Where do Estate Agents come from?
Posted by ScaryButt@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 201 comments
Serious question, I'm house shopping currently so dealing with a lot of estate agents and they're a mixed bunch but with shared characteristics, it got me wondering how people get into that job.
Afaik there's no specific EA school or degree, so do people just sort of fall into the role? Or do people grow up wanting to become EAs? Is it a desire to help people find their dream homes or something?
If you are an EA how / why did you get into it?
PerfectEmphasis9016@reddit
You don’t really need qualifications to be an estate agent. They train you up. If you’ve got a sick up your arse and you want to pretend like you’re rich but you’re quite poor, unscrupulous, no morals, rude and lazy they prefer that.
notthedoodaa@reddit
Similar place as car salesmen.
tylerthe-theatre@reddit
Hell
-FantasticAdventure-@reddit
The Swamps of Degobah..
palebluedot365@reddit
Well that’s just reminded me of the worst Reddit story I’ve ever read.
davehemm@reddit
You're most welcome 😂
SquiffSquiff@reddit
Surely you mean Tatooine? Last time I passed a branch of Foxtons I thought "You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy"
davehemm@reddit
The pilodontal variant of the sawmps of Dagobah ?
Ultimate_os@reddit
And recruiters. 😅
No-Blackberry-3945@reddit
I was going to say they're usually failed recruiters!
notthedoodaa@reddit
Yep, that too.
JohnCasey3306@reddit
And IT recruiters
curiouslyopen333@reddit
I’ve moved a few times in the last few years and I honestly don’t know what value they add. You look on Rightmove and they then open the door to look around. They do naff all in terms of negotiating, they just pass messages. Weird really
txe4@reddit
That is a grossly unfair minimisation of what they do.
They don't just "pass messages", they have a vital role in:
* Lying to everyone in the chain
* Losing vital documentation
* Pushing buyers to use bottom-of-the-range halfwit conveyancers who pay them a kickback
* Taking 12 artistic photographs of small details but failing to mention how the place is heated
* Taking commission from bent mortgage brokers and then telling the seller how much the buyer can afford
* Inventing fictitious other buyers to try to create a sense of urgency
* Insisting buyers disclose every scrap of financial data they have then storing all their bank statements and payslips under a pot plant in the office
FunPie4305@reddit
You forgot the recent trend of pushing modern auction on every potential seller they can
txe4@reddit
It's a particularly housing-esque use of the word "modern", that, isn't it.
As in "like an old fashioned one, but shit".
curiouslyopen333@reddit
Absolutely not my experience across three house moves and a rental period. We did all the chasing with the solicitors, in two instances ended up dealing directly with the buyers and also caught our agent lying when he told us our buyers had a mortgage in place - they didn’t. Estate agency is a low barrier entry job which sadly is over populated with youngsters who have little guile, no sophistication and just want the result. I can only speak of my own experience, but I can genuinely say I have zero respect for it as a career. The value added is negligible.
jasminenice@reddit
Hahaha almost had me there.
guinness1972@reddit
So who deals with the solicitors. The mortgage advisors The other solicitors in the chain?
yolo_snail@reddit
When I bought my house, once the offer was accepted, we didn't speak to the EA again. It was all done through the solicitors.
You also should never use the mortgage adviser linked with an estate agent, so that should never be a problem.
guinness1972@reddit
I had a similar issue. I bought my house through purple bricks. We never spoke to the agent once. A proper charlatan. My wife took over and handled all instructions. Ironically. The chap we bought from said PB were brilliant. But they did not even check we had the funds or means to buy it
yolo_snail@reddit
Oh, I'm not saying it was a negative thing! Quite positive actually.
It was nice and easy just having our solicitors deal with their solicitors, and never having to interact with a Mini driving walking foundation tube again.
guinness1972@reddit
I didn’t take it as negative mate. Purple bricks I think are the worse. They take the money upfront. So once they have your pound notes. There is no inclination to sell. My wife has often has people come to them to sell the property once the contract with PB is up
rizozzy1@reddit
My friend used PB. It was an utter shit show. The sale eventually happened, but they were beyond useless.
I’ve always used small local companies and always found them to be great.
This is also speaking from having tried to do a private sale. It ultimately failed and wasted 9 months of my time.
I’ll happily use an independent EA any time again.
curiouslyopen333@reddit
Me /the buyer. That’s been my experience across three house moves and a six month rental stint. We also found out that our estate agent lied to us saying our buyers had a mortgage in place - which they didn’t.
guinness1972@reddit
that’s a douchy agent. my wife always asks for proof of funds first
curiouslyopen333@reddit
I obviously didn’t use the same one each time! I’m only giving my experience and in every instance I found them slow, inefficient and lazy. I did most showarounds, I did the negotiation, I did all the solicitor interaction. We moved three times within two years and it was during ‘peak market’, but I maintain that I don’t feel I got remotely close to a service.
scuderia91@reddit
The solicitors seem to do most of that.
guinness1972@reddit
Solicitor can only liaise with the immediate solicitor either way in the chain. If the chain is large, the EA coordinates it
scuderia91@reddit
Why would the middle solicitors in the chain not just be liaising in either direction
guinness1972@reddit
They can. But they can’t act if the chain is larger than three. My wife has often dealt with chains of 10-12
Most of her issues come from solicitors not actually doing their job. She’s constantly chasing them. It’s the EA who gets the stick. Not the solicitor
Orange_Codex@reddit
Solicitors are definitely the worst part of house trading.
Family sold one not too long ago, and the buyer's solicitor asked unending piles of the most mind-bendingly stupid piss-ass kindergarten questions known to medical science because he couldn't compute getting planning permission and building a house after buying the land. He thought the value increase was just a scam.
My favourite moment was when he asked for a description of what the airfield that existed on the site in the 50s looked like. It looked like a field. He also read up on septic tank access laws and convinced himself that our septic tank was a shared communal resource that future buyers could somehow monetise.
guinness1972@reddit
delaying tactics im sure
Inevitable-Spite-575@reddit
The buyer.
guinness1972@reddit
No they don’t. The agent acts on behalf of the buyer and vendor. The agent is the only person in the entire chain who is allowed to liaise with all the mortgage advisors and solicitors
Her favourite bit of the job is showing people the gooses. Taking the houses on etc.
dwair@reddit
I've sold two houses privately in the past. Everything was done via the solicitors. As far as I can see an EA does is produce a brochure and stick it on right move.
Sure you can let them take pictures and do viewings if you want but that normally works against you unless you are really lucky.
BigSillyDaisy@reddit
I wanna see the gooses!
guinness1972@reddit
Some of the farm properties here have them 😇😇😇😇 🪿
NicNole@reddit
Just because they can, doesn’t mean any of them do it
guinness1972@reddit
Agreed. But by the same token. Doesn’t mean they don’t all take their role seriously too
TBF. Maybe coz my wife works for an independent, they all work as a team. And we’re in a small town. Some agents whilst working for a well known brand; actually are self employed. So do not act or function as a team
MasterPreparation687@reddit
The buyer does, mostly. Not directly with the other party's solicitor's, the EA does do some of that, to a limited extent. That's my experience, anyway.
the01li3@reddit
We got a house recently, and saw it on the market soon enough that the estate agents hadnt had time to be shown around, so the sellers showed us around (honestly lovely people), any questions we had went to the estate agents, and took a couple weeks, when GF went to go see the house, they just exchanged numbers and said "just text us directly if you have any questions that dont need legal history" (i.e. boiler servicing etc. having a record of that convo in an estate agent is always good for backup.)
We bypassed the estate agents completely and still went through with the sale fine.
curiouslyopen333@reddit
Yep, pretty much where we ended up. But still had to pay the fee regardless
Chamerlee@reddit
I’m buying & selling currently with no estate agents and even though there’s hiccups it’s 0 stress because we’re only dealing with solicitors.
curiouslyopen333@reddit
I think that’s brilliant! I wish I’d had the nuts to do it
Chamerlee@reddit
It wasn’t planned. We got chatting to a guy in the village who was thinking of selling.
My neighbours daughter was looking to buy.
Just so happens the stars aligned.
However in future I 100% feel like I’d rather post in the local Facebook group than have some dickhead EA rock up.
Successful_Buy3825@reddit
To give a serious answer: we as renters see no value to them because we’re ultimately not their client, the landlord is. An EA really doesn’t give two shits about the tenant.
To a landlord, the value comes from an EA handling some administrative work that the LL doesn’t want to handle, which is valuable in particular for overseas owners.
Tenants will make decisions on where to rent based on location, property condition and price - factors the EA has basically no control over. From a landlord’s perspective, they really don’t give a shit about hiring an EA that has good tenant engagement, because people will rent the flat anyway.
Orri@reddit
We viewed a property a couple of weeks ago. Estate Agent turned up like 15 minutes late, opened the front door, told us to look around and then just walked off to play on his phone.
redlorryyellowlorry9@reddit
The estate agents seem to only be able to tell you what each room is (this is a kitchen, this is a bathroom), which is normally something I can see for myself.
My favourite estate agent was the one who met us in the street, then confidently marched off in completely the wrong direction to show us the house. We had to stop her and point at which house in the street we should be going into.
putyrhandsup@reddit
Mine was the one that loudly farted in the small kitchen we were all in and tried to pretend he hadn't
dwair@reddit
Sounds like the EA who showed me by current house. We met him outside and he pointed to a bit of wriggley tin over a window and said "The door doesn't open but I think you can get in there if you want to have a look. I'm not going in with you because it's dangerous". He then went and sat in his car.
TBF it was a bit sketchy inside as the floors were rotted out and it was very dark ( but we bought it anyway.)
Expensive_Time_7367@reddit
In the UK they’re better described as brokers than agents, they go for volume and match people with properties on their books really rather than marketing property particularly actively.
Honey-Badger@reddit
I think that used to be the case but we recently brought a house and every single place we looked at was because I saw it on Rightmove and said I wanted to go see it
General_Recipe_5869@reddit
Exactly. They don't seem to work on behalf of either party, just want a sale and don't do much. Surely with current tech we can remove the pain of moving which includes the snails pace solicitors.
According-Log-8982@reddit
Had a viewing recently where it was the current Tenant showing me around the house and answering my questions.
The estate agent knew nothing about the house, did not have a floor plan, wouldn't answer a single question and didn't have any pictures of the house in its current condition - all pictures were from 5 years ago. The landlord is in charge of maintenance of the house.
Makes me wonder what the Estate Agent is even getting paid for. A post on rightmove?
guinness1972@reddit
My wife is an estate agent and comes home crying most nights due to stress or clients. Solicitors etc. the lack of education around what they do they do in this thread is beyond belief. Yeh. Downvote me.
MeltingChocolateAhh@reddit
Not getting my downvote. This subreddit is anti-estate agent, anti-recruiter, anti-anything sales, and pro-Timpsons. Don't show this post to your wife because she will think that the UK hates her for having a job where she makes commission, because we all love working twice as hard as our colleagues for equal pay.
It makes sense that it isn't a nice job to be in. And as you rightly say further on, they work for the seller and not the buyer. The buyer has to haggle with the estate agent, and the estate agent wants the buyer to pay as high as possible in order to maximise that commission. If a potential buyer doesn't understand this, they're unworkable. Move on to next potential buyer as that one is a time drain.
Saying that, you should steer your wife towards another job if you aren't already. She clearly isn't in the right job if it does that to her mental health. And, coming home crying after work sounds like burn-out.
Hope all is well!!
guinness1972@reddit
My wife adores her job. She’s done it 21 years now.
She is bloody good at it too. She knows her clients. So sometimes, when they visit a house with a prospect to bring to market. She already knows who will want it.
She’s not wanting purely for commission. She’s lucky in that respect. She’s never once tried to get the highest price for her vendor for her commission
Flip that thought mate. She gets paid a fee and commission whatever it sells at. We’re not in London. So it’s not even mid hundreds on each sale she gets. She’s trying to get her vendor the best price for them. And she knows their lowest price. But. By law. They must inform their vendors of every offer. And sometimes. She gets offers of over 50k of asking value. She then gets it in the neck from the person who made the offer that the vendor won’t accept it. And “she’s shit” at her job coz they won’t….
Figure that one out! As I said elsewhere. It must be one of the few jobs in the world they only get paid after the sale completes. So they can spend money marketing a property. Paying huge right move fees (which are astronomical) and send staff (paying fuel etc) to viewings. And if it doesn’t sell, they lose money as a consequence
MeltingChocolateAhh@reddit
That's amazing she adores her job after 21 years. Most of the population can't say the same for their own work unfortunately. But, it's also amazing that she does love it, and it drives her to tears.
It sounds like a job that's sales-driven of course, but how you describe it, it's not as hardline sales as recruitment for example.
guinness1972@reddit
Her view is a house sells itself. Her job is the liaising with mortgage advisors and solicitors. Which we’re all mostly ignorant to
rizozzy1@reddit
I recently tried to sell somewhere privately.
It was awful. Fell through after 9 months of arsing around. I couldn’t chase the buyers solicitor, only mine.
Mine would send an email then sit back. Nothing more.
I eventually found out the buyer had lost their job and failed to tell anyone.
I got on the phone to a local small agent. It was on the market and sold within 9 days. 11 weeks later it completed.
My EA chased up the buyers solicitors a number of times, as they were dragging their feet.
They also put up with my nervousness of the whole situation, as after the failed sale I was just paranoid it would go the same way.
They were brilliant, all of the team was.
I have nothing but good words and experience for EAs.
ScaryButt@reddit (OP)
Sorry to hear that,
Do you think that's why there's the view that they're assholes, because it's a tough job and only the people who don't really care survive?
If your wide is crying most nights she should probably leave, hard but will be better for her.
guinness1972@reddit
No. I think it’s actually coz the solicitors dilly dally but the EA is the first port of call
Also. Potential buyers often get angry if they don’t get the house at a ridiculous discount. But the agent isn’t working on behalf of the buyer. They represent the seller. And in England. Only get paid once the house is sold
Howthehelldoido@reddit
Zero qualifications required, they just apply, and become one.
Source - ex was one.
Shit suit and Audi A1 mostly required.
doctorace@reddit
Also, you’re mostly paid on commission, so I imagine they will hire literally anyone knowing they won’t have to pay you if you’re shit.
ScaryButt@reddit (OP)
They're all in gilets now!
Friendly_External345@reddit
Remember the arse hole kids at school that talked shit all the time. It's them in a cheap suit or a fat arse and fake nails.
Bksudbjdua@reddit
To give an honest answer, they train you up, you can get a qualification, there is room to grow professionally and you get a sales bonus. You're not chained to a desk, you can talk to different kinds of people. Depending on the company you could have a company car. Depending on the company, hours can be flexible (to an extent). And for me, talking to people and helping people find their dream home sounds like a positive. (I know the realities arnt that but at age 20, it did sound lucrative)
JavaRuby2000@reddit
It's just something they fall into. Starts off as a basic admin job answering phones and arranging calls for other agents and progressing from there. Some of them then leave and start up their own Estate Agents. Its a very similar career path as Travel Agents, Car Sales or Recruitment Consultants.
theegrimrobe@reddit
i heard theres a factory somewhere in clapham ... churns out the useless bastards by the dozen
thatbloke83@reddit
Well, when a mummy estate agent and a daddy estate agent love each other very much...
AhoyWilliam@reddit
This is very much the case for someone I know - her parents both are estate agents in an area that would be dark blue in Monopoly - and so yeah, obvious career choice really. To be fair though I did briefly work with her as a picker in a warehouse, which was quite a surprise.
-FantasticAdventure-@reddit
Then they shit out an Estate Agent. Got it 👍🏼
Frosty_Leg4438@reddit
A lot of people hate UK estate agents, but my experience is they tend to be generally people who are money motivated or “lifestyle aspirational”
I was one straight out of Uni (London) as a starter job (quickly moved on), and almost everyone was doing it to get a leg up on the property market.
A typical agency percentage was around 4% and the agent could earn 15% of that as commission. Since most properties were at least £1million, that’s around £6000 income per sale (and you could have multiple a week).
It was super intense work with every other person in your company a competitor, but it was very possible to work in a leading chain branch for a year and earn a flat deposit, straight out of Uni.
UsediPhoneSalesman@reddit
That's crazy money, I had no idea
bacon_cake@reddit
I wonder if that's still the case? I know a few estate agents, some fairly long term, and none seem to be particularly well-off.
i_enjoy_silence@reddit
The emerge from the sewers.
Obvious-Water569@reddit
It's not a sewer, it's a rustic, period home with close links to both public facilities and the local rodent population.
mantolwen@reddit
*wildlife
Jlaw118@reddit
I honestly never knew why people slagged estate agents off so much on here until I was looking at commercial property last year.
Emailed one guy three questions I had that weren’t covered in the online brochure about a premises. For his reply to just be “1. Yes. 2. No. 3. Yes. Please see the attached brochure to answer your questions.”
Couldn’t believe the low effort of the guy who’s job was to try and sell me one of these units 😂 had a lady I was dealing with on another property too who just ignored me when I asked her a question about something. Then they had the cheek a few months later to tell me they were all sold up but “here’s some more you might be interested in!”
Obvious-Water569@reddit
Honestly I'd rather them answer my questions like this. They normally do not shut the fuck up.
Kezmangotagoal@reddit
This is the only true answer haha
paper_zoe@reddit
where we banished them to hundreds of years ago
here-but-not-present@reddit
Yeah, I always thought they just kind of dripped out of the primordial ooze.
The few folk I know of that are EAs either just had other businesses and decided to expand into it, or others were studying business degrees and fell into it during their studies and never left.
-FantasticAdventure-@reddit
Correct answer. Wrap it up guys, end the thread here.
AirlineSevere7456@reddit
If you own a blue suit and overly long brown shoes and can describe a shithole as charming, you're set
Aggressive-Spend-338@reddit
All corporate rejects work for estates always! period
Natural-Ad-4423@reddit
I fell into the role after I left uni, escaped a while ago. Was told multiple times that I wasn’t like the rest due to not giving a toss and was too honest for my own good. Don’t like the house? Fine. Problems in the house? Yes if I know about it, I’ll tell you about them. Autism helps lol. Found that people either love the honesty or just don’t.
Hefty_Anywhere_8537@reddit
Essex
Serious-Use4585@reddit
They are training to be recruitment consultants.
UnarmedTwo@reddit
Can confirm. My cousin's husband was an estate agent. Now a recruitment consultant.
Lovely bloke though. Complete opposite of the stereotype.
skippygo@reddit
Have you dealt with him in a professional capacity? Plenty of lovely people are arseholes at work.
Awkward_Aioli_124@reddit
Isn't that worse?
jwf91@reddit
Absolutely not, a good recruitment consultant is worth their weight in gold, genuine advisors to both to candidate and client and experts in their market.
Just a shame there’s 99 shit ones to one good one.
NinetalesFire@reddit
There is no need for a recruitment pleb to exist. They are not consultants they have 1 GCSE in candle wax and specialise in nothing other than chat gpt LinkedIn statuses
jwf91@reddit
Ok mate, so then what do with the tens of thousands of people who are entering the jobs market?
Just because you had a bad experience doesn’t mean that this is applicable across the board. I had a shit meal at Giraffe once and can cook at home, doesn’t mean that restaurant ‘plebs’ shouldn’t exist, does it?
Corona21@reddit
Funny how two core pillars of a neoliberal capitalist society. Allocation of housing and labour matching relevant skills so people can set themselves and their families up to succeed, just left up to whoever fell into it.
Far-Contribution-632@reddit
Plus absolutely zero regulation/licensing for people working in either field
jwf91@reddit
True but we do need people to manage processes, otherwise the complex systems in place don’t get adhered to. I know we have solicitors and things, but it is advantageous having someone to oversee the process and chase things down when they’re not moving as quickly as they should.
It’s great to buy a house but who has the time to sell their own house? Being offered a job is a great achievement, but what if there’s nobody around to tell you where to be and when?
Also, look how many people are in these jobs. We have limited industry in this country but there’s always jobs for recruiters and estate agents. Some people fall in to it and will get found out when they’re don’t succeed. I’m not ashamed to say that I did that in recruitment. I also worked alongside old timers who were industry experts and managed to make very good money, while genuinely having their candidate’s best interests at heart.
Agitated-Honeydew-41@reddit
Ey, that’s an observation of note.
Ultimate_os@reddit
I’m yet to work with a good recruiter. 😅
Sufficient-Low5771@reddit
I think the good recruiter idea is probably a soft-power move by the big recruitment firms so we don't revolt and chop off their heads.
Been working 20+ years, I can't think of a single recruiter on my LinkedIn who is still working in recruitment, I've only had 1 get me multiple jobs and I work in tech, never been out of work and in a high-demand specialty
ScaryButt@reddit (OP)
I do get this vibe
sbaldrick33@reddit
Well, when an estate agent and a lady estate agent love each other very much...
fannyabdabs@reddit
Every single EA I've had cause to engage with in the past few years has lied, been incompetent and shown a contemptible lack of respect for anyone's time.
snarkycrumpet@reddit
There's a documentary about it. Stath Lets Flats is an intimate expose of the Estate Agent world, how they recruit and train, and then what daily life as a successful agent is like.
Wonderful-Bonus5439@reddit
This made me snort 😂
guinness1972@reddit
Under appreciated comment 😂😂
EUskeptik@reddit
Possibly from the same stock as car salespeople, insurance salespeople, double glazing salespeople and the people with Irish accents who offer to tarmac your driveway for much less than half price.
-##-
cantxtouchxthis@reddit
Hell
not_depressed_123@reddit
The womb
richdrich@reddit
Sales is a progression, e.g: Beggar -> Chugger -> Checkout person -> Whiteware shop -> Advertising space -> Used cars -> New cars -> Residential estate agent -> Commercial estate agent -> Enterprise IT -> Financial trading -> CEO
All those are basically down to bullshit skills and work ethic. You can try and leap on at a higher level if you have enough of the chat and some kind of qual.
rinkydinkmink@reddit
Their spawning grounds have never been found. New Estate Agents appear in the spring, migrating towards their offices, where they mate in the Summer. In the Autumn they disappear again, possibly to the Mediterranean, where it is hypothesised that they lay their eggs.
Cfunk_83@reddit
Like recruitment consultants they come from the people that can’t do anything else in life and have no real skills or qualifications.
MeltingChocolateAhh@reddit
Organisational skills, interpersonal skills, and the ability to influence someone's decision in order to maximise profits?
Ok, some estate agents and even recruitment consultants will falsify stuff or miss out key info to influence this decision, but that goes on their reputation. A good estate agent or recruiter will be reputable, trusted, and have a nice little portfolio of successes.
jwf91@reddit
Selling is a skill, being consultative and resilient are also skills.
MeltingChocolateAhh@reddit
It's the same as sales, or recruitment. You just apply, and if you have a full driving licence and are likeable, you'll probably get the job. I am guessing it is commission-based to an extent - maybe not as full on as recruitment or sales because an EA could be with a buyer for a much longer period of time. I don't know much about this part.
Their jobs are to sell someone's home. Literally just that. They write up the advert you see on Rightmove. Then, they organise viewings for potential buyers. They carry that buyer right through to the sales process. When money exchanges hands, EA steps back. They are the middle man, and will pass messages between the buyer and vendor. The EAs often will vet buyers and make sure they're not just time-wasters too.
You don't need an EA in the UK. But, you would need to be able to sell the house and advertise it much better than the estate agents do (who do this for a job). Then, you would need to handle the viewings. This is probably better if someone is selling to someone they know well. It would certainly save the fees of the estate agent.
Ok_Transition1578@reddit
Fell into it. Graduated from university and struggled to get a job in my chosen field (didn't try that hard in hindsight though) and a friend referred me for an interview at the agency she worked for. Got the job and ended up having an incredibly stressful 7 years doing it before getting out of the industry and falling into something else that I enjoyed far more.
Can understand why the industry gets a bad rep but there are absolutely some good eggs that do the job.
derschweinhund@reddit
This Tango Ad from the 90s has the answer you are looking for
saddest-song@reddit
Milton Keynes
ARobertNotABob@reddit
They are a superfluous holdover adding zero value, indeed, to the contrary given ludicrous percentile fees, and should be scrapped.
Their sustainability/longevity/survival already lies only in chains, or else in niche neighbourhoods where the clients think they're too posh for Rightmove.
No-Veterinarian-3916@reddit
its a job that's necessary somewhat and i guess it can be rewardingto beklp people find homes. it's an inherently dishonest job or one that harms others. not like being a drug dealer or hit man or something.
MLMSE@reddit
I was once at a training place doing a NVQ in IT. Got sent to an estate agency for an interview for a work placement. Turned out it was nothing to do with the NVQ, they just wanted someone cheap to drive one of the agents around as they had just lost their licence. They tried to dress it up a bit by saying their might be a chance to become an agent at the end of it - but i guess that might not have been that true.
Consistent-Pirate-23@reddit
I know an estate agent, he used to sell cars.
A good agent is worth their weight in gold, but there aren’t many good ones
Fabulous_Coast_8108@reddit
Been looking at a shit ton of properties with my mum and only 2 E.A's have been any where near what I expected. Simple questions that I've asked have been crazy hard for clarification. One bloke basically no showed then called to re schedule next day. He barely seemed interested. I pulled my mum to one side and said fuck these cunts mum. We got outside and she said he heard you. I said good
Fit_Ambition8800@reddit
Not an estate agent - and honestly, almost every one I’ve dealt with, from renting to buying, has somehow managed to live up to the national stereotype.
Which is odd, because they do provide a genuinely useful service.
But you always get the sense that if there’s a chance to shaft you, even slightly, they’ll take it with both hands!
That said, it must be a tough job. Being disliked, distrusted, constantly under pressure to hit numbers - and still having to smile through it all.
So I do have some sympathy. Just not enough to trust them!
EducationalBison5359@reddit
My husband is an estate agent, on his own and not with a company. He genuinely loves finding people their dream homes and helping people sell theirs. He was always a chatty person so naturally fell in love with this role.
VariousPreference0@reddit
Failed all their exams at school, too weak to join the army.
pocahontasjane@reddit
Idk why everyone hates them. I've never had a bad experience but it may just be the location. We're a relatively small/rural area so everyone knows everyone.
makomirocket@reddit
A bit harder to be a dick to the people trying to rent/buy the houses around the same town, that you'll then be running in to at all the shops and events nearby for the next decade
pocahontasjane@reddit
Of course it is, hence why I said it. I just don't understand how they could be that bad a bunch of dicks when you don't really have much interaction with them. Are they really that awful elsewhere that it's memorable?
makomirocket@reddit
Yeah, somewhere like London they'll always be another person willing to go for a place. And in the days of rental bidding, they'd always be able to walk up the price, and be incentivised to talk the landlord into upping the rents every year because "that's the current market price"... because they've all convinced everyone to up their prices
HmNotToday1308@reddit
I've never had a good experience with one soooo...
pocahontasjane@reddit
That's not what I said. I said it is likely due to our rural area and everyone knowing each other.
dkb1391@reddit
Same, but I'm in a big city, two purchases and a sale, and the estate agents we've had have all been great
glytxh@reddit
I thought I accidentally stepped on once. Felt awful.
Turned out to be dogshit, and was relieved.
AWhistlingWoman@reddit
In the changing rooms of Burton Menswear.
WolfColaCo2020@reddit
My brothers an estate agent.
To his credit, he’s good at it and has more brains than his qualifications would tell you. But yeah it was about the only option available to him and he fell into it
littleboo2theboo@reddit
I work for an estate agents but I'm not an estate agent, I work in a back office role. I work in a branch for a couple of years and honestly they will hire anyone as long as they look presentable.
Lots of the young ones are job hoppers, lost souls with a string of short term failes career attempts. Often times they lack intelligence and any kind of human decency or work ethic. There's a very high churn rate for the young estate agents. It's hard work with punishing hours and many think it's a get rich quick scheme.
However, the people who have been doing the job a long time though, 15-20 years are often pretty good at what they do and have a very good 'bedside manner'. I've met lots of very respectable Sales and Lettings Directors who have been in the industry for years.
hoochiscrazy_@reddit
Good for you man!!
M0ntgomatron@reddit
Well, When a mummy estate agent and a daddy estate agent love each other very much....
behemuffin@reddit
Mordor.
Enraged-walnut@reddit
Rightmove could single handily end estage agents overnight if it started allowing people to do their own listings. Like it Rightmove started doing PurpleBricks
ChelseaRoar@reddit
Estate agent on the place I bought must've been barely over 18. And he was as effective and helpful as all the other estate agents I'd dealt with. So I think that makes it pretty clear what the barrier to entry is.
Matterbox@reddit
Estate agents ‘I’m a c*nt’
https://youtu.be/VGm267O04a8?si=PNTiyE3fgojLA79r
cdh79@reddit
When a mummy demon and a daddy vampire love each other very much......
quaredayhi@reddit
You don't need any formal training or qualifications (other than a few GCSE's) and you can tell.
Pinecone_Porcupine@reddit
I think posh but thick kids go on to become estate agents.
ShinyHeadedCook@reddit
Im in the same process too.
I've had one guy looked straight out of Love Island. Turkey teeth and the lot.
One girl who looked straight out of year 9
One who was like hyacinth bucket
Very random. None could answer questions
MaltDizney@reddit
I've got an EA friend, and he was just looking for anything that would stick after uni. Almost became a postman, but got the estate agent offer first. Suits him as he's a proper del boy wheeler dealer type, but it has enhanced the less attractive parts of his personality. I need to check him when he starts trying to chat shit to me basically.
heroics-delta8s@reddit
Sales is sales. A good seller of houses, and a good seller of cars or mobile phones. It takes a hunger and dogged determinism to make good money on it.
CobblestoneCurfews@reddit
I am an estate agent and prior to that I was a team leader at Tesco. I didn't need any formal qualifications to get an entry level job and the pay started at minimim wage. I would definitely say it's more a job people fall in to rather than chose it to be their dream job. I imagine alot of sales jobs are probably like that.
biglypiglythethird@reddit
Some people I know from school became estate agents - I'd say they were not super academic people, but with some people skills and, based purely on the people I know, fairly big egos. Also all blonde for some reason.
V65Pilot@reddit
They grow them in special tanks. Separated from lawyers, to avoid cross contamination.
Acrobatic-Ad584@reddit
The market fir double glazing has been swamped, they have nowhere to go
ArtisticWatch@reddit
Trainee roles!
Lots of the corporate Agents will have trainee roles. You'll be paid bare minimum but you'll get your foot through the door.
It was a career I was interested in but the Agents around me wouldn't hire me so I took a water hygiene career and haven't looked back.
Low_Stress_9180@reddit
They emerge for a large hole in the ground, the excess waste from hell....
OK maybe not. But I would believe it! Many are scumbags, especially in the rental sector, and I would never trust one.
Frap_Gadz@reddit
They fail at everything else and apply.
Hampshire-UK@reddit
The aren’t all horrible people, some are just incompetent
txe4@reddit
I used a really nice one last year. He was really competent.
I still maintain that they're all useless cunts.
I don't really know why he is so good and all the others are cunts.
He does seem a lot poorer than the other ones in the same town...
Ultimate_os@reddit
Maybe you found one estate agent that actually enjoys the job?
txe4@reddit
That might actually be true. It was an awkward situation that several had refused to take on.
Ok_Cow_3431@reddit
Theyre like recruitment consultants, they'd like to work in a sales role but have sales ability or other redeeming qualities so they work with a commodity that people have to buy irrespective of who the agent is.
ScaryButt@reddit (OP)
Yeah this is annoying, if I want the house I'm forced to deal with whoever the agent is, there's effectively no competition so no impetus to do a better job
JobAnxious2005@reddit
You don’t need any qualifications.
Anyone can do it.
Mrmulvaney@reddit
All the rich kids from my year at school seem to have gone to uni to do social sciences or business and then became estate agents/property developers/landlords, buying ex council houses, cheaply renovating them and then selling/letting them
Ultimate_os@reddit
A surprisingly high number of people that went to my school opened OnlyFans accounts. 😅
Euphoric_Wish_8293@reddit
Hull.
Fun-Yam2210@reddit
Hell.
TomLondra@reddit
Estate agents breed in the sewers and come up to buy and sell property.
Frosty_Leg4438@reddit
A lot of people hate UK estate agents, but my experience is they tend to be generally people who are money motivated or “lifestyle aspirational”
I was one straight out of Uni (London) as a starter job (quickly moved on), and almost everyone was doing it to get a leg up on the property market.
A typical agency percentage was around 4% and the agent could earn 15% of that as commission. Since most properties were at least £1million, that’s around £6000 income per sale (and you could have multiple a week).
It was super intense work with every other person in your company a competitor, but it was very possible to work in a leading chain branch for a year and earn a flat deposit, straight out of Uni if you hustled/were a bad human.
MissionLet7301@reddit
Yeah and because they have their own certifications which aren't done at university it's a well paying role that you can get without having a degree, or having a degree in a field that's difficult to find jobs in.
I was somewhat tempted to give it a go after uni, but I'm nowhere near Type A enough for that kind of job.
DinkyPrincess@reddit
I think it’s like reception staff for a GP or Dentist.
I imagine there’s a lab somewhere
Some_Ad6507@reddit
I unfortunately met one recently in the wild. He had dared to travel outside of London. I told him he was part of the problem. He was fully aware that bidding wars ultimately benefitted him and his wonderful bonus
Saotik@reddit
I always imagine it was something like this, but with more gillets.
Darkheart001@reddit
If you’re not bright enough to work in finance then you have to find another way to scam people.
itsfourinthemornin@reddit
My friend got in to it and is still in it. We met working at the same place prior to her job as an EA, it was in a bingo hall of all places. Absolute awful job, co-workers and place but we held each other in place for a year while we got other work (started together). I moved back to retail, she became an EA. She applied on a whim for anything to get out of that place especially after I left but she's been doing it ever since. She actually helped me get a flat many years back when I needed to move ASAP. She loves it between rarely being stuck in the same spot and getting to meet/chat to lots of different people in her day.
AreaMiserable9187@reddit
Side note - I would LOVE this job but I’d have to take a huge pay decrease to start training which I can’t do in this world.
jackgrafter@reddit
You just need a tie with a ludicrously big knot and black heart.
BoopingBurrito@reddit
It's basically a badly paid entry level sales job, so you get the folk who haven't made the cut for the other common entry level sales job - recruitment.
BigSillyDaisy@reddit
and car sales, double-glazing sales etc. I know someone who's bounced between all four for about the past 30 years.
BoomSatsuma@reddit
I’m not sure but you never see an old one as it’s possible to die from shame.
clip75@reddit
Failed solicitors and promoted mobile phone salesmen.
CrustyHumdinger@reddit
Inbreeding
these_metal_hands@reddit
I heard they hatch from eggs.
Intelligent_Prize_12@reddit
The type buried in an earth mound and abandoned by their reptilian mother, not a cute avian variety.
ScarletScotYew@reddit
I once had an interesting visit from an estate agent to provide us a with a quote. It was such a surreal thing to experience in my own home, as he reminded me of Gil Gunderson from the Simpson. He was from one of the bigger firms but gave the impression he was going through a hard time....we went with someone else in the end.
dkb1391@reddit
I'm not an estate agent, but I wouldn't mind moving into it at some point tbh. I just like houses, I think they're neat.
Obvious_Flamingo3@reddit
I used to want to be an estate agent as a child as I liked houses and seeing how people lived. Weird maybe
I don’t think I’m suited for it now necessarily, for multiple reasons, and no driving licence
No-Veterinarian-3916@reddit
They get certifications. There are traning bodies for such. Most might tend to apply for jobs in established estate agents. Similar exists for letting agents.
Many don't actually intend to end up in their careers. Most just fall into it.
guinness1972@reddit
They don’t train for it at all. There’s not body managing them. My wife is an estate agent. A very good one. The comments here are ridiculous and uneducated but yours wasn’t rude
jHeardy09@reddit
Here is a very imformative video that should explain everything.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGm267O04a8
lizziemoo@reddit
Absolutely LOVE AD!
Ocean682@reddit
I once wanted to be an estate agent even after graduating. I’m sure it would’ve turned me into a money hungry monster so thanks Foxtons and others for rejecting me.
SquiffSquiff@reddit
It's one of those jobs like being a recruitment agent where you get to wear suits there are no formal qualifications required and you can aspire to be running your own business. Obviously, the great majority of people in either profession don't get paid that well and don't get to run their own business but the possibility is always there.
MillySO@reddit
My friend is an estate agent. It started as a Saturday job answering phones when we were at school. As for the shared characteristics, it’s just the shared culture of that profession. If you learn “this is how to do the job well” from other estate agents, you’re going to end up like other estate agents.
BrewtallyCozy@reddit
I’m not sure about over here as I don’t know any estate agents personally. A lot of people who I went to school with in the US took a course, it’s quite short. They get a certificate and then they become a EA.
CheesyChips6789@reddit
A good question. I often think that the wrong people get into the wrong jobs all of the time that just doesnt sit well with their natural characteristics.
Seaside83@reddit
It's the desire to do as little work as possible for as much money as possible
Arbycutter@reddit
I guess you just have to be that kind of prick and you just slot right in
AutoModerator@reddit
Please help keep AskUK welcoming!
When replying to submission/post please make genuine efforts to answer the question given. Please no jokes, judgements, etc. If a post is marked 'Serious Answers Only' you may receive a ban for violating this rule.
Don't be a dick to each other. If getting heated, just block and move on.
This is a strictly no-politics subreddit!
Please help us by reporting comments that break these rules.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.