As professions go, being an estate agent is considered by many – the majority, in fact – to be one of the lowest, right down there alongside bankers. Years of bad service and unscrupulous, underhand practices have helped form this opinion of estate agents in the minds of the UK public.

In some, probably too many, cases the reputation is deserved. The tactics employed by some agents to simply make as much money as possible to the detriment of their clients, the house sellers and buyers, are deplorable. It is unfortunate that the actions of an admittedly significant minority of agents have tarnished the reputation of those estate agents that provide excellent service and always act in the best interests of their clients.

So what actions, exactly, have led to the low reputation of estate agents?

The most obvious and highly publicised is gazumping. This is when an agent continues to show potential buyers around a property even after the seller has accepted an offer. They do this in the hope they will receive a higher offer. If this happens the first buyer with an accepted offer is told another one has come in and they are no longer going to be buying the property, leaving them in a difficult situation, especially if they have sold their own property in expectation of completing the purchase.

Some agents also value homes at far lower than they should be – and then go on to sell them to friends or colleagues at that lower price!

Using scare tactics to force sellers into accepting a lower price than they wanted is another common practice. This can include \’inventing\’ a series of lower offers, trcking the seller into believing they\’ll never get the asking price they wanted.

The opposite to this is never passing on offers tot he seller that the agent thinks are too low in the hope of achieving a higher one in the future and thus getting a larger fee. The seller is completely unaware of these offers and is therefore not in aposition to decide whether they want to accept it or not.

If the agent advises reducing the price – and therefore fails in their obligation to achieve the original asking price – it is reasonable to expect them to reduce their fee at the same time. Many agents refuse to do this, costing the seller more money once the house has sold.

A really common practice is for estate agents to value houses higher than they should be in an attempt to attract sellers. Believing their house to be worth more than they thought, the seller is easily tempted to sign with such an agent.

These COULD be described as underhand but not particularly \’evil\’. These next three examples, however, could be considered outright fraud.

Some agents have been known to give buyers fake documents in order to help them secure mortgages. They have also been known to provide completely fake evidence that properties in the same area have sold for more than they actually have. And lastly, some agents have even gone so far as to erect for sale / sold signs outside properties that they had absolutle nothing to do with.

It is no wonder that the reputation of estate agents is what it is when these sorts of practices are going on – and are still going on, even now. Finding an agent you can trust is not easy, though there are many out there. Talk to friends and relatives about agents they have used and the service they received. Ask the estate agents probing questions and don\’t be fobbed off by their answers. Seek assurances abou tthe way they will go about selling your house (or finding you one to buy) and, if possible, get those assurances in writing.

If possible, find a specialist estate agent in the area in which your\’re selling or wish to buy. For example, if you want to buy in Manchester city centre, find a Manchester city centre estate agents and carry out your due diligence on them. Agents that have been around for many years with good reputations are likely to provide you with the best service, whether you\’re a seller or a buyer.

Author Bio: Ben Greenwood is writing on behalf of Shepherd Gilmour, estate agents in Manchester.

Category: Real Estate
Keywords: estate agents, reputation, estate agents tactics, selling property