Estate agent not helping me find a property to buy

Jjjjjjjbarry

Hello,

Just wondering if it's my area or all estate agents rubbish.... or am I just expecting too much?

All they seem to do is act as the key holder and go between for offers and don't do anything to help.

All I ever get is, "Have a look on Daft".

Are they not supposed to take your info and budget and suggest properties that might suit because the photos on Daft don't always tell the full story or sell a house like they should or maybe the location has more to offer than appears...... i.e sell the house!

athtrasna

Estate agents work for the vendor not for the purchaser. Yes a good one will match up purchaser with property but given the current market they don't need to do that extra work

vicwatson

When they can show me their qualifications I'll believe in them, until then I wouldn't trust one as far as I could throw one

screamer

athtrasna wrote: »

Estate agents work for the vendor not for the purchaser. Yes a good one will match up purchaser with property but given the current market they don't need to do that extra work

They're pretty crap for the vendor also TBH and I can say this with conviction as we just recently sold a property. They are worse than useless. It's no wonder that selling your own property became so popular at one stage.

Johngoose

Amazing that they have college courses in order to become one now. <mod snip>

sullivk

As someone who is currently in the process of selling, buying AND renting I can assure you that all they want is that big commission for doing as little as possible. I have found they are untrustworthy, whether you are a buyer/seller/landlord/tenant...

Rew

Bought, sold and buying again haven't met a good one

Thespoofer

Bought an old place a couple of years back. I have to say the EA was a very honourable man.
This did surprise me a bit.

newacc2015

Johngoose wrote: »

Amazing that they have college courses in order to become one now.I mean a car salesman doesn't have to go to college I'm sure...

Most didnt go to College. They went to the courts and paid a bond of €1270. They were then legally estate agents. New estate agents have to do a course to be one. Yet the existing estate agents dont have to go back to train. So we have a majority of estate agents in this country who have no clue what the law is re property sales / management.

I dont think some estate agents are excellent. But the fact you need a piece of paper now, you will stop excellent sales people getting into the industry as there is a barrier to entry

Pat Mustard

<deleted quote snipped>

Plenty of them survived the previous recession, so I wouldn't hold my breath on that one.

athtrasna

Mod note

Generalisations are really unhelpful. "They're a shower of <insert expletive> Ted" may be your experience but tarring an entire profession based on experience of a tiny sample is unrepresentative.

Salvation Tambourine

I recently bought a house and after dealing with a few awful estate agents and a couple of decent ones, the one we ended up dealing with was fantastic. He couldn't have done more to help.

I won't go into too much detail but he was able to arrange a last minute viewing for us for the house we eventually bought after a late in the evening email the night before.

All throughout the process he was keeping us updated and asking for updates from us. He went beyond the call of duty a few times doing what our solicitor should have been doing.

I gave him a bottle of wine as a thanks and merry Christmas at the end of it all.

Johngoose

Nokotan wrote: »

I recently bought a house and after dealing with a few awful estate agents and a couple of decent ones, the one we ended up dealing with was fantastic. He couldn't have done more to help.

I won't go into too much detail but he was able to arrange a last minute viewing for us for the house we eventually bought after a late in the evening email the night before.


All throughout the process he was keeping us updated and asking for updates from us. He went beyond the call of duty a few times doing what our solicitor should have been doing.

I gave him a bottle of wine as a thanks and merry Christmas at the end of it all.

In what county were you dealing with him just out of interest?

dresden8

Meh, mixed bag.

I wouldn't use the one I sold my house with again. Would have walked earlier but not entirely my choice.

The one I bought off screwed every last euro out of me for their client.

Would have liked that better if it wasn't me.

You pay your money you takes your chances........

Salvation Tambourine

Johngoose wrote: »

In what county were you dealing with him just out of interest?

Swords in Dublin

awec

Jjjjjjjbarry wrote: »

Hello,

Just wondering if it's my area or all estate agents rubbish.... or am I just expecting too much?

All they seem to do is act as the key holder and go between for offers and don't do anything to help.

All I ever get is, "Have a look on Daft".

Are they not supposed to take your info and budget and suggest properties that might suit because the photos on Daft don't always tell the full story or sell a house like they should or maybe the location has more to offer than appears...... i.e sell the house!

Why would you give your budget to someone whose job it is to get as much money as possible for people selling their house?

Are you going to walk in and say "what can I get for 200 grand? Oh yea, I love that house at 160K!"

First thing they will be doing is talking to their client (i.e. the person paying them) who is selling that 160k house and telling them that this guy has a budget 40K over their asking.

Tombo2001

I have to laugh at the almighty sense of entitlement people have with regard to Estate Agents.

If I walk into Arnotts and say "I will pay you absolutely nothing for anything in this shop"; do you expect them to say, well look here, at that price we have this fabulous product range for you to choose from........I don't think so......

But Estate Agents are different?

As a buyer, how much are you paying an Estate Agent: Zero?

What level of service should you personally expect for you Zero Euro payment? Logic would suggest, to me anyway, that you should expect Zero Service.

And why should it be any different? because you're a 'real genuine buyer'.......you sure aren't the only one.

Much easier to call them lazy and a shower of crooks, than to actually put yourself in their shoes and try to understand what can be expected from them and how best to work with them.

My experience in buying is that EA's are decent, a few of them are ropey, but that applies to every profession. Be nice and respectful towards them, if you fall out with them, you are the one who gets hurt. As a buyer, you need a good relationship with them more than they need a good relationship with you.

Jjjjjjjbarry

awec wrote: »

Why would you give your budget to someone whose job it is to get as much money as possible for people selling their house?

Are you going to walk in and say "what can I get for 200 grand? Oh yea, I love that house at 160K!"

First thing they will be doing is talking to their client (i.e. the person paying them) who is selling that 160k house and telling them that this guy has a budget 40K over their asking.

No I'm not going to do that or agree a price on a house that hasn't been valued or compared to market value for the area. Why would I do that?

I also do not intend to pay full budget... it's a guide line and maximum I'd pay for the right property. Key word being right. I might pay full budget for dream house and 3/4 of it for an adequate house. Telling the EA my budget would be beneficial for them to rule out the ones that I can't afford. I'm at the lower end of the scale by the way so I think you've got the wrong end of the stick there.

Gumbo

Jjjjjjjbarry wrote: »

No I'm not going to do that or agree a price on a house that hasn't been valued or compared to market value for the area. Why would I do that?

I also do not intend to pay full budget... it's a guide line and maximum I'd pay for the right property. Key word being right. I might pay full budget for dream house and 3/4 of it for an adequate house. Telling the EA my budget would be beneficial for them to rule out the ones that I can't afford. I'm at the lower end of the scale by the way so I think you've got the wrong end of the stick there.

Simple solution, refine your search in daft and myhome.

Jjjjjjjbarry

kceire wrote: »

Simple solution, refine your search in daft and myhome.

Will that tell me which sellers are keen to do a deal? Surely the vast majority of sellers overprice the house? Isn't that where a good EA brokers a deal?

Gumbo

Jjjjjjjbarry wrote: »

Will that tell me which sellers are keen to do a deal? Surely the vast majority of sellers overprice the house? Isn't that where a good EA brokers a deal?

Nope. The EA is there to get the best price as possible for the seller.

davindub

Jjjjjjjbarry wrote: »

Will that tell me which sellers are keen to do a deal? Surely the vast majority of sellers overprice the house? Isn't that where a good EA brokers a deal?

No generally you refine the search to houses within your price range. But look, you are only starting and you will soon learn, some houses are deliberately underpriced, they aim to get loads of interest and bid up well beyond this. Some are over priced as they think they will get offers below the asking but still higher than starting from a lower point. Some value themselves and their valuation more than the house, they will hold on until the market improves and eventually they are right.

Sometimes when you are working to a budget it can be hard, you will probably be outbid a lot or go over the max you are prepared to pay for that property, you will be wondering what fool would bid that much... but good luck, eventually you will get something, just you might have to redefine your concept of what is good value a few times.

Steodonn

Jjjjjjjbarry wrote: »

No I'm not going to do that or agree a price on a house that hasn't been valued or compared to market value for the area. Why would I do that?

I also do not intend to pay full budget... it's a guide line and maximum I'd pay for the right property. Key word being right. I might pay full budget for dream house and 3/4 of it for an adequate house. Telling the EA my budget would be beneficial for them to rule out the ones that I can't afford. I'm at the lower end of the scale by the way so I think you've got the wrong end of the stick there.

If I was the person selling the house would you tell me your budget ?

CaoimheSquee

Hi OP,

You will need to find an agent that specifically offers a service for buyers and there are not many of them. But if you wish someone to do the search, viewings and negotiations for you they do exist.
However EA's in Ireland act for the seller not the buyer so it is perfectly normal for them to refer you to the daft/myhome etc. Although you may ask them if they know of an EA that does a buyer service in the area but there will be a fee, naturally.

gaius c

Jjjjjjjbarry wrote: »

Hello,

Just wondering if it's my area or all estate agents rubbish.... or am I just expecting too much?

All they seem to do is act as the key holder and go between for offers and don't do anything to help.

All I ever get is, "Have a look on Daft".

Are they not supposed to take your info and budget and suggest properties that might suit because the photos on Daft don't always tell the full story or sell a house like they should or maybe the location has more to offer than appears...... i.e sell the house!

You told them your budget???

seagull

Thespoofer wrote: »

Bought an old place a couple of years back. I have to say the EA was a very honourable man.
This did surprise me a bit.

Are you doing Mark Anthony impressions?:)

Jjjjjjjbarry

gaius c wrote: »

You told them your budget???

No.

Jjjjjjjbarry

CaoimheSquee wrote: »

Hi OP,

You will need to find an agent that specifically offers a service for buyers and there are not many of them. But if you wish someone to do the search, viewings and negotiations for you they do exist.
However EA's in Ireland act for the seller not the buyer so it is perfectly normal for them to refer you to the daft/myhome etc. Although you may ask them if they know of an EA that does a buyer service in the area but there will be a fee, naturally.

Thank you. That's the answer I was looking for!!

Jjjjjjjbarry

Steodonn wrote: »

If I was the person selling the house would you tell me your budget ?

Obviously not. Just trying to find out the role of the EA!

Jjjjjjjbarry

davindub wrote: »

No generally you refine the search to houses within your price range. But look, you are only starting and you will soon learn, some houses are deliberately underpriced, they aim to get loads of interest and bid up well beyond this. Some are over priced as they think they will get offers below the asking but still higher than starting from a lower point. Some value themselves and their valuation more than the house, they will hold on until the market improves and eventually they are right.

Sometimes when you are working to a budget it can be hard, you will probably be outbid a lot or go over the max you are prepared to pay for that property, you will be wondering what fool would bid that much... but good luck, eventually you will get something, just you might have to redefine your concept of what is good value a few times.

Good info there - thanks very much!!!

pinkypinky

You need the American model: a realtor, who scouts properties to your specification and then brings you to see them. I've never heard of an estate agent offering that service in Ireland but think there's a niche for someone to fill.

riclad

estate agents show the house ,give info to buyers and take bids and
act as a agent for the seller .All the info is on daft.ie and myhome .ie
as to houses for sale ,prices , etc its up to you to view house,s in your price range and in an area you want to live in .
say 20 People view a house 2 people might put in a bid, one person ends up buying it ,
The market is booming, I don,t think agents would have time to talk to every potential buyer as to what they want and theres people who view a house but cant actually get loan approval to buy it for various reasons
including bids might increase the house sale price.

Jjjjjjjbarry

pinkypinky wrote: »

You need the American model: a realtor, who scouts properties to your specification and then brings you to see them. I've never heard of an estate agent offering that service in Ireland but think there's a niche for someone to fill.

Definitely!!

Even as it is, I think the agents could do more. If I went into a garage and asked about a car they'd keep me there for the day showing me every option they had before letting me go. There doesn't seem to be any push by them even for houses that are on daft under multiple agents where they could miss out completely. It's sort of like they don't care. I know if I was the seller, I'd expect more.

davo10

Jjjjjjjbarry wrote: »

Definitely!!

Even as it is, I think the agents could do more. If I went into a garage and asked about a car they'd keep me there for the day showing me every option they had before letting me go. There doesn't seem to be any push by them even for houses that are on daft under multiple agents where they could miss out completely. It's sort of like they don't care. I know if I was the seller, I'd expect more.

But you're the buyer, and you don't pay anything to the EA. If EA's charged for the service you expect, would you be happy to pay? That is what happens in the US, the realtors for both the buyer and the seller gets paid.

4ensic15

Jjjjjjjbarry wrote: »

Definitely!!

Even as it is, I think the agents could do more. If I went into a garage and asked about a car they'd keep me there for the day showing me every option they had before letting me go. There doesn't seem to be any push by them even for houses that are on daft under multiple agents where they could miss out completely. It's sort of like they don't care. I know if I was the seller, I'd expect more.

If you behave like a tyre kicker you won't get much time from a garage or an EA. They will only spend time if they think you are a serious prospect, not a time waster. IMO the problem is with you, not the EAs.

lawred2

Jjjjjjjbarry wrote: »

Hello,

Just wondering if it's my area or all estate agents rubbish.... or am I just expecting too much?

All they seem to do is act as the key holder and go between for offers and don't do anything to help.

All I ever get is, "Have a look on Daft".

Are they not supposed to take your info and budget and suggest properties that might suit because the photos on Daft don't always tell the full story or sell a house like they should or maybe the location has more to offer than appears...... i.e sell the house!

You've been watching too much Kirsty and Phil

riclad

Rich people who are buying an expensive property might employ an agent to look for them,
it makes no sense for an agent to spend time with every person they see
who may or not buy a house,or may be a time waster
And 99 per cent of houses are advertised on the web.
some people look at houses for curiousty, or maybe in 3 years time i might get a mortgage when i have 30k saved up.

Jjjjjjjbarry

4ensic15 wrote: »

If you behave like a tyre kicker you won't get much time from a garage or an EA. They will only spend time if they think you are a serious prospect, not a time waster. IMO the problem is with you, not the EAs.

I'm discussing whether estate agents could do more to sell houses and be more helpful to potential buyers. If they sell the house, they get paid. It doesn't matter to me who's paying them because their goal should be to sell because that's how they get paid and that's what their job is. A car sales man gets paid by the garage but he/she will do more then just tell you to look on Carzone. My original post was whether EA's should be more than just key holders and nothing to do with my own situation which is none of your concern :pac:

Jjjjjjjbarry

lawred2 wrote: »

You've been watching too much Kirsty and Phil

Probably! Are they the people who buy houses in the sun?

Jjjjjjjbarry

Thanks everyone for your posts and opinions, good to know how others feel.

It seems most people are happy to just to browse daft. That's fine for people who know exactly what area they want to live in but when you're open to move to whatever area suits your needs, I think a good EA should do some of that homework for you as they should have visited all the houses on their books and know them. I don't think they do.
Obviously a few EAs posting here too I'd bet.
If you are one, then pull your socks up!

davo10

Jjjjjjjbarry wrote: »

Thanks everyone for your posts and opinions, good to know how others feel.

It seems most people are happy to just to browse daft. That's fine for people who know exactly what area they want to live in but when you're open to move to whatever area suits your needs, I think a good EA should do some of that homework for you as they should have visited all the houses on their books and know them. I don't think they do.
Obviously a few EAs posting here too I'd bet.
If you are one, then pull your socks up!

Or, you could pick the ones you like from the daft website, and then go view them.

amcalester

Jjjjjjjbarry wrote: »

Thanks everyone for your posts and opinions, good to know how others feel.

It seems most people are happy to just to browse daft. That's fine for people who know exactly what area they want to live in but when you're open to move to whatever area suits your needs, I think a good EA should do some of that homework for you as they should have visited all the houses on their books and know them. I don't think they do.
Obviously a few EAs posting here too I'd bet.
If you are one, then pull your socks up!

Are you going to pay the EA for their time or do you expect them to do this for free?

EricPraline

pinkypinky wrote: »

You need the American model: a realtor, who scouts properties to your specification and then brings you to see them. I've never heard of an estate agent offering that service in Ireland but think there's a niche for someone to fill.

There are currently a small number of buyer's agents active at the high end of the Dublin market.

witchgirl26

Honestly though if an EA is employed to sell a house, will they really tell the buyer that no this one won't suit them? They have no relationship with the buyer so there's no real onus to go "oh yes this area/house will suit your needs perfectly". Also while EA's may know a little about the area (shops & schools nearby), they don't necessarily know the place inside out and what it would be like to live in that area and whether the school is any good or not.

I've had EA's tell me that a house would definitely suit my needs and while it might on paper, looking around it, it wasn't for me at all. For something that big, I'd prefer to do the leg work myself in terms of figuring out what I want. I'd do the same with a car too.

I'm similar to you OP in that I'm open to a few areas but what I've done is gone out to them myself. Honestly I prefer doing that as it lets me see what the area is like. I've managed to narrow it down to a few and just set up alerts on the websites for those areas so when a new house comes up, I look and see.

Interestingly enough my cousin who's in the US had a realtor for his house purchase but only to utilise for the bidding process as he'd lost out on 2 houses trying to do it himself. He did all of the sourcing though himself as the cost for the realtor to do that part for him was more than he was willing to pay out on top of a house purchase.

Sunny Dayz

Is it really too much work and effort for EA's to deal with people who actually present to their office looking to buy a house?




I've presented myself to garages before outlining the car spec I'm looking for, no of doors, engine size, min year, max budget and had the salesperson suggest a number of vehicles both within my budget and others rightly tempting me outside my budget, they are sales people and that's their job.


But if you go into an EA and say you want to buy a house, have €300k mortgage approval and are looking for x bedrooms in y and z general areas, that the EA won't even spend half an hour suggesting a few places they have on their books to sell. Is the EA not a sales person also?

witchgirl26

Sunny Dayz wrote: »

Is it really too much work and effort for EA's to deal with people who actually present to their office looking to buy a house?




I've presented myself to garages before outlining the car spec I'm looking for, no of doors, engine size, min year, max budget and had the salesperson suggest a number of vehicles both within my budget and others rightly tempting me outside my budget, they are sales people and that's their job.


But if you go into an EA and say you want to buy a house, have €300k mortgage approval and are looking for x bedrooms in y and z general areas, that the EA won't even spend half an hour suggesting a few places they have on their books to sell. Is the EA not a sales person also?

Yes but the problem with sales people is that they want the sale and aren't necessarily looking out for your best interests. Before going to a garage, I'd have a good idea of all the spec you mention but I'd also have looked at what they had up online and have a couple of specfic cars that I want to look at. If they have other ones, great but not what I'd expect going in.

Again, for a purchase that big, I'd prefer to do all my own research as far as possible and not rely on any type of sales person.

ThisRegard

Sunny Dayz wrote: »

But if you go into an EA and say you want to buy a house, have €300k mortgage approval and are looking for x bedrooms in y and z general areas, that the EA won't even spend half an hour suggesting a few places they have on their books to sell. Is the EA not a sales person also?

I think it's all EA depending. We've dealt with a few since the start of the summer, 6 actually. 2 were poor, made no effort in selling the house they were showing, nor making themselves looking professional, they just sat in the corner. 1 was ok, but never got any follow up calls.

The other 2 were great, one spent from first thing in the morning to lunch showing us around all the properties on the books that matched our criteria, was straight up and honest and would certainly deal with again.

The other, who we eventually bought from, was also great, arranged viewings at short notice and brought property to our attention that they were aware was due to come on to the market.

Mr. Incognito

I've worked in Property and professionally I have to be around estate agents.

My view is that they are generally unknowedgable and poor.

There is no qualifiication to be an estate agent, they tend to learn on the job. And the turnover in the Industry is high as they get crap listings to start so you tend to be dealing with someone who doesnt know what they are at which skews the stats.

I keep hearing that the Estate Agents job is to maximise the profit for the Seller. That's nonsense. That's EA speak for saying their job is maximise their commission.

The EA's job is to match a willing buyer with a willing seller. If they concentrated on doing that then they would be more successful. The problem in Ireland is that we have more willing buyers than willing sellers so the EA doesnt have to do much. Wave at the house and watch people trip over each other making offers. The one that is the loudest will usually get the sale. The EA then thinks he is great.

This is unfortunate. There really is a need for knowledgable and experienced EA in this country. People watch escape to the County and the presenter is showing three homes and a mystery house and people have a skewed view of what EA's actually do.

EA's are there to show you around for a viewing and stick a sign in the grass. That's pretty much it for Ireland. The level of fees they get for this is astronomical compared to the effort/ ability/ requirement.

What they should be doing is vetting buyers, and building a portfolio of buyers and sellers so that every house isn't a "sure we'll throw it up on Daft and see who turns up" but when a property comes on the market which matches the buyers profile they can pick up a phone and say, I have a property here that may interest you as you missed out on the last one. This would save Purchasers time, and money, and viewings.

The art of gazumping or phantom bids should be made a criminal offence in my view and anyone convicted of it should be banned from the Industry for life. A simple piece of legislation that freezes the price once sale agreed has happened as they have in UK could sort if out very quickly.

Jjjjjjjbarry

Mr. Incognito wrote: »

The EA's job is to match a willing buyer with a willing seller

That's my view on it too. The fact that they earn their money through the seller is irrelevant.

o1s1n

When I sold my last place, the house was listed on the Friday with a viewing and we had an offer by the Monday. The estate agent was adamant that this was the best offer we would see and that there was no chance for us to get any more - so we should take it. Bearing in mind it was a house in a very desirable estate with a prime location on the front road overlooking a green. And the offer was 10k under asking.

We held on for another week and in the end got 5k over asking.

There was actually a point when we got the offer that the estate agent was shouting at me down the phone as I was refusing to take it. It was like she had absolutely no comprehension that it was our property and therefore our decision. At that point I was seriously considering just pulling the sale and going with someone else. Unfortunately we couldn't though given the funds were being used to buy another property.

What I took from that was the estate agent (whom I can only describe as a more offensive version of Kay Burley from Sky News) thought she had a really easy flip on her hands over a weekend, but got extremely pissed off when we then actually made her work for her commission.

spaceHopper

Pick one arrange a meeting ask them how much for them to find you an property to buy, but it's not a free service. They might have one on their books or they will talk to other EA's on your behalfe. Other wise do your own leg work and deal with each EA as you find them