Staff at Miles and Barr were helpful in a number of ways - prompt contact, and helping to get the purchase through as quickly as possible. They were happy to pop round to the flat on a number of occasions prior to and after completion which I appreciated enormously. Things are generally ok when your needs/aims align with an estate agents! The reality is also that as the buyer they’re not being paid by you. There’s such a pervasive lack of trust in estate agency (built on exploitative practices, and maximising profit at (almost all) costs), I’m not sure how good an experience engaging with the services of an estate agent can really be. What I can say is that as far as I’m aware, no one outrageously took the p**s or engaged in questionable practices, but I did feel the subtle pushes and pulls of the coercive dynamics of ulterior motives, and felt I had to be on my guard. You never know if estate agents’ goodwill at a certain moment is just that, or whether it’s being used to prime you. Gratitude is powerful, particularly in all things concerning your future home, and I feel that can potentially be used against you. I was also really annoyed with the aggressive sales tactics when trying to sell me their partner’s legal services etc. It was so passive aggressive I had to call him out on the phone 😂 Back TF off! Sometimes I did wonder how they didn’t know certain things about the property they were selling, but I feel like the whole thing is “the less we know the better” as far as estate agents are concerned. Taking that as given in estate agency, I appreciated at times the work and support of Bradley, Reece and in particular Louise, who helped me through to completion with regular contact, good availability, problem-solving and a friendly tone over the phone. I also appreciated the team’s help post-completion, when a few issues came up that I wasn’t aware of prior. Also, whoever owned and rented out my flat in the past….. tenants deserve a better bare minimum, they really do. Anyway, here’s to the future: where the property market, both sales and rental, is properly regulated, and the whole thing is based not on relentless profit extraction, but on our rights to safety and dignity, homes in which we can all be mentally and physically healthy, homes from which we can all build better lives 👌