Viewing the second hand property: what to ask the EA?

Jack_92

Hello Everyone,

We have contacted a few brokers and soon will be (hopefully) in a position to view a few second hand properties.

I was wondering if anyone that has gone through this process could give me advice on the sort of things to ask (and not to ask perhaps) the EA during the viewings?

Apologies if this has been discussed already.

Thank you!

Pawwed Rig

There is nothing you can really ask that will help you. Your surveyors report should show most issues with the property. Your own research should determine if it is a nice area or not. EA will only tell you the positives but not the negatives.

Do not let them know how much your mortgage approval is as suddenly other bids will appear mysteriously disappearing once your limit is reached.

Gumbo

Jack_92 wrote: »

Hello Everyone,

We have contacted a few brokers and soon will be (hopefully) in a position to view a few second hand properties.

I was wondering if anyone that has went through this process could give me advice on the sort of things to ask (and not to ask perhaps) the EA during the viewings?

Apologies if this has been discussed already.

Thank you!

The EA is selling the property for the seller. They won’t know much to be honest. Based on my experience, they are simply key holders and door openers for the viewings.

All questions and tech request will come from your survey if you buy.

STB.

Jack_92 wrote: »

I was wondering if anyone that has went through this process could give me advice on the sort of things to ask (and not to ask perhaps) the EA during the viewings?

Answer no questions especially about what your max budget is.

Estate agents own nothing. Treat them as warily as you would a second hand car salesman.

dudara

I wouldn’t ask the EA a lot of questions about the state of the property. The surveyors report will answer those.

The questions I used to ask the EA were around the level of interest, the position of the vendors, the local area, the position of other vendors.

the_syco

Jack_92 wrote: »

We have contacted a few brokers and soon will be (hopefully) in a position to view a few second hand properties.

Check out the places at 10pm on a Friday or Saturday night, to see if you'll have any loud neighbours. Asking the EA will only get the answers that you want to hear; but their seller is the client, not you.

3DataModem

Forget the EA. Direct your questions to your solicitor to address with sellers solicitor once you are sale agreed.

Lumen

Assume everything the EA says is a lie. Look out particularly for lies of omission.

Better to speak to the EA as little as possible and fill the void with your own research and professional opinions you've paid for.

Bananaleaf

when we bought our house we were total novices and had no family to advise us on what to ask, what not to ask.

We got a brilliant, very thorough survey done on the house but I remember him asking me if I had any specific concerns, which I answered no to because I hadn't really looked around in that much detail myself, because the EA was telling me, no need, sure the surveyor will spot anything that needs to be spotted.

There turned out to be nothing major lurking under carpets and rugs thankfully, but I just remember thinking to myself 'if I were doing this again I would give the place a really thorough going over and note down anything that didn't look right.

Bananaleaf

Also, not a question for right now, but if you do go on to buy and close sale close to Christmas or new year make sure you get the MPRN number for the electricity. Also find out what gas and/or electricity provider the seller was with. I remember having a wild goose chase on my hands on 22 Dec last yr and was facing prospect of no electricity over the holiday period only one of the girls in the EA office had forgotten her keys and ended up coming back into the office at the exact time I had called to ask them for the number and details.

splinter65

Don’t tell him how much you have to spend. Do not ooh and ahh about the house, in fact just smile and nod at everything your shown and everything he/she says.
He/she is there to sell you that house and to get as much money out of you as possible. That is the objective of the EA. The more the house sells for, the bigger the cut the EA gets.
If you demonstrate how badly you want the house and how much you like it, you will find that whatever bid you put on it, there will be someone bidding higher then you. Don’t forget the EA doesn’t have to prove to you that there actually is someone else bidding against you.
So be totally non comittal when looking at properties.

CreativeSen

Much of my experience is referenced above, the EAs are there to open the door, take details of those that are viewing and keep track of bidding. They wont be able to give you much info on the property, the neighbors or the neighborhood except for schools and transport links.

But we had one experience where the EA said, as we entered the house, "I am legally obliged to tell you that due to a history of flooding you wont be able to get house insurance for this property". I added history of flooding to my list of questions.

Whats the current bid?
How many active bidders are there?
Are the vendors looking to move fast?
Have the vendors already bought somewhere or are they looking to buy after they sell?
Has this house flooded and will i be able to get house insurance?

Jack_92

dudara wrote: »

I wouldn’t ask the EA a lot of questions about the state of the property. The surveyors report will answer those.

The questions I used to ask the EA were around the level of interest, the position of the vendors, the local area, the position of other vendors.

Does it mean I would need to appoint a surveyor to answer all my questions regarding the property before I place a bid or after I went Sale Agreed (or in between)? If a surveyor was to be involved in all properties I was interested, it would cost a fortune, on the other hand, it wouldn't make much sense to bid on a house, that might have 'hidden' unknown issues?

Bananaleaf

Jack_92 wrote: »

Does it mean I would need to appoint a surveyor to answer all my questions regarding the property before I place a bid or after I went Sale Agreed (or in between)? If a surveyor was to be involved in all properties I was interested, it would cost a fortune, on the other hand, it wouldn't make much sense to bid on a house, that might have 'hidden' unknown issues?

You only engage with the surveyor after sale agreed. If the report pulls up something that would make you change your mind you can pull out of sale. You can get mortgage deposit back unless you've signed a contract but I don't know about booking deposit with EA. That would be small money though, compared to the price of the house, so if there is a big issue, you won't mind letting it go.

When buying second hand, our surveyor told us that while you can use the report to try negotiate a better price even though you are sale agreed, he told me this tends to be futile as second hand houses are being sold as a 'what you see is what you get'

The structural survey is great - I initially thought it was a bit overpriced and resented paying for it, but one year on, it is still our go-to manual when we have a bit of cash to do house repairs. The survey will tell you about the condition of everything in the house, not just what is about to fall down or what's going to kill you. We are making our way through it still, ticking off the jobs as we get them done.

It's such good value for money, I feel that in ten yrs I'd nearly just get another one for the sake of it, just to see how the place is

The house valuation that you have to pay for after sale agreed - now THAT is a total waste of money