Foxtons opening date

[Quaywe]

Is the 15th of September.

There goes the neighbourhood....

[Zebedee Tring]

Where exactly is this esteemed estate agents opening? (Certain degree of irony contained in last sentence)

[macroban]

Not on Lordship Lane, unless planning permission for the alterations is granted.

[Frisco]

"Where exactly is this esteemed estate agents opening?"

The old DSS office, I think.

[Jeremy]

Macroban - what do you know?

[lordship_bod]

boo hiss.....these guys are really the lowest of the low....

[snorky]

bad cars. cheap suits, nasty square toed shoes.

[Alan Dale]

Good luck Foxtons.

Not that they'll need it - you couldn't pick a more obvious area of high demand for a Foxtons. ED really is the Angel of the South.

Well done to all of the newcomers and investors who have raised the tone of the area sufficiently to attract large corporate investment on this scale!

[ratty]

What is actually so wrong with Foxtons? I am not in the know on this.

[*Bob*]

Hee Hee.. this should be fun.

General 'Foxton's are the very devil himself' banter aside, the only experience I've had of them (when looking for an agent to sell - and in viewing properties) has been annoying and piss-poor.

I don't want 20 year old wearing a chunky thumb-ring and a pin-striped suit selling my house, when someone else who doesn't make me want to burst-out laughing every time I see them can sell it for exactly the same amount (which they did). And when it comes to viewings, I'd like the agent to not be seeing the house for the first time, like I was.

Apart from that, they're just like the rest. They're irritating because they've cultivated this myth that they have exclusive rights on getting the most for your property. And it's balls, but people still fall for it.

[AllyCat]

I too have had a bad experience of Foxtons - on the lettings side.... they completly messed my flat mate and I around a year or so ago - we are still in an ongoing battle with them - I'd avoid them at all costs... all they seem interested in is gaining as mcuh commission as possible - and cutting you up wiht their silly little minis!

[Jeremy]

Me too... rented a flat from Foxtons a few years ago - they were always trying to rip off both myself and the landlord, with unjustifiable fees and fines as a matter of company policy. I would never, ever deal with them again.

Most of the people who moved to East Dulwich in recent times are here because they liked the individuality of the area. Many of us don't necessarily want "large corporate investment". And I certainly don't want to see their vulgar cars, pink shirts, and smug faces every time I walk down Lordship Lane.

[aicardo]

Foxtons are scum.

A few of my friends worked for them and if you've seen whistle blower you'll know the bullying tactics they use to artificially inflate prices - if there's any risk the housing market beyong interest rates its crooks like this!

Apart from the fact that the offices will make ED look even more swanky I'd consider lobbying them out as they'll try and run the oagents out of business such is their approach.

Foxtons please go back to the hole you came from.

[Louisa]

Foxtons are crap, and i'd never consider using them to sell my house, BUT, if the Putney offices are anything to go by, they will at least make the street look nice. They converted the corner unit off Putney High Street some years back, and it looks spectacular - it's all glass! ... anyway sorry... Foxtons are crap etc..

[AllyCat]

Well the offices in Putney may look swish with their fancy chairs and iddy biddy little fridges stocked with drinks - but try going in there on a boiling hot day, asking about handing over an extortionate amount of cash to them, and then see if they offer you one of those lovely cold drinks - they just look at you as if you have just been sick on their (square toed) shoes.... it's on;y when you are very nearly sick on your own shoes (not square-toed!) that they actually bother offering you a beverage - Grrr!:X

[AnotherPaul]

Terrible estate agents inflating prices, never the lovely people of ED saying, 'yeah, how much can we make on it?',

It's too easy to hate estate agents. Some are nasty but they perform a role which puts them in a weird spot. Coming into our homes, assessing and attaching value to them, judging our castles. Bastards.

My gripe with Foxtons is purely about the motors. There's the wank graffiti, all street and aren't we street tough but more importantly, for that size of car, mini coopers drink petrol like crazy. Cool looking for their brand but evil on the environment. Real bastards.

ap

[LostThePlot]

AnotherPaul Wrote:

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> My gripe with Foxtons is purely about the motors.

> There's the wank graffiti, all street and aren't

> we street tough but more importantly, for that

> size of car, mini coopers drink petrol like crazy.

> Cool looking for their brand but evil on the

> environment. Real bastards.

And did you know that unless you're competing in a motoring event you are not allowed to put competition style numbers on a car? As they do, much to my irritation!

Agents usually charge a percentage of sale price, which given the rising costs of houses is quite a hike in costs for selling your home when you think about it.

Of course you don't need an estate agent to sell your house for you, or indeed to buy one, just a solicitor, and a buyer/seller who wants to save some money too. Cut them out I say....

[nutty]

That's a really interesting point LtP. So really those percentages should be coming down as they aren't doing any more work!

[Asset]

In Scotland estate agents are not really the norm. Solicitors do it all, including the advertising etc.

No Foxtons here. (I'm in Jockland at the mo)

[*Bob*]

Q. How can the two following be reconciled?

1. Foxtons are the most despised Estate Agent in London

2. Foxtons are the most successful Estate Agent in London

A. Avarice on the part of those who drive the market. Ie.. us.

My own personal experience of Foxtons has been crap, but they're just another agent, for God's sake, not The Grim Reaper. Just because Foxtons got busted for sharp practice in a whistleblower telly programme doesn't mean it doesn't go on in 75% of other agents. After all, if you're gonna bust anyone in a telly show, Foxtons would be the most satisfying target.

[Alan Dale]

Well said. They're hear now it's time to give them a break or at least not single them out for harsh treatment but just moan about agents in general.

Do they have to pay for all this advertising they get on here?

It seems being infamous enough to be talked about is a good way to become a household name in estate agency.

[Asset]

any publicity is good publicity

[Brendan]

Yeah yeah. Nice guys finish last etc. The nature of the industry brings out the worst in people. Doesn't mean I have to like it or endorse behaving like a dickhead in order to clamber your way to the middle.

I still think that estate agents are parasitic and exploitative. With the ease of information flow we have these days I don?t think we need so many of them. All we need is 2 or 3 conveyancers on the high-street who deal directly with the public.

[LostThePlot]

nutty Wrote:

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> That's a really interesting point LtP. So really

> those percentages should be coming down as they

> aren't doing any more work!

I would say so, but then I don't run an estate agents business....that's why I have friends.

[Cuthbert Dibble]

I once had trouble selling my flat in another part of London.....I had tried a couple of local agents who weren't proactive and didn't bother to keep me updated with the effort they were making to sell it (possibly because there wasn't much). I had to chase them the whole time and after a few months I simply gave up.

Eventually I took a deep breath, held my nose and signed up with Foxtons.

Their agent was a bit of a "geezer" and kept referring to the flat as a "unit" (which I found really annoying) - however the "unit" sold for full asking price within a week.

I don't work for Foxtons, and don't particularly like estate agents. Most of the difficulties I have heard about with the company appear to focus on their lettings side and I'm in no position to comment about that.

But like 'em or loathe 'em, the desperate desire amongst their commission-hungry employees gets them working hard on behalf of the seller. I agree that's not good news for buyers, struggling first-time purchasers etc, but to lay those issues at the door of one company is bizarre. East Dulwich has 'boomed' without a Foxtons, which suggests it happens even when they don't operate in a particular area.

I agree the Whistleblower programme portrayed them in a pretty dodgy light, but according to a couple of reports I read it actually boosted their takings. I can't believe such tactics are/were confined to them.

In any case, if you want to sell a property in East Dulwich right now save yourself thousands and buy a sandwich board / do a leaflet drop / or advertise on this forum. That'll probably do it.....