“Buyers Beware! My partner and I have been searching for ......”
2 Star Review
Dec 03,2017
By:
'Ste'
Dec 03,2017
Branch: Birmingham, 1513 Pershore Road
Services: Sales (Prospective customer)
Would you recommend?: No
Postcode: B30
Branch: Birmingham, 1513 Pershore Road
Sales (Prospective customer)
Postcode: B30
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Buyers Beware! My partner and I have been searching for a property for quite a while and have therefore experienced many different estate agents such as; Lee Shaw, Lex Allan etc.… Never have we received such poor service as we did from Oakton Estates. We were treated so rudely and patronised throughout our whole visit. We are first time buyers and it is quite obvious we are first time buyers and so the process is daunting enough as it is without it being made worse by a patronising estate agent. Upon entering the property, we were greeted by the agent and we entered the living room. My first question was “who is selling the property†to which the agent sarcastically replied “the vendorâ€Â. “Well yesâ€Â, I replied, “but what I mean is it a young couple, elderly couple etc..â€Â. I thought this was a perfectly sensible question and whenever I had asked about the sellers before to other estate agents they had been more than helpful to explain who was currently living there and why they were selling. He told me it was a couple and said nothing more. I asked how long they had lived in the property and he told me to phone the office to ask, which we found to be rather unhelpful. Nevertheless, we moved on into the kitchen where the agent mentioned that he knows they are doing a good job when they receive offers on the first day. To which I had to ask if that was the situation for the house we were currently viewing. He replied yes. I thought the way he subtly dropped into conversation that the house had already had an offer on it along with bragging about his estate agents was very unprofessional. Normally, in our experience we are told as soon as we enter a property whether there have been any offers already made. We went upstairs and viewed some of the bedrooms, we entered the master bedroom and making conversation with the estate agent I asked where the vendors currently were, to which he replied “they are out†in the patronising tone that had been present our entire visit. He then followed up with “I am not going to tell you where they are as you could be anyoneâ€Â. Now, I was quite shocked at this as I was only making conversation. At a previous property I had asked a lovely estate agent the same question and she explained that the person had just taken his son to rugby. But instead I was greeted with a response as if I had asked for their current household income or more personal information. I explained to him I wasn't prying but simply just making conversation. We then moved out to the landing and started descending the stairs. The estate agent followed telling me he would do the same for me if I was selling a house and would not give out my personal information. At this point my partner and I were feeling very awkward with the whole encounter and I turned to her and said “are we done†to which the agent replied “I think you are†with a tone that implied he was quite ready for us to leave. He apologised once more for not being able to “give me any information about the vendors and he was only doing his jobâ€Â. We walked to our car and I immediately took out my phone and dialled the reception phone number for Oakton estates to complain. I explained the story on the phone to the receptionist and expressed how angry and shocked I was at the way we had been spoke to and how awkward and uncomfortable the situation had been. I also informed him that I would not be viewing an Oakton estates property again. The unfortunate thing about it was the house was very lovely, but I was unable to actually “view†the property or pay any attention to what I was looking at because of the atmosphere the estate agent had created and the way he made us feel.
Later that day I received a phone call from the estate agent himself where he apologised for what had happened earlier. This is the only reason I have not given this review 1 star, as in reality this was the only thing that could have happened to resolve the situation. He explained that due to the vendor's personal circumstances that he was already on guard against potential buyers and upon my questioning about the vendors he had to maintain his client's information. Now this is completely understandable but does not excuse the patronising and sarcastic way he had responded to my questions. Nor does it excuse him from suspecting every potential buyer to view the house and ask simple question such as who is selling the property. We were completely unware of any “personal circumstances†the vendor has and so the estate agents tone of voice and replies were completely unprecedented from our point of view. We were very offended to feel like we suspected of something or that we were perceived to be prying into someone else's business. Overall, it seemed like a misunderstanding had taken place which had resulted in my partner and I leaving the house feeling very uncomfortable and quite angry. It has also had the result of us excluding all Oakton estate properties from our future searches. I am not sure if the agents patronising tone was just his normal personality or whether it was because he suspected we were first time buyers. So for anyone thinking of viewing a property with Oakton Estates (especially first time buyers) be very careful what questions you ask or you might get some very sarcastic replies.
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That pretty much is a good account of the events of your viewing. However I'm not sure about the ‘bragging' bit as that's not our style and I was only telling you we had offers on this particular property within the first 24 hours.
Please note that first time buyers are our life blood so we respect them immensely and always endeavour to give them the time they deserve .
I hope you both find success in the search for your ideal home .