Sellers and buyers - beware!!! They will come and value your property, promise the earth, get a professional photographer to produce lovely photos and a video to market your property, and arrange buyer viewings.
But the test of a good estate agent is how they deal with any problems that arise.
In our case, it took over 6 months once a Buyer had made us an agreed offer, through to completion of the sale. Communication from Ashtons during that period was awful, they were usually "busy on the other line" or "out of the office". The manager avoids you once he has gained your business (and presumably his sales bonus) and there is no deputy manager to take charge of matters when he's away.
As things dragged on into the 6th month, we asked for, and were promised, daily updates. These didn't happen. The 2 properties below us in the chain were also on sale with Ashtons, so in theory they should have had a good awareness of where things were up to, but there was absolutely no sense of urgency. When we occasionally got news of "progress" this was usually unreliable. So, a move that was originally scheduled for 21st March, then 26th April, finally took place on 24th May.
In conclusion, only use these people if you can afford to wait a long time. We very nearly lost out on the purchase of our dream home because of them.
Reply from agent
Hi David,
Obviously myself and the team are really disappointed to see that the service you received deserved a 1 star review. I think it’s only fair for clarity to give our point of view as this is a public review forum and we don’t believe your thoughts reflect our business – I would hate for it to affect on the teams moral and any future customers decision as to whether to list their home with us.
As you commented, we had multiple sales in this chain – so there was upmost clarity on progress and determination from the team to get this through.
You will be aware there was a significant hold up at the bottom of the chain due to the leasehold company going into Administration. This is out of our control. Also, this buyer used a conveyancer who was continually illusive (they didn’t use a local firm), but we chased them all the same. I believe Emily shared the correspondence direct with yourself for clarity on their position.
Having caught up with the team, I can see that you had regular updates throughout the sale – as and when we had them. There has been lots of chasing in the background that I appreciate you aren’t aware of but the team have been relentless in trying to get this through.
That said, your sale took 6 months to go through which I understand isn’t ideal during a particularly stressful period. Currently the national average is 5 months, ours as a company is 4 months. Which is what we always try and achieve and improve on – but, with a larger chain, with problems – they can take longer. Again, this is out of our control when problems arrive.
With regards to our Branch Manager, he is back-to-back on appointments daily – which is why we invest so heavily in an experienced office based team who are more than capable to handle any issues.
Having reviewed the file notes, call logs and time allocated to your file. We do feel that without our continual chasing this sale may never have completed. At one stage, Emily found a solicitor who had dealt with a similar house at the bottom of the chain and physically visited their office to get the document. This is a solicitors role, but we did it to ensure it proceeded.
As with every sale, once a sale is agreed we aren’t in control of the time it takes for a sale to complete. We chase, relay information and help where possible.
Good luck in your new home.
