12th Jun 2024 (6 weeks ago)
“Pile them high and sell them cheap”
If you know the phrase “Pile them high and sell them cheap” you will understand how Burn and Warne work.
They boast of selling more properties than any other estate agent in Sutton, though their statistics show that they tend to sell below asking price. I did worry a little about this figure, when we signed up with them to sell our flat, and I made it clear that we were not looking for a quick sale but had plenty of time to find the right buyer. The lady we first dealt with assured us that they were “working for us” and would go to great lengths to match us up with the right buyer. She seemed to have a good knowledge of the local market, and was keen to tell us what a good negotiator she was, so we signed up.
In the event, that was almost the last we heard from her, she did not answer any of my emails, and left any negotiating that was to be done, to the people in the sales office. We had a few viewings of the flat in the first couple of weeks, but as soon as an offer was made by a potential buyer, albeit £15,000 below the suggested price, we were being badgered to accept it. They seemed desperate to make a sale, whether the price was what we wanted or not.
We were eventually persuaded to accept an offer £10,000 below the price we were asking, only to have the “buyer” come back a few weeks later asking us to knock a *further* £25,000 off the agreed price. We refused that offer, withdrew the flat from the market, and parted company with B&W. So much for matching us up with the right buyer!
In a subsequent telephone conversation with the (somewhat desperate sounding) company owner, I was told that the lady we thought we were dealing with was a valuer, and had nothing to do with negotiating with buyers!
Date of experience: 31 May 2024... Read more