Home seller secretly films 11 estate agent valuation appointments

Hi Charlie, overall getting more money for your house when the market was crazy wasn't that hard lets face it as money was cheaper than water to borrow. An experiment in 2024 like this one will be more interesting too see and more relevant IMO. This will really show who really are the better agents out there...

This video is irrelevant today. She sold when the market was at its highest, try it today see what happens. She discarded there agents that were telling here 275k - 300k thinking they haven't a clue, but just goes to show. She got lucky! I have sold property the same day I took it on, it happens. Its not always about the agent. But good luck to her.

My wife and i watched this in October 2022 and finally in September 23, we have managed to get the house squared away to sell.
Following this video, we interviewed several agents. Last but not least, we managed to speak to our local ewemove agent. He definately came across as the best of the bunch. So we have been going through the process of instructing him. (did get a bit sticky as - following your advice elsewhere - we asked if he req to be 'sole agent,' he said no. However the paperwork requests sole agent, and he confirmed that 'its best if they are.' SO, we are stil happy with him, bit a bit miffed at being spun conflicting information.

My question is regarding their conveyancing package.
They have said that we need to receive a call from Assured Sale & Progression Ltd for anti money laundering checks. ASAP will ask if we would like them to appoint conveyancing solicitors. Elsewhere you have suggested that agent suggested conveyancing isnt often the best option.
What do you think of Assured Sale & Progression Ltd, and their offer of conveyancing package?

Thanks

The buyer valued the house who would have likely have seen the listing online whoever the agent

A house is worth 1 house .

Being delighted with an offer of £300k simply because you had - over a few days - convinced yourself the “value” was £260-£275k is exactly the problem…and the ‘guru’ in this video perpetuates it ! The REAL lesson should be that an offer of that amount indicates how - shockingly - low the valuations were. The Seller in such circumstances should shift their baseline accordingly and remarket the property….not treat it as a wild stroke of good fortune to be snapped up. As a secondary point, choosing an Agent because you get on with them is as hit and miss as anything, and not ideal when talking about hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Its okay in principle "overpaying" but if the mortgage company downvalues it then its a waste of time

👏👏👏👏💚💚💚💚

Would be very interested to see an updated one of these.

I cant see this industry surviving for much longer. Id love to see the breakdown involved in what the agent is actually doing (without any BS) vs the commission they are making.

Creech st Micheal
No manufacturing, no exports nothing but printed government money.

Yeah its all nice and lovely until they can't sell the property at their inflated valuation and they move to stage 2 which is to bombard you with negative supposed "feedback" to browbeat you into lowering the price. Not all agents are so annoying but I have dealt with ones who literally don't care about insulting you or your property to get the price down.

Why is it mandatory in uk to have an agent ?

I don't get this. What does an agent do but relay offers? That large offer could have come through any agent. Why is Amy, the agent, being called the best for a happy coincidence?
Also Sole Agents charge a higher percentage. No mention of relative Agents fees at all.
Amy was advertising on " social media "? What? The reason you use a larger, well known agency is because they put it on Rightmove and Zoopla.

Hope this was not scripted because it was absolutely brilliant to watch ❤

Just one thing, it is all, exploiting the buyer, and ramping prices upwards, the main problem in life. Perhaps it all needs reversing. Estate agents working for the buyers. The good ones get you the house for the lowest price.

Er, if she had chosen any one of the 11 local agents, the buyer throwing around £300k would in all likelihood have offered it all the same? I’m really not sure how the contrived conclusions prove anything much? Sure some agents are better than others (we know this) but in a (then) sellers market the high value achieved bares little correlation to one agent being a bit more “human” and chatty?

It reminded me of my sales days. Most customers dont recognize the honest ones.

Watching this after the recent interview and I'm so glad the algorithm pointed me this way!

Sam sold during a fast moving market. I’d be willing to bet that in the current slower market, the outcome would be somewhat different.

I’d also point out that it would be ill advised to underestimate how important the sales progression is. From personal experience a good solicitor can also make a huge difference.

She was very fortunate to sell the property in the 'blow off top' phase of a property boom, all the other agents would have got the same result.

If I had a house I would use Amy too 😆

This was fascinating. Thank you!

When market on up not such an issue but if falling market agent skills more crucial

Brave woman speaking with 11 agents!

As an ex agent of 20+ years, any agent can sell a property in a strong rising market where new stock is in high demand, this experiment should be conducted in the current downturn as it will be the true reflection of good agency, as having worked in the 2008 housing crash, It was tough just to try and survive without having to shut up shop unlike quite a few agencies did at that time, mostly the larger corporates who only win biz on over valuing, then bombard the vendor for price reductions.

The most interesting point of the video was not one mention of any of the agents fees, which often is at the forefront of most sellers decision making process, after all we’ve all been there and had the call of I really like your valuation, but not your fee!!!

Excellent video ✅ even tho anyone could sell a house in a bull market but this really demonstrates that having a good agent can go far

I've always felt that the commission structure is wrong. For example 1% (just to make the maths easy) on this property. If it sold at £250k then the commission would have been £2.5k, £275k...£2.75k and £300k... £3k commission. The problem is that a donkey could sell the property at £250k, but selling at £300k requires a lot more work yet only gets an extra £500 commission. If the commission was 10% of the sale price in excess of £250k, then if the agent sells for £300k they get £5k commission (instead of £3k),they will much more motivated to strive for the best possible price, maybe even £305k. Twice now I have managed to convince the selling agent that I was poor and they hinted that my offer was too high (pretty blatant hint at that) . Both times I purchased at a reduced offer. They don't care about the sale price, they just want to shift the home. The 1. 5% + vat does little to incentivise them to push for the best price.

God, I hope she was not suckered into this. No doubt, the same estate agent inflated the price of the house she bought. They use the government House Price Index as a guide (a con as percentage of sales they use to produce it is not released) to inflate the price of the house you are buying as well. If prices drop by 30% you will be in real trouble. Also your £1000 mortgage will be £2000 in 18 months time.

Do agents bring "fake" buyers just to give the seller the impression they are working?

Why not take that one off viewing again? No contract to lock her in and could still potentially sell for 300 if the buyer really likes it.

nice video but Sam is seller and Ammy did great job But she would bad choice for people who want to buy cheap may be at 245k.

Thank you 😊 The winning agent had That something you cannot bottle plus it's her business, other larger agents have individuals as good but depends on their career trajectory within the firm at that time and the quality of the team supporting them.

The buyer might be in trouble in a few years time, looks like they have paid way over the asking price at a time when Prices may be about to fall dramatically (late 2022 recession, inflation and rising interest rates)... Hope they got a long term fixed rate.
Winners and Losers in the Housing Market, the bigger the winner, the bigger the loser.

The house is right next to a river, and best avoided. If there is a flood it would be very difficult and expensive to get insurance again.

Poor poor lady. She has no bought a more expensive house and has a mortgage that will cripple her in a few years when the fix ends. I bought in in 91 for £30,000 and put down a £7,500 deposit. I had to sell in 1997 for £22,500. That was a paper loss of around 29% £8,500 and a cash loss of £7,500. If you think it is not going to be a lot worst than that this time then good luck to you.

Ive had agent refuse to forward offers. A lot of scumbags out there.

This is the perfect video of what a 'BIG F*ing JOKE' UK housing market is.

She bought it for 198k inJul 2018 and sold it for 300k in Feb 2022. +51% in 4 years.
I think its time to short the UK housing market.

What does ‘hold on to your seat’ mean? Like “don’t fall off your chair” or what

I wonder which area this is the market is so heated up? A dozen viewings and numerous offers over the asking price?

Bit cringe at times from Charlie.I hope agents were advised they were secretly being filmed. In the modern world of house buying it’s not right to say Agents have different buyers registered. Serious buyers watch the portals like a hawk and ones that don’t are registered either every agent!

Excellent video, such useful viewing for sellers. I've already sent the link to one of my out of area sellers.

Would it be in a buyers interest to work in the opposite way, i.e shadow the weaker agents? If so, I think you're on to a winning concept, as (I hope) eventually this should make the agents themselves more competitive when rankings become the norm

Interesting, thank you. Can you clarify the reference to a lock in? Is that the same as a single agency agreement? Sounds like there might a penalty if you break it within a certain period? I haven't moved for many years and practices can change over time.

Intriguing video and very brave of Sam. But I am surprised that no-one - neither Sam nor Amy mentioned Amy's amazing Google reviews. The comments - by 51 of her clients over the last six months - are all 5* and glowing. Right at the end Charlie says 'the problem is it is very difficult to find out which is the best.'

Looking at Google reviews of Taunton agents there are only three other agents that score a 'perfect 5' and none with the volume that Amy has achieved in the short timescale that she has been in business. She stands head and shoulders above her competitors. It's just a pity that Ewemove hasn't adopted a Google-focussed strategy on their/her website (the three Trustpilot reviews currently showing on her site relate to London, Southampton and Trowbridge, none of which are remotely relevant for Sam).

Thing is, any agent you would have instructed would have had the same buyers and the same offers. It comes down to fee, experience or just downright preference. To sum up the video You picked Amy because you felt like you had a better connection with her. Anyone would have got you the same money.

Such an interesting video! Well done Amy!! I would be interested to know if you would have called Amy out in the beginning if you hadn’t planned to ask all 11 agents out? Or would you have discounted Ewe move from the initial valuation appointments because the branding is not great?

Excellent video, shame about the audio. Sound levels/quality all over the place on this one Charlie, a shame as the content was valuable.

Awesome video! Thanks for sharing your experience Sam; it’s amazing to see such a fantastic result and some of the comments from the “beauty parade” are utterly cringeworthy! 🤦‍♂️