Some are great, some aren't, just like with anything (Estate Agents in general)

Member Name: Lady1981

Product:	Estate Agents in general
Date:	25/01/09 (119 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: If you get good one, they can smooth the way

Disadvantages: if you get a bad one, your whole chain could fall apart

An estate agents is someone who acts as agent in connection with the selling of land or buildings. It is usual for the seller to pay the estate agent commission upon completion of the transaction.

I spent a great deal of time liaising with estate agents during my previous career as a conveyancer.

Like in any field of work, some agents are good and some are not so good.

Considering that I had a good working relationship with many agents local to me, when I viewed properties in the past I still found that several agents were dishonest enough to tell me out and out lies during viewings.

That said, I have found an equal amount of estate agents are genuine, friendly people, only too willing to tell you the truth about a property becasue ultimately you will uncover any lies anyway which leads to problems down the line, and it's against their nature to mislead you.

Many agents, particularly those who work for a chain, are under enormous pressure to meet sales targets. During the years of the property boom it was much easier for them to achieve the targets set but now, with the current recession, this is no longer the case.

It seems that due to the current difficult property market conditions, estate agents have had to step up their game and are going out of their way to build up proper lasting relationships with both sellers and buyers, which I am sure, can only be beneficial for all parties involved.

We all know how stressfull moving home can be, and often sellers/buyers will vent their frustration at the estate agents, even though it is not always their fault (don't forget how many factors a transaction is reliant upon). This does mean that estate agents can spend much of their time fire fighting, instead of actually doing something productive, like ferrying documents around, getting signatures etc to speed up a transaction.

I have found over the years that estate agents often have no clue about the conveyancing process, which I do find very frustrating because a conveyancer will explain to them what's happening on a file and it can become lost in translation, like chinese whispers, and this can cause big problems. I think some training in connection with the conveyancing process would be very beneficial for many.

I have known many buyers who have relied heavily on the estate agents who are actually acting on the sellers' behalf, not he buyers. Buyer beware!

Ultimately, I think it must be remembered that estate agents are selling a product and therefore you should be prepared for sale patter.

When it comes to an estate agents commission, haggling is very important, particularly in today's economic climate. If you have agreed commission around 1% then that's a pretty good deal, so long as you have a good relationship with that agent and you believe they will do a good job on your behalf. Don't forget that VAT is added! So many people forget!

Finally, be careful when signing the agent's contract, there are often tie ins and "small print" to be careful of.

Summary: Some are great, some aren't, just like with anything