11-04-06, UpMyStreet ©
Aggressive sales pitches and shady dealings have always been part of the estate agent cliché. A BBC documentary only further confirmed the stereotype.
BBC undercover
In scenes that were shocking to viewers, staff were found to be making up false offers, over-valuing properties, forging documents, making dodgy deals with mortgage brokers and developers, and even supplying illegal passports.
Find a good estate agent
Of course not all estate agents are guilty. But as buying or selling a property is one of the biggest financial decisions you'll make, it’s important to know you're getting a fair deal.
Using an estate agent accredited by the Ombudsman for Estate Agents is one safeguard, or read UpMyStreet's guide to choosing a good estate agent for more tips.
Take matters into your own hands
First-time buyer Chantal was convinced the London property she was interested in was over-valued. When her lower offer was rejected, she purchased a property valuation report. The report confirmed her suspicions and indicated that an almost identical property in the area had recently sold for £25,000 less than the asking price of her property. Here is the outcome in her own words:
“The £20 I spent on a property report quickly became one of the most important purchases I have ever made because it saved me £25,000! A sound investment if you ask me! Armed with solid facts I now had something powerful to negotiate with. I don’t believe the seller had this information or was aware of past sales – and when I presented the report it was clear that the property was over-priced.”
Research your local property market
An estate agent should be knowledgeable on the property market in your area, but it's also worth arming yourself with facts and figures before buying or selling a property to ensure you're getting the right price. Check recent property sales to see what similar properties in your neighbourhood have sold for, and also look at average price trends for your type of property.
Updated 10-09-07, UpMyStreet ©
Related articles
› How to choose a good estate agent
› How to sell your own home - guide
› How to negotiate on the asking price
The £20 I spent on a property report quickly became one of the most important purchases I have ever made because it saved me £25,000!.. Armed with solid facts I now had something powerful to negotiate with.
First-time buyer Chantal
Useful links
› Property valuation reports - Get the right price with an instant valuation
› House prices - Check recent property sales in Petts Wood
› Average property prices - Check price trends in Petts Wood
› Estate agents - Find your nearest estate agents
› Conveyancing - Get the legal legwork taken care of
› Surveying - Get a quote for a building survey
Recommend an estate agent
Used a great estate agent that went the extra mile during your property purchase or sale?
Find their listing & add a review for others to read in your area.
Jessica (South Norfolk), on 03/01/2008 at 12:06
I am an estate agent and we act in a fair and professional manner at all times. I have come accross other agents whom have underpriced properties and tried to sell them quickly to "clients", but not all agents are like this and people need to stop being so sterotipical all the time. I don't drive around in a fancy car and swindle old ladies out of thir money and I work hard to sell peoples houses. Our clients don't realise how hard we work and when they don't sell they wonder why when they don't listen to our advice and think their property is worth thousands more than it actually is. PEOPLE FORGET-WE PROVIDE A FREE SERCICE AND WE DONT GET PAID UNTIL WE COMPLETE ON A HOUSE! VENDORS WITHDDRAW ALL OF THE TIME AFTER WE PUT IN LOTS OR HARD WORK AND SPEND LOTS OF TIME AND MONEY ON TEHIR SALE. At the end of the day if you have a problem with a paricular agent, stop whinging about and and report them to the Ombudsman Scheme!
formbypc (East Lothian), on 19/12/2007 at 18:44
Mikev wrote:
The generally bad reputation of Estate Agents is I believe well deserved. I would be intrigued to know what their profit mark up is particularly when you consider that they have to do pretty much the same amount of work for most sales but charge a percentage fee on all their business. Personally they are hard to trust and I find myself loathing having to pay out for them. What we need is an 'Easy' type estate agents like EasyJet so that there is competition and prices can come down.
"Profit mark-up", eh?
OK, here's one way of looking at it -
A) Take the average house price in your area. Find out what agents are charging in your area. Multiply their typical percentage by the average sale price. This gives you an average agents' 'business income' (not a salary!) for each sale. Let's assume average house price of £100k, agent commission 1.00%, yielding a fee of £1000 per sale.
B) Find out how much it might cost in your area to do all the things you need to do to run an estate agency, things like ;
Rent business premises
Rent phone line(s)
Buy/rent computer equipment
Buy stationery
Purchase services from makers of sale boards, printed schedules, etc
Purchase marketing materials to promote the business
Assuming the agent(s) to be out and about, you'll need a receptionist/PA to keep the office running..
Run/maintain a car or cars
Armed with a figure for B), divide A) into it and you now know how many houses you need to sell just to break even. Profit only enters into the equation after you've reached this number of sales.
" ... the same amount of work for most sales but charge a percentage fee on all their business"
Assume an agent sells two similar properties; for some reason, the general public takes a shine to one and it sells in days, after 2 or 3 viewings; the other remains on the books for 12 weeks, say, again with 2 or 3 viewings. Same amount of work? Maybe. Which one costs more in terms of ongoing expenses?
AJ (Liverpool), on 04/12/2007 at 12:39
Mikev wrote:
The generally bad reputation of Estate Agents is I believe well deserved. I would be intrigued to know what their profit mark up is particularly when you consider that they have to do pretty much the same amount of work for most sales but charge a percentage fee on all their business. Personally they are hard to trust and I find myself loathing having to pay out for them. What we need is an 'Easy' type estate agents like EasyJet so that there is competition and prices can come down.
Over ten years ago I heard this story. Old lady died and left her property to a busy professional down south who had no idea what the property was worth.. He phoned the estate agents and said get the best price you can. I will not be coming up we can deal with everything through the post / fax.
He thought that it would be in the agents best interest to get the best price as the agent would get more commission.
The agent put it up for £60 000 one Friday lunchtime and 'found' a buyer an hour later. Although the sheet was printed no one remembers seeing it up for display. A relative of the agent bought it. (A similar property in the same road went for over £120 000 less than a year later). The agent was overheard (by a colleague) on the phone to the vendor "great news we have achieved the full asking price". The vendor never realised how much he had been short changed.
By way of balance. I bought my current house when the chain was very long and other purchasers and vendors and estate agents were trying to renegociate the price at the last moment. Fortunately the people we were buying from and their estate agent and the people we were selling to acted with such integrity that we had no problem.
Mikev (Maidstone), on 02/11/2007 at 17:58
The generally bad reputation of Estate Agents is I believe well deserved. I would be intrigued to know what their profit mark up is particularly when you consider that they have to do pretty much the same amount of work for most sales but charge a percentage fee on all their business. Personally they are hard to trust and I find myself loathing having to pay out for them. What we need is an 'Easy' type estate agents like EasyJet so that there is competition and prices can come down.
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