Is our estate agent even trying?

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Deb___

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Our house has been on the market for just over 3 months. We've had just 2 viewings in that time - both in the first 4 weeks so none in the last 9 weeks. I understand completely that we're in a recession (I'm feeling the pinch every single day) but I'm wondering is our estate agent even trying to sell it.

He hasn't phoned or emailed in 7 weeks, not even with a "we're still trying, things are quiet, hang in there" kinda update. When we signed with him I made it clear that, despite the crap economy and the likelihood of low viewing numbers I would like him to remain in regular contact with me, even if it was him giving us ideas on what we could do (decor suggestions etc.). We mightn't be able to afford to do them but I'd appreciate the feedback. Speaking of feedback, after the 1st viewing he rang to say: "it's their first property viewing, they're taking their time and will look at many more houses" and after the second viewing I had to ring him (after 3 hours of hearing nothing) and when I asked how it went he said "grand". I said "well, did they like it? Did they hate it? Any specifics?" and he said "ah it was grand, they're looking at lots of other places".

I know it's certainly not a sellers' market but shouldn't I expect better than this? If it was a sellers' market we could sell it ourselves. We engage the 'expert' cause he's supposed to be a salesman. It seems the recession is making people like him just sit down and do nothing. He'll be paid approx 4k if it sells, it's not cheap.

By the way he initially priced it at 320k which I thought was too much (it was worth approx 350k in '07) so, after 4 weeks I asked that it be reduced to 285k, my original figure. Maybe I p*ssed him off? But we've got to be realistic here.

P.S. I rang him yesterday and said I was surprised we hadn't heard from him and I asked how things were and he said "grand". ROFL! I asked him if there was any further interest and I just got "no, not really, it's the recession....".
 
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Well hearing nothing is better than hearing a load of Bull !! Have you considered placing the property with another agent as well, making the possible sale through joint agents. Nothing personal but things are actually quite tough at the moment.
 
I agree with mercmas first sentence, but to be honest he does sound fed up with the whole recession situation. I would look to move to or have my property with another agent also.
 
Thanks mercman & niceone. Yes we've been thinking of moving to another EA and have received recommendations about one in particular.

I'd love to use both but I don't know how that works. What if a passer-by sees both signs and calls up one EA? does the other EA get no commission then? I'm guessing we'd pay for signs and advertising with both? That's understandable. I just wouldn't want any blurred lines about which EA actually found the buyer.
 
From viewing over 20 houses in the last few months, I can honestly say very few EAs are actually salespeople. they had it too easy in the boom, and have forgotten how to sell!! There were a few I would have come back for a 2nd viewing had the EA tried to convince me, but most stood there while I looked around, didn't know the answers to most of my questions, and almost assumed I wasn't serious about buying! I asked them all to put me on their databases and phone me if anything suitable came up - got no calls!!
 
Deb___ said:
... I'd love to use both but I don't know how that works. What if a passer-by sees both signs and calls up one EA? ...
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Call the existing EA and ask for a face-to-face. At the meeting, relay your concerns and inform the EA that they have a two-week exclusive window to find you a buyer. If there is no buyer with the two weeks, tell them you are withdrawing from the contract and taking the house off the market, unless they can come back to you with a firm proposal to share the sale with another EA on the basis that there are no additional costs and that they share the already agreed commissions. (Obviously you need to check the existing contract to see if this if feasible.)
 
loukkcat said:
... I can honestly say very few EAs are actually salespeople. they had it too easy in the boom, and have forgotten how to sell!! ...
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I wouldn't argue with that but I would go even further and suggest that recent recruits were only ever order-takers and never knew how to sell.
 
mathepac said:
I wouldn't argue with that but I would go even further and suggest that recent recruits were only ever order-takers and never knew how to sell.
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So why do people use them? Why would OP not sell directly?
 
Time...it's easier to get someone else to do it (coordinate viewings, advertise etc). Personally I've never seen estate agents as sales people...they're merely facilitators of the sales process. If someone sees a property they want the only issues are the price the vendor is willing to accept and whether the buyer can afford that price. The only value an EA can add is through dodgy tactics (e.g. phantom bidders and general spoof). Beyond that, you just want them to be efficient and polite.
 
Deb.. I suggest you search the contract you have with EA as some if not most EA's have an 'exclusive' clause in their contracts.

If there is no clause, then no issue with second EA, but best you check fees with both. If there is an offer, one EA has to advise the other.

Also no reason why you couldnt try sell yourself but again check the current EA contract to see if they are sole agents
 
Maybe you have no viewers as there are no purchasers out there. You could try lowering your asking price to see if that gets you more people to view it. Have you checked the price of similar houses to yours in your area.
 

I'm failing to see logic here, you would have gone for 2nd viewings if the EA tried to convince you to? Did you like the houses or were you looking to just engage in a negotiation?
 

Why give them 2 weeks when a sale cannot be closed within that time frame. It would be simpler to just take it off the EA and cut out the loss of time. To the OP a 3 hour wait is not a major deal as sometimes EA's will have a schedule and make all their calls together when they return to the office (cutbacks re: mobile phone usage), but you should be given feedback of some sort although sometimes viewers are very hard to read and don't engage with the EA at all.
I would look at another agent or a joint agent and work out a budget that can be split. Make sure that they alternate there advertising so as not to incur a huge bill.
I wouldn't be happy that an EA put your house on the market at the price he did if you believe it was worth less so remember you are the boss and you can overrule any decision relating to your home.
 

It is one way of looking at it, but anyone that was/is on their game kept regular checks on their market place and were able to direct people towards houses rather than simply being contacted, opening the door and closing the sale. EA's get plenty of bad press but people generally like to think they made easy money with little input but that does not adequately encapsulate an EA's workload.
 
loukkcat said:
From viewing over 20 houses in the last few months, I can honestly say very few EAs are actually salespeople. they had it too easy in the boom, and have forgotten how to sell!
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Good point! They need to re-learn fast!


I think we'll give him another week and then make that call. Good advice, thanks!

John Rambo said:
Time...it's easier to get someone else to do it (coordinate viewings, advertise etc). Personally I've never seen estate agents as sales people...they're merely facilitators of the sales process.
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I hadn't looked at it like that. I need to think hard about this. If they can't attract a lot more potential buyers than I could on my own then the fee is insane.

chlipps said:
Deb.. I suggest you search the contract you have with EA as some if not most EA's have an 'exclusive' clause in their contracts.
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Thanks. I'll read through it again.

Bronte said:
Maybe you have no viewers as there are no purchasers out there. You could try lowering your asking price to see if that gets you more people to view it. Have you checked the price of similar houses to yours in your area.
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it's competitively priced - cheaper than the other similar properties around. Then again some of them are stuck in 2006 price ranges which is crazy.

MrMan said:
a 3 hour wait is not a major deal as sometimes EA's will have a schedule and make all their calls together when they return to the office (cutbacks re: mobile phone usage)
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That sounds fair actually.

MrMan said:
I wouldn't be happy that an EA put your house on the market at the price he did if you believe it was worth less so remember you are the boss and you can overrule any decision relating to your home.
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Yes we're being assertive now. The price thing annoyed me too but he really made it sound like we were under-pricing it so I listened but lowered the price not too long after.
 
Like Lookkcat above, I've also viewed a few houses in the past month or so. I'm interested in one in particular, but the estate agent didn't even show up for the viewing, but sent his wife instead. After four days, when he hadn't even bothered to follow up with a phone-call to ask whether or not I might be interested in the house, or if I had any questions, I called him and put a bid in on it of approx 30% below asking price (who knows where the market is at the moment, but I thought I'd start there anyway). He said that he would get back to me, but seemed insulted at my paltry bid. I got the feeling that he didn't even go back to the seller as he phoned back within about 5 minutes to say that they wouldn't even consider it. Since then, not a word from him.

So, from my experience, the answer to you question is 'No'. The only agent that seems to be selling houses in this area at the moment is the one who has reduced prices. All of the rest are living in some kind of pre-recession la-la land, or else their sellers are.
 
MrMan said:
I'm failing to see logic here, you would have gone for 2nd viewings if the EA tried to convince you to? Did you like the houses or were you looking to just engage in a negotiation?
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There were a few places I saw, that I would have perhaps been interested in, had the EA seemed willing to negotiate on price, discuss issues I didn't like, find solutions, etc...most either didn't know or didn't seem to care! One place had no sink in upstairs bathroom, all I was told is, yeah, that's pretty common for this part of Inchicore!!! She could have done a lot better than that. For a few places, I said asking price was 50k above my budget, and response was "that's a pity". I gave my details to lots of EAs to come back to me if other properties came on market, and not one did!

All that said, I am dealing with Savills on the sale of the house I am currently buying, and can't reccommend them highly enough. There is always someone at the end of the phone, they have done loads of stuff for me outside of hours, and really seem to be on my side rather than the vendors... I know all of this is because I am actually buying, and this great customer service started once sale was agreed, so think they only get their asses in gear, when they know they are getting cash out of it!! I presume they are getting very little return on investment for time spent "being polite" and showing nosy people around these days!!
 

There are very poor EA's still hanging around and from a sellers point of view it is frustrating, but what I don't understand is why don't vendors spend more time in selecting their EA? It really makes sense to sit down with the actual EA that will represent your property and not do as alot of people did and ring up and just ask whats your fee. If your EA is professional and shows a knowledge of your property type, area etc then discuss a fee, it would cut out the dead wood in no time.
Many EA's lack customer service basics and hopefully it will increase on the agenda as a result of the downturn.
 
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