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Estate Agents: Housing market

Just had the hopeless experience of trying to sell my house. I had it valued a year ago and made a £40,000 pound reduction as I thought the price at the time unrealistic to achieve and having had a fellow neighbour trying for two years to sell who has not had an offer within £30,000 of the price £330,000
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  • my sister had her house valued by two separate estate agents in the last week one said £675k and one £795k how can they be so different , ridiculous con artists the lot of them
  • Might I add that I had 1 viewer in 12 weeks, little adverting the website took 2 weeks to load the correct details, and received only 2 agents who mailed me details. The websites were out of date,and full of property that had been on for months, if not years. I spoke to 4 local agents and accepted the lowest valuation. Apparently everyone is making offers!. Despite the hype the market still seems flat, and mortgages at a decent rate for first time buyers seem high. I appreciate that not all agents are the same but most in Bexley Village seem to rely on letting. Took the house off as I value it more than other people, and do not want to leave it on the shelf. As the housing market is such a key to the economy, is this normal, or am I unlucky, and used a series of depressed, uninterested agents who lack motivation and dream of the good times. Having worked on several housing magazines in the past being a designer I thought I had a decent view of this subject. Obviously, I am wrong, deluded, and live in a shit hole and an overpriced one at that, despite the comments from Agents claiming that my house would sell within 'days' to waiting buyers. What a waste of time!
  • They cry when they have no business, but it doesn't change their attitudes. They still lie through their teeth and talk total bullsh[t.

    Believe them at your own peril.
  • Westwoods in Blackfen aren't too bad.
    Friend of a friend owns it, anyone looking to use them give me a whisper and I'll give him a kick up the backside for you.
  • Have to agree guy's I know agents are an easy target, but there is something seriously wrong with the whole concept. HIPS seem a complete waste of time and money, has not speeded up the process, in fact the opposite, and the view of the agent's seem's to be...
    'Oh well the market will recover eventually'. The fact is that interest rates will rise, and this will cause the banks to evict people as they fall behind with payments. Apparently Northern Rock are the worst offenders and the Goverment's waffle about schemes is a pr campaign based on 'hype and spin'. Not sure anyone has the answer, but a depressing state of affairs for anyone in arrears, or who needs to move, which cannot be a good thing for the economy or country. I do not have the answers, but I am not too sure anyone else does as well. Thank god I do not have to move.
  • Estate agents are on my hate list of people full of bullshit as well as recruitment agents who are more often than not full of bullshit too.
  • I sold my flat in January (for a healthy profit. Yes, I was lucky), but it wasn't until June that the sale went through. A ridiculous 6 months with no chain on either side. Subsequent searches and info from Zoopla rated the price of my property at £14k less in April and £17k less when I actually completed in June.

    The market is nuts still, and anyone that tells you otherwise is deluded. My flat had 2 viewings and I sold to the first of them. They were in the space of 3 months (Nov, Dec & Jan).

    Estate agents are the biggest bell-ends going and I'm glad their bubble has burst in a big way. Not that I wish anyone out of work in these hard times but realism is must these days. Overinflated house prices and unrealistic offers suggested by estate agents is never going to break the cycle.
  • [cite]Posted By: ken from bexley[/cite]HIPS seem a complete waste of time and money

    Agreed. I spent £250+ on a HIPS that was done online. No-one ever came to my property, yet they're able to come up with a 90 page document of drivel that the Estate Agent then never went and asked for!!!

    Biggest stealth tax the crooked Labour government has EVER come up with.

    I'm getting angry now... GRRRRRRRRR!!!!
  • Spookily like P Air. I sold my house in January, but didn't move 'til June. Also had no chain either side. Eight people viewed on the first weekend, so guess I just got lucky. It only needs one person to make an acceptable bid. Obviously different markets in different areas. It is helpful having property on Rightmove. This makes it easier for people outside the area to view on-line. HIP is a waste of time. So is stamp duty. Don't even like stamps. Estate Agents just another necessary evil.
  • Mann & Co were awful in my experience. No contact with them unless we chased. Loads of false promise re: advertising. 3 viewings in 4 months and then tried to "bully" us into a) taking an insulting offer b) signing up to the sale day - which meant dropping the price substantially to drum up interest and then "hoping" that a dutch auction broke out.

    Harris Ingram have been pretty good & looks like we may have finally sold......
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  • Spikey hair,cheap suits and pointed shoes, oh and drive around in mini coopers.
  • [cite]Posted By: Badger[/cite]Spikey hair,cheap suits and pointed shoes, oh and drive around in mini coopers.

    You forgot insulting manners and bad breath.
  • [quote][cite]Posted By: P_Air[/cite][quote][cite]Posted By: Badger[/cite]Spikey hair,cheap suits and pointed shoes, oh and drive around in mini coopers.[/quote]

    You forgot insulting manners and bad breath.[/quote]

    Alcoholics as well. Original bloke that did our first valuation turned up (I Believe) pissed.
  • My house by the way is still in the front window 10 days after I gave final notice. ( you have to give 14 days prior to that as well even after the specified contract term).

    Obviously my 'overvalued', house despite the fact of being at the bottom of there valuation seems to be adourning there windows for 'promotional purposes', so viewers beware.

    i did not expect to resonably find a buyer, but thought at least I would get some viewers. Now I now the reason why!
  • Heard a good joke in the boozer this week:

    "What have Estate Agents, Lawyers and Recruitment Consultants got in common?"















    "They're all c**ts"
  • Hips has gone now!
  • [cite]Posted By: Stig[/cite]Hips has gone now!

    You been on a diet then?
  • I work now for a high end Estate Agents (not as an agent) we had a tough few years, but now we are sellling well, our stuff is top of the range so the crap value of the pound attracts foriegn money, but frmo what i can make out banks still are not lending that much, until that happens it will be hard to sell property in the normal market
  • Can confirm that PeteF...... took it off the market, put in new central heating and more improvements.reduced by a further £10,000. Put back on Easter! Viewers, but no buyers!. The market did seem to pick up, but gone flatish.

    We hear from the RICS thast house prices have gone up 10 percent over the past year!..... they may well have done, but not around here!. Currently valued £65,000 less than valued 2 years ago!.

    The HIPS has been a complete disaster!. Cooper at her finest hour! eh..... What you learnt was really nothing!, and I am not sure it would have found any serious defects!. The energy performance certificate is flawed as well! If the boiler is over 5 years old it probably is not that efficient! ....... This was the let's do something, to curb the housing market of 5 years ago when prices were becoming ridiculous!. They are still that and HIPS has acheived nothing except depress the market.

    There are decent properties in Bexley Village been on the market for well over two years!... and been reduced in price!
  • HIPS gone from May 21 but still need Energy Performance Certificate because our Masters in the EU say so....
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  • edited May 2010
    [cite]Posted By: ken from bexley[/cite]There are decent properties in Bexley Village been on the market for well over two years!... and been reduced in price!

    The new houses by the old wick seem to have gone fast, wouldn't have helped selling a house in the area.
  • [cite]Posted By: StrikerFirmani[/cite]They cry when they have no business, but it doesn't change their attitudes. They still lie through their teeth and talk total bullsh[t.

    Believe them at your own peril.

    what utter shit.
  • Red Robin an estate agent then?
  • [quote][cite]Posted By: ken from bexley[/cite]There are decent properties in Bexley Village been on the market for well over two years!... and been reduced in price![/quote]

    The new houses by the old wick seem to have gone fast, wouldn't have helped selling a house in the area.

    Yes have to agree, and they were very keenly priced to the annoyance of Bexley park residents! especially. Thought the setting was very well designed a welcome a clever use of a former old peoples home!.... Mine is 30 per cent bigger in floor area, with a 90 foot garden in the conservation area, but have to agree given a choice I would have been sorely tempted! However, The reason why the went fast is...... half of them were for 'social housing'. although the sign was up for less than 3 days!.... They are also hoping to building up 77 apartments on the site of the Mill garage so I may be stuck for a while yet!. Made me laugh they put up the flag poles ' Bellway homes' announcing the sale, before they got planning permission....... Whoops! Not the best way to get the planning commitee on your side!. Also the site is designated retail/business so may get rejected!.

    We really thought that by reducing the value by a decent amount, but I guess having worked on various housing magazines over the years means nothing compared to the 'dark arts of estate agents'. I know it is not an exact science but it really is not a mystic art.

    Think the trouble around here is that some of them have had an easy ride for years!......and have been relying on the rental side to susidise the agency!
  • [cite]Posted By: Curb_It[/cite]Red Robin an estate agent then?

    No I'm not but some of the stuff on this thread is complete nonsense.
  • agents often want a quick sale and in a slow market which we are in, they will often undervalue accordingly I think

    where my flat is East Greenwuch has zero comparable sales in last couple of years so they compare with Blackheath which doesn't have the penninsula and the tube etc

    combine that with the above and a valuation I had recently was a lot lower than I expected, however I think I need to try different agents because the experience a friend had was entirely different elsewhere.

    Outer London, i.e. outside zone 2, traditionally has less rapid growth, I also understand that houses retain value better than flats.
  • Bought my brand new apartment two years ago, now on the market
    for less than i paid for it,was always told "Bricks and Mortar" you can't go wrong, not in this day and age i'm afraid.
    Too many people renting i think, making it a very slow market, just does not seem many buyers out there at the moment.
    Anyone want to buy an apartment in Ashford ?
  • Can't bloody STAND them. I'd never dealt with them before I came to uni and got my own place, but now within only 2 years of doing that sort of thing, I completely understand why they have that reputation. Lie. Through. Their. Teeth. Scum.

    I remember that documenary on Foxtons (?) showed them up for what they really are. Don't mind f-ing over someones life for a few good years just to make some extra commission.
  • All c***s, the lot of them. Anyone who wants to stand up for them I'm all ears. You give me one example of them not lining their own pockets at other peoples' expense, and I'll give you 500 where they have done.
  • edited May 2010
    Just had to fire one of my agents..... House not in either of his branches window, and does not have his own website. When I also mentioned that it had not been in the local press as well!.Which I had discussed three weeks ago, the branch manager seemed lost for words!..... Which as a motor mouth, bullshit type, surprised me! Why make a big pitch slagging off other agents then proceed to appear to do nothing! When I questioned why the house was not in the window I was told we
    cannot put all our houses in!..... So why have 3 that are sold then I replied..... And if you do not send out houses in the post anymore, and rely on the net, why do you not have your own website!, and rely on a third party hosting, and quite what was the point in drafting up the details in the first place!.....

    In the worrds of Lord Sugar.... You are fired!...... show them out please.!
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