Does anyone like Foxtons?

[Gilles]

Or any other estate agent in ED?

Is there a better way?

I have a digital camera, a net connection and a personable disposition, surely that's enough, better and more cost effective than paying ?5k to an agency?

Bearing in mind people do sell privately how come there are 10 estate agents on Lordship Lane and now Crocket and Tubbs newly set up at Foxtons

Has anyone seen their white Testarossa?

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

How ridiculous - surely it should be red. Gingers unite!

[Ultraconsultancy]

I thought testarossas only came in red!

[Keef]

They did help get me drunk on Friday.

[Brendan]

The white Ferrari Testarossa was an eighties icon. Only to be driven whilst wearing a white suit with the sleeves rolled up, a pair of aviators and sporting a mullet.

On the subject of estate agents in general and Foxton?s in particular (don?t believe I?m getting roped into this again); I just don?t like the bolshie, arrogant (backed up by little substance) way in which they do business. It is unfortunately the way many businesses operate and is seen as an acceptable strategy to get ?ahead in this world?.

Anyone with a personal philosophy based on honesty and integrity (which in my experience is happily more of the population than one sometimes thinks) can?t possibly like them.

[Ganapati]

From the buyer's standpoint, I think they are incredibly aggressive. We were interested in seeing a house where Foxton's was the only agent. I rang them, and after being "channeled" through a series of hoops (you must give your details first) to get to even SPEAK to anyone about the property, I started getting the hard sell from their agent. They were having a block viewing and we could not make the time. We were then going to be away for the next few days. The agent kept saying we were going to regret going away and not jumping at the chance, and that the property was going to be under offer in a matter of hours of the first viewing and would most likely go to sealed bids, blah blah blah. Now bear in mind, this is when the whole Northern Rock meltdown was happening. Two weeks later the property is still on the market, and the agent continues to call with the same patter about the "hot" property and the "keen interest" in it. Not only that, he actually tried the "divide and conquer" approach with my husband and me, ringing each of us within minutes of the other if the first person hadn't given him a response he wanted to hear. UNBELIEVABLE.

[peckhamboy]

The one good thing about Foxtons is their website - the amount of information and photos on each property puts other agents to shame (and you don't have to register with them just to search - ludlow thompson take note!). On the other hand, they have a very aggressive volume-based approach to everything which is going to put a lot of people's noses out of joint. I was fairly ambivalent about them coming to ED, but the office is an eyesore (if the sofas weren't so garish it might be just about passable but it is horribly out of place on LL), the minis are a nuisance and take up a lot of parking spaces on and near LL, and I found myself hating them for their marketing approach which included walking up and down LL handing out Foxtons balloons to every small child they could find.

Edited: Having looked at the website more closely, it would help if they got simple things right. I think the postcode issue has been picked up before (Camberwell - SE9, Denmark Hill - SE3, Dulwich Village - SW21), but apparently on one flat off grove vale "The nearest station is East Dulwich (BR) which provides links into Victoria mainline station".

Which of course it does. Via the bus to Denmark Hill from just outside ED station, for example.

[Spangles30]

I agree that foxton's website is SUPERB, compared to every other agent. The website has great photos and virtual tours, and lots of relevant info, unlike other agents who have TINY photos (and oten just ONE photo of a property).

[Keef]

REALLY? So, Camberwell is in fact Eltham, and Denmark Hill is Blackheath... Hmm

[Spangles30]

The best to date was that Dulwich Village was listed as SE15.

I ask you!!!!!:)

[DiD]

There are several Foxton's strings -- (see has anyone taken up the 0% offer on which I posted a huge rant against them). To the moderator -- is there any way to combine these? Or link somehow?

[mockney piers]

As we don't really do the whole replying thing, splitting and merging threads doesn't work too well.

Posting guidelines and general netiquette suggest searching for a topic and adding to it, before starting a new one, to see if it's been dealt with.

This doesn't always happen as you've correctly surmised. But multiple threads have a habit of dying off, leaving one active.

It's not ideal, but it's pragmatic.

[Muttley]

Foxtons are like the cuckoo in the nest. Or the Trojan horse ("timeo Foxtonians, et balloonas ferentes"). I looked at the screens in their windows today. Every property I saw advertised was SW something. They don't even have the courtesy to invade SE22 and advertise local properties. They are outsiders. Strangely, a house on my road has got the Foxton sign up, but there's no sign of it on their website, and nothing about it in their window, nor on rightmove or other sites. So it seems that the only way that you'd know it was for sale was if you happened to go past and spot the sign on the street, and the only way to find out any more is presumably to go and register at the Foxton office. A bit like those insidious timeshare schemes where they lure you in with goodies, then give you the hard sell. I don't like.

[lucas]

I know for a fact that Foxtons are putting up their boards on houses they aren't actually selling. This is illegal but oh well.

[Louisa]

Good grief, Foxtons are sounding like the Mcdonalds or Tesco of the estate agent industry. But god they do have such an attractive shop fascia and lovely looking cafe area.

[Mark]

How do you know this? Can you please give us some evidence as the Administrator is likely to take your message off. You can't just accuse people and companies of doing illegal things without evidence you know...

[lucas]

Ok. Can't reveal my source so; I think it might be possible, refering to Muttley's post, that Foxtons may be putting up boards on houses they aren't selling.

[Mark]

ahhh I see. My neighbour's flat's on the market too but it's not on their website yet but then they only took photos today, the board however went up last Friday.

[SimonM]

See http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1956600,00.html#article_continue and other sites. But there is no evidence Foxtons are still doing this...

[Mark]

which reminds me, if you see a board that says "Sold" or "Let" that's been up for more than 14 days you should remind the estate agent to take it down as it's breaking the law (Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 1984 I believe)

[Muttley]

Mark is right, it could well be a case of the sign going up before the information is out there. But I still don't like.

[downsouth]

There are a few houses on the market over here in West Dulwich so their reach seems to be extending from their LL base.

[*Bob*]

Is it me, or has the arrival of Foxtons stirred a few 'new posters' into action on the Forum?

Spooky.

[Keef]

So, Foxton's are good for community spirit?

[*Bob*]

I have heard that Foxtons eat babies and are singlehandedly responsible for poverty in Africa.