A property professional from an unidentified “new type” of agency is alleged to have caused the sale of a couple’s home to be delayed by months.
The agent apparently advised that the sellers go straight to market – as they did.
For the next six months, they had just two viewings, while it turned out that the agent had less than a year’s experience, was based over 100 miles away and had already been paid the commission upfront.
The brochure of the couple’s house contained poor photography and was misleading about the square footage of the property, as a whole floor had been left out of the calculations.
Alex Goldstein, who took over the instruction after the couple’s own business circumstances worsened, said: “The client was unaware that his home was being undersold.
“The ineptitude meant that the client had missed valuable marketing time and had exposed the property to the online search portals – which meant that a digital footprint of the sale had been created and could not be deleted.
“New enquiries would see this and as a result could be put off, as they would query why the property hadn’t sold.”
Goldstein, writing in the Yorkshire Post, says he sent the agent packing, and secured a refund of the couple’s up-front fee. Outline planning permission was then achieved for a value-adding extension, and the property has now sold.
Comments (8)
I think Mr Goldstein has friends at the YP to write this advertorial for him. Unless he employs a very good PR agency.
Question. How many Agents would recommend to a prospective seller that they seek OPP for an extension in the hope that it would be “value adding”?
Answer. Not many. Regardless of where their ‘base’ is.
And as to poor photography… we all groan every day at the cr@p snaps that our competitors load onto the portals – and that includes some of the so-called ‘professional’ photography they have sold their services upon.
Now if Mr Goldstein were to furnish EYE with the details of the property in order that the listings could be independently assessed…
THAT WOULD be a story, I reckon!
Guess I’m the only person to detect the distinct, nitrate-rich odour all over this YP article of it being simply an advertorial for the author’s ‘services’ than a damning of any “new type” Agent…
We have many horror stories of PB, either horrendous marketing, no sales control, horrific solicitors et cetera et cetera. The most recent was a house on the market for three months £265,000, poor photography and limited marketing. Only two viewings; we took it on had five viewings in seven days and sold it for the asking price. Most of their property experts are journeymen who have not managed to succeed in previous careers.
Now is that sold”, “under offer” “sstc ” “exchanged ” or “completed”? Not that the numptie from burple *ricks who was on the radio the other day would know, he probably thought sold was when the photos were taken!
Good work Alex
Name and shame!
With this new/fake type of agency charging anyway you are going to get a more aggressive new type of client if they don’t sell. Pb must be masters at hiding this kind of bad p.r. .killing off their Facebook reviews was a good example.