Estate agents

[Renton 21567]

Don't know about purple bricks but to put it in perspective, EA fees are not always that bad relatively speaking. Mine are 0.5% only payable on successful completion. The absolute amount is high for the amount of work, admittedly. But compared to 5% stamp duty? 

 

Some EA's are okay. Some, like the one Gloom describes, are utter cunts. Probably worse in London. Definitely they need to be regulated. 

[Renton 21567]

So is the USP of PB that they charge a flat fee rather than percentage commission? Hardly ground breaking. 

Edited April 10, 2018 by Renton

[adios 717]

I know the odd decent one too but nothing short of plundering, raping and pillaging by the internet is good enough for them.   

[The Fish 10849]

1 minute ago, Renton said:

So is the USP of PB that they charge a flat fee rather than percentage commission? Hardly ground breaking. 

It's not just that, they're not-so-subtly marketing themselves as a less odious alternative to high street estate agents. Who're globally reviled.

 

[ewerk 30544]

7 minutes ago, Renton said:

Don't know about purple bricks but to put it in perspective, EA fees are not always that bad relatively speaking. Mine are 0.5% only payable on successful completion. The absolute amount is high for the amount of work, admittedly. But compared to 5% stamp duty? 

 

Some EA's are okay. Some, like the one Gloom describes, are utter cunts. Probably worse in London. Definitely they need to be regulated. 

That's not bad, where I live they're 1% + VAT. Granted the house prices are probably cheaper round here.

[Kid Dynamite 7025]

1 hour ago, Dr Gloom said:

 

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?  

 

I know prices have gone up in the last few years but unless you done major renovations/extensions on the house it's unlikely

its doubled in value 

 

It’s the cost of moving that puts me off. Estate agents fees, stamp duty, mortgage fee, solicitors fees for buying and selling. You can be £10-15k down before you have even moved in 

[The Fish 10849]

32 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. 

We viewed a house where the vendor was doing all that. He showed us round his house like we were an imposition, rather than a possible buyer. He should have been talking to us about the nice area and what not, the kind of thing that most estate agents only learn from crib sheets. Instead he sullenly walked us round the house (which hadn't been tidied), moaned about the parking and left us entirely unimpressed. Compare that to the woman who walked us around the house we've bought. She tried her best to talk up the features of the house, the location and etc. but there was still plenty that we had to ask other people about (how often the trains come, is it a conservation area, where the decent pubs/coffee shops etc. are). The house was tidy, the lights were on, as were the fires. She wanted to make a sale so she'd get commission from the vendor, but at least we didn't feel like we were rudely interrupting her day.

Hopefully if we move away from estate agents people will get used to the idea that it's in their interests to make their house seem as appealing as possible. 

 

@Christmas Tree  surely one problem with agents having your budget and details is that they will share that information with others? It will inflate the market as the agents will push for the buyers to get a house at the top of their budgets, rather than the house that is best for them?  First time buyers (who're actually attractive buyers) could be priced out of the market entirely. Also if everyone buys at the top of their budget, the house prices will be at the top of their range, unjustifiably so. Come on man, it's unlike you to take a wilfully contrary position...

[The Fish 10849]

5 minutes ago, Kid Dynamite said:

 

I know prices have gone up in the last few years but unless you done major renovations/extensions on the house it's unlikely

its doubled in value 

 

It’s the cost of moving that puts me off. Estate agents fees, stamp duty, mortgage fee, solicitors fees for buying and selling. You can be £10-15k down before you have even moved in 

A mate of mine bought a 3 bed terraced house in Clapham in 2012 for c£450k, the last time it was valued (some time last yr) it was "worth" north of £1m. He decorated and did the kitchen, but that's it. I can quite believe a property has doubled in value.

[Dr Gloom 21912]

12 minutes ago, Kid Dynamite said:

 

I know prices have gone up in the last few years but unless you done major renovations/extensions on the house it's unlikely

its doubled in value 

 

It’s the cost of moving that puts me off. Estate agents fees, stamp duty, mortgage fee, solicitors fees for buying and selling. You can be £10-15k down before you have even moved in 

 

We did a loft conversion, adding two bedrooms. Even without that it would have almost doubled in value. The London market went mental around 2011-2015

[Renton 21567]

9 minutes ago, The Fish said:

We viewed a house where the vendor was doing all that. He showed us round his house like we were an imposition, rather than a possible buyer. He should have been talking to us about the nice area and what not, the kind of thing that most estate agents only learn from crib sheets. Instead he sullenly walked us round the house (which hadn't been tidied), moaned about the parking and left us entirely unimpressed. Compare that to the woman who walked us around the house we've bought. She tried her best to talk up the features of the house, the location and etc. but there was still plenty that we had to ask other people about (how often the trains come, is it a conservation area, where the decent pubs/coffee shops etc. are). The house was tidy, the lights were on, as were the fires. She wanted to make a sale so she'd get commission from the vendor, but at least we didn't feel like we were rudely interrupting her day.

Hopefully if we move away from estate agents people will get used to the idea that it's in their interests to make their house seem as appealing as possible. 

 

@Christmas Tree  surely one problem with agents having your budget and details is that they will share that information with others? It will inflate the market as the agents will push for the buyers to get a house at the top of their budgets, rather than the house that is best for them?  First time buyers (who're actually attractive buyers) could be priced out of the market entirely. Also if everyone buys at the top of their budget, the house prices will be at the top of their range, unjustifiably so. Come on man, it's unlike you to take a wilfully contrary position...

 

Just to clarify, I would always do viewings myself, enthusiastically. What I don't want to do is be in direct contact with potential buyers phoning me at work etc, arranging viewings. Also the EA does have a list of potential suitors. There's a good reason people still need to use them unfortunately. 

[Dr Gloom 21912]

31 minutes ago, Renton said:

So is the USP of PB that they charge a flat fee rather than percentage commission? Hardly ground breaking. 

A grand is nothing compared to the 1% plus vat that most agents demand down here. The rub is you pay it whether they manage to sell your place or not.

[Dr Gloom 21912]

31 minutes ago, The Fish said:

It's not just that, they're not-so-subtly marketing themselves as a less odious alternative to high street estate agents. Who're globally reviled.

 

...by everyone except contrary tree

[adios 717]

I can't believe people still bite at @Christmas Tree 's controversial takes.

 

If you're too busy to sell your own house, how the fuck have you time to play troll or retard with this lad?

Edited April 10, 2018 by adios
yes, I said retard

[Renton 21567]

14 minutes ago, adios said:

I can't believe people still bite at @Christmas Tree 's controversial takes.

 

If you're too busy to sell your own house, how the fuck have you time to play troll or retard with this lad?

 

Like CT, the answer to that is simples. Loafing at work. Still get the chance between projects. 

[Kid Dynamite 7025]

1 hour ago, Dr Gloom said:

 

We did a loft conversion, adding two bedrooms. Even without that it would have almost doubled in value. The London market went mental around 2011-2015

 

I didn’t realise it was in London sorry. 

[Christmas Tree 4725]

2 hours ago, The Fish said:

We viewed a house where the vendor was doing all that. He showed us round his house like we were an imposition, rather than a possible buyer. He should have been talking to us about the nice area and what not, the kind of thing that most estate agents only learn from crib sheets. Instead he sullenly walked us round the house (which hadn't been tidied), moaned about the parking and left us entirely unimpressed. Compare that to the woman who walked us around the house we've bought. She tried her best to talk up the features of the house, the location and etc. but there was still plenty that we had to ask other people about (how often the trains come, is it a conservation area, where the decent pubs/coffee shops etc. are). The house was tidy, the lights were on, as were the fires. She wanted to make a sale so she'd get commission from the vendor, but at least we didn't feel like we were rudely interrupting her day.

Hopefully if we move away from estate agents people will get used to the idea that it's in their interests to make their house seem as appealing as possible. 

 

@Christmas Tree  surely one problem with agents having your budget and details is that they will share that information with others? It will inflate the market as the agents will push for the buyers to get a house at the top of their budgets, rather than the house that is best for them?  First time buyers (who're actually attractive buyers) could be priced out of the market entirely. Also if everyone buys at the top of their budget, the house prices will be at the top of their range, unjustifiably so. Come on man, it's unlike you to take a wilfully contrary position...

 

Nah, simply registering your intent with an estate agent has been going on for years and doesn’t lead to the overall effect of the housing market. At the end of the day you choose to register knowing full well that the agents duty is to the vendor.

 

It also depends where you’re buying and what the market is like. If you want to beat the crowd and get a chance before a board goes up then registering is a must.

 

If I was after a house in a set area and was keen, then I would have no problem giving an agent by budget. All he can then do is give me first bite at the cherry having matched me up. From their it’s all down to negogiation.

 

*Seller assumes I have that budget anyway or I wouldn’t be viewing*

 

Market forces then determine the rest. If I know property’s like the one Im after are rare to the market and it’s the one I want, then I’m not going to mess around.

 

 

 

[Dr Gloom 21912]

been reading a bit about purple bricks. there have been claims that they only sell half their listed properties in their first ten months, rather than the 88% they claim. they're paid up front, so are perhaps less incentivised to push the sale through than traditional estate agents, who are chasing their commission. has anyone got experience using them? 

https://ftalphaville.ft.com/2018/02/02/2198304/jefferies-claims-just-half-of-purplebricks-customers-sell-their-homes-within-10-months/

[Renton 21567]

10 minutes ago, Christmas Tree said:

 

Nah, simply registering your intent with an estate agent has been going on for years and doesn’t lead to the overall effect of the housing market. At the end of the day you choose to register knowing full well that the agents duty is to the vendor.

 

It also depends where you’re buying and what the market is like. If you want to beat the crowd and get a chance before a board goes up then registering is a must.

 

If I was after a house in a set area and was keen, then I would have no problem giving an agent by budget. All he can then do is give me first bite at the cherry having matched me up. From their it’s all down to negogiation.

 

*Seller assumes I have that budget anyway or I wouldn’t be viewing*

 

Market forces then determine the rest. If I know property’s like the one Im after are rare to the market and it’s the one I want, then I’m not going to mess around.

 

 

 

 

Funnily enough I'm looking for a house in a competitive market now and can confirm this is pure bullshit. Everybody looking for property in Tynemouth will be registered with all the agents. It doesn't get you advanced viewings of properties, it gets you on their mail list. The board will still go up because it's in the vendors interest not to take the first offer ffs. 

 

Your budget should act as a filter for the mailing list, nothing more, and obviously should never be disclosed to the vendor, for fucking obvious reasons. And as for the EA to give a list of names and budgets. Once again, fucking hell. You are an idiot. 

[ewerk 30544]

10 minutes ago, Dr Gloom said:

been reading a bit about purple bricks. there have been claims that they only sell half their listed properties in their first ten months, rather than the 88% they claim. they're paid up front, so are perhaps less incentivised to push the sale through than traditional estate agents, who are chasing their commission. has anyone got experience using them? 

https://ftalphaville.ft.com/2018/02/02/2198304/jefferies-claims-just-half-of-purplebricks-customers-sell-their-homes-within-10-months/

Around 50% is about standard for estate agents. 

It depends how easy you think your house will be to sell. They've no incentive to sell shit holes but some houses can practically sell themselves, I'm guessing that in London your house would be the latter.

[Dr Gloom 21912]

easier to sell up here than elsewhere in the country, but even here the brexit vote has cooled the market. a lot of people are waiting to see if we end up with a doomsday scenario so things aren't moving as quickly as they were a couple of years ago.

[Renton 21567]

I assume they do photos and floorplans etc? Do they handle viewing appointments? If so I'd agree in London makes sense to use them. 

[ewerk 30544]

Yeah they do the listing with photos etc as standard then pay an extra few hundred for them to do the viewings.

[Christmas Tree 4725]

47 minutes ago, Renton said:

 

Funnily enough I'm looking for a house in a competitive market now and can confirm this is pure bullshit. Everybody looking for property in Tynemouth will be registered with all the agents. It doesn't get you advanced viewings of properties, it gets you on their mail list. The board will still go up because it's in the vendors interest not to take the first offer ffs. 

 

Your budget should act as a filter for the mailing list, nothing more, and obviously should never be disclosed to the vendor, for fucking obvious reasons. And as for the EA to give a list of names and budgets. Once again, fucking hell. You are an idiot. 

 

If you put your house up for sale for £300,000 and the estate agent sends me to view it, you are going to pretty well assume that I can pay the £300,000.

 

As for registered buyers, quite often you will get the call long before the board goes up. ( Though I guess your arsey way with people shines through and you hear nothing)

[Dr Gloom 21912]

what are the odds that CT is mates with loads of estate agents? 

[Alex 35059]

4 minutes ago, Dr Gloom said:

what are the odds that CT is mates with loads of estate agents? 

Not so much now but he was back in the 80s.