Estate agent taking the Michael.. Any agents able to advise?

[kurt535]

So, saw a flat I had my eye on as a BTL.

Rang sole agent 10 days ago to be told there would be one block viewing this Saturday for everyone - so dutifully put my name down for a slot time.

Got a call this evening to be told the seller had just the 'one-extra' viewing and had accepted the offer made by the buyer so bets off this Saturday. Clearly the agent had arranged the 'one' viewing......

WTF.

In my previous industry, this would have been called 'front-running' landing you with a £10k minimum fine. But is seems EA's can do what they like - or can they? Anyone in the know on here able to advise?

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[V8RX7]

Make an offer in writing.

He'll have to pass it on.

[kurt535]

V8RX7 said:

Make an offer in writing.

He'll have to pass it on.

I would have, if I has seen inside it - that's the problem.

[EireEng]

Surely you're not head over heels for this place if you haven't even viewed it?

Submit an offer if you really want to, but I'd be inclined to write it off and wait a week for something else you like to come on to the market.

Edit: Just re-read it's a BTL. Do you know if it's currently let or if there are owner occupiers? Could pop around yourself for a look. Put in an offer at whatever makes the numbers work for you. Still stand by the above comment; something else will come up

Edited by EireEng on Thursday 2nd March 22:34

[Chrisgr31]

kurt535 said:

V8RX7 said:

Make an offer in writing.

He'll have to pass it on.

I would have, if I has seen inside it - that's the problem.

You can always withdraw the offer so irritating the agent!

[kurt535]

EireEng said:

Surely you're not head over heels for this place if you haven't even viewed it?

Submit an offer if you really want to, but I'd be inclined to write it off and wait a week for something else you like to come on to the market.

Edit: Just re-read it's a BTL. Do you know if it's currently let or if there are owner occupiers? Could pop around yourself for a look. Put in an offer at whatever makes the numbers work for you. Still stand by the above comment; something else will come up

Edited by EireEng on Thursday 2nd March 22:34

Its more the way theEA has behaved; dutifully accept and get given a viewing time then, day before get call that its sold to another person without as much as a sniff.

Clearly they have their A and B list of people but nonetheless it annoyed me!

[Moominho]

This isn't a surprise to be honest. Some more unethical EA's will give people they know priority in return for a drink. Much more common than you'd think unfortunately.

[Countdown]

kurt535 said:

Clearly they have their A and B list of people but nonetheless it annoyed me!

This is very true. A family acquaintance is on good terms with all the local EAs. About 25-30 years ago (when he started up in BTL) he would get first notification if a repo house came on the market. He was able to make quick cash offers even before the property was advertised. That's just the way it goes.

[kurt535]

Yes, clearly the bung is still alive and well.

I just rang the offending branch in norwich and the woman was like a puppy dog on wet lino when i challenged her. she must have rolled out every wk corporate catch phrase you can think of.

her excuse for why the situation happened was pathetic.

have just emailed the head office to get a complaints procedure in place.

hate scum ball lying estate agents. total douche bags.

[jesta1865]

kurt535 said:

EireEng said:

Surely you're not head over heels for this place if you haven't even viewed it?

Submit an offer if you really want to, but I'd be inclined to write it off and wait a week for something else you like to come on to the market.

Edit: Just re-read it's a BTL. Do you know if it's currently let or if there are owner occupiers? Could pop around yourself for a look. Put in an offer at whatever makes the numbers work for you. Still stand by the above comment; something else will come up

Edited by EireEng on Thursday 2nd March 22:34

Its more the way theEA has behaved; dutifully accept and get given a viewing time then, day before get call that its sold to another person without as much as a sniff.

Clearly they have their A and B list of people but nonetheless it annoyed me!

it's irritating i agree, we're trying to downsize, and have looked at perhaps 30 places over the last 6 weeks each weekend, but on a number of occasions, we get a call cancelling a viewing as it's now sold. had one just this morning.

i'm also finding it odd how inflexible the EA's are for viewings. They know so many people in the area work in London, but don't seem to want to do an evening viewing after 5:30, no chance of us making that.

[DeltaTango]

jesta1865 said:

it's irritating i agree, we're trying to downsize, and have looked at perhaps 30 places over the last 6 weeks each weekend, but on a number of occasions, we get a call cancelling a viewing as it's now sold. had one just this morning.

i'm also finding it odd how inflexible the EA's are for viewings. They know so many people in the area work in London, but don't seem to want to do an evening viewing after 5:30, no chance of us making that.

Friendly estate agent here. The EA in question has not acted perfectly here. However, the question of 'bungs' is a little extreme. One must always remember that the EA works for the client, not the buyer. If a buyer makes an offer before you have seen the property and the vendor is happy to accept it, it is irrelevant whether or not you already have a viewing booked. Yes the agent was clumsy here, but not fraudulent in any way you can prove. A vendor won't sell for a price they aren't happy with. You missed out, it is upsetting, but access into properties can be diffcult. You may have one slot per week. The person who bought it probably got in on the previous slot. It happens and were you that fortunate individual you would be smiling about it and glad of the difficult access.

With regards to evening viewings; the majority of the viewing requests (I work in West London) are for 6:30/7pm. I rarely accept this without asking if people can do sooner, as I do like to get home before the evening is over, as does everyone else. People almost always can come much sooner. I would suggest that, if you see a property online which you think may be right for you, make a bit more effort to get there earlier. Most successful buyers are those who are proactive, friendly, flexible. Those who complain about an EA's lack of flexibility should look in the mirror, increase their niceness levels and they will find that many of us are also very nice, flexible etc when the favour is returned.

I would be incredibly surprised if your complaint is upheld by the ombudsman, it sounds like a fairly normal situation, just one which the EA could have handled better. Keep moving forwards and a better flat will show up.

[Rude-boy]

kurt535 said:

I just rang the offending branch in norwich

PM me the name of the agent please - would be interested to know as am aware of some practices up there that are not 100% in the best interests of sellers and clients in general. If it is the agent i am thinking it may be it might be interesting to add something to the letter to their head office that is being prepared by a number of local Solicitors.

[DeltaTango]

Rude-boy said:

PM me the name of the agent please - would be interested to know as am aware of some practices up there that are not 100% in the best interests of sellers and clients in general. If it is the agent i am thinking it may be it might be interesting to add something to the letter to their head office that is being prepared by a number of local Solicitors.

If they are known to be shady, as above, then I would of course alter my viewpoint.

[LFB531]

jesta1865 said:

i'm also finding it odd how inflexible the EA's are for viewings. They know so many people in the area work in London, but don't seem to want to do an evening viewing after 5:30, no chance of us making that.

As one of those 'scumbag' agents may I comment on this one? In 30 odd years of doing this for a living, the best buyers are always the ones who get out during the working week having made an effort to free some time up from work. It's not a few grands worth of car they're buying, these are very big numbers! The 'weekenders' (and I'm sure you're the exception) who can only view after they've had a spot of lunch or fit in with little Jemimas bagpipe practice are generally a waste of not only ours but the sellers time.

Any good agent should be able to spot a properly serious buyer who really can only do an evening or weekend and help accordingly.

Classic example for us today was the 'I can't get down from London until mid-day on Saturday'. My response of 'why don't you get up earlier?' was met with an element of silence!

[DeltaTango]

LFB531 said:

As one of those 'scumbag' agents may I comment on this one? In 30 odd years of doing this for a living, the best buyers are always the ones who get out during the working week having made an effort to free some time up from work. It's not a few grands worth of car they're buying, these are very big numbers! The 'weekenders' (and I'm sure you're the exception) who can only view after they've had a spot of lunch or fit in with little Jemimas bagpipe practice are generally a waste of not only ours but the sellers time.

Any good agent should be able to spot a properly serious buyer who really can only do an evening or weekend and help accordingly.

Classic example for us today was the 'I can't get down from London until mid-day on Saturday'. My response of 'why don't you get up earlier?' was met with an element of silence!

Well said chap. Where do you ply your trade if I may ask?

[Busa mav]

DeltaTango said:

Friendly estate agent here. The EA in question has not acted perfectly here. However, the question of 'bungs' is a little extreme. .

I don't think it is extreme, it seems to be more the norm for some!

[LFB531]

DeltaTango said:

Well said chap. Where do you ply your trade if I may ask?

Bath (Paddington 80 minutes!)

[DeltaTango]

Busa mav said:

I don't think it is extreme, it seems to be more the norm for some!

Must depend on area then. What areas have you found this to be an issue? I have not heard of a single case where I work (Notting Hill) in my 10 years experience. Presumably it is towards the less expensive end of the market, where agent's fees are really rather small.

[Harry Flashman]

LFB531 said:

jesta1865 said:

i'm also finding it odd how inflexible the EA's are for viewings. They know so many people in the area work in London, but don't seem to want to do an evening viewing after 5:30, no chance of us making that.

As one of those 'scumbag' agents may I comment on this one? In 30 odd years of doing this for a living, the best buyers are always the ones who get out during the working week having made an effort to free some time up from work. It's not a few grands worth of car they're buying, these are very big numbers! The 'weekenders' (and I'm sure you're the exception) who can only view after they've had a spot of lunch or fit in with little Jemimas bagpipe practice are generally a waste of not only ours but the sellers time.

Any good agent should be able to spot a properly serious buyer who really can only do an evening or weekend and help accordingly.

Classic example for us today was the 'I can't get down from London until mid-day on Saturday'. My response of 'why don't you get up earlier?' was met with an element of silence!

Some people work for a living and can't simply take off to go house hunting. We pack as much as we can into weekends.

My next door neighbour, and great friend, who works for a large estate agent in London calls Saturday his sales day, when people with high paying but busy jobs come to look at houses and flats.

And frankly, if someone cheeked me the way you just claim to have cheeked a potential client, you would not be running a £1m+ purchase for me.

I saw this kind of attitude from agents when we bought our last house in London. Who did we buy from? the one who was charming, kind and behaved like he wanted the best for both his client and us (who happened to be at Foxtons, who I had sworn never to use - good people exist even at bad companies, it seems)

Not someone who told me to "get up earlier" on a Saturday morning, frankly.

Edited by Harry Flashman on Friday 3rd March 12:30

[egomeister]

LFB531 said:

As one of those 'scumbag' agents may I comment on this one? In 30 odd years of doing this for a living, the best buyers are always the ones who get out during the working week having made an effort to free some time up from work. It's not a few grands worth of car they're buying, these are very big numbers! The 'weekenders' (and I'm sure you're the exception) who can only view after they've had a spot of lunch or fit in with little Jemimas bagpipe practice are generally a waste of not only ours but the sellers time.

Any good agent should be able to spot a properly serious buyer who really can only do an evening or weekend and help accordingly.

Classic example for us today was the 'I can't get down from London until mid-day on Saturday'. My response of 'why don't you get up earlier?' was met with an element of silence!

To be fair to the OP though, it was the agent who proposed the Saturday viewing...