Express Estate Agency ?.

[Catherine666]

I am a pensioner and received a reasonable inheritance, which I would like to buy a property with instead of paying rent all the time. I have been contacting the express agency as they always advertise that they sell houses guickly discounts etc. I went to view a house and the couple selling were smashing people due to ill health they wanted to go by the sea. Then they told me that in fact that they wanted £12000 or 15000 making it well over £95.000. This was more than what the Express Agency advertised which was 'offers over £79.000 and me muggins believed it would be something around £81.000 or a bit more. The couple said they had had various people viewing believing the same as me BUT that they had told the agency right from the beginning that they wanted over £95.000. The couple said the agent had said to them 'we'll advertise the house at a low price just as a taster' which I believe is wrong it's only messed me and other viewers about with time and effort in travelling to see these properties Comments would be welcomed.

[IFA]

I know of a property local to me that is on the market with Express Estate Agency at offers over £124,950 and the owners have turned down an offer of £137,500.

Make of it what you will...

[Catherine666]

Originally Posted by IFA

I know of a property local to me that is on the market with Express Estate Agency at offers over £124,950 and the owners have turned down an offer of £137,500.

Make of it what you will...

So the same thing is going on all over with this Estate Agency. Just a shame they are not more upfront !.

[DStewart]

Hi Catherine, did you manage to buy a property at a reasonable discount? I work with some great estate agents in England and Scotland who provide genuine discounts.

[Breconeer]

Express are surprisingly open when spoken to about their methods - methods which some might consider contentious at the very least. They do pitch the starting price very low - as a tempter to get buyers looking and enquiring. But each person making an offer is told that a better offer has already been refused, and is invited to bid higher, in what is effectively an auction. The low starting price is apparently intended to ensure a larger number of bidders, so that there are still one or two in the frame when most have got fed up and quit bidding.
From the seller's point of view, one danger is that too few bidders take part, and the price doesn't get driven up after all. The seller then has to either sell to one of the earlier low bidders, or take the property away from Express. But with their property having already been advertised at a horribly low price, it becomes very difficult to put it back on the market priced higher.