Buyers' agency chain builds to 22 high street offices

Ben - give your head a shake, please! You're playing with big boys and girls here...
1. Buyers deserve nothing more from Estate Agents than they currently get. The Estate Agent is employed by the VENDOR, and is bound by LAW to do the best job for that vendor. IF the buyer wishes to employ an individual to negotiate on their behalf in an attempt to reduce the price paid, then that is their perogative - but in the vast majority of cases NO SAVING will be made other than that which the buyer could have negotiated themselves. For proof of this, watch ANY episode of Location, etc, etc... If that is serious and professional negotiating on behalf of the buyer, then I'm the Pope!
2. NO seller gets less for a property than they are prepared to accept, so don't kid yourself to the contrary. You aren't doing a great job for the buyer - you're costing them 15% of a "saving" that was there to be had in the first place.
A property is worth what a willing buyer is prepared to pay, and a willing seller is prepared to accept. In your case, what a willing buyer is prepared to pay, PLUS 15%...

By the way - you want to make up your mind which side of the line you want to be on - and stay there. You started posting on this story (albeit weakly, in support of Buyers' Agents...) as a SELLERS Agent.

Truth outs...

• 22 July 2010 13:23 PM

A good estate agent can and will do all of this for you for free anyway. Is it necessary to have a third party screwing over the seller to profit from the process? A normal buyer, with a good agent has the complete freedom to negotiate themselves and enjoy all of these highlighted "USPs". I am still chuckling at the earlier use of the word "impartial". Thanks for that one :)

• 22 July 2010 09:59 AM

Oh and another thing PeeBee.
Yes Buyers Agency is a lucrative business and the only person who loses out is the seller, who gets less for his property (but at least he sells it). That's a good thing in my book. If a buyers agent gets 10% off the price, then the estate agent still gets 90% of his fee and gets a completion - so money in the bank. Everyone's happy and the buyer has not paid over the price - and less of a chance of getting into negative equity if there's a double dip.
Sometime's it's worth our industry taking it's head out of the sand, and see what works well in other countries such as the US and Australia (like Buyers Agents do). It's your loss, not mine.

• 21 July 2010 21:40 PM

Pewee, Nice that you could do it for fun, but most of us have to make a living so need to charge for our services. Buyers deserve better than they are getting from most estate agents. It's about time now that every buyer has a buyer's advocate working for them. Whether to get them a better deal on their purchase or simply to protect them against estate agents who try to 'scr*w' a higher price out of them than the property is worth - and don't tell me that that doesn't happen. Of course no properties are over-valued are they???

• 21 July 2010 21:34 PM

Oh, another thing, Ben - I was doing this 18 years ago when I was a practicing Agent. I did it for my Vendors free of charge on their next property. Usually saved them 4-5 times my selling fee in the process. Difference is, I did it for fun.

• 21 July 2010 14:08 PM

Ben R: "Impartial..." my @r$e! Their sole purpose is to screw a lower price out of the seller than the buyer could manage themselves. They get paid, I understand, 15% or thereabouts of any saving. This is an extremely lucrative business, don't you think? Save £10k (probably built into the equation already - especially if you believe all the overpricing hype...), you get paid £1500. Selling Agent will lose what? A hundred quid; two maybe? Hardly worth arguing the toss over, some will say. Good for the buyer? - maybe (although the Buyers Agents will shout a resounding YES!!). Good for the industry? - I say no. More cost to the housebuying process which the buyer could have saved simply by growing a set, and then sticking to their guns...

• 21 July 2010 14:05 PM

An impartial device that gives professional advice and negotiating skills to homebuyers is a good idea and will help prevent housing market price surges like we have had recently in London due to shortage of stock. This readdresses the balance between buyer and seller who has trained negotiators who try to force high sales prices on amateur buyers. A good ideamin my opinion and well overdue in the UK market. Can only be of help to estate agents as buyers agents help convert more sales and hence commission for the agent. Buyers only pay a commission from the saving they make.

• 20 July 2010 22:22 PM

What year are we living in here? Buyers can keep track of every available (well at least 90%) of properties on Rightmove, Surely this homebuyer agent will target those with the most out of kilter asking prices to secure maximum revenue. Whilst money is tight are people seriously going to use an agent to sell and an agent to buy costing them £10,000's, where is this money coming from????

• 20 July 2010 09:10 AM

Yes but in practice how many of your buyers actually end up buying something that meets the criteria they originally tell you? They all change their mind as they go along !
Dave

• 16 July 2010 18:57 PM

There are things you can do. I.e, only take the client to properties that you know meet their criteria in terms of the actual property and price. That helps! (I know of alot of people who don't follow that rule and moan when the client doesn't play ball).

• 16 July 2010 17:36 PM

This posts gone a bit off subject. Just got back from the 25th viewing with the same couple in 6 weeks! I know they say the average buyer sees 40 properties before buying, just hope the 40th one is with me, after all this time.
Dave

• 16 July 2010 15:56 PM

fair point but i think this guy was on day release, i dont think the general public realise what we have to put up with at times.

• 16 July 2010 15:36 PM

major holdups: I agree with your sentiment 100% - however you never know. Mr, Mrs, Miss or Doctor Bellend (always give them their full title) might just come back and do some business. Or tell a friend (assuming they have one...) or relation.

Always see that half-full cup, me! ;0)

• 16 July 2010 14:51 PM

not everyone pee bee, if you had just met the bell end that left my office about 20 mins ago you might revise your opinion.
other than that, yours are wise words and i agree.

• 16 July 2010 14:27 PM

Careful, Ace - we appear to be joining each others' Appreciation Societies at the mo'! ;0)

But, that apart, I also cannot believe the short-sighted attitude of Agents who believe that EVERYONE is a T.W.o.T. unless they come into the office screaming that they wish to make an offer or sign a Sole Agency Agreement. EVERY buyer or seller starts their journey with a single step. Sometimes they take weeks, months or even years to complete said journey - but they always remember you, IF you make the effort with them in the first place.

Thereby speaks the voice of experience.

• 16 July 2010 13:42 PM

Spot on Peebee - I'm tired of people moaning about "serious buyers and sellers" on here. The attitude seems to be that a serious buyer or seller is only someone who does business with YOUR agency!

• 16 July 2010 12:48 PM

Ben R - It seems you have yet to learn one of the Primary 'Laws'. Those 'window shoppers' you refer to may be tomorrow'a buyers and sellers. Maybe if you gave them that much respect and attention you would see a return for your investment of a few minutes of your obviously too-valuable time!

• 16 July 2010 10:51 AM

This is the obvious way forward for existing estate agents who have the one thing that most buyers agencies do not have - buyers! In fact, by not representing buyers, agents are akin to dentists who only frill lower jaw teeth, not upper!I'm actually working with a number of agencies helping them to integrate the service into their current offering. Definitely the next chapter in estate agency!

• 16 July 2010 10:23 AM

Sounds good. Anything to stop window shoppers from wasting our time. Then we can get on and sell houses to serious buyers - which Buying agents pre-vet for us.

• 16 July 2010 10:15 AM

Yes, Tim - in their 1,000s...

• 16 July 2010 09:54 AM

Do buyers still "go from one agent to another" ?

• 16 July 2010 07:43 AM