UK Landlord Forum / Life

According to the telegraph, around 4,000 estate agency offices -approximately one in four - have closed, and approximately 30,000 estate agents have lost their jobs.

It means that almost half of the estimated 80,000 estate agents who were in work 18 months ago have since been made unemployed.


Extremely tough times for agents. I just hope they managed to do the sensible thing and save money while they were raking it in...

My Heart bleeds!

Mind you the estate agents I have been using recenty to buy have been really brilliant and deserve to do well. However whilst on the hunt for properties I have been really amazed how apathetic most agents are and if I were the vendors i would be furious with them especially when they expect to get their commission. Several agents have shown me properties and even though I have not been interested I've asked them to send me details of properties that I AM looking for. Most have not bothered hence I have returned to the agency who have been most helpful.

Most of the estate agents are still thinking this is the late 90's when selling was easy. Most now employ people who have no idea how to sell a lump of cheese let alone a property!

Until the industry gets rid of the greedy idiots who have had no small part in the overpricing of the industry as a whole there will be no tears shed by me.

Happy New Year all.

Jools

PS Christmas market in Manchester was a complete rip off! £30 for 7 sausage rolls and £15 for 5 crepes! looks like rents are going up in 2009!!!!

They have had it good for along long time now, infact 13-14 years, so i dont feel to bad, as talked about somewhere else on here, these guys have played a part in where we find ourselves today. !!!!
On a kind level and as i have friends in the field, i hope it all comes good for you soon. but please be more careful next time round and dont just think about the pound signs.

Well the estate agents that I have my house on with only have 3 !! people working for them.

Plus Ive noticed ALOT of very cheesy advertising techniqies....one had some weird superhero comic leaflet... saying how they where going to swoop down and sell all the houses that needed help.
Then you ring them and talk about there commission perecentage and they dont want to budge on it!
Tsk, they havent changed.

The somewhat large overall advance numbers seem too large to believe. This increases the chances of being more aware of the subject when we encounter it again in the near future.

Mind you the estate agents I have been using recenty to buy have been really brilliant and deserve to do well. However whilst on the hunt for properties I have been really amazed how apathetic most agents are and if I were the vendors i would be furious with them especially when they expect to get their commission. Several agents have shown me properties and even though I have not been interested I've asked them to send me details of properties that I AM looking for. Most have not bothered hence I have returned to the agency who have been most helpful.

Most of the estate agents are still thinking this is the late 90's when selling was easy. Most now employ people who have no idea how to sell a lump of cheese let alone a property.