Is there any "good" estate agents out there?

[stourboy 10]

I personally wouldn't touch Belvoir with a 12-foot barge pole; they were so unprofessional in their dealings with me it was almost laughable.

 

Will post my experience of others (which hopefully will be more favourable) when I get my flat sorted, as I am now back to square 1.

[BigC 10]

I personally wouldn't touch Belvoir with a 12-foot barge pole; they were so unprofessional in their dealings with me it was almost laughable.

 

Will post my experience of others (which hopefully will be more favourable) when I get my flat sorted, as I am now back to square 1.

 

That is true, Belvoir are horribly unhelpful and arrogant. There are some good, smaller, independent estate agents and they actually care.

[sasha81 10]

Just wondered if there are any "good" estate agents? You know..who do what-it-says-on-the-tin?

 

As sellers, do we deserve to be getting a feckless service we pay thousands of pounds for? OR should we be getting the good professional service we are promised when signing up to sell our properties?

 

Many thanks in advance for your comments...

 

 

certainly not Mike Jollys. Nothing good to say so I wont

[rainbow_maid 10]

I would very much avoid Saxton Mee for lettings. I have just had a very unpleasant few weeks with them, down £150 for my application fee to let a house which they refused to let me as they kept moving the goal posts....advertised 950 deposit turned into 2450. They also keep my money whilst still advertising the house for let.

The impression I got from them on the phone and in person is that they are very rude, unprofessional people, blatant liars, not a single word they utter I believe to be true because you just get one story after another.

I have pulled out in the end and left 150 lighter and with no house, bad times thanks to Saxton Mee

[kippax 10]

I think you must be Related!

[Adamike 10]

Just wondered if there are any "good" estate agents

 

No.

Sorry.

[blueleopard 10]

It really depends on what and where your house is, and what you deem most important when choosing an agent.

 

Different agents will be better at selling certain property types in certain areas. It's just a case of finding an agent who has the best track record of selling the same property type as yours in your area. Ask neighbours who they used. Look for "Sold" boards in your neighbourhood, not "For Sale" boards.

 

Also, think about what you want most from your agent; is it a quick sale? Is it the highest sale price? Or do you just want to be charged the lowest fees?

 

Don't always just blame the estate agent if your property isn't selling. Have you done all you can to improve the chances of a purchase? Is the exterior painted, clean and well kept? Is the interior uncluttered enough for potential buyers to imagine putting their own stamp on it. Before you sell a car you would always valet it to maximise its value; no one wants to buy a car complete with empty McDonalds in it, same is said for houses.

 

And remember, anyone can compete on fees, not everyone can compete on providing results!

[Bilge 34]

No, they're all useless, incompetent liars. Yes this is a generalisation but it's based on the solid eveidence of all the contacts with estate agents I have ever had (buying, selling, renting, casual enquiries).

[frankiejp 10]

Being a former estate agent for two well known agents in Leeds for a number of years, Im quite confident on my knowledge of agents that sell and agents that dont!.

I have just instructed Winkworths to sell my home in S8 and was impressed with their costs, based on what i heard from the others i had round. Heres a brief run down of what most of them are charging at the moment, just to help anyone whos still unsure. my house was valued at £150,000 by Winkworths just to let you know.

 

Haybrooks- £150,000, seemed ok but wanted to charge a withdrawal fee, £400!!

Blundells- £159,950, didnt really get on with the valuer! She wanted £700 upfront!! and 1.5% at the end!! Forget it! plus id heard bad reports from friends about them!

Staves- £150,000, the guy seemed ok but i know they are only local to the area so they seemed a bit amateurish, as opposed to the big guns! Cheap, at 1% with no sale no charge aswell, i would say my second choice

Your move- £139,950. Completely did not get on with them!! 1.25% plus £250 upfront fee!

Winkworth- £150,000. i got on well with the valuer there, they are no sale no charge with decent looking brochures too- 8 pages infact!

 

So for the price and service, and also how well i got with the agent, which is a big thing in my experience, i chose Winkworths. Fortunately three days later and ive had two viewings booked in!! Not sold yet, but still early days!!

 

i hope this helps anybody out

[Bruns 10]

Sorry I can't recommend a good one, but would like to say

AVOID HAYBROOK AT ALL COSTS!!

[Justin Smith 10]

I`m adding to this thread rather than start a new one because that`s what is encouraged on SF, and it`s still relevant anyway.

 

Has anyone got any more recommendations ?

 

NOTE TO ESTATE AGENTS ! : Treat potential buyers of properties you have on your books well, because bad service to them* means they`re less likley to use you when they`ve got their house to sell..... I`d more or less decided to use Saxton Mees because they`ve sold a few houses on my road and the valuer seemed personable enough. But we've not been so impressed by them (more their Crookes branch to be fair) when trying to view houses on their books, so now I`m not so sure.

 

 

* even little things like not phoning them back, or not seeming bothered about an accompanied viewing "because it`s at the weekend and we`re short staffed then". It`s not our fault the vendor isn`t available to do viewings, it gets dark at 4.30 (at the moment) and we both work in the daytime !

[Dubaidani13 10]

none of the ones listed above, i always use BLOOR & CO, 100% success sale rate usually within 3 weeks, good communication and chasing the purchasers to the finish, recommended.