Castle Estate Agents - stressing me out!

mikeystipey

Hi all

We're currently trying to buy a house and think we've found a really good deal. The thing is we're dealing with Castle Estate Agents and I'm finding their way of doing things very odd. If anyone has had any experience of them I'd be glad to hear about it. Here's the sequence of events:

Viewed the house last Wednesday, and put in an offer of only ten grand less than the asking price as it was already extremely good value (there had been a price drop of €120,000 in the space of a month on it). Got what now seems to be a spiel about the sellers wanting to close very quickly and the agent said he was "95% sure" a deal could be struck the next day.

Thursday - they haggled me up 5 grand which we had no problem with. Agent said he'd ring back but when I rang him back later he said the seller was gone playing golf.

Friday - agents says they want to give one more viewing on Saturday and asked me to come along just to make sure I was happy with the place. There was just one other couple there, who I could see liked the place. I told the agent I wanted a decision either way by lunchtime Monday and he said absolutely.

Monday - agent says the other couple put in a bid a grand above mine so I countered with a grand more. He rings back half an hour later saying they won't go any higher and the place should be mine. BUT - he can't quite get a final decision as the seller's wife is off playing bowls (wtf!). This was 1pm and he didn't call back all day (does a game of bowls take 5 hours?!)

Today - rang the agent at 10am, secretary said he would ring back, but no word since. Maybe I'm being quite impatient but is this really the way to close a deal? He even told me yesterday to get the booking deposit ready.

Sorry I've gone on a bit but any advice is welcome

cheers
Mikey

Zulu

He's taking the piss. And I reckon trying to drive the price up.

Give an offer. A final offer. Do not budge from it. It shouldn't be more than the others offer. ...and tell them the offer is off the table COB today. Then forget about it.

zac8

You gave him a deadline and after it passed you're still chasing him? He has you on the hook there. You need to be far more composed when dealing with estate agents.

tricky D

In this day of mobile phones, off playing golf or bowls is a bit less than credible. Viewing with another couple, is that normal? I'd be thinking of putting in the original lower offer.

odds_on

Was the "other couple" a real potential purchaser or a plant by the estate agent to get you to think that there was a real purchaser interested.

To me, it would be unethical to invite two potential purchasers at the same time, especially when one party had already seen the property (and put in an offer.

Just my thoughts.

Snakeblood

mikeystipey wrote: »

Hi all

We're currently trying to buy a house and think we've found a really good deal. The thing is we're dealing with Castle Estate Agents and I'm finding their way of doing things very odd. If anyone has had any experience of them I'd be glad to hear about it. Here's the sequence of events:

Viewed the house last Wednesday, and put in an offer of only ten grand less than the asking price as it was already extremely good value (there had been a price drop of €120,000 in the space of a month on it). Got what now seems to be a spiel about the sellers wanting to close very quickly and the agent said he was "95% sure" a deal could be struck the next day.

Thursday - they haggled me up 5 grand which we had no problem with. Agent said he'd ring back but when I rang him back later he said the seller was gone playing golf.

Friday - agents says they want to give one more viewing on Saturday and asked me to come along just to make sure I was happy with the place. There was just one other couple there, who I could see liked the place. I told the agent I wanted a decision either way by lunchtime Monday and he said absolutely.

Monday - agent says the other couple put in a bid a grand above mine so I countered with a grand more. He rings back half an hour later saying they won't go any higher and the place should be mine. BUT - he can't quite get a final decision as the seller's wife is off playing bowls (wtf!). This was 1pm and he didn't call back all day (does a game of bowls take 5 hours?!)

Today - rang the agent at 10am, secretary said he would ring back, but no word since. Maybe I'm being quite impatient but is this really the way to close a deal? He even told me yesterday to get the booking deposit ready.

Sorry I've gone on a bit but any advice is welcome

cheers
Mikey

Sounds like a big pile of crap. Go back to original offer, if you're feeling generous.

Zulu

Yea, I sounds really dodgy. I'd say tell them you've had a little time to think about it and you withdraw your offer.

Then make a new offer (the origional offer you made), and tell them they have 24/48 hours to consider it. Don't make any other offers. If they claim another offer has been made - so be it let the other people have it.

bobbyg

Looks like the estate agent is doing a fine job of getting the best price for the vendor, at this rate you will soon be offering more than the initial asking price!

I think you played your hand too soon by showing him how keen you are on the place and also going to the second viewing.

misschoo

Also remember that that estate agent will be earning a commission on the sale - so the more the house sells for the more commission the estate agent earns!

amdublin

misschoo wrote: »

Also remember that that estate agent will be earning a commission on the sale - so the more the house sells for the more commission the estate agent earns!

Freakeconomics...

Running out the door.
Will explain later

Offy

misschoo wrote: »

Also remember that that estate agent will be earning a commission on the sale - so the more the house sells for the more commission the estate agent earns!

If it was me Id tell the agent that because of all the messing about I dropping the offer to 5k less that what I first offered. You are been played. They want to get more out of you and they know how. Its a sales trick. With all the houses availavle at the moment agents are hurting, take advantage of it and say goodbye if they dont accept the original offer minus 5K.

RasTa

Why make an offer of 10k less then the asking? The estate agent knows that you will be willing to pay the full price so it just messing you about till you're there.

amdublin

Offy wrote: »

If it was me Id tell the agent that because of all the messing about I dropping the offer to 5k less that what I first offered. You are been played. They want to get more out of you and they know how. Its a sales trick. With all the houses availavle at the moment agents are hurting, take advantage of it and say goodbye if they dont accept the original offer minus 5K.

If the agent is getting 1.5% commission that's only €75 :pac:

Milk & Honey

amdublin wrote: »

If the agent is getting 1.5% commission that's only €75 :pac:

It is not so much the commission, it is the prospect of getting another sale. The neighbours will be interested in how much is achieved and will call him if they are thinking of selling and think he gets the best prices.

RasTa

amdublin wrote: »

If the agent is getting 1.5% commission that's only €75 :pac:

It's 1575 ... I doubt he is selling the house for 5k

amdublin

RasTa wrote: »

It's 1575 ... I doubt he is selling the house for 5k

Sorry, meant "additional"

I.e. You reduce by €5k he loses 75.....

You increase by €5k it's only an additional 75 to him....

mikeystipey

thanks for the responses everyone, I didn't actually think anyone had responsed as for some reason my email didn't alert me as it usually does. There was me feeling all rejected

Anyway, about 3 hours after I started this thread the agent rang back saying the place was ours at the price agreed on Monday. He said the sellers (who are in their 70's) had been waiting to speak to their daughter about the final selling price. Again I'm not sure how much of this was the truth or just stalling but we decided to take a chance and go with it as we really want this house and we'd be getting a lot more for our money than similarly priced houses. Paid the deposit and we'll see how things go.

Re some of the points made above (I don't know how to use the multi-quote thing):

zac8 / bobbyg: I admit we were over eager when making the initial offer, but we really want to get a place bought asap and we're prepared to pay a few grand more as a price on that. The few grand more would be a cheap price to pay for my sanity because this whole process does my head in.

tricky d: Didn't want to put in a lower offer because again this would just drag out the bidding process.

odds on: Most viewings we've been have had more than one viewer at them and I guess all viewers must be regarded as potential purchasers. I don't think the other couple were plants but I see your point.

Re more commission: I think Milk & Honey is right here...I doubt that the extra €30 or €50 the agent would get for haggling me up an extra 2 grand would be worth his while but the seller is more likely to recommend him to to other sellers if he maxes out the selling price.

Anyway, I'll follow up with how things go

Snakeblood

mikeystipey wrote: »

thanks for the responses everyone, I didn't actually think anyone had responsed as for some reason my email didn't alert me as it usually does. There was me feeling all rejected

Anyway, about 3 hours after I started this thread the agent rang back saying the place was ours at the price agreed on Monday. He said the sellers (who are in their 70's) had been waiting to speak to their daughter about the final selling price. Again I'm not sure how much of this was the truth or just stalling but we decided to take a chance and go with it as we really want this house and we'd be getting a lot more for our money than similarly priced houses. Paid the deposit and we'll see how things go.

Re some of the points made above (I don't know how to use the multi-quote thing):

zac8 / bobbyg: I admit we were over eager when making the initial offer, but we really want to get a place bought asap and we're prepared to pay a few grand more as a price on that. The few grand more would be a cheap price to pay for my sanity because this whole process does my head in.

tricky d: Didn't want to put in a lower offer because again this would just drag out the bidding process.

odds on: Most viewings we've been have had more than one viewer at them and I guess all viewers must be regarded as potential purchasers. I don't think the other couple were plants but I see your point.

Re more commission: I think Milk & Honey is right here...I doubt that the extra €30 or €50 the agent would get for haggling me up an extra 2 grand would be worth his while but the seller is more likely to recommend him to to other sellers if he maxes out the selling price.

Anyway, I'll follow up with how things go

Good luck with it anyway. It's not too much more than you wanted to pay initially so call it a win.

mikeystipey

Snakeblood wrote: »

Good luck with it anyway. It's not too much more than you wanted to pay initially so call it a win.

cheers Snakeblood!

Fergl

I'd pass on a house any house if it is being dealt with by Castle Estates.:eek:

Won't bore you with the details (pm if you want) but my experience with them was easily on of the most stressful experiences of my life.:mad:

I was pm'd a facebook page which is dedicated to highlighting their history:)

Supercell

So annoyed by Castle **SHAKES FIST GRRR!!***
We looked at a Castle house twice then on the second viewing there was a phantom bid at the max of our range(got just that morning he told us!!) which magically vanished a couple of days later when we told the agent we couldnt/wouldnt top it..

Then, only last week we signed contracts on a house that while is nice etc was a second choice to one they told us was sold. However I see today they've dropped the price on it...WTF!!!!

I'm really guite furious about it, if they told us it was sale agreed but there was problems and to wait another week or so we would have..but no, it was sold according to them. I would never ever buy or sell from this shower, too much stress and suspect dealings all round

amdublin

Supercell wrote: »

I'm really guite furious about it, if they told us it was sale agreed but there was problems and to wait another week or so we would have..but no, it was sold according to them. I would never ever buy or sell from this shower, too much stress and suspect dealings all round

Frustrating I know But sales can and do fall through....

You will never know tbh....

Good luck in your new house dude

Spiritofthekop

Castle are easily one of the worst estate agents ive ever dealt with.

Adrift

Had the same craic with these clowns a few years back. Nothing seems to have changed. It was our first house, there was a hell of a lot of pressure from them to buy the house we were looking at or indeed any house on their roster. We received a few texts and calls from them every day regarding one property or another. Everyone we dealt with there seemed to be a Lionel Hutz type character.


Anyway, we eventually were going to go with one of the properties on their roster when the same rubbish started, phantom clients, convenient last minute bids above our bid, so we pulled out and ended up buying in a different location with a different estate agent which proved to be a relatively smoother process. The funny thing was, a few months after moving into our new home I had a call from someone from Castle saying the owner, upon further consideration was now ready to entertain our initial offer on the property we had bid on. Complete joke.

P. Breathnach

I'm just wondering: how do sellers regard Castle?

Do remember that the estate agent works for the seller, not for the buyer.

TwoShedsJackson

P. Breathnach wrote: »

I'm just wondering: how do sellers regard Castle?

Do remember that the estate agent works for the seller, not for the buyer.

We used them to sell our house in Crumlin and were happy with the service. They got us about 20k more than we thought they would, do bear in mind though that this was in 2005...

Heisenberg1

mikeystipey wrote: »

thanks for the responses everyone, I didn't actually think anyone had responsed as for some reason my email didn't alert me as it usually does. There was me feeling all rejected

Anyway, about 3 hours after I started this thread the agent rang back saying the place was ours at the price agreed on Monday. He said the sellers (who are in their 70's) had been waiting to speak to their daughter about the final selling price. Again I'm not sure how much of this was the truth or just stalling but we decided to take a chance and go with it as we really want this house and we'd be getting a lot more for our money than similarly priced houses. Paid the deposit and we'll see how things go.

Re some of the points made above (I don't know how to use the multi-quote thing):

If you are dealing with stilorgan office beware they are absolute cowboys of the highest order tried to bully Mrs Luzon on more than one occasion

zac8 / bobbyg: I admit we were over eager when making the initial offer, but we really want to get a place bought asap and we're prepared to pay a few grand more as a price on that. The few grand more would be a cheap price to pay for my sanity because this whole process does my head in.

tricky d: Didn't want to put in a lower offer because again this would just drag out the bidding process.

odds on: Most viewings we've been have had more than one viewer at them and I guess all viewers must be regarded as potential purchasers. I don't think the other couple were plants but I see your point.

Re more commission: I think Milk & Honey is right here...I doubt that the extra €30 or €50 the agent would get for haggling me up an extra 2 grand would be worth his while but the seller is more likely to recommend him to to other sellers if he maxes out the selling price.

Anyway, I'll follow up with how things go

If you are dealing with the stillorgan office beware absolute cowboys. Tried to bully Mrs Luzon on more than one occasion to increase our offer on a place. Sale fell though in the end but the bull they came out with was a joke.

handlemaster

Supercell wrote: »

So annoyed by Castle **SHAKES FIST GRRR!!***
We looked at a Castle house twice then on the second viewing there was a phantom bid at the max of our range(got just that morning he told us!!) which magically vanished a couple of days later when we told the agent we couldnt/wouldnt top it..

Then, only last week we signed contracts on a house that while is nice etc was a second choice to one they told us was sold. However I see today they've dropped the price on it...WTF!!!!

I'm really guite furious about it, if they told us it was sale agreed but there was problems and to wait another week or so we would have..but no, it was sold according to them. I would never ever buy or sell from this shower, too much stress and suspect dealings all round

I think the lesson there is not to jump in with both feet. They know how to play the game and if they see your really interested they will play you for all they can get. It is their job after all.

odds_on

handlemaster wrote: »

I think the lesson there is not to jump in with both feet. They know how to play the game and if they see your really interested they will play you for all they can get. It is their job after all.

And end up losing the sale!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Supercell

handlemaster wrote: »

I think the lesson there is not to jump in with both feet. They know how to play the game and if they see your really interested they will play you for all they can get. It is their job after all.

Some lesson, It cost them an easy sale, I bought somewhere else for the same price they are asking for that one!!
When the time comes to sell my new gaff most definitely wouldn't want Castle to be selling it.
My strong suspicion is the poor vendor is being told that there are no offers and that when they get him dropped to a certain level an offer will magically appear...

iratira

Yep similar bad experiences.
Went to view a house and the guy was late, and not sorry for it.
I then emailed them to ask for more info on the house and 3 days later no reply. How rude, unless he's in bed with the flu which, I strongly doubt.
My feeling is that they don't respect the prospective buyers.
Interesting to find this thread.