For now I’ve halted my search – there’s clearly a bubble here in London and I can’t afford anything without pushing myself into mortgage repayments in excess of £1000/month.

Also, I can’t seem to get any agents to show me decent properties – just ones which are a bit shoddy, or poor location. The ‘best’ one was where they ‘forgot’ to mention the shopping centre being built at the bottom of the garden 😯

A colleague who used to be an estate agent said there’s a typical tactic where agents will only show people the crap places so they think that’s all that’s available and buy in desperation.

What I noticed was that when I changed my Rightmove search to include Properties Sold, there were loads which had sold during the period of my search, at the right price, and what I would consider decent quality – but I’d never seen them for sale.

So I’m wondering how you’re supposed to get to see these nice places. Some people say you have to charm the estate agents… which can be difficult, they’re not always that bright IME…

I’ve no intention of paying them a bung to show me somewhere decent but does anyone else have a suspicion or evidence of this going on?

Or any tips how you can get them to show you decent places?

Estate agents? Nooo 🙄

Having been a ‘preferred’ buyer recently (looking for ages, willing to pay the going rate, ready to move quickly), we were regularly shown places before they appeared on rightmove and in fact, the house we’re hopefully moving to, we were the first to see and offer on.

Based on your other thread, maybe they think you’re unlikely to ever offer what a place will go for and as such are cutting you out of the loop since it’s a waste of their time – from their pov at least.

Yeah I heard something like this from an agent I befriended years ago. He said that if someone sells their house through him then he’ll show them the best properties. Didn’t really get how they can hide them though- maybe like this when it’s a sellers market? Dunno but sellers would expect their property to be widely advertised.
BTW, this agent told me all sorts of stuff about what he gets up to, so much infact I decided I couldn’t deal with him and sold through someone else!

Houses are selling so quickly at the moment. Any good agent with have a list of number to call as soon as something good comes available, of people looking. Stuff I am dealing with is selling within days without even making the internet. So dont read to much into it. You just need to be the right person in the right place. Im sure there are thousands of agents in London. So unless your on there mailing list you will miss this bit of the pie.

But also, there are builders putting brown envelopes in agents hands for the right stuff.

I’ve heard that a lot of estate agents round here are in the pockets of developers. I’m not sure of the legalities of ‘bungs’ but it must be a large amount of money in some cases which would be very hard to turn down. I’ve never really heard of private buyers getting the nod for a ‘gift’ though.

For what agents have actually done for me in the past and for what they’ve cost, I don’t think I’d bother in a sellers market like this.

I had an interaction once when I was looking at a house and the agent pretty much did their level best to put me off buying it, how it was likely the parking area would be sold separately and have a house built on it, inflated costs of fixing the heating etc. . Young and naive, I listened a bit too much.. and it sold a week later. To one of his friends.

I’m certain it happens at all kinds of levels in local government.

We’re fairly sure we put the highest offer in on a house but it took ages for the agents to grt back to us. It seems like they were negotiating with someone with cash up to our level.

Estate agent implied it might have worked better for us if we had our mortgage organised through them!!!!!!

It’s a dirty businesses. Why wouldn’t an estate favour a buyer who was paying them a finders fee ? There are many properties being marketed “quietly” currently. It’s worse with properties needing renovation or land where builders will have deals with agents as a minimum guaranteeing them the sales commission when they sell and often a “retainer” upfront. None of this is bribery, it’s just unethical.

I think estate agency should be regulated like any other financial service, after all it’s the largest financial transaction most of us undertake.

What I would say is to visit the agents personally once a week or so, being on a mailing list is out of mind, in this market you will not be taken seriously. An agent will call potential buyers long before details are prepared and sent out on a mailing list. I would also put notes through the door of properties that interest you.

@wanderer – yes sounds like that was the case. Estate Agents should not be allowed to offer other services. I would have put a note directly into the sellers letterbox, explaining your offer and saying you where ready to proceed, perhaps implying you’d like a quick response as you are looking at other places too.

it might have worked better for us if we had our mortgage organised through them

I think they try and ‘derisk’ stuff now.

If you’ve done the mortgage through them they know you have the wherewithal to pay and won’t suddenly find a financial problem 6 weeks after the offer is accepted.

Same if you sell through them – they have a fair idea you’ll have the money and you’re also motivated to complete a purchase.

It may not be about giving them a bung it’s about being a credible buyer.

A few years ago a bloke told me about his estate agent missus undervalued a house for an old dear, sold to mate then proceeds split. This wasn’t a one off.

Nice.

This also happened to my bestmates dads corner shop. Vastly undervalued then suddenly bumped on for a huge increase within a couple of weeks.

More ‘on’ topic- a few years ago I was looking to buy in a certain area. Was told off the record a empty old dears house was up for sale by the estate agent secretary. No matter what couldn’t arrange a viewing/was told ‘we dont have keys yet- will comeback to you when we do’. It ‘sold’ 3 days later..

Round our way (Twickenham) places are selling so quickly for in excess of the asking price, I would have thought that unless an agent sees you as a quick deal with little hassle there is probably someone else that they can flip a quicker deal with possibly for more than the house was listed for. House 4 doors down from ours has just sold in days for £40K over asking price. When we moved 3 years ago we got to the point where we knew what the going rate was for the houses we were looking for, agents knew we had sold our house and were ready to go. Agent called my wife as soon as they had the go ahead to sell, she saw it that evening, I went the following day and offered the asking price pretty much on the spot as they had another buyer lined up to see it the following morning, house never went near going out to the general market, and that was before the London market went bonkers again.

Not sure about bribes.

But definitely the best stuff won’t hang about and you’ll need to be in the agents office nice and regular to remind them you’re ready to go.

Just my experience:

When we sold up our last place (late 2011 for ref), it didn’t get advertised. The agent had six or seven potential buyes lined up straight off the bat and we had two offers within a week. We made it look tidy, and I guess we got the list price about right.

We were outbid on a ‘project’ about two years ago by a buyer with a load of ready cash (wheras we had to mortgage). Was up for sale for around two weeks in total and again the agent got details onto rightmove. A few photos made it up there, I think.

lump – Member
But also, there are builders putting brown envelopes in agents hands for the right stuff.

Builders? Nooo never.

Badgering them about prices things sold for 6 or more months ago doesnt put you in a good light in the estate agents mind, it screams time waster.

On the other hand he might be showing you things he thinks you can barter down to the price your out of date figures show.

A friend kept on missing out on centre London houses by a few thousand in sealed bids ” best offers ” after missing 4/5 houses he asked the agent how can I get the next house! Agent said for 5k he will open all sealed bids tell him the highest and let him put his in 1k higher 30 mins later!!!
So he still had to out bid the highest bidder and pay 5k for the privilege!!!
Nice job if you can get it!!!

Houses are selling so quickly at the moment. Any good agent with have a list of number to call as soon as something good comes available, of people looking

This, especially in booming areas. We’re in Oxfordshire. We had a viewing as soon as we confirmed it was on the market and before they’d had an opportunity to take pics, draft an ad etc as they had a list of frustrated buyers of similar properties. We asked the “ceiling price” for our sort of property at the time and sold within 24hrs, the same working day the ad went live.

In fact we bought it the same way – we were on their books as buyers, the house had sold and been withdrawn from sale and the sale had just fallen through. Maybe we were given ‘preferential’ viewing as strong buyers (renting locally, mortgage in place with hefty deposit etc) but we saw it (and bought it) before it was re-listed.

Hard as it might be try and foster good relationships with the estate agents, so as mentioned above you are in the forefront of thier mind (not just a name on a mailing list) and they know what you are looking for.

Our house had been on the market for a while and not sold, so we took it off and explored extention possibilities (planning app not approved in the end). We stayed in contact with our local agents, keeping a toe in the market, so they knew we where still interested in the right property. One tuesday they called to say they had a property that might suit us, we viewed it that afternoon. Interested, so said put ours on the market. Without advertising they had 4 viewings lined up for the weekend (we couldn’t do any earlier as we had to clean and tidy). That led to 2 second viewings and 2 offers. By the wednesday we’d accepted an offer on ours and had our offer accepted on the one we wanted to buy.

So yes a lot of stuff does get sold without being advertised. The tricky bit is making sure you’re the one the estate agaent calls when the property comes up. Buying and selling through the same agent obviously gives them 2 lots of fees, so helps bump you up their priority list. But it also means you can usually negotiate a better rate with them 😉

@chris Sealed bids don’t mean anything unless you are in a room when they are opened and you can be sure your bid hasn’t been looked at in advance by only handing it over on the day. If you say would want to do this the agents will be very very much against it. Sealed bids are a scam.

@chris Sealed bids don’t mean anything unless you are in a room when they are opened and you can be sure your bid hasn’t been looked at in advance by only handing it over on the day. If you say would want to do this the agents will be very very much against it. Sealed bids are a scam.

I assume that the buyers put in their sealed bids. And the estate agent, on his own in his office, opens them up and then calls the ‘winner’ to say ‘well done, you’ve won’

No opportunity to totally make up a figure then? Or take the highest bid, ring that person and tell them they’re second on the list and they could win if they bid a little more…

That’s just being mugged for several thousand pounds (+ interest)!

Hora:

A few years ago a bloke told me about his estate agent missus undervalued a house for an old dear, sold to mate then proceeds split. This wasn’t a one off.
Nice.

Our house was supposed to have this happen, but his mate was away for the week of the sale, we told the old lady that we wanted to buy, so she pushed her lawyer to accept our bid. The estate agent was very iffy about it. I’m convinced they are mostly crooks.

A friend of mine is a property developer in Newcastle (over 400 properties in his portfolio)

He makes a very big fuss of the his favorite estate agents, takes them all out for an all expenses blow out at least twice a year. he’s not doing that for no reason…

But also, there are builders putting brown envelopes in agents hands for the right stuff.

Friend of mine was an estate agent in London for a while about 10 years ago. He said he had a few builders/developers who he knew who would “reward” him if he showed them potential development properties first. At that time the going rate was apparently £1k cash in his pocket if they ended up buying it.

A few years ago a bloke told me about his estate agent missus undervalued a house for an old dear, sold to mate then proceeds split. This wasn’t a one off.

Nice.

I’m ‘informed’ that’s how an agent local to me raised the capitol to set up his own business….

Nice.

DrP

Around this way they just put up sold boards, I assume there’s a waiting list.

We were very matter of fact, stated our good position, made sure they knew we wouldn’t mess around, viewed that day, not that weekend.

They do have a preferred list (who get called first) for those with mortgages arranged through them, I presume they get £500ish per deal, maybe offer to match that?

chrisdiesel – Member

A friend kept on missing out on centre London houses by a few thousand in sealed bids ” best offers ” after missing 4/5 houses he asked the agent how can I get the next house! Agent said for 5k he will open all sealed bids tell him the highest and let him put his in 1k higher 30 mins later!!!
So he still had to out bid the highest bidder and pay 5k for the privilege!!!
Nice job if you can get it!!!

Urban myth if I ever I heard one !

We’re fairly sure we put the highest offer in on a house but it took ages for the agents to grt back to us. It seems like they were negotiating with someone with cash up to our level.

TBH a cash buyer (or one with no chain) is far more preferable to someone in a chain.
We’ve just sold my mums house without it going on the open market to a cash buyer who offered the guide price. We could have hung on for another £10k but then get involved in a chain which could collapse at any time – just not worth it.

Not everything gets advertised, we’re just about to sell a buy to let and it may well just go to another investor via an Estate Agent without going on ‘display’. We had a sale fall through to a 1st time buyer before so have asked the agent not to consider them.

Next time you ask to see a property ask about their lettings management service then drop in that your current portfolio is managed by an agent you have recently had a disagreement with so may be interested in transferring the rest of your portfolio over for the right rates. My money is on you being shown a raft of not yet on the market great offers.

They are an un-regulated business handling transactions worth millions and only interested in making a profit (sweeping but largely accurate generalisation). If you want the deals you have to let them believe that they are going to make money out of you one way or another. Failing that fill the enveleope!

All this talk of hugely increasing house prices at the moment, media and agents massively talking up the market, sellers market due to shortage of homes for sale, Help to Buy currently in place.

Yet Help to Buy will end soon, banks being told by BOE to factor in a 35% house price crash and a large hike in interest rates into their affordability calculations. Housebuilding revival leading to plenty of new stock soon. Election due minimum of 12 months time, but possibly sooner.

Buying a house makes financial sense in the long run but looking at the above are you sure you really, really want to buy right now?

BoE Warns of house price correction

What I don’t understand is why a seller would take a property off the market after only a day or two. Surely they would be better off letting it run and trying to get people into a bidding war.

First time buyer offered 7k over the ASKING price on here!

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/any-experienced-house-buyers-sellers-out-there

banks being told by BOE to factor in a 35% house price crash and a large hike in interest rates into their affordability calculations

@agent007 – this is not true, the house price decline was a factor in the banks capital adequacy modelling (AQR Stress Tests) along with other economic stresses. It has nothing to do with the affordability tests which are based upon things like outgoings, a rise in interest rates. If house prices fall it doesn’t make your mortgage less affordable, a rise in interest rates or loosing your job does that.

hora
A few years ago a bloke told me about his estate agent missus undervalued a house for an old dear, sold to mate then proceeds split. This wasn’t a one off.

Nice.

Sadly lots and lots of these stories, an agent in Poole undervalued sold and resold for a big profit (£200k ?) a property from an old lady and retired to Florida. She was pursued by the Police, don’t know if she was ever brought to justice.

One thing- where are these house buyers finding all their money from?!

My situation hasn’t changed over the past 5yrs but I still wouldn’t spunk a large part of my earnings on a new house in the hope that (a) I keep my job and (b) it’ll be worth lots more in 20yrs.

They are an un-regulated business handling transactions worth millions and only interested in making a profit (sweeping but largely accurate generalisation).

Are you fully aware that EA are actually businesses and not charities or public services? Of course all they’re interested in is making profit

If you want the deals you have to let them believe that they are going to make money out of you one way or another.

There are no ‘deals’ – the EA job is to get the best price possible for the vendor who is paying them a percentage based commision. It is the vendor who decides whether to accept an offer or not.

15 years ago EA had it pretty easy. Today market values are freely available to everyone via the interweb and sales commision has dropped considerably. EA now need to move sales through as quickly and efficiently as possible in order to make some money – certain serial time wasters may be cut out of the loop if an easier/quicker sale can be had for the same price.