Estate Agents: Lazy, illiterate and ignorant... discuss

Ratzo Rizzo

I'm a cash buyer looking to buy a house, preferably a detached house somewhere in the country but not too far from Dublin. I've searched the well known property web sites for suitable properties and on a number of instances contacted the estate agent to request a viewing. On far too many occasions I've been routinely ignored, had no response to emails I've sent, calls to the office unanswered and generally encountered a very unhelpful, unprofessional approach by the agent 'working' on behalf of the seller.
Why, in 2011, in a bankrupt country, do these individuals behave in such a discorteous manner? Maybe their client needs the money for their property but it would appear that in the main the estate agent just doesn't give a damn.

missmyler

I am having the same issue. I am a cash buyer looking to purchase a small property outright. I have recently contacted 5 estate agents by phone and email ( which co-incidently all happen to be branches of SHERRY FITZGERALD) and only received an answer back from one of them

Eventually I got annoyed, sent emails to the branches telling them I would be getting in contact with their managers or posting my annoyances on daft (which I had no intention of doing) and surprise surprise every one of them got back to me within a day apologising and telling me their email was down, they were out of the office blah blah.......Useless I tell you

PCPhoto

if I may be able to offer a reason .... its more than likely that these people are products of the working Celtic Tiger Property Boom....which means they never had to make a sale in the past, its always been busy bring a client to a viewing ask them how much then throw on an extra 10-15% for themselves and give the offer to the owner.

these days they dont know how to make the sale - they dont know how to treat a client, they have no budget to spoil them (champagne on arrival - which I've seen happen), also they have gotten calls from people looking to view and people are just looking which means the EA is tired/fed up of not making a sale...and has gotten disgruntled/lazy.

missmyler

I understand about some people just wanting to view the properties for the sake of it but this is not the case with me and I have always explained this when speaking to the Estate Agent. I make a point of driving to each house and the surrounding areas before contact to make sure I am happy with the area. Some of these drives are not necessarily down the road either.

Either way, its their job to show people around houses regardless

Ratzo Rizzo

I'll give you a recent example of the kind of contempt these uncivilised idiots hold for prospective buyers. I recently found a property in County Wicklow that interested me. I emailed the estate agent from the link in the ad... no response. A couple of days later I texted the agent to arrange a viewing. When they replied enquiring what day suited me I told them a date and was then ignored. No confirmation of viewing, nothing. I then phoned the office and was told that they were on the phone and that they would return my call, they didn't. That was on Monday morning, as I type this it's Wednesday lunchtime.
How the hell are these people expected to have the remotest chance of selling when they don't even have the decency to show any interest in a prospective buyer??

catbear

If you like a particular house try leaving a note for the owner offering to save them money by cutting out the middle man.

Snickers Man

Don't know if you guys are old enough to remember Spitting Image. If not, you may not have seen this delightful ditty.

Enjoy!

Aprilmay

Ratzo Rizzo wrote: »

I'm a cash buyer looking to buy a house, preferably a detached house somewhere in the country but not too far from Dublin. I've searched the well known property web sites for suitable properties and on a number of instances contacted the estate agent to request a viewing. On far too many occasions I've been routinely ignored, had no response to emails I've sent, calls to the office unanswered and generally encountered a very unhelpful, unprofessional approach by the agent 'working' on behalf of the seller.
Why, in 2011, in a bankrupt country, do these individuals behave in such a discorteous manner? Maybe their client needs the money for their property but it would appear that in the main the estate agent just doesn't give a damn.

We are in the opposite position to you we are selling our home and I get the feeling our estate agent can't be bothered- He told us we should get a video made and professional photos which we did - and I check the site and these photo's and video disappear. When I told him about it he discovered 12 other clients were missing their videos too.It makes my blood boil because we paid upfront for those photos and I should not have to check everything is ok with the site. BTW my house is a large Detached property just outside Dublin.(Its in county Wicklow PM me if your interested and I will send you the link).

Aprilmay

Ratzo Rizzo wrote: »

I'll give you a recent example of the kind of contempt these uncivilised idiots hold for prospective buyers. I recently found a property in County Wicklow that interested me. I emailed the estate agent from the link in the ad... no response. A couple of days later I texted the agent to arrange a viewing. When they replied enquiring what day suited me I told them a date and was then ignored. No confirmation of viewing, nothing. I then phoned the office and was told that they were on the phone and that they would return my call, they didn't. That was on Monday morning, as I type this it's Wednesday lunchtime.
How the hell are these people expected to have the remotest chance of selling when they don't even have the decency to show any interest in a prospective buyer??

I'd love to know which office this was? If I found out this was the office I was selling my home with that agent would get the bullet pretty quick.

JoeyJJ

I am viewed a few properties the last few weeks and have had mostly pleasant expierences, one office in particular always ring me the next day looking for my thoughts on the property and maybe give me more insight into the sellers position, others however show you the property and nothing, you have to make contact. I think there was only one place that didn't ring me back and I had to ring again.

Regarding the actual viewing some EA's are very helpfull, they give you freedom during the viewing and point out certain facts. Others wait in the sitting room until you finish and don't offer too much.

Some EA's really don't like when you point out you don't agree with the price, viewed a place last night and I loved the current offer on the place was €2XX,300. I like when people put in offers like that, things don't have to go in 1,000's I told the EA.

mikemac

These are good agents out there, more likely the old skool guys and not the recent branches of the big chains which were opened around the country.

If there is a local agent in your area for 30 years, well they're doing something right.

The useless ones you can compare to the treatment you get in many car dealerships. The staff are not used to working for their money, in the past they had to do very little to get the sale and commission.
Hopefully the best survive

Went to a house viewing and rushed to get a taxi and had to beg the boss to let me leave work early.
Got there, agent made me wait 40 minutes and when he arrived he didn't have the keys! Got some excuse of having to drive right across the city.

I was fine about it, arranged to meet up tomorrow and then I never showed up . Very childish on my part but the agent learned a lesson.

Mr. Loverman

I've also made a few inquiries about properties and only one estate agent bothered to reply.

They have to be the most incompetent fools in the world. They make recruitment agencies look good...! That's some achievement.

mariaalice

I sold my house recently and I have to say I though my estate agent was very good.

Ratzo Rizzo

mariaalice wrote: »

I sold my house recently and I have to say I though my estate agent was very good.

Glad to hear you had a good experience with your estate agent! I had a guy from Sherry Fitz phone me at home on a Friday night at 1030pm responding to an email I had sent a few days earlier about a property in Meath. How very respectful of him to reply...

Jo King

You have to go out and meet the agents. Call into houses they are showing or call into their offices when they are relatively quiet and talk to them. Estate agents would never get anything done if there were to chase up every random phone call or e-mail. If the meet you and realise you're a serious buyer they will take your calls and e-mails much more seriously.there are so many messers and time wasters around genuine enquirers get lost in the chase.

theofficepest3

I rang DNG about a property the guy on the phone didn't even listen to me, clearly couldn't care gave no input.

Rang Sherry Fitz about a property, the guy on the phone was refreshing, looked for contact details so he could send out lists of property, suggested other houses they had that I may be interested in for viewing at the same time, let me know times he was free as he was busy at the time I asked, was polite and professional. Thats the Drumcondra office.

Thats life, who do you think I am going to actually go back to?

One was good, one was bad. If someones service is crap, go with someone else, the consumer is king. Vote with your feet.

Also, always take a private viewing, avoid open viewings, if they won't do this, walk away.

If you are looking for an estate agent, ring up looking about another property first to see what they are like.

gigino

If selling a property, email them first about another property and rate their reply. I contacted an ERA esta agent by email twice, the first time they did not reply and on the second occassion it took a few days for a watery reply. Sometimes I wonder why they are not more homes " For Sale by Owner" direct.

Mr. Loverman

gigino wrote: »

Sometimes I wonder why they are not more homes " For Sale by Owner" direct.

Because the average person rarely uses their brain.

With the internet it is now cheap and easy to sell a property yourself. I cannot understand why people are willing to give a few % of their selling price to an estate agent for doing little other than placing the advert online and showing people around the house. Makes no sense to me.

Graces7

Mixed experience.. the first time it was a German agent when we were buying ad he was excellent. A different matter when we tried to sell via him.

If you have issues and they are in their professional organisation ( IAPVI?), complain to them. Worked great for us

the_syco

Aprilmay wrote: »

It makes my blood boil because we paid upfront for those photos and I should not have to check everything is ok with the site.

Get a mate to check the house out through the EA, to see how useless the EA is.

Ratzo Rizzo

I saw a property in Wexford listed on daft.ie a few months back where the estate agent that had been, as they like to say themselves, 'favoured with instructions from the owner' had enthusiastically described the property for the discerning purchaser in just four short words... "This house is lovely."
I kid you not...

gigino

Graces7 wrote: »

If you have issues and they are in their professional organisation ( IAPVI?), complain to them.

Actually a cousin did just that once, but he was fobbed off by them. An organisation of cowboys he said.

Dades

feelingstressed wrote: »

These are good agents out there, more likely the old skool guys and not the recent branches of the big chains which were opened around the country.

If there is a local agent in your area for 30 years, well they're doing something right.

Not sure about that.

My house is on the market at the moment, and we had the "local guy" come and chat with us. He looks like a "young" Bruce Forsythe (70?). Lovely fella but gave the impression that he'd put the house up and just wait and see what happens. Even talked musingly about properties he has on his books for months with no viewings. Hello? Reduce the price maybe? Also - the pictures of the properties on their books are all appalling.

Used Savills eventually though I found I had to re-write the blurb as it missed key points, promoted the wrong areas and with incorrect directions. I also saved €250 by doing my own photos (with a borrowed Nikon D3) and floorplans.

Don't ever think you can let an Estate Agent "do their stuff" without stalking them all the way.

Mr. Loverman

Dades wrote: »

Not sure about that.

My house is on the market at the moment, and we had the "local guy" come and chat with us. He looks like a "young" Bruce Forsythe (70?). Lovely fella but gave the impression that he'd put the house up and just wait and see what happens. Even talked musingly about properties he has on his books for months with no viewings. Hello? Reduce the price maybe? Also - the pictures of the properties on their books are all appalling.

Used Savills eventually though I found I had to re-write the blurb as it missed key points, promoted the wrong areas and with incorrect directions. I also saved €250 by doing my own photos (with a borrowed Nikon D3) and floorplans.

Don't ever think you can let an Estate Agent "do their stuff" without stalking them all the way.

Sure what's the point in using an estate agent at all so?

You can write your own blurb, take your own photos, put the adverts up on daft.ie and myhome.ie, and show prospective buyers around your home.

What am I missing?!

Dades

Mr. Loverman wrote: »

What am I missing?!

Not a lot, tbh. Brochures? Starting to wonder myself. Perhaps buyers are more comfortable dealing with a neutral party? I'd have some reservations dealing directly with some randomer about his house. Probably irrational but there you have it.

Itchycrotch

Ratzo Rizzo wrote: »

I'm a cash buyer looking to buy a house, preferably a detached house somewhere in the country but not too far from Dublin. I've searched the well known property web sites for suitable properties and on a number of instances contacted the estate agent to request a viewing. On far too many occasions I've been routinely ignored, had no response to emails I've sent, calls to the office unanswered and generally encountered a very unhelpful, unprofessional approach by the agent 'working' on behalf of the seller.
Why, in 2011, in a bankrupt country, do these individuals behave in such a discorteous manner? Maybe their client needs the money for their property but it would appear that in the main the estate agent just doesn't give a damn.

Mr. Loverman wrote: »

Sure what's the point in using an estate agent at all so?

You can write your own blurb, take your own photos, put the adverts up on daft.ie and myhome.ie, and show prospective buyers around your home.

What am I missing?!

You can't use myhome.ie That site is solely reserved for EA's

Frank Spencer

Dades wrote: »

Not sure about that.

My house is on the market at the moment, and we had the "local guy" come and chat with us. He looks like a "young" Bruce Forsythe (70?). Lovely fella but gave the impression that he'd put the house up and just wait and see what happens. Even talked musingly about properties he has on his books for months with no viewings. Hello? Reduce the price maybe? Also - the pictures of the properties on their books are all appalling.

Used Savills eventually though I found I had to re-write the blurb as it missed key points, promoted the wrong areas and with incorrect directions. I also saved €250 by doing my own photos (with a borrowed Nikon D3) and floorplans.

Don't ever think you can let an Estate Agent "do their stuff" without stalking them all the way.

Higher higher!

Spiritofthekop

Stay clear of any house being sold by Castle Estate Agents.

The worst crowd of people ive ever dealt with...ALL OF THEM.

Ortiz

Maybe a thread like this should just be made a sticky with all the heat EA's get on this forum!!

There are some very good EA's (believe it or not) that make a property transaction as smooth as possible and work hard to satisfy their client. There are many shocking EA's that are the scum of all professions imo. They consistently feck up the easiest of tasks and its amazing they still have a job in this climate.

The unfortunate thing is that the EA's that really do work hard at their job and provide a very good service are rarely talked about. Because the stupidity of the useless EA's is so unbelievable it causes people to want to vent about it (on an internet forum for instance).

As useless and worthless as a lot of them are the whole profession shouldn't be generalised so often as being a profession for cowboys as there are really are many fantastic agents that provide a very good service

Ratzo Rizzo

Ortiz wrote: »

There are some very good EA's (believe it or not) that make a property transaction as smooth as possible and work hard to satisfy their client. There are many shocking EA's that are the scum of all professions imo. They consistently feck up the easiest of tasks and its amazing they still have a job in this climate.

Basic English is one of the tasks they fall down on. I've just done a search on myhome.ie and the very first property I looked at had this stunning example of estate agent literacy...

Sherry FitzGerald are delighted to present....
The sunny walled in front garden is a ideal to relax after a days work and offers privacy with its own wood gate.

Do these people need any qualifications at all?!?!

Treehouse72

5 weeks ago my letting agent said he was getting my new fridge delivered "next week". I have absolutely no idea how a plan to do something within 7 days slips to at least 35 days. I mean, that is either towering incompetence or towering dishonesty.

By a very, very long margin EA's and LA's are collectively the most unprofessional, disorganised, ignorant and plain dim professionals I've ever come across in any sphere of activity. Nobody can touch them in that regard.