, Dr Gloom said: I also think the way the buyer has to pay for the survey is the wrong way around - the survey should be provided by the vendor and built into the asking price. I’ve had house purchases collapse in the past after wasting plenty of time and thousands of pounds on solicitor’s fees and surveys. Come ro rhink of it, I’m not too sure why I’ll about to embark on this tortuous process one more. I’ve been reminded of why I haven’t done it for 7 years. The people in the industry are vile. School catchment area I thought you said. An additional problem with the London market. Still, your house will have a sky high value so when you come to retire you can buy a mansion up north and skew the local market here too. Bastid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renton 21567 Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 Just now, adios said: All agents are cunts, Pierce Brosnan being the worst of them. Property is defo a market ripe for an internet company to come in and change the face of it. We're already starting to see it with AirBnB. What do people think has held up progress on that front? Will AirBnB eventually take over the long-term rental market too? There's already rightmove and zoopla etc, which you can market directly on I think. The ballache is the admin, arranging viewings etc. You do need a human component for that, trouble is most EA's aren't human. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christmas Tree 4725 Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 1 hour ago, Dr Gloom said: this isn't normal practice - even in the wild west of estate agency. they are providing the names and the exact budgets of their registered buyers to prospective vendors. this gives potential buyers no room to negotiate price as vendors already have their personal data and know exactly what they can afford to stretch to. even if it isn't illegal, it is surely immoral. I don’t see the big deal really. At the end of the day their job is to match up buyer and seller. Buyer has a budget, seller has a price, it’s still upto to the buyer whether he likes your house once he has a look around and whether he’s willing to offer his full budget. The whole idea of being a “registered buyer” is to try and jump the queue before the property hits the shop window / website. Much better to have an agent with waiting buyers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renton 21567 Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 1 minute ago, Christmas Tree said: I don’t see the big deal really. At the end of the day their job is to match up buyer and seller. Buyer has a budget, seller has a price, it’s still upto to the buyer whether he likes your house once he has a look around and whether he’s willing to offer his full budget. The whole idea of being a “registered buyer” is to try and jump the queue before the property hits the shop window / website. Much better to have an agent with waiting buyers. Fucking hell. You would honestly be okay for your estate agent to share your financial details and your name with a prospective house seller? I'll say it again, fucking hell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adios 717 Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 17 minutes ago, Renton said: There's already rightmove and zoopla etc, which you can market directly on I think. The ballache is the admin, arranging viewings etc. You do need a human component for that, trouble is most EA's aren't human. Aye, I wondered if it was necessary for someone like RightMove to go in as a trojan horse, initially welcoming the estate agents and gradually turning things over to a different model but it looks like it's going to take something more revolutionary. Let's face it, buyers and sellers would both take your hand off for a decent alternative. Haven't heard of Purple Bricks before, maybe that's a step in the right direction? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewerk 30544 Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 Their adverts are never off the TV. I don't know how people aren't aware of them by now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adios 717 Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 People still watch actual television? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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