Estate Agents AIBU

We recently sold my father's house after he passed away. We initially had 3 estate agents out to value -one said roughly what I thought it should go for, one 15-20k lower, the third one obviously wasn't interested as she quoted even lower and straight to auction - needless to say she didn't get very far. We got another 3, two were around the top valuation and one a bit lower.

Chose one (actually the only one who kept ringing to see if we were ready), within 3 weeks wanted to reduce which was refused, after several more weeks one buyer offered/counter offered and then accepted but 10k lower than what we wanted -went through to solicitors, he tried to reduce again after we had accepted but we wouldn't so he dropped out of sale. A couple of weeks later another buyer made an offer lower than what we had accepted before Estate agent said you won't get more, which if it had been only concerning myself would have told him where to go but there was my brother and sister involved as well so went with the majority.

If/when I sell my house I will hold out more, but when you are selling with other beneficiaries it is more awkward.

I frequently observe 'needs updating' on a 'for sale'. What constitutes updating ?., My reason for asking being that this appeared for a property in my area that when viewing on line was in my opinion perfect with its four beds, two being on suite, family bathroom. fitted kitchen, utility, garage .gas, electricity, water. All that one would think was the last to need updating.?

I live in London and as I said earlier we're in the early stages of thinking about selling. Several houses in our road have sold recently with a few more going up for sale no doubt encouraged by the success of those who have sold. Our problem is partly our house is only one of two of this size, age and design so hard to gauge a price. Also there's not much around that I like the look of in our price range. I'm in no rush, don't like moving at the best of times. Mostly I think houses are overpriced and what really makes me think is why have so many extended, done loft conversions, garage conversions etc and then put it on the market? We'd be looking for an extra bedroom but everything with the right number of bedrooms usually has a least one if not 2 singles, we don't want singles. Not sure we want bedrooms in the loft either and definitely still want a garage. I can't help thinking mine is better suited to us than anything on offer so may well end up staying put.

Not at all impressed with the EA we dealt with when we sold a relative's house. We felt he was on the buyer's side rather than ours. The price he eventually suggested was lower than the one he had discussed informally with me. He showed people round as it was not possible for me to do this because of distance etc. The EA kept mentioning the buyer's deadline for moving in, probably to hurry us along to accept a lower price. In fact the deadline would have been impossible, the house was in no state to be lived in and the paper work would not have been completed. We were in no hurry to sell so held on to our asking price.

Fennel. I believe knowing who you let in to view your property works both ways. When I sold my last property I discovered, unfortunately much later, one would be prospective ?? buyer who came with the agent was non other than the sister of one of my neighbours. No intention of buying just feeding information to my nosy neighbour. The agent claimed he had no knowledge ???

London prices are generally outrageous compared with the rest of the country.

Anyone who ever watches "Homes under the Hammer" will be familiar with the Victoirian three bedroomed terraced house which can still be picked up for, say £30k, in South Wales or parts of the Midlands or North of England, yet in London, depending on the area, the price might range from £300k to £3 million.

Despite all the issues with dodgy estate agents, if you live in London prices are dropping a lot. I have had my house on the market for quite a long time and despite putting it on at a middling price have had to drop more thank £50k to get a reasonable offer. Every day on Rightmove I see price reductions.

When we moved last year we also had several agents suggest a price. They all mentioned the same amount, which we felt was too low, so asked for it to be marketed as "offers over". We actually got £10,000 more than their suggested price.

Purple Bricks are not the only "online" agents, and we used Hatched both to market the property and for the conveyancing. We saved a lot of money, and were just as pleased with their efforts as with those of an estate agent we used some moves ago. Ewemove seem to be good too, they show prospective buyers round the house on your behalf, so if you find that part difficult, you don't have to do it.

I would never use an estate agent again, no-one sells your house better than you can, you put so much effort into it whether you have an estate agent or not, so you might as well save a lot of money and cut them out. You just need good photographs online and off you go.

We are having a similar experience. 1 viewing in 4 weeks with an offer we couldn’t take seriously so told the agent we have advertised at the price you advised. So not accepting an offer at 50k below asking price which is in line with other similar local properties.
If your move is not urgent suggest sitting tight-as others have said it’s holiday time plus there has been the World Cup,Wimbledon etc. Good luck !

We used Emoove and they were far, far cheaper than a traditional agent. Because our home didn’t sell quickly ( not a complete suprise in the village we were leaving), we engaged two more traditional agents, keeping Emoove as well. Well all I can say is thank goodness it was the online agent who sold for us and so we didn’t accrue any costs. From what we could see there was no difference in the service except the price. I think estate agents get their bad reputation for exactly the reason you describe. They simply want your business.. Take courage, you know what you want for your property, ditch your agent and try one of the online agencies. Good luck, like you I’d forgotten how stressful it all is.

Nonnie..where is the market buoyant? London has been slow for a while now.

The op could have 9 weeks to run on her contract with her current agent.

Definitely a standard tactic to get your business. Change your agent. Ask others when they last sold a house like yours in the area you live and what it sold for. Try FB for recommendations from friends. Goid luck with whatever method you go for.

I have a lot of experience with estate agents. They often overprice to get the instruction. In some areas, properties are in short supply and they need the business. The way to get a comparative price is to look at Rightmove, look at sold prices in your streets close by and then go and look at the actual houses. At the moment the market is very slow. This has been for some months now and is possibly a result of Brexit uncertainty.Older sellers often have well kept but dated homes but buyers will be younger and want more up to date decor. At the moment, in the London area a house with a lounge at the front and large kitchen diner at the back with doors opening on to the garden is very popular. You are probably tied in to a contract for some time with your current agent. I have no experience of purple bricks for selling but found them difficult as a buyer.

Apologies if already mentioned but did you get the advisable three valuations?

Mouseprice might be worth a look to check out comparables. If they are advising so much less now how 'expert' was their original valuation??

I went to a couple of Open Houses accompanying a friend who was looking to move. One I remember well.

The owners had absented themselves leaving the agent in charge. There were quite a few people there. It was a lovely Edwardian home and should prima facie have been snapped up.

Except the agent was hopeless. Unable to answer any of our quite reasonable questions about working fireplaces, parking and the very noticeable crack in an outside wall. Now it could have been something superfical. On the other hand it could have been something major. These are questions he should have prepped for.

From this experience, I cannot imagine using an Open House day as anything other than a quick look to rule in or out a second viewing.

Another one saying question your EA closely. Get them to EMAIL you their reasons for their original estimate and then such a huge price reduction - so you have it in print. You can argue it from then on, especially if you want to withdraw and transfer to another agent. It might also be worth talking to another agent and ask them why this might be happening. The other thing is to make sure they know you are not rushing to sell.

I have to say one of our family had a bad experience with a "reputable" agency in London - turned out the man at the head of the branch hadn't sent out the details (pre RightMove days) and wanted it for a relative.

Re Purple Bricks - as others have said, it works well if you have a standard house in a large house or city. However the photos I've seen uploaded on a few are enough to put anyone off - if they could see anything clearly. I would not choose to deal with any EA who tied the sale into a solicitor - many of them are bank solicitors who live miles away and don't know the area and don't seem to check county/city plans for developments, roads etc.

I wouldn't have an open day.
Buyers like to imagine the house as theirs.
They like can little walk around on their own immediately after they've been shown the house.
It's hard to view a house as your home when there are other viewers
and their screaming children in the house.

I would add a caution to using Land Registry prices as a yardstick. Yes, it gives the sold price but you won't know the specific circumstances of the sale.

There are any number of reasons why houses sell for less than they might otherwise do. Part exchange, executor sale, repossession, structural problems or simply someone falling for unscrupulous EA tricks.

Don't be too quick to think you are overpricing based on land registry prices alone.

This is going to be a long post!

I would not use Purple Bricks unless the house you are selling it likely to be at the bottom of the chain. I have very recent experience. We were planning to buy a house from someone selling through PB. They are keen to get you to use all their add on services, which are not their own but from whom they get commission for simply signing you up. They don't do the work themselves.

Once your seller has accepted your offer they do nothing else. They put you in touch with the seller and say it is better if you speak to each other. If you want to talk to PB you will hang on the phone for ages and no one will answer and they don't respond to emails for days or even weeks.

We couldn't get a response to emails we sent our seller and eventually decided to buy a different house. They were very upset about it but it could have been avoided if we had been able to contact PB.

Good estate agents do far more than just advertise your house and send round potential buyers. We used a group EA last year and it was a waste of time so we took the house off the market as there was too much going on in our lives at the time. This time we got in 3 agents and chose the one with just one office which was owned by two women. They have been brilliant and one of their staff even helped us negotiate the purchase of our new home. She has fielded stupid queries from our buyer and told them some home truths when they were being difficult. She has chased everyone including our buyer's estate agent to get things moving. Imo well worth the commission.

I see no point in having multiple agencies, they charge a higher commission than sole agencies and, let's face it, they all put them on Rightmove just the same and that is where potential buyers will look. In fact when I see a house on RM with more than one agent I think they are desperate to sell and would go in with a very low offer.

I would like to know how 3 agents all come up with the same price for a house that is individual so cannot be compared to others. Is there an RICS website they key all the info into and it comes up with a figure?

You need to do your research in your own area. Where we are selling is very different to where we are buying. Here the agents have to work for their commission, where we are going they just have to open the door and let you look for yourself as the market is very buoyant.

Think very carefully before deciding to have an open day. Your potential buyers will be watching Rightmove and will see and notice after the open day if the house is still on the market. They will then conclude that it is over priced.

Make sure you read and approve the blurb which is going on the internet and keep an eye on it. I have seen nothing that makes me think that agents are selected because of their writing! It looks terrible if it still says 'open day' weeks after it has happened, it looks awful if it still says 'draft details' ages after it has gone on the market. Also ensure they have a floorplan as soon as they market it, it is very annoying to have to ask for one.

Finally, be realistic about your home and its value. Ask an honest friend to tell you what they think you should do to make it more saleable. In my experience houses which are up to date and well presented sell quickly as do houses which need everything doing to them. It is those in the middle which are harder to sell.

goon zoopla to get as estimate of house values in your area
then get a price from emoov that will help determine vaule and prices in your location one property has sold with one week cost to householder £1400 inc vat others on the markets for months with local agents ?
the only pint that has has been mention is the s
olicitor i slow

When we sold our house 7 years ago we chose the highest of three valuations. Several viewings within first 2 weeks followed by two 2nd viewings. Offer to buy but we did negotiate on the price (we believed it was overpriced), . We agreed sale at £35,000 below asking price but this was £5,000 more than lower valuation. I always got the EA to do the viewings, I believe Purple Bricks charge extra for this. We had put house on the market, agreed a sale & moved out in under 2 months.

I wouldn't take any messing about by EA, tell him you're removing your property from his books if he doesn't follow your instructions & research other local EAs

The Mouseprice website gives actual prices paid for houses. It lags a little as Land Registry prices only come out after six months, I believe, but it is accurate.

Once you are armed with actual prices you can act in a more informed manner concerning your own property.

There are also many websites offereing house selling tips. Phil Spencer has a list of 'The Seven Do's'. Eradicating the presence of pets for viewing and pet smells seems to be the number one but sprucing up the front of the house to give it kerb appeal is also a recommendation.

Tidying, decluttering and removing personal items; making the hall welcoming and making rooms neutral are also advised.

Don’t reduce it anymore - they valued it in and around that price when they first did the valuation. I would wait until the end of your contact with them and go with another agents who again all valued it similar to each other.