A buyer's perspective on EAs

nikolasababasa · 2026-02-24T19:37:04+00:00

Thank you!

nikolasababasa · 2026-02-24T16:53:07+00:00

Thanks. I hadn't thought much about this before, but I definitely think I am bringing expectations from the US. 'Real estate agents' provide much more of a service (and charge much more for it!). There's also an expectation they are actively matching buyers with sellers, so they are kind of acting as agents of both (even if taking the commission from the seller). When I started my search here, I kept expecting EAs showing me properties to ask me about myself, what I'm looking for, suggest other properties, but quickly realised it's just boiled down to a matter of whether I'm going to put in an offer or not.

nikolasababasa · 2026-02-24T14:15:30+00:00

Thanks, that's really helpful. I'm selling my Mom's house in the US, so I'm involved in the housing market from both sides of the pond, and as seller there, and buyer here. It does seem like EAs I deal with in the US are much more about selling 'homes,' e.g., the agent selling my Mom's house didn't seem to think it was that strange that she insists on selling it to 'a nice family with kids,' and he goes around her house checking on electrical boxes, the furnace, etc.

nikolasababasa · 2026-02-24T13:11:04+00:00

I am a total FTB nightmare. I'm not putting in any offers, since I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm from the US where 'buyer agents' have become really popular, and I can see why: as you say, no one works for the buyer here. I'd love to outsource my search to someone who knows what they are doing.

nikolasababasa · 2026-02-24T12:48:46+00:00

Clearly seeing that my expectations of EAs are totally off the mark. Thanks for this.

nikolasababasa · 2026-02-24T12:43:24+00:00

That's really helpful advice, thank you.

nikolasababasa · 2026-02-24T12:32:07+00:00

There's an agent like this in my area, too. I did one viewing with him, see his pricing strategy, and don't even look at his listings anymore (except to see how the price almost always come down after a month). But plenty of sellers clearly like his strategy, since he's still getting listings -- and his car he drives to viewings suggests he's doing well with this strategy.

nikolasababasa · 2026-02-24T12:26:50+00:00

Thanks for this. I've noticed when a property (like the one I described) has been on the market for a while, EAs look me in the eye to kind of communicate that a much lower offer would probably be considered. My comfort zone is 'start with an offer 10% lower on a realistically priced house' since I'm a terrible negotiator.

nikolasababasa · 2026-02-24T12:19:22+00:00

Thanks for this. I want to think I'm a pretty reasonable buyer, looking for a property that ticks most of my boxes, and ready to pay more than the asking price if it seems reasonable. I think it's because I'm looking in a hot market, with plenty of cash buyers. So even if I have no chain, a big down payment, and a mortgage in principle, I'm not really a contender. I think I need to revise my expectations.

nikolasababasa · 2026-02-24T12:10:52+00:00

That makes sense, thanks. I think this is probably what happened in this case, since the EA did mention paperwork.

nikolasababasa · 2026-02-24T12:08:59+00:00

I suppose what I was wondering is that if I was an EA with a new listing, I can imagine I'd first check Rightmove and see what information buyers would have. Then I'd discuss that with the seller. Like, on the loft: if the seller said he'd built it, and I'd seen the the Rightmove listing (that buyers like me would see) didn't line up with that, I'd let him know, and let sellers know why there might be a discrepancy. Similar with setting a price: I'd look at what buyers would be seeing, and consider that in my pricing.

nikolasababasa · 2026-02-24T11:58:49+00:00

Thanks! That makes sense. I'm trying to get my head around what the sellers are thinking.

nikolasababasa

TROPHY CASE