Topic ID 4633
Hi all We're currently looking to put our 3 bed house on Foxholes on the market - we've decided that we need more space for the 3 (not so) little Hertfordians and sadly we've come to the conclusion that it's not going to be feasible to stay in Hertford - the prices are just too prohibitive. Before I contact an estate agency for a valuation and to allow us to finally decide if we will take the plunge, I thought I'd check to see what's the latest thinking on here in terms of which agency to approach, which one to avoid etc. Any experiences anyone can provide would be most appreciated! :-) Thanks in advance Hertfordian
Reply ID 66508
Whilst I have no doubt that they can actually sell your house, I would recommend that you avoid Shepherds if at all possible. I dealt with them a little over a couple of years ago and despite them having to do very little in terms of actually making the sale they were incredibly rude on the phone on more than one occassion and had no idea of customer service. This is despite them receiving in excess of 17k in respect of our respective sale and purchase. I have however heard nothing but good things in respect of Churchills and although they historically have only dealt with country piles and the like, I have noted that they are currently marketing property on Foxholes. If I were looking to instruct agents the first call I would make would be to them.
Reply ID 66516
We have bought property in the past through Steven Oates & had no grumbles with their services at that time. Through our experience they do tend to value on the high side to get you to sign with them & suggest you market your house at that price for a couple of weeks & then reduce the asking price. We didn't like this so went with another agent. Offered on property through Shepherds &, although they seemed good at first, it then became hard to get hold of the person who was dealing with the sale & ultimately we were sent voice messages rather than ringing us. Rather frustrating. We have sold through Lanes & were happy with their service, found them to be pro-active & reachable. Haven't really had any dealings with Churchulls but our friends were encouraged to look at a house that was well above their budget which seemed pointless. They looked at it & offered their maximum only to be told the vendor would not accept that. Waste of time! I would definitely use Lanes again. Speak to James if you decide to get them round to do a valuation. Good luck :0)
Reply ID 66517
we bought through churchills and they were excellent. very thorough, polite, professional. we had the misfortune to get a valuation from shepherds - we didn't go with them - the total opposite of churchills.
Reply ID 66523
Valuation is the hardest part. Don't rely on one agent's opinion. They can be significantly out in either direction. So with three agents valuing one property, I recently got three valuations with 23% difference between the lowest and the highest. Such a difference could be because one agent is aiming to make from high turnover and another from high commission, or it could be just a lack of expertise by one or more of the negotiators. If the agent values high and you get an offer at that, it could all go wrong when the buyer mortgage valuer disagrees. Likewise, you could sell low and lose thousands without even knowing it. I once did a deal with an agent that cut his commission percentage rate if he sold below his own valuation and increased it if he achieved higher. In other words, "Put your money where your mouth is".
Reply ID 66525
The bottom line is if you are parting with several K you deserve to be treated with respect, as well as being provided with professional advice. In my experience, if you want the former - avoid shepherds, one female estate agent especially... In the good times they probably wern't too bothered about an irked clients - if they are reading this; your chickens will come home to roost...
Reply ID 66552
i know exactly who you mean exiled in reading... she is AWFUL! re my previous comment, the only downside of churchills is that they didn't advertise on rightmove for some reason (cost probably). this may have changed since we bought, but would definately be a factor i would look into if i was selling through them. good luck!
Reply ID 66555
quote:Yes, Churchills now advertise on rightmove.
Originally posted by Bengeobabe
i know exactly who you mean exiled in reading... she is AWFUL! re my previous comment, the only downside of churchills is that they didn't advertise on rightmove for some reason (cost probably). this may have changed since we bought, but would definately be a factor i would look into if i was selling through them. good luck!
Reply ID 66559
If you want to sell quickly, Steven Oates (for all their negatives I hear of) seem to specialise in the newer build, and Shepherds the older style. We avoided both when selling and now regret it, after Shepherds took 10 days to get us our first offer after 9 months on the market offerless with other 'new' agents in town. My vote is to go for either of the two major Hertford players. Avoid William H Brown. I wish we had, after a bad experience selling and exceedingly bad experience when trying to view houses through them (we were ignored, despite having already sold and repeated phone calls registering interest in properties). How many 'sold' signs do you see for them? Lanes: nice guys, but didn't cut the mustard and get us a sale, I'm afraid. We did buy through them and they were very communicative and kept the chain moving.
Reply ID 66560
Lanes got us a sale in 14 days and are going out of their way to now help us find a new house - absolutely recommend them 100%. Communication is brilliant and they are very proactive behind the scenes too - will go the extra mile for you....
Reply ID 66677
What difference does it make? All they do is put the property on rightmove and wait for the phone ot ring.
Reply ID 66696
In some respects that's true Victoria Plum, but once the phone does ring, you have to think about the level of customer service you get from them. And in my experience as a seller and a buyer, there are Estate agents in Hertford that have been absolutely rubbish to deal with. Turning up late to viewings, not knowing your name when you ring for the tenth time, sending you updates of new instructions etc... In my experience, and it will be different I'm sure for everyone on here, Lanes have demonstrated a much higher level of communication and customer service than any others, so that is who I would recommend.
Reply ID 66700
Funnily enough I viewed a property through Lanes last night. Seemed quite good and possibly a little too honest for his own good.
Reply ID 66715
quote:I second all of what Alx said. I have definitely had (and am continuing to have) good personal service from Lanes. Some of the other agents I've viewed with/through have been really quite sloppy and some just make me shudder! [;)]
Originally posted by alxleeks
In my experience, and it will be different I'm sure for everyone on here, Lanes have demonstrated a much higher level of communication and customer service than any others, so that is who I would recommend.
Reply ID 66842
Thought I should add (before people think i've got shares in Lanes or something!) that I've had some good customer service recently from Kings as well - only just started viewing places through Jack and Daniel but so far they've been on the ball letting me know what has come onto the market and very helpful on the phone. Perhaps the bad press they got recently on here has made a positive difference, especially as Kings are the new kids on the block (along with lanes) and these companies probably have to work harder in comparison to the other estate agents in Hertford that someone recently said just have to sit back and wait for the phone to ring. Buyers are having to be much more proactive in the scramble for hot properties these days if they want to get the houses they want, so good to see some estage agents are following suit!
Reply ID 66887
We sold our last house through WH Brown and had an ok experience but the people we bought through used Paul Wallace (yes, not very local, can only assume they were friends or something) and they were outstanding. We were the first to view the property having seen it go up on their website that very day. What impressed us was they had a person in the office solely designated to chasing the entire chain every week - this included all parties involved including sellers, buyers, solicitors and estate agents. Every week they knew exactly how the chain stood. When there was a problem at the 11th hour and it looked like we wouldn't get our keys on time it was Paul Wallace that pushed and personally drove the keys up to us so we didn't have to spend the weekend in a hotel etc. WH Brown did nothing as far as I could tell. Paul Wallace was not acting for us yet ensured everything went smoothly. I spoke to their designated member of staff at least once a week (her calling me and not vice versa). Although not local I would be very tempted to use them when we move again.
Reply ID 66890
Have used Ensum Brown in Ware to view houses recently and have been impressed.
Reply ID 66892
quote:I would agree except I called them over 2 weeks ago about a house we are interested in and they were going to arrange a viewing....heard nothing since.
Originally posted by Willow
Have used Ensum Brown in Ware to view houses recently and have been impressed.
Reply ID 66893
We are currently buying a house via Sue at Bairstow Eves and I can’t recommend her enough. Extremely efficient, very professional and extremely knowledgeable. Our vendors are very pleased with her too. However, if that was me I think I would just go with the agent with the lowest fee (and tell them my intention - managed to get my agents fee down by 0.5% when selling our property in Jan 09) as there is such a high demand for property in Hertford your property may just sell itself and 0.25% plus VAT can make a big difference to your final bill! Good luck!
Reply ID 66894
p.s also had dealings with James at Lanes and he was excellent and a really nice guy.
Reply ID 66896
quote:Eek that is not good! Did you chase them? No point missing out on viewing the house [:)]
Originally posted by Milliequote:I would agree except I called them over 2 weeks ago about a house we are interested in and they were going to arrange a viewing....heard nothing since.
Originally posted by Willow
Have used Ensum Brown in Ware to view houses recently and have been impressed.
Reply ID 67096
I hate to say this, but James at Lanes is good [:)] He's good at his job.
Reply ID 67116
Very impressed with Kings. They have sold our house 4 times in 8 months - what a shame Steven Oates have shafted us twice and we have lost 2 houses through them because they couldn't sell ours - oh well it's only money and OUR LIVES !!!!
Reply ID 67129
quote:?? What?
Originally posted by Nikiduck
Very impressed with Kings. They have sold our house 4 times in 8 months
Reply ID 67131
first buyers were serial time wasters, lost house number 1 because they pulled out. Buyer 2 were nervous 1st time buyers who had already pulled out of a victorian house because it didn't meet modern building regs !! so we binned them. Third buyer was a good one but unfortunatekly his chain collapsed underneath him - we gave him nearly 2 months to reconnect but got a 4th buyer who is great and chomping at the bit. But now lost house numer 2 so nothing else to buy.
Reply ID 67133
Woooooooah! Moving house sucks. Good luck - fingers crossed for you.