Estate agent not helping me find a property to buy

Jjjjjjjbarry

Hello,

Just wondering if it's my area or all estate agents rubbish.... or am I just expecting too much?

All they seem to do is act as the key holder and go between for offers and don't do anything to help.

All I ever get is, "Have a look on Daft".

Are they not supposed to take your info and budget and suggest properties that might suit because the photos on Daft don't always tell the full story or sell a house like they should or maybe the location has more to offer than appears...... i.e sell the house!

athtrasna

Estate agents work for the vendor not for the purchaser. Yes a good one will match up purchaser with property but given the current market they don't need to do that extra work

vicwatson

When they can show me their qualifications I'll believe in them, until then I wouldn't trust one as far as I could throw one

screamer

athtrasna wrote: »

Estate agents work for the vendor not for the purchaser. Yes a good one will match up purchaser with property but given the current market they don't need to do that extra work

They're pretty crap for the vendor also TBH and I can say this with conviction as we just recently sold a property. They are worse than useless. It's no wonder that selling your own property became so popular at one stage.

Johngoose

Amazing that they have college courses in order to become one now. <mod snip>

sullivk

As someone who is currently in the process of selling, buying AND renting I can assure you that all they want is that big commission for doing as little as possible. I have found they are untrustworthy, whether you are a buyer/seller/landlord/tenant...

Rew

Bought, sold and buying again haven't met a good one

Thespoofer

Bought an old place a couple of years back. I have to say the EA was a very honourable man.
This did surprise me a bit.

newacc2015

Johngoose wrote: »

Amazing that they have college courses in order to become one now.I mean a car salesman doesn't have to go to college I'm sure...

Most didnt go to College. They went to the courts and paid a bond of €1270. They were then legally estate agents. New estate agents have to do a course to be one. Yet the existing estate agents dont have to go back to train. So we have a majority of estate agents in this country who have no clue what the law is re property sales / management.

I dont think some estate agents are excellent. But the fact you need a piece of paper now, you will stop excellent sales people getting into the industry as there is a barrier to entry

Pat Mustard

<deleted quote snipped>

Plenty of them survived the previous recession, so I wouldn't hold my breath on that one.

athtrasna

Mod note

Generalisations are really unhelpful. "They're a shower of <insert expletive> Ted" may be your experience but tarring an entire profession based on experience of a tiny sample is unrepresentative.

Salvation Tambourine

I recently bought a house and after dealing with a few awful estate agents and a couple of decent ones, the one we ended up dealing with was fantastic. He couldn't have done more to help.

I won't go into too much detail but he was able to arrange a last minute viewing for us for the house we eventually bought after a late in the evening email the night before.

All throughout the process he was keeping us updated and asking for updates from us. He went beyond the call of duty a few times doing what our solicitor should have been doing.

I gave him a bottle of wine as a thanks and merry Christmas at the end of it all.

Johngoose

Nokotan wrote: »

I recently bought a house and after dealing with a few awful estate agents and a couple of decent ones, the one we ended up dealing with was fantastic. He couldn't have done more to help.

I won't go into too much detail but he was able to arrange a last minute viewing for us for the house we eventually bought after a late in the evening email the night before.


All throughout the process he was keeping us updated and asking for updates from us. He went beyond the call of duty a few times doing what our solicitor should have been doing.

I gave him a bottle of wine as a thanks and merry Christmas at the end of it all.

In what county were you dealing with him just out of interest?

dresden8

Meh, mixed bag.

I wouldn't use the one I sold my house with again. Would have walked earlier but not entirely my choice.

The one I bought off screwed every last euro out of me for their client.

Would have liked that better if it wasn't me.

You pay your money you takes your chances........

Salvation Tambourine

Johngoose wrote: »

In what county were you dealing with him just out of interest?

Swords in Dublin

awec

Jjjjjjjbarry wrote: »

Hello,

Just wondering if it's my area or all estate agents rubbish.... or am I just expecting too much?

All they seem to do is act as the key holder and go between for offers and don't do anything to help.

All I ever get is, "Have a look on Daft".

Are they not supposed to take your info and budget and suggest properties that might suit because the photos on Daft don't always tell the full story or sell a house like they should or maybe the location has more to offer than appears...... i.e sell the house!

Why would you give your budget to someone whose job it is to get as much money as possible for people selling their house?

Are you going to walk in and say "what can I get for 200 grand? Oh yea, I love that house at 160K!"

First thing they will be doing is talking to their client (i.e. the person paying them) who is selling that 160k house and telling them that this guy has a budget 40K over their asking.

Tombo2001

I have to laugh at the almighty sense of entitlement people have with regard to Estate Agents.

If I walk into Arnotts and say "I will pay you absolutely nothing for anything in this shop"; do you expect them to say, well look here, at that price we have this fabulous product range for you to choose from........I don't think so......

But Estate Agents are different?

As a buyer, how much are you paying an Estate Agent: Zero?

What level of service should you personally expect for you Zero Euro payment? Logic would suggest, to me anyway, that you should expect Zero Service.

And why should it be any different? because you're a 'real genuine buyer'.......you sure aren't the only one.

Much easier to call them lazy and a shower of crooks, than to actually put yourself in their shoes and try to understand what can be expected from them and how best to work with them.

My experience in buying is that EA's are decent, a few of them are ropey, but that applies to every profession. Be nice and respectful towards them, if you fall out with them, you are the one who gets hurt. As a buyer, you need a good relationship with them more than they need a good relationship with you.

Jjjjjjjbarry

awec wrote: »

Why would you give your budget to someone whose job it is to get as much money as possible for people selling their house?

Are you going to walk in and say "what can I get for 200 grand? Oh yea, I love that house at 160K!"

First thing they will be doing is talking to their client (i.e. the person paying them) who is selling that 160k house and telling them that this guy has a budget 40K over their asking.

No I'm not going to do that or agree a price on a house that hasn't been valued or compared to market value for the area. Why would I do that?

I also do not intend to pay full budget... it's a guide line and maximum I'd pay for the right property. Key word being right. I might pay full budget for dream house and 3/4 of it for an adequate house. Telling the EA my budget would be beneficial for them to rule out the ones that I can't afford. I'm at the lower end of the scale by the way so I think you've got the wrong end of the stick there.

Gumbo

Jjjjjjjbarry wrote: »

No I'm not going to do that or agree a price on a house that hasn't been valued or compared to market value for the area. Why would I do that?

I also do not intend to pay full budget... it's a guide line and maximum I'd pay for the right property. Key word being right. I might pay full budget for dream house and 3/4 of it for an adequate house. Telling the EA my budget would be beneficial for them to rule out the ones that I can't afford. I'm at the lower end of the scale by the way so I think you've got the wrong end of the stick there.

Simple solution, refine your search in daft and myhome.

Jjjjjjjbarry

kceire wrote: »

Simple solution, refine your search in daft and myhome.

Will that tell me which sellers are keen to do a deal? Surely the vast majority of sellers overprice the house? Isn't that where a good EA brokers a deal?

Gumbo

Jjjjjjjbarry wrote: »

Will that tell me which sellers are keen to do a deal? Surely the vast majority of sellers overprice the house? Isn't that where a good EA brokers a deal?

Nope. The EA is there to get the best price as possible for the seller.

davindub

Jjjjjjjbarry wrote: »

Will that tell me which sellers are keen to do a deal? Surely the vast majority of sellers overprice the house? Isn't that where a good EA brokers a deal?

No generally you refine the search to houses within your price range. But look, you are only starting and you will soon learn, some houses are deliberately underpriced, they aim to get loads of interest and bid up well beyond this. Some are over priced as they think they will get offers below the asking but still higher than starting from a lower point. Some value themselves and their valuation more than the house, they will hold on until the market improves and eventually they are right.

Sometimes when you are working to a budget it can be hard, you will probably be outbid a lot or go over the max you are prepared to pay for that property, you will be wondering what fool would bid that much... but good luck, eventually you will get something, just you might have to redefine your concept of what is good value a few times.

Steodonn

Jjjjjjjbarry wrote: »

No I'm not going to do that or agree a price on a house that hasn't been valued or compared to market value for the area. Why would I do that?

I also do not intend to pay full budget... it's a guide line and maximum I'd pay for the right property. Key word being right. I might pay full budget for dream house and 3/4 of it for an adequate house. Telling the EA my budget would be beneficial for them to rule out the ones that I can't afford. I'm at the lower end of the scale by the way so I think you've got the wrong end of the stick there.

If I was the person selling the house would you tell me your budget ?

CaoimheSquee

Hi OP,

You will need to find an agent that specifically offers a service for buyers and there are not many of them. But if you wish someone to do the search, viewings and negotiations for you they do exist.
However EA's in Ireland act for the seller not the buyer so it is perfectly normal for them to refer you to the daft/myhome etc. Although you may ask them if they know of an EA that does a buyer service in the area but there will be a fee, naturally.

gaius c

Jjjjjjjbarry wrote: »

Hello,

Just wondering if it's my area or all estate agents rubbish.... or am I just expecting too much?

All they seem to do is act as the key holder and go between for offers and don't do anything to help.

All I ever get is, "Have a look on Daft".

Are they not supposed to take your info and budget and suggest properties that might suit because the photos on Daft don't always tell the full story or sell a house like they should or maybe the location has more to offer than appears...... i.e sell the house!

You told them your budget???

seagull

Thespoofer wrote: »

Bought an old place a couple of years back. I have to say the EA was a very honourable man.
This did surprise me a bit.

Are you doing Mark Anthony impressions?:)

Jjjjjjjbarry

gaius c wrote: »

You told them your budget???

No.

Jjjjjjjbarry

CaoimheSquee wrote: »

Hi OP,

You will need to find an agent that specifically offers a service for buyers and there are not many of them. But if you wish someone to do the search, viewings and negotiations for you they do exist.
However EA's in Ireland act for the seller not the buyer so it is perfectly normal for them to refer you to the daft/myhome etc. Although you may ask them if they know of an EA that does a buyer service in the area but there will be a fee, naturally.

Thank you. That's the answer I was looking for!!

Jjjjjjjbarry

Steodonn wrote: »

If I was the person selling the house would you tell me your budget ?

Obviously not. Just trying to find out the role of the EA!

Jjjjjjjbarry

davindub wrote: »

No generally you refine the search to houses within your price range. But look, you are only starting and you will soon learn, some houses are deliberately underpriced, they aim to get loads of interest and bid up well beyond this. Some are over priced as they think they will get offers below the asking but still higher than starting from a lower point. Some value themselves and their valuation more than the house, they will hold on until the market improves and eventually they are right.

Sometimes when you are working to a budget it can be hard, you will probably be outbid a lot or go over the max you are prepared to pay for that property, you will be wondering what fool would bid that much... but good luck, eventually you will get something, just you might have to redefine your concept of what is good value a few times.

Good info there - thanks very much!!!

pinkypinky

You need the American model: a realtor, who scouts properties to your specification and then brings you to see them. I've never heard of an estate agent offering that service in Ireland but think there's a niche for someone to fill.