Estate agents not replying to emails

[hi2u_uk]

i posted this in the estate agents forum but think this forum may be more appropriate

I am looking for property to buy in south west london area and have found one which is just £10000 over budget. I have emailed the estate agent TWICE on separate occasions asking what the service charge is yet i have had no reply and have had no phone call. This particular agent is called Townends. I dont know why this is and can only assume that its some form of discrimination.

The purpose of this posting is just to suggest to people to use 2 agents where possible as its obvious that some dont really go the extra mile to get the property sold as quickly as possible at the price being advertised. I know that there may be penalties but shop around.

Because of this attitude i am now discounting all of this particular agents

[brian]

Email is not a reliable method of communication - if something is important, you call by phone or in person.

It's easy to put in the wrong email address by mistake, and lots of other potential pitfalls.

[hi2u_uk]

well i emailed via the form on right move and zoopla websites so i assume that their email system is working. In addition the likelihood that i entered my email account details wrongly on two seperate occassions is extremely small . When you email via right move it sends a copy to your email address and i recieved my copy of the email so im 100% sure that my email address is correct. If the estate agent didnt put their correct details then it just speaks volumes regarding the standard of their work and is another reason to use two agents whenever possible

[brian]

The forms on the sites will only use the email address provided for by the agent - but if they have since changed their email addresses and the sites are still out of date, then your email will have got nowhere.

Really, you should be contacting the agent directly, not going through a third party which both increases the lines of communication, and increases the chances of miscommunication happening.

[Richard Webster]

I have emailed the estate agent TWICE on separate occasions asking what the service charge is

And you expect an estate agent to know the amount of the service charge????

Unfortunately that this level of detail that a lot of agents simply don;'t or won't understand or deal with. They should, but regrettably a lot of them don't.

Also as the London market is strong at the moment they probably aren't prepared to waste time answering when they can sell properties anyway for ridiculously high figures.

(I am acting for someone buying a terrace in SW London at the moment and in my area you could buy 4 similar properties for the same money and our area is by no means the cheapest outside London.)

[hi2u_uk]

i pulled out of the first one i was going to buy when i discovered the service charge would be the equivalent of a third of my mortgage, its in their best interests to find this out . All you have to do is ask the vendor. Luckily foxtons appears to routinely publish this info.
if emails were answered more promptly then the properties would be sold more quickly

[hi2u_uk]

i must just say again that if i was an estate agent id be replying to every single email and making sure than my details are accurate and up to date whereever they are published. If i was selling a property id expect the agent to do this . I doubt that these agents are very busy throughout the working day considering that 2 have shut up shop near where i live. So i dont think this is a big ask