“Firstly, to give this context, I'm a serious buyer willing ......”
1 Star Review
Dec 31,2013
By:
'azza'
Dec 31,2013
Branch: Southampton, 26 London Road
Services: Sales (Prospective customer)
Would you recommend?: No
Postcode: SO14
Branch: Southampton, 26 London Road
Sales (Prospective customer)
Postcode: SO14
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Firstly, to give this context, I'm a serious buyer willing to make a good offer - not a time-waster. I'm chain-free, hold a mortgage agreement in principle and could move as quickly or slowly as the seller requires - surely quite a good prospect?
Austin & Wyatt just don't seem that bothered about making a sale, though. They ignored an enquiry through Rightmove, but did eventually respond when emailed through their own website. Despite arranging everything well over a week in advance, they then cancelled two out of three viewings with less than two hours' notice and didn't even offer to arrange another viewing on a different date.
As they had also completely failed to send through the details of the properties to be visited as promised, I had very little information about the one remaining property they were taking me to see - it was only through my own guesswork that I was able to get the basics from Rightmove beforehand.
The viewing was painless enough and on time, but it seemed that they lost all interest in the sale from that point. Further details promised were not sent through, even after two sepearate phone calls to remind them to do so. Yet, strangely, on ringing for a third time and speaking to a different member of staff, the details were immediately available over the phone and an appointment for a second viewing was made.
A day later, though, I had a call back to say the property couldn't be viewed again as it was now being taken off the market. Ten days later, it's still advertised as for sale on their website, on Rightmove and on Zoopla. Could it just be that they're slow at updating websites? Perhaps, though they've clearly found time to upload new properties and mark others as sold in the same space of time...
I'm not sure what they're playing at, to be honest. Given the inconsistent responses of different salespeople when I followed up, the fact they're still advertising the 'off the market' property for sale and the lack of interest in offering alternative viewings for the other properties I was unable to view, it does make you wonder what is going on.
At best, they're incompetent enough to still be advertising somewhere they are no longer able to sell and are incapable of following up clear sales leads for properties that have been on the market for many months. At worst, they're deliberately putting off buyers for their own reason. I know that some agents use these tactics to favour people who take their own mortgage advice, and that others sometimes deliberately manufacture a 'lack of interest' to try and sell extra services to sellers. Hopefully this isn't the case here - but they seem so slapdash and uninterested when compared with other agents I've spoken to in the area, you have to wonder!
What agent could do to change your mind?
Don't cancel viewings at the last moment. Offer an alternative date if you must cancel, rather than just an "oh well" and shrug of shoulders.
Send details when you have promised to do so.
Follow up viewings properly - send through full details and find out if we're interested in proceeding with a purchase.
Don't mislead people about whether a property is or isn't available. If it's off the market, remove it from your website.
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