Another Estate Agent horror story...

DrPhilG

With a twist!

I'm nearing the end of a house purchase, and if it wasn't for the Estate Agent in question the whole deal would probably have collapsed. There have been a few twists and turns and 3 solicitors have been involved, and as I'm sure we all know solicitors don't do many things in a hurry. That's not necessarily a dig at the profession, but in my personal experience of 2 house purchases they tend to take ages to do anything.

The Estate Agent has been in contact with us throughout and every time the trail goes dead with either solicitor he gets on the ball and hassles both of them into action. I've had emails from him at 7pm in the evening and over weekends to update me on various progress.

I know it's in his interests to ensure that the deal is closed so that he gets paid but he has gone way above and beyond what I would expect from him in order to get the sale completed as soon as possible.

So while I know there's a lot of Estate Agent bashing on here at times (I've been guilty too, I even had a few gripes about this guy in the early stages), they're not all bad!

fro9etb8j5qsl2

A good experience with an estate agent????? :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:
:P

toexpress

Yeah he is doing it now he wouldn't have been doing it a few years ago because he would have been selling so many houses that it wouldn't have mattered if one slipped through the net. You are probably the reason he can pay a mortgage some month.

jmayo

Shock horror, someone actually doing what they are supposed to bloody do.
They are supposed to organise the sale of the property, that is their job.
And they are not doing it out of some benevolent feeling, they are bloody doing it because they need to earn the commission.
The story with EAs is rather like that of car salesmen.
During the boom times car salesmen tended to ignore you in car showrooms because you weren't buying new BMW or some such.
Now they are damm glad of anyone buying a car.

A good dose of recession tends to get these arrogant feckers actually doing their jobs and behaving like proper sales staff and not glorified prima donnas.

Fecks sake only in Ireland would someone providing the service they are meant to provide be lauded as something special. :rolleyes:

DrPhilG

jmayo wrote: »

Fecks sake only in Ireland would someone providing the service they are meant to provide be lauded as something special. :rolleyes:

He did arrange the sale and since about Thursday last week he had overcome any potential hurdles that might delay issues beyond the deadline of the loan offer.

He could quite acceptably put his feet up now and wait for completion.

Instead he has been emailing myself and both solicitors over Friday, the weekend and today to ensure that it completed as soon as possible, simply because it has dragged on a bit up until now.

I'm simply giving credit where it is due. Some people will never be happy.

toexpress

DrPhilG wrote: »

He did arrange the sale and since about Thursday last week he had overcome any potential hurdles that might delay issues beyond the deadline of the loan offer.

He could quite acceptably put his feet up now and wait for completion.

Instead he has been emailing myself and both solicitors over Friday, the weekend and today to ensure that it completed as soon as possible, simply because it has dragged on a bit up until now.

I'm simply giving credit where it is due. Some people will never be happy.

Sorry Phil I have disagree here. I think he is just making sure he gets his commission as well! He is going the distance because he might not get another sale until the summer! It's not a good news story it's more shocking that anyone thinks this is worth a round of applause

DrPhilG

toexpress wrote: »

Sorry Phil I have disagree here. I think he is just making sure he gets his commission as well! He is going the distance because he might not get another sale until the summer! It's not a good news story it's more shocking that anyone thinks this is worth a round of applause

Initially I'd have agreed. But as I said, we passed the point where I was worried it could fall apart, last week. There is no longer a need for him to try to speed it up.

D3PO

DrPhilG wrote: »

He could quite acceptably put his feet up now and wait for completion.

Instead he has been emailing myself and both solicitors over Friday, the weekend and today to ensure that it completed as soon as possible, simply because it has dragged on a bit up until now.

I'm simply giving credit where it is due. Some people will never be happy.

its called doing your job. About time an EA did it.

For far too long have they been lazy in the knowledge that the easy commision was rolling in.

Doing what your paid for is hardly a reason to lavish praise.

Irelandsfinest

Everybody who has ever used an estate agent has been duped one way or another, we were browsing in an estate agents seen a house we 'may' be interested in, arranged a viewing which for some strange reason was only available on Sunday, seen the house it was in an ok shape but cheaper than some of the other properties in the same area. And the street was quiet enough. That Monday were in town fiancee gets a phonecall Mr X the landlord! wanting to know if we wanted the house? we were stuck and needed a place bad so we said ok.

When we moved in we found out why the viewing was on a Sunday, you can't park your own car because of all the fly parkers, friday night to sunday morning it's a cut through for drunks. Fights smashed bottles stray dogs it's an absolute dump. The house was advertised as being in a highly desirable area, safe clean well maintained. The gable house is graffitied as soon as the owner whitewashes it, been set on fire twice two skip fires and 3 cases of attempted murder by car thieves setting a stolen car on fire right outiside someones front door. We're getting another rental through a private landlord directly no agents. When we move out i'm going to tell the new tenants exaclty what the place is like, no estate agency BS.

jmayo

DrPhilG wrote: »

He did arrange the sale and since about Thursday last week he had overcome any potential hurdles that might delay issues beyond the deadline of the loan offer.

He could quite acceptably put his feet up now and wait for completion.

Instead he has been emailing myself and both solicitors over Friday, the weekend and today to ensure that it completed as soon as possible, simply because it has dragged on a bit up until now.

I'm simply giving credit where it is due. Some people will never be happy.

Ah FFS he does his job, which probably earns him around 1.25 to 1.75% of the sales price.
It doesn't make me happy or unhappy.
I couldn't care less as you and the seller are the ones paying his fees.

See toexpress's post #6.

DrPhilG wrote: »

Initially I'd have agreed. But as I said, we passed the point where I was worried it could fall apart, last week. There is no longer a need for him to try to speed it up.

The need to speed it up might be his continued employment. :rolleyes:
Call me a cynic but whenever some one in sales does me "a favour" I immediately wonder what is in it for them.

DrPhilG

Ah well, maybe youz are a bunch of cynical hoores, or maybe I'm not cynical enough. Either way when I pick up the keys, I'll be dropping off a nice bottle of booze as a thank you.

Even if his reasons are selfish, it's good to have phone calls returned within a few hours and emails responded to within minutes, as opposed to 4-5 days or not at all that I've come to expect from solicitors.

Lyn256

I'm with DrPhilG-its great to be dealing with someone who is doing their job well, and in fact, going beyond the call of duty, because even in recession Ireland, it doesn't always happen!
In an ideal world everyone would to their job properly 100% of the time but the is very much the exception than the rule!
When I sold up last year I had an excellent EA and one that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend
Wonder if its the same one I used (buying in the Lucan/Celbridge area) by any chance??

TOMP

Glad to hear OP has good experience of Estate Agent

Those unlucky enough to fall foul of this profession now have recourse to a body whose job is to keep an eye on the rogue element

http://www.npsra.ie/website/npsra/npsraweb.nsf/page/index-en

Not sure if they are fully up and running but at least we did not have this option in previous years.

DrPhilG

Lyn256 wrote: »

Wonder if its the same one I used (buying in the Lucan/Celbridge area) by any chance??

Nope, North West.

He has also been advising me on the best way to rent out my old house, although the Agents don't handle rentals.

Learpholl

Irelandsfinest wrote: »

Everybody who has ever used an estate agent has been duped one way or another, we were browsing in an estate agents seen a house we 'may' be interested in, arranged a viewing which for some strange reason was only available on Sunday, seen the house it was in an ok shape but cheaper than some of the other properties in the same area. And the street was quiet enough. That Monday were in town fiancee gets a phonecall Mr X the landlord! wanting to know if we wanted the house? we were stuck and needed a place bad so we said ok.

When we moved in we found out why the viewing was on a Sunday, you can't park your own car because of all the fly parkers, friday night to sunday morning it's a cut through for drunks. Fights smashed bottles stray dogs it's an absolute dump. The house was advertised as being in a highly desirable area, safe clean well maintained. The gable house is graffitied as soon as the owner whitewashes it, been set on fire twice two skip fires and 3 cases of attempted murder by car thieves setting a stolen car on fire right outiside someones front door. We're getting another rental through a private landlord directly no agents. When we move out i'm going to tell the new tenants exaclty what the place is like, no estate agency BS.

To me, this largely sounds like your own fault for not investigating the area you were going to live in and you're blaming the estate agent for a mistake you made.

amdublin

Irelandsfinest wrote: »

Everybody who has ever used an estate agent has been duped one way or another, we were browsing in an estate agents seen a house we 'may' be interested in, arranged a viewing which for some strange reason was only available on Sunday, seen the house it was in an ok shape but cheaper than some of the other properties in the same area. And the street was quiet enough. That Monday were in town fiancee gets a phonecall Mr X the landlord! wanting to know if we wanted the house? we were stuck and needed a place bad so we said ok.

When we moved in we found out why the viewing was on a Sunday, you can't park your own car because of all the fly parkers, friday night to sunday morning it's a cut through for drunks. Fights smashed bottles stray dogs it's an absolute dump. The house was advertised as being in a highly desirable area, safe clean well maintained. The gable house is graffitied as soon as the owner whitewashes it, been set on fire twice two skip fires and 3 cases of attempted murder by car thieves setting a stolen car on fire right outiside someones front door. We're getting another rental through a private landlord directly no agents. When we move out i'm going to tell the new tenants exaclty what the place is like, no estate agency BS.

You made a decision to rent this place on one viewing, now you don't like the area and this is the estate agents fault????

What you have outlined above seems to be your fault, 100%.

Kosseegan

toexpress wrote: »

Sorry Phil I have disagree here. I think he is just making sure he gets his commission as well! He is going the distance because he might not get another sale until the summer! It's not a good news story it's more shocking that anyone thinks this is worth a round of applause

He will have taken a booking deposit so his commission is secure. AN early closing makes little or no difference.

toexpress

Kosseegan wrote: »

He will have taken a booking deposit so his commission is secure. AN early closing makes little or no difference.

LOL and you think he will get to keep that, in this economy if the sale falls through?

Dirk Gently

The estate agent who worked for the person I bought my house from done all the leg work for me too. It was his first sale that year so clearly he was after his fee. Still, it felt good knowing someone (who I didnt hire ) was on my side, even if for selfish reasons. Solicitors will sit twiddling their thumbs communicating with each other by messanger pigeon for months on end if you let them.

Kosseegan

toexpress wrote: »

LOL and you think he will get to keep that, in this economy if the sale falls through?

The house is sale agreed and contracts have been exchanged. He can retain his fee.