Wednesday, May 7, 2008
An amusing ramble..
Who should we hate instead - and other pressing questions
What will ex-estate agents do for a living - and what use can be made of all the empty offices?
Posted by uncle tom @ 04:15 PM (1332 views)
20 thoughts on “An amusing ramble..”
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confused76 says:
If we feel sorry for estate agents, who should we hate instead?
There is no doubt that estate agents perform a useful service in providing a socially acceptable repository for our natural human instinct for prejudice and loathing. Once they have gone, politicians, traffic wardens and Celine Dion need to be afraid.
AH HAH HAHHAHAH HAHHAHAHAHHAHA HAHHAHAHHAHH HHAH HAHHA HA HAA HA H AH HAHH AHHH H HA HA HH H A H
confused76 says:
Just noticed there seem to be 1250 readers on this site
Two months ago numbers were in the mid to high 800’s
way to go!!
Charlie Brooker says:
I suppose empty estate agents offices could be converted into low cost homes for first time buyers. Such sweet revenge !!
confused76 says:
I cant help noticing the large number of comments in support of the EAs posted at the article below
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2008/05/07/do0704.xml
sure there are 1000’s of EAs spending their time surfing the web these days
Good riddance of them all!
mark wadsworth says:
EA’s don’t know much about anything, so they’d be ideally suited to working as journalists for the Guardian. Or even becoming MPs.
Jayk says:
EAs and bankers are no more to blame than anyone else. AHHAHHHAHH. The reason I cannot afford a home for my family is because of people called homeowners and Buy-to-Let investors. All the EAs and bankers were doing was responding to what the man on the street demanded from the market. AHHAHHHAHH.
Here’s a suggestion. AHHAHHHAHH. When, at some point in the future you go to sell a property and you find an estate agent, which of the two would you rather go with?:
1. The agent that does whatever it takes to get you the best price possible for your property; AHHAHHHAHH or
2. The agent who asks you to drop your price “for the greater good” or asks you to sell to someone offering well below asking price because they are a first time buyer? AHHAHHHAHH.
Anyone who answers (2) is a liar and hypocrite. AHHAHHHAHH.
AHHAHHHAHH – etc etc ad nauseum ad infinitum.
AHHAHHHAHH.
mken says:
Jayk’s right, everyone (well mostly) was involved, being smart, doing a deal
Doghouse says:
Hmm, Jayk & mken, I think EAs have a lot to answer for… most have been totally irresponsible in not providing proper market valuations on properties, and instead have been very lazy just asking the vendor how much they want. Result is that many houses on the market, in my area, are up for 10-20% more than they would sell for even in a bouyant market (which is why most have just been sat there for months…and months….and months!) Now EAs have run out of money cos none of the houses on their books are selling, they are finally trying to talk vendors down – problem is that’s all a bit late, cos vendors now believe they are dropping their ‘realistic selling price’ in line with market conditions and don’t realise that their asking price is still at the top of the froth!!!
cyril says:
It’s not easy to apportion blame for the house price crash because we all have a part to play as Jayk says. People are hypocrites – how often have you complained about the traffic while you’re driving your car?
But regardless of whose fault it is, the govt will lose the next election and good riddance to them and the estate agents.
After estate agents, I think lawyers are probably the next most hated.
shipbuilder says:
I don’t ‘hate’ estate agents, but they had their part to play in the boom and did well from it – if they weren’t competent enough to plan for the bust, they should join the dole queue along with everyone else, many of whom will be innocent victims of the whole sorry affair.
So why should I feel sorry for them? Did they caution against ridiculous prices, fearing for the sustainability of the industry they rely on for a livelihood? No? Then they were idiots.
Soundman74 says:
‘and what use can be made of all the empty offices?’
Pawnbrockers for all the hard up unemployed and unemployable EA’s and soup kitchens for all the homeless.
uncle tom says:
The fundamental problem with EA’s is that they attempt to present themselves as being both the agent for the vendor AND the agent for the purchaser, creating a horrible conflict of interest, and a tendency to lie to both parties..
The relationship of surveyers to EA’s is also frequently incestuous.
Correcting the problem requires a complete re-think of the home selling process, but is not beyond the wit of man..
Soundman74 says:
Uncle Tom I agree… and as long as EA’s are allowed to charge a percentage fee and not a fixed fee it will always be in their interest to overvalue property.
shipbuilder says:
I’m constantly fascinated by this idea of responsibility, which I believe goes to the very heart of left vs right arguments, free market discussions, social policy and so on. It seems to be a view espoused by many that we should all take responsibility for our actions – of course, but it always seems to be the responsibility of the individual – we appear to be encouraged to believe that business is business is business – that the deal only works one way. Yet my interpretation of market economics is that the businesses responsibility is to the shareholder – to deliver a long term, sustainable plan. Where was the plan for the banks, for the estate agents?
Who takes the blame – the unqualified man on the street who bought after listening to those ‘experts’ with years of experience, possibly even a qualified financial adviser? They will suffer because of their actions, certainly.
Or should it be the institutions, with the facts to make informed decisions, large salaries paid to advisors, their jobs resting on maintaining a stable business, who failed both their shareholders and customers (the two cardinal sins of business).
Let’s be realistic.
confused76 says:
Jayk
I want to post my future house on a web site, but there is a law in this country that gives these EA bandits some privilege to advertise property
you remember EAs suing Tesco for launching a “post your house” site
that is a shame
good riddance of EAs!
Jayk says:
Rubbish confused76. Anyone can sell a house without an EA. If they want to, that is.
yoyo1 says:
What use for all the empty offices?
Accommodation for the repossessed.
What will ex-estate agents do for a living?
Crash test dummies.
denzil says:
“Who shall we hate instead?”
Gordon Brown? I think that’s a given isn’t it?
EA’s as a group (it’s not a profession) really need to completely revamp their business and need a industry body to completely restructure the way they do business. At present the largest sale or purchase of ones life is handled by people who in virtually all cases have no professional qualifications. As for the NAEA, it’s close to irrelevent, is toothless and little more than self serving.
amjidk says:
A member of my family is selling their house, they’ve moved up in the property ladder a few years back and had such a bad experience with an estate agent, that they are not using one this time, were creating our own For Sale sign etc…
scandinavian pessimist says:
We all hate EAs, not becasue they do anything morally wrong, but because they make a killing when we are losing out. Just like lawyers and traffic wardens. Not sure about Celine Dion though…
If I had made a profit from HPI, I would be laughing all the way to the bank too. And so would all you guys. But now they are in the shit and it’s everyones turn to laugh at them because we benfit from a HPC and we are sick and tired of Mini van drivers with gel in their hair. Welcome back to the real world suckers!