Estate agent asks me to show my house as he's busy?

AlastairSC

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We have a house on sale with a well-known upmarket agent. Today he called my wife to say people are interested in viewing on Saturday but he's not free to do it - could she do it? She can't so she texted me to ask if I could.

I think the agent shouldn't have asked. My wife thinks that, as he did ask, we should do it.

Is it just me or is this not appropriate? Not to mention unprofessional? We're paying 2.5% for the agent to use his experience with the buyers. If we'd wanted to do it ourselves we wouldn't have engaged the agent. If neither he nor one of his colleagues is not free then the appointment should be rescheduled?

Then I got to thinking that perhaps other agents do this too and others have been put in our position. I could understand this in the boom where houses sold themselves and agents were too busy. But now?

I'm just about to (I) complain or (II) offer to do it for €250 out of his commission. Talk about paying a dog and barking yourself!!

What should I do?
 
AlastairSC
I would show it myself. Its really about getting people to see the house and hopefully getting it sold. In the good old days owners usually showed their homes themselves. I remember guiding prospective buyers through my parents home (in my school uniform at the tender age of 17 years.) They bought the house the next day.
 
With things the way they are...........

I'm of the mind to just say Jump? How high!

It is just impossible at the moment to get anything over the line and , as a (former) conveyancing solicitor ( before houses stopped selling ) I'd just show to anyone who was interested.

I found myself on a site visit recently ( I don't do site visits) - but whatever it took was whatever it took to get the deal over the line.

So, I'd be a "just do it".

mf
 
I also think that you should show the prospective buyer around your house.

But I have questions also regarding the fees.

If you show the house and you are able to "sell" it to the buyer:

Should the EA expect the "sale" fee? Or should they only expect to receive an "introduction" fee?

Can we realistically expect this particular seller to pay the full EA's fees if the house is "sold" to this viewer by the home owner?

Marion
 
Tell the agent the you will show it but and in writing tomorrow that you would only be willing to pay half the fee for his introduction. End of story.
 
Tell the agent the you will show it but and in writing tomorrow that you would only be willing to pay half the fee for his introduction. End of story.


Exactly but maybe half is too much to give him (only if a sale goes through to completion obviously) maybe a 1/4 is more than deserved in these difficult times.
 
Many of the auctioneers during the boom did not need sales techniques to sell properties... people bought them regardless of agent... was easy money for them at the time. Nowadays they must put in the effort to make sale go thru.. very surprised with his attitude... suggest you ring him and ask what reduction he is offering if you make the sale go thru
 
I'm sure that most prospective buyers would rather do the walk alone. So all you've got to do is open the door. But a talk on the fees wouldn't go amiss. Although judging by your admitted "Location", all you've got to do is open the flap :D
 
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We're paying 2.5% for the agent to use his experience with the buyers. If we'd wanted to do it ourselves we wouldn't have engaged the agent.
<snip>

I'm heartened to see an estate agent busy.
I'm astonished to see a 2.5% rate being charged for their services.

I'd be tempted to take the house off him, put it up on the buy and sell, sell it yourself and spend the few grand on a holiday or add it to your next purchase.

ONQ.
 
I'm heartened to see an estate agent busy.

ONQ.

Maybe the estate agent is busy with a personal issue.

The EA has "found" this perspective buyer for you, what you pay only becomes an issue if this buyer does buy your house.

Most EA's just let the buyer in and answer most basic questions, you should be able to put in the effort and do a better job.

If there are any issues with the house maybe get a friend to show the house so they can avoid answering any tough questions as the EA would do.
 
I'm heartened to see an estate agent busy.
I'm astonished to see a 2.5% rate being charged for their services.

I'd be tempted to take the house off him, put it up on the buy and sell, sell it yourself and spend the few grand on a holiday or add it to your next purchase.

ONQ.

Agree 100% with above,EAs are not noted for either their intelligence or work ethic,this is my personal experience from years dealing with the breed (yeah there are exceptions yadayada) personally I would run this cheeky halfwit and engage another at a hell of a lot lower than 2.5% or try and sell it yourself its not that hard,you will probably do a better job yourself.
 
I'm stunned agencies are still charging 2.5% (which is what, around 6k for the average home?) simply to place an advert on daft.ie and show people around your house. Quite amazing really.

Considering how much money you are potentially giving them I think their request is completely unreasonable. Obviously you should show the house anyway but like the other people say you need to renegotiate the fee.
 
The reason for getting an EA is to have no contact with potential buyers and for them to sell the property. Do you want the potential buyer asking you a load of questions and haggling with you ?
 
I would be pragmatic, you want the house sold, you have a viewer (rare as gold dust) I'd just do what the estate agent asked.

I once had an estate agent who wasn't able to make an appointment ask me to show the prospective buyers around, which I did. It was in my interest to do so.

If you do show it, let the buyers time to view it on their own, I personally prefer to view a house without the owners, so you can go out in the garden or whatever, to let them talk among themselves. I've viewed a few properties in my time and I like estate agents who let me to myself. It's was great during the boom when they were so busy on the mobile phone you could wander on your own.
 
you have a viewer (rare as gold dust)

I thought that viewers had become plentiful but buyers were rare as gold dust. If viewers are so rare, and therefore estate agents are not that busy, it is a very poor service from a mainstream estate agent who is charging you a very high rate of commission.

Potentially the estate agent already has experience of the prospective viewers and has assessed that there is little chance of them buying your property and so does not want to waste his/her time on them. Ask your estate agent if he has more information on the prospective viewers and what the rate of commission will be if you sell the house to one of them.
 
Cheeky git. What's next - your solicitor decides he's too busy and wants you to do the conveyance? Tell him to get lost.
 
Agree 100% with above,EAs are not noted for either their intelligence or work ethic,this is my personal experience from years dealing with the breed (yeah there are exceptions yadayada) personally I would run this cheeky halfwit and engage another at a hell of a lot lower than 2.5% or try and sell it yourself its not that hard,you will probably do a better job yourself.


But yet they are blamed in part for the property boom/bubble. Maybe the OP would be better off listening to reasonable responses rather than bitter potshots.
 
There are two issues here. Firstly the EA should not ask for the owner to do his work even if he has a personal/family committment on that day. He should reschedule the appointment, but the viewer may have put the screws on him that this 'is the only day I can see it'. I would imagine that this was an absolute last gasp solution and it wasn't common in boom times either.
Second issue is that he has asked so it's in the OP's interest to go ahead and do the viewing. Look at your goal, you want to sell so do everything you can to achieve that. The fee is already very high, but that is up to the OP to renegotiate now.

If anything you may get some feedback that might open your eyes to what the general buying public think of your house and price.
 
We're paying 2.5% for the agent to use his experience with the buyers.

2.5% is insane as a rate to be paying - have you signed anything to agree to this? If you have then I would not go ahead with the viewing as you will be paying them for YOUR work should it sell to these viewers.
Other option would be as suggested in a previous post to get them to agree in writing that if it does sell to these buyers then you will agree to pay them a flat fee of your choice or .5% of the sale price as they haven't done their job.
 
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