I'd have to agree with this. If the attitude is that product sells itself and no level of professionalism is required from the EA then surely they are redundant.

Unless they actually respond to me and treat me with respect, then I, the serious buyer, cannot buy, and therefore, no transaction. Your point is somewhat valid though.



Funny, when I think about it, the place I am currently renting involved no agents. The landlord took the viewings himself and did the negotiating. It was an altogether more pleasant experience. He had completed and total interest in the property and could answer any question you asked. There was also a certain warmth in the approach to showing the apartment that you wouldn't ordinarily get with an EA. He also responded very promptly to my offer which prevented me from viewing other possibilities as I was happy to sort things quickly. Obviously, this isn't feasible too often due to time constraints but in certain circumstances the agent can be pointless.

Final answer:
Are EA's lips moving : If so EA is lying.
EA is always lying.

Mr P. Hantom always exists . This is basic stuff. You need to take this in stride and believe that caveat emptor is real. EA does not make money from truth. EA makes money from property selling, usually selling as fast as possible. Him or her lying helps this along. However, lying is only one word for creative presentation of the facts.

+1

But some buyers need reassurance and they would like to receive it from the person whose job it is to screw them for every last cent

What a heap of shit.

Landlord, read the answers from other posters before trotting out the same tripe repeatedly.

And it's "buyer's perspective", not "buyers prospective".

Thanks for the grammar lesson.

Having read all posts in this thread and having a good knowledge of game theory I stand by my comment bad EA put some buyers off and some improve my chance of buying a particular house cheaper.

But than I don't need emotional support from an EA when I am buying a house

I said guidance, not emotional support.....just so we're clear.

You know, like letting people know ber ratings, issues with planning, history of work done to house.....information to better inform your decision making

As you were

You're clear alright, Homemaker. But landlord chooses to read whatever he wants, rather than what's being posted.

Surely what Landlord is saying makes sense?

If the house is a tip and the EA is a prick, people will be turned off it. If the house is pristine and the EA is a charming, witty supermodel who is always helpful to every request, people will fall over themselves to bid on it. You've a better chance of getting a bargain in the first scenario.

If we're talking game theory, bad EAs in Ireland are often bad because they (or their clients) overprice the tip in question and refuse to reconsider, thus reducing your chance of getting said bargain.

I think there's a fallacy here somewhere

How is that the EA's fault, though ? Price is set by the vendor

The EA wouldn't have taken it on unless she though she could make a (quick) buck out of it or is being paid by the hour

If the EA decides to big up the price and invent phantoms that's up to them; they have NO duty of anything to you

It's not always the vendor's fault (though I've met exasperated EAs who just come right out say that their client has unrealistic expectations). Often, EAs will raise unrealistic expectations in vendors by overvaluing in order to get the property on their books, but hope to reduce the price later.

I don't mean to trash all EAs, I'm just pointing out that there is, for whatever reason, a tendency to overprice tips in Ireland that counterbalances Landlord's point to some degree.

How do EA's fees work? Do you pay them an initial fee to begin? Are there additional fees the longer a property stays on their books? Is commission 1 percent standard?

The EA receives a commission (0.75% to 2%) based upon the ultimate selling price (advertising costs are paid upfront).

Assume a house has as sales price of €200k and the EA agrees a commission of 1%.

Thus the EA receives €2k plus vat if the house sells for the asking price.

In the scenario that the EA achieves a much higher sales price, say €300k. He receives an additional €1k in fees plus vat but the vendor receives an additional €98.8k.

For the EA prospective (work involved) it makes very more sense to set asking prices low and to have a short sales cycle (and focus on acquiring new properties to sell). The fly in the ointment is that vendors want to max their net sales price.

Freakonomics has a chapter on US EAs' which makes very interesting reading.

BTW, in the US 5% commission is typical.

Update 25/6/12:

Contacted EA today (after no contact from them in over a week) & was informed the house was "Sale Agreed". There was no contact from the EA to ask if we wanted to put in a higher bid in that period. When I asked why they did not call for a counter offer, I was informed that they sold to a cash buyer. Precisely our position I reminded him...The silence was tangible. No idea what they really got for it... Would you believe the answer anyway?

This confirms that they never recorded our offer or any of our details for that matter. The cynicism & search continues...