How do I know if an estate agent is bluffing?

Maybe I'm having a blonde moment but I can't think of any situation which would urge an EA to want to bring down the value of a house? (Hosepipe or otherwise)!
 
MrMan said:
You mean the EA hadn't vetted all of the neighbours to see exactly who lived where, my God how unprofessional.
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The estate agent knew quite well about the neighbour - hence their defence being "it's not my problem" rather than "I didn't know about the neighbour".

They also knew about the virtual picketting that was going on at the next house, if they had two eyes.

P.
 


I dont think theres any legal onus on an EA to declare negative aspects of purchasing the property (be it a local paedophile, the future erection of a phone mast or a dump etc).

I think the valuable lesson here is that potential buyers should do all they can to find out as much info as possible about the neighbourhood - perhaps talking to the local Garda station or residents association or even knocking on doors to chat to residents.
 
oceanclub said:
The estate agent knew quite well about the neighbour - hence their defence being "it's not my problem" rather than "I didn't know about the neighbour".
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I wouldn't automatically make that assumption. "It's not my problem" is a blunt statement of fact - it isn't their problem. Not very supportive but factually accurate. It certainly doesn't necessarily mean that they knew about it.
 

Sorry, I don't really understand this story. Why were they hanging around the house if the guy was still "about to be" released from prison? Was there a 24-hour picket on his house even before he returned? Where exactly was this?
 
ubiquitous said:
Sorry, I don't really understand this story. Why were they hanging around the house if the guy was still "about to be" released from prison? Was there a 24-hour picket on his house even before he returned?
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Seemingly. If you want to know why, you'll have to ask these people directly, as I'm not the rent-a-mob vigilante type.

P.
 
ubiquitous said:
Just sounds odd. Are you sure your FOF wasn't telling a porky?
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That sounds plausible, but if the story is true the EA would be spreading gossip rather than fact if he were to say there was a paedo next door. An EA cannot and should not talk about what might happen next door, if asked is there anything that they know of that might be detrimental to the area I would expect them to answer truthfully if not politically.
 
Well I'd have fired the estate agent for being incompetent, he should not have brought potential buyers when this was going on
Reasons for lower valuations: Buyer is the auctioneer and he owns property next door and he's going to demolish the properties, buyer is a developer who does a lot of business with the the auctioneer, to lower the valuation for CGT purposes etc. it could be for any number of reasons
Does it matter if an estate agent is bluffing, his job is to sell the property at the best price, the buyer is the person who makes the decision on the best price and the seller makes the decision on what to sell for. But here on AAM we have people saying they overpaid because the agent told me lies about other bids - just don't bid.
 
Deb___ said:
Maybe I'm having a blonde moment but I can't think of any situation which would urge an EA to want to bring down the value of a house? (Hosepipe or otherwise)!
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Valuation for CGT or inheritance tax purposes maybe?
 
"Does it matter if he's bluffing", of course it does, it's not bluffing , its lying. If Estate Agents want people to see them in a more positive light, they have to become paragons of honesty. Bidders have to know that they are bidding against a real person.
Auctioneers now DO have a legal obligation to reveal all they know about the property and to answer all questions truthfully, even if they are negative. Have a look at http://www.npsra.ie/website/npsra/npsraweb.nsf/page/index-en

None of this excuses Towger for telling a story which is on the face of it a pack of lies. I believe that Estate Agents have cheated and lied for years to get what they want, but so have sellers who paint over the cracks, and buyers who pretend to be cash buyers and are secretly trying to sell their wreck of a house. What I cannot really understand is why Estate Agents as a group are so vilified. My buying experiences are probably typical of everyone elses, I met the dodgy car dealer type Agent who told me the extra bit of garden was part of the house, when it belonged to the property behind, the Agent who took my deposit after doing a deal, and posted it back to me without explanation, then sold the property to someone else without lettng me bid any further. On of these guys was on the take, the other just didn't know his stuff and was winging it. But I've also met plenty of Agents who showed up for a viewing on time, were knowledgeable, courteous, and who sounded genuinely sorry for me when I didn't get what i was bidding against. I've also met dodgy solicitors, dodgy car salesman, carpet salesmen, dodgy politicians, I won't go one, but in every business ther are crooks, what is it about estate agents that inspires people to make stuff up?
 
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