After Sales = More sales

Hi all,
I am hoping that some of you will be interested in giving experiences of the after sales services you have recieved, from overseas and investment agents. I've had a bad experience myself with a company that views this site.

Although all agents rant on about their after sales service now days, I have found that all this means is more opportunities to sell you something (eg. Fit-out) for extra profit. If you have a problem that they can't gain from, you find out exactly how good their after sales service is.

It can happen that you purchase a property off-plan a year in advance of completion. But if completion is delayed by 18 months, you now have a 2 1/2 year gap to completion. It is not unreasonable that a persons circumtances could change dramatically in that time and completion becomes a problem.

Does an agent have a moral responsibility to assist their client, with help and advice, in such circumtances?

I believe they do. After all buying in a foreign country is not quite the same as buying an Irish property from an Irish estate agent.

After placing a previous post on this site I recieved an angry phone call from a company director, claiming I had an excellent service even though my calls were not being returned. I was told I would receive help or advice and haven't heard a word since. That was a month ago.

Is this type of service common in this industry, and if so, isn't about time these "SALES PEOPLE" were brought to account?

Johnny D said:

Hi all,
It can happen that you purchase a property off-plan a year in advance of completion. But if completion is delayed by 18 months, you now have a 2 1/2 year gap to completion. It is not unreasonable that a persons circumtances could change dramatically in that time and completion becomes a problem.

Does an agent have a moral responsibility to assist their client, with help and advice, in such circumtances?

I believe they do. After all buying in a foreign country is not quite the same as buying an Irish property from an Irish estate agent.

Click to expand...

Your query is at the same time vague and pointed, and will no doubt make perfect sense to the company that you have the problem with. From my reading of it though I think you are mixing up two things here -- the lack of after-sales service from some agencies, and the unwillingness of a company to assist you in getting out of a contract that you freely enetered into.

I have friends and contacts in all sectors of the property business, including some contacts in a few of the big agencies, and although I tend to take the side of the consumer in most instances (as anyone who reads my posts can testify), my sympathies are often with agencies in the situation where buyers get cold feet half way through a deal and then expect to walk away without penalty.

When will small investors in overseas property understand that they are entering into a contract when they agree to buy a property? If they subsequently chicken out or even have personal reasons for not being able to complete, the agency should not be blamed if they cannot extricate the buyer from the contract.

Many agencies can and do resell such properties without charging fees, but in my view they are foolish to encourage this practice-- it increases the level of dithering by these amateur buyers and creates problems of credibility for the agency with developers. If less of this messing went on, agencies would be in a stronger position to assist people with genuine problems. As it is, the expectations of many buyers as to the possibility of walking away from legal contracts is unrealistic and naive.

As our US friends say -- If you can't play with the big dogs, get off of the porch!

Johnny D,

Thanks for giving me a laugh - the very idea of agents having moral responsibilities !.

AUTO320 you have made a fair comment about buyers not understanding fully the implications of a contract.
However the OP's grievance is in relation to a delay on the builders part of 18 months!! If the build had been completed it would have been possible for the OP to sell but in this instance he is in limbo. So who is at fault here?

Summer is correct if a contract is entered into then within reason it should be kept.
People have repayements to make and 18 months overdue is not good enough i think the developer has questions to answer.

If the contract allows for delays without penalty, then there is no issue. That is what I mean when I say that buyers need to understand that it is a legal contract that they are signing.

With regards to delays in an off-plan development -- it is rare for most of these to be delivered on time, but investors are usually delighted at delays. They have bought at today's prices (assuming that they bought wisely) and are not being asked to complete for a couple of years. If the investment is good, it will appreciate over that time while the buyer has had to only invest part of the cost.

Above all though, always be aware that buying properrty is not a game; you are entering into a legal contract and if you have problems with any elements of the contract you should raise these issues before you sign, not later. It is still my view that the reason most people try to wriggle out of contracts either relates to "cold feet" or a late view that they did not buy wisely at the outset. Crying after the event about some imagined responsibility of the agency is not the answer; think before you sign.

Hi Auto,
I have read your reply with interest and agree with most of it. However I am not trying to wiggle out of the contract, I am just trying to sell on an assignable contract or complete on the deal with a mortgage.
The reason I can't complete is because I cannot now get a mortgage large enough. Very few peoples lives stand still and circumstances change. In this case I could have completed a year ago but not now.

I don't expect to get out of the contract but I would expect some help or advice on my options from the "Professionals?" that sold it to me.

You know business doesn't have to be so tough, all I asked is to know my options.