Estate agent not helping me find a property to buy

riclad

estate agents show the house ,give info to buyers and take bids and
act as a agent for the seller .All the info is on daft.ie and myhome .ie
as to houses for sale ,prices , etc its up to you to view house,s in your price range and in an area you want to live in .
say 20 People view a house 2 people might put in a bid, one person ends up buying it ,
The market is booming, I don,t think agents would have time to talk to every potential buyer as to what they want and theres people who view a house but cant actually get loan approval to buy it for various reasons
including bids might increase the house sale price.

Jjjjjjjbarry

pinkypinky wrote: »

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.

Definitely!!

Even as it is, I think the agents could do more. If I went into a garage and asked about a car they'd keep me there for the day showing me every option they had before letting me go. There doesn't seem to be any push by them even for houses that are on daft under multiple agents where they could miss out completely. It's sort of like they don't care. I know if I was the seller, I'd expect more.

davo10

Jjjjjjjbarry wrote: »

Definitely!!

Even as it is, I think the agents could do more. If I went into a garage and asked about a car they'd keep me there for the day showing me every option they had before letting me go. There doesn't seem to be any push by them even for houses that are on daft under multiple agents where they could miss out completely. It's sort of like they don't care. I know if I was the seller, I'd expect more.

But you're the buyer, and you don't pay anything to the EA. If EA's charged for the service you expect, would you be happy to pay? That is what happens in the US, the realtors for both the buyer and the seller gets paid.

4ensic15

Jjjjjjjbarry wrote: »

Definitely!!

Even as it is, I think the agents could do more. If I went into a garage and asked about a car they'd keep me there for the day showing me every option they had before letting me go. There doesn't seem to be any push by them even for houses that are on daft under multiple agents where they could miss out completely. It's sort of like they don't care. I know if I was the seller, I'd expect more.

If you behave like a tyre kicker you won't get much time from a garage or an EA. They will only spend time if they think you are a serious prospect, not a time waster. IMO the problem is with you, not the EAs.

lawred2

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've been watching too much Kirsty and Phil

riclad

Rich people who are buying an expensive property might employ an agent to look for them,
it makes no sense for an agent to spend time with every person they see
who may or not buy a house,or may be a time waster
And 99 per cent of houses are advertised on the web.
some people look at houses for curiousty, or maybe in 3 years time i might get a mortgage when i have 30k saved up.

Jjjjjjjbarry

4ensic15 wrote: »

If you behave like a tyre kicker you won't get much time from a garage or an EA. They will only spend time if they think you are a serious prospect, not a time waster. IMO the problem is with you, not the EAs.

I'm discussing whether estate agents could do more to sell houses and be more helpful to potential buyers. If they sell the house, they get paid. It doesn't matter to me who's paying them because their goal should be to sell because that's how they get paid and that's what their job is. A car sales man gets paid by the garage but he/she will do more then just tell you to look on Carzone. My original post was whether EA's should be more than just key holders and nothing to do with my own situation which is none of your concern :pac:

Jjjjjjjbarry

lawred2 wrote: »

You've been watching too much Kirsty and Phil

Probably! Are they the people who buy houses in the sun?

Jjjjjjjbarry

Thanks everyone for your posts and opinions, good to know how others feel.

It seems most people are happy to just to browse daft. That's fine for people who know exactly what area they want to live in but when you're open to move to whatever area suits your needs, I think a good EA should do some of that homework for you as they should have visited all the houses on their books and know them. I don't think they do.
Obviously a few EAs posting here too I'd bet.
If you are one, then pull your socks up!

davo10

Jjjjjjjbarry wrote: »

Thanks everyone for your posts and opinions, good to know how others feel.

It seems most people are happy to just to browse daft. That's fine for people who know exactly what area they want to live in but when you're open to move to whatever area suits your needs, I think a good EA should do some of that homework for you as they should have visited all the houses on their books and know them. I don't think they do.
Obviously a few EAs posting here too I'd bet.
If you are one, then pull your socks up!

Or, you could pick the ones you like from the daft website, and then go view them.

amcalester

Jjjjjjjbarry wrote: »

Thanks everyone for your posts and opinions, good to know how others feel.

It seems most people are happy to just to browse daft. That's fine for people who know exactly what area they want to live in but when you're open to move to whatever area suits your needs, I think a good EA should do some of that homework for you as they should have visited all the houses on their books and know them. I don't think they do.
Obviously a few EAs posting here too I'd bet.
If you are one, then pull your socks up!

Are you going to pay the EA for their time or do you expect them to do this for free?

EricPraline

pinkypinky wrote: »

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.

There are currently a small number of buyer's agents active at the high end of the Dublin market.

witchgirl26

Honestly though if an EA is employed to sell a house, will they really tell the buyer that no this one won't suit them? They have no relationship with the buyer so there's no real onus to go "oh yes this area/house will suit your needs perfectly". Also while EA's may know a little about the area (shops & schools nearby), they don't necessarily know the place inside out and what it would be like to live in that area and whether the school is any good or not.

I've had EA's tell me that a house would definitely suit my needs and while it might on paper, looking around it, it wasn't for me at all. For something that big, I'd prefer to do the leg work myself in terms of figuring out what I want. I'd do the same with a car too.

I'm similar to you OP in that I'm open to a few areas but what I've done is gone out to them myself. Honestly I prefer doing that as it lets me see what the area is like. I've managed to narrow it down to a few and just set up alerts on the websites for those areas so when a new house comes up, I look and see.

Interestingly enough my cousin who's in the US had a realtor for his house purchase but only to utilise for the bidding process as he'd lost out on 2 houses trying to do it himself. He did all of the sourcing though himself as the cost for the realtor to do that part for him was more than he was willing to pay out on top of a house purchase.

Sunny Dayz

Is it really too much work and effort for EA's to deal with people who actually present to their office looking to buy a house?




I've presented myself to garages before outlining the car spec I'm looking for, no of doors, engine size, min year, max budget and had the salesperson suggest a number of vehicles both within my budget and others rightly tempting me outside my budget, they are sales people and that's their job.


But if you go into an EA and say you want to buy a house, have €300k mortgage approval and are looking for x bedrooms in y and z general areas, that the EA won't even spend half an hour suggesting a few places they have on their books to sell. Is the EA not a sales person also?

witchgirl26

Sunny Dayz wrote: »

Is it really too much work and effort for EA's to deal with people who actually present to their office looking to buy a house?




I've presented myself to garages before outlining the car spec I'm looking for, no of doors, engine size, min year, max budget and had the salesperson suggest a number of vehicles both within my budget and others rightly tempting me outside my budget, they are sales people and that's their job.


But if you go into an EA and say you want to buy a house, have €300k mortgage approval and are looking for x bedrooms in y and z general areas, that the EA won't even spend half an hour suggesting a few places they have on their books to sell. Is the EA not a sales person also?

Yes but the problem with sales people is that they want the sale and aren't necessarily looking out for your best interests. Before going to a garage, I'd have a good idea of all the spec you mention but I'd also have looked at what they had up online and have a couple of specfic cars that I want to look at. If they have other ones, great but not what I'd expect going in.

Again, for a purchase that big, I'd prefer to do all my own research as far as possible and not rely on any type of sales person.

ThisRegard

Sunny Dayz wrote: »

But if you go into an EA and say you want to buy a house, have €300k mortgage approval and are looking for x bedrooms in y and z general areas, that the EA won't even spend half an hour suggesting a few places they have on their books to sell. Is the EA not a sales person also?

I think it's all EA depending. We've dealt with a few since the start of the summer, 6 actually. 2 were poor, made no effort in selling the house they were showing, nor making themselves looking professional, they just sat in the corner. 1 was ok, but never got any follow up calls.

The other 2 were great, one spent from first thing in the morning to lunch showing us around all the properties on the books that matched our criteria, was straight up and honest and would certainly deal with again.

The other, who we eventually bought from, was also great, arranged viewings at short notice and brought property to our attention that they were aware was due to come on to the market.

Mr. Incognito

I've worked in Property and professionally I have to be around estate agents.

My view is that they are generally unknowedgable and poor.

There is no qualifiication to be an estate agent, they tend to learn on the job. And the turnover in the Industry is high as they get crap listings to start so you tend to be dealing with someone who doesnt know what they are at which skews the stats.

I keep hearing that the Estate Agents job is to maximise the profit for the Seller. That's nonsense. That's EA speak for saying their job is maximise their commission.

The EA's job is to match a willing buyer with a willing seller. If they concentrated on doing that then they would be more successful. The problem in Ireland is that we have more willing buyers than willing sellers so the EA doesnt have to do much. Wave at the house and watch people trip over each other making offers. The one that is the loudest will usually get the sale. The EA then thinks he is great.

This is unfortunate. There really is a need for knowledgable and experienced EA in this country. People watch escape to the County and the presenter is showing three homes and a mystery house and people have a skewed view of what EA's actually do.

EA's are there to show you around for a viewing and stick a sign in the grass. That's pretty much it for Ireland. The level of fees they get for this is astronomical compared to the effort/ ability/ requirement.

What they should be doing is vetting buyers, and building a portfolio of buyers and sellers so that every house isn't a "sure we'll throw it up on Daft and see who turns up" but when a property comes on the market which matches the buyers profile they can pick up a phone and say, I have a property here that may interest you as you missed out on the last one. This would save Purchasers time, and money, and viewings.

The art of gazumping or phantom bids should be made a criminal offence in my view and anyone convicted of it should be banned from the Industry for life. A simple piece of legislation that freezes the price once sale agreed has happened as they have in UK could sort if out very quickly.

Jjjjjjjbarry

Mr. Incognito wrote: »

The EA's job is to match a willing buyer with a willing seller

That's my view on it too. The fact that they earn their money through the seller is irrelevant.

o1s1n

When I sold my last place, the house was listed on the Friday with a viewing and we had an offer by the Monday. The estate agent was adamant that this was the best offer we would see and that there was no chance for us to get any more - so we should take it. Bearing in mind it was a house in a very desirable estate with a prime location on the front road overlooking a green. And the offer was 10k under asking.

We held on for another week and in the end got 5k over asking.

There was actually a point when we got the offer that the estate agent was shouting at me down the phone as I was refusing to take it. It was like she had absolutely no comprehension that it was our property and therefore our decision. At that point I was seriously considering just pulling the sale and going with someone else. Unfortunately we couldn't though given the funds were being used to buy another property.

What I took from that was the estate agent (whom I can only describe as a more offensive version of Kay Burley from Sky News) thought she had a really easy flip on her hands over a weekend, but got extremely pissed off when we then actually made her work for her commission.

spaceHopper

Pick one arrange a meeting ask them how much for them to find you an property to buy, but it's not a free service. They might have one on their books or they will talk to other EA's on your behalfe. Other wise do your own leg work and deal with each EA as you find them

Jjjjjjjbarry

o1s1n wrote: »

When I sold my last place, the house was listed on the Friday with a viewing and we had an offer by the Monday. The estate agent was adamant that this was the best offer we would see and that there was no chance for us to get any more - so we should take it. Bearing in mind it was a house in a very desirable estate with a prime location on the front road overlooking a green. And the offer was 10k under asking.

We held on for another week and in the end got 5k over asking.

There was actually a point when we got the offer that the estate agent was shouting at me down the phone as I was refusing to take it. It was like she had absolutely no comprehension that it was our property and therefore our decision. At that point I was seriously considering just pulling the sale and going with someone else. Unfortunately we couldn't though given the funds were being used to buy another property.

What I took from that was the estate agent (whom I can only describe as a more offensive version of Kay Burley from Sky News) thought she had a really easy flip on her hands over a weekend, but got extremely pissed off when we then actually made her work for her commission.

That's awful treatment. Happy to hear it worked out for you so well done on not being pressured into the sale.

CaoimheSquee

Mr. Incognito wrote: »

I've worked in Property and professionally I have to be around estate agents.

There is no qualifiication to be an estate agent,

That is completely incorrect. Some of the older folks in the profession all right may have got through the new requirements to the law based on years experience, but when the regulator came in and licences you absolutely MUST carry a college qualification from then on.
There were minimum requirements set where if you didn't and don't meet them it is off to college you go!

And like yourself, I work in the property industry but am not an EA.

davo10

Jjjjjjjbarry wrote: »

That's my view on it too. The fact that they earn their money through the seller is irrelevant.

How naive. The EA's job is sell the property, at the highest price achievable. That is the business relationship, the vendor pays the EA for their services, not the buyer. If both pay, there would be a conflict of interest, the EA would be more likely to steer you towards the purchase of a property where he/she also has an agreement with the seller, therefore getting paid on the double. It isn't hard to view properties on daft/my home and then arrange a viewing, you don't need your hand (or wallet) held by the EA.

Jjjjjjjbarry

davo10 wrote: »

How naive. The EA's job is sell the property, at the highest price achievable. That is the business relationship, the vendor pays the EA for their services, not the buyer. If both pay, there would be a conflict of interest, the EA would be more likely to steer you towards the purchase of a property where he/she also has an agreement with the seller, therefore getting paid on the double. It isn't hard to view properties on daft/my home and then arrange a viewing, you don't need your hand (or wallet) held by the EA.

...and to sell the house at the highest price achievable the EA should try and reach as many potential buyers as possible and try and "sell" it to someone?
By meeting the buyers needs also, the EA actually sells more houses?

You can't meet the sellers needs without meeting a buyers needs!! Meet the buyers needs, sell the house and everyone's happy.

davo10

Jjjjjjjbarry wrote: »

...and to sell the house at the highest price achievable the EA should try and reach as many potential buyers as possible and try and "sell" it to someone?
By meeting the buyers needs also, the EA actually sells more houses?

You can't meet the sellers needs without meeting a buyers needs!! Meet the buyers needs, sell the house and everyone's happy.

Are you happy to recieve cold calls from EA's for every "great property which will be perfect for you" that comes on the market? ABC comes to mind.

Jjjjjjjbarry

davo10 wrote: »

Are you happy to recieve cold calls from EA's for every "great property which will be perfect for you" that comes on the market? ABC comes to mind.

If I had contacted an agent and told them what I was looking for then I'd be happy to receive emails or calls if appropriate. Why would it have to be cold calling? That's a different matter altogether.

Mr. Incognito

davo10 wrote: »

Are you happy to recieve cold calls from EA's for every "great property which will be perfect for you" that comes on the market? ABC comes to mind.

Gosh Gee. That sounds like Sales.

EAs arent in Sales though are they, they umm. ahhhh. Wait a minute.

davo10

Mr. Incognito wrote: »

Gosh Gee. That sounds like Sales.

EAs arent in Sales though are they, they umm. ahhhh. Wait a minute.

Sarcasm, okey dokey.

It's ok, it'll come to you, but I'll help you out. Yes, EAs are in "sales", on behalf of the vendor, the vendor being the person paying the EAs fees. Now, most vendors like to get as much as they can for the property, most buyers on the other hand like to pay as little as possible, so where do you think the EAs interests lie? If the op wants to have EAs working in his her behalf to buy a property, then he/she has to be prepared to accept phone calls about every crappy property out there, kinda like GG and ABC.. Simples.

The_Conductor

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?

I'd argue that a sizeable cohort of sellers deliberately undervalue property- to drum up interest, and hope that they'll end up with multiple prospective buyers bidding the hell out of each other.

riclad

Most Estate agents have a website ,or use daft.ie , myhome ie.
lets say you want to buy a house in wexford ,google house for sale wexford , or use those websites , daft.ie etc you can call around and
pick up a printed listing from the office.
do you really need help to look at a list see the houses listed under 300k.?
you may want a 2 or a 3bed semi d or a house beside bus stops ,
dart ,etc you may want a house less than 20 years old or maybe
An old house under 150k.
The agent gets pays by the seller anyway who ever buys the house .
if you want to get more info on a house you can arrange to view it.