Estate Agents

[despritdan]

I've been looking at some properties for sale recently and can't believe the state some of them have been left in by the sellers. Surely, one of the duties of estate agents should be to advise their clients on what needs doing to their properties before putting them on the market eg, if part of the roof is sagging and covered in moss, get it checked out and repaired if necessary; if any of the brickwork needs repointing, get it done; if there's broken concrete at the front or back with grass and weeds growing between the cracks, get it mended or replaced; if the garden looks like a jungle, hire a gardener to tidy it up; if there are garden fence panels that are broken and falling apart, get them replaced; if there are holes in the internal walls where the plaster has broken and fallen away, get them replastered; if the gas fire has been disconnected because of a leak, get it mended; if one of the curtain rod support brackets is broken, replace it instead of leaving the curtain rod hanging down at one end; if there isn't a tv aerial, get one installed and finally, don't leave the ashes of a dead person in a kitchen cupboard for prospective buyers to find when looking around (yes, really). Isn't it just common sense?

[Bamanamanana]

14 minutes ago, despritdan said:

Isn't it just common sense?

 

Not if you're looking for something cheap to renovate.

 

Maybe the owner doesn't want all that hassle, wants a quick sale, or is dead.

[Bamanamanana]

1 minute ago, Bamanamanana said:

 

Not if you're looking for something cheap to renovate.

 

Maybe the owner doesn't want all that hassle, wants a quick sale, or is dead.

 

Bloomin edit function is too short...

 

As far as I'm aware, Estate agents aren't empowered to do any of this, unless they're the owners or instructed to do so by them.

[despritdan]

I'm referring to properties priced at £350,000 and above and at that price, I'd expect them to be in good condition. I don't think dead people can put properties up for sale.

[Bamanamanana]

6 minutes ago, despritdan said:

I'm referring to properties priced at £350,000 and above and at that price, I'd expect them to be in good condition.

 

The price reflects the condition. If it was in good condition, you wouldn't be looking at it because it wouldn't be priced at £350,000. 🙄

 

 

9 minutes ago, despritdan said:

I don't think dead people can put properties up for sale.

 

Is done by the executor of their estate. Most people want assets sold and the estate closed asap, not a load of crappy repair jobs they weren't expecting, invariably out of the blue.

 

 

[Bamanamanana]

4 minutes ago, Bamanamanana said:

Is done by the executor of their estate.

 

Edit again! 🙄

 

Also, the executor has no right to order any repairs, or use any funds in the estate, unless is a condition of the deceased will. (unless they're also the beneficiary)

Edited September 2 by Bamanamanana

[Slighty batty]

When I put my late father’s house on the market the estate agent didn’t suggest anything that I needed to do. I hired a gardener on my own initiative though, to keep the place looking tidy. Dad had nice neighbours, and I didn’t see why they should be expected to look at a load of weeds. (I live abroad so I couldn’t nip round to do it myself.)

 

There was a brownish water stain on the kitchen ceiling where he’d had a leak. I asked the estate agent to hire a painter to repaint the entire ceiling, and was invoiced for it. When I went to turn off the electricity just before the completion, I found they’d only painted over the stain, and so there was a colour difference. Also they hadn’t used a product to stop the stain coming back through (it had) and it looked like they’d used some leftover paint from the bottom of a can which had gone as thick as treacle and been plastered on with a trowel…! Presumably the estate agent felt he could get the sale without having to bother having the house looking decent, certainly it hadn’t put the buyers off. 

[despritdan]

9 minutes ago, Slighty batty said:

When I put my late father’s house on the market the estate agent didn’t suggest anything that I needed to do. I hired a gardener on my own initiative though, to keep the place looking tidy. Dad had nice neighbours, and I didn’t see why they should be expected to look at a load of weeds. (I live abroad so I couldn’t nip round to do it myself.)

 

There was a brownish water stain on the kitchen ceiling where he’d had a leak. I asked the estate agent to hire a painter to repaint the entire ceiling, and was invoiced for it. When I went to turn off the electricity just before the completion, I found they’d only painted over the stain, and so there was a colour difference. Also they hadn’t used a product to stop the stain coming back through (it had) and it looked like they’d used some leftover paint from the bottom of a can which had gone as thick as treacle and been plastered on with a trowel…! Presumably the estate agent felt he could get the sale without having to bother having the house looking decent, certainly it hadn’t put the buyers off. 

At least you made an effort to put things right. I recently inherited a property and spent a few thousand pounds on things that needed doing. I had 7 offers in no time at all including one that was a few thousand pounds above the asking price so it was worth doing.

[peak4]

Very much depends on the circumstances;
I was involved in putting a property up for auction, which was in need of a full renovation.
The auctioneer's advice was to do nothing, so that the potential developer new exactly what needed doing, and could see clearly that nothing had been done to cover up any defects.
Similarly, when I sold my previous house, no central heating, in need of a full rewire, etc, the estate agents advice was to leave it clean and obviously cared for, but not to do any other work.
That was so a potential buyer could see exactly what needed doing, and a surveyor would be less likely to spot something that a potential buyer missed.
Less chance of the sale falling through at the last minute, should a prospective buyer suddenly find out that there was extra work outside their budget.
When showing folk around, I was scrupulously honest about any known faults for the same reason.
In both cases, the property went for more than anticipated.
 

[ECCOnoob]

It also depends on location. 

 

Some properties just sell.  Some properties are fortunate to be in an area of high demand.  The owners will know that, so they are more than happy to chuck a property on the market with holes in the ceiling, stains on the carpet and a turd floating in the loo  because they know it will get interest and start a bidding war within days.