Sixty per cent of people who have bought or sold a property in the last five years have experienced a significant problem with their estate agent, according to research from the National Association of Estate Agents.
The biggest complaint was that their agent had bad communication skills - either not calling them back or chasing them too much (21 per cent). A further one in seven (14 per cent) felt as though their agent didn't actually care about them.
An additional 13 per cent claimed that their estate agent had not told them about known faults in properties they were looking at; one in nine (11 per cent) said their agent made promises to them that they did not see through. Other problems reported by home buyers and sellers included finding that their agent was unnecessarily over-pricing, being dishonest or exaggerating property descriptions.
Those in London were most likely to have had a problem with 83 per cent claiming to have had an issue. Those in Scotland felt best served - the figure there was 35 per cent.
However, no fewer than 39 per cent of buyers and sellers across the country did not consider or choose their agent on the basis of whether they were in a professional body, or had agreed to any code of conduct or were regulated in any formal or informal way.
With the extensive administrative tasks and processes involved in buying or selling a home, communication between agents and homeowners is essential. It's the estate agent's role to make these processes seem as pain-free and seamless as possible says NAEA managing director Mark Hayward.
The study also revealed that almost half (47 per cent) of those who didn't check whether their agent was regulated or not, said such a consideration didn't even cross their minds. A further 16 per cent said they assumed that all agents were regulated.
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Comments
@Maurice Hardy.
After having been involved with and a member of the NAEA for nearly 40 years the NAEA has NEVER spread the right message about itself and its members. That is why during all that time I was almost never asked about it by a client! Speaks volumes.
Of course the 16 per cent are right - all agents are regulated by legislation but not by NAEA. There is no such thing as informal regulation and NAEA sends the wrong message by pretending that there is and that it provides it. Isn't it about time NAEA spread the right message about itself - that it drives higher standards through training and CPD. A honest message is always a better one.