EYE readers were rightly shocked about a story of touting in Canada last week.
A picture emerged on Facebook of a note that two agents had posted through a widower’s door expressing sorrow for the loss of his wife but also touting for business.
That is shameful enough, but I wanted to share a story closer to home here in the UK.
I don’t think it is right to name the agent involved, but I have put together the sequence of events to show just how cut-throat it is getting on the market.
I have been trying to sell my dad’s Hertfordshire property since early June. He has Parkinsons’ disease and struggles with speech and movement so we want to get him closer to family in an assisted living complex,
Needless to say, it has been hard to shift his property as buyers in the area seem spooked by Brexit and are sitting on their hands,
With that in mind I sought an alternative agent only to arrive on the day they were coming to find that my dad had already instructed someone else.
He casually told me this other agent had knocked on the door, come into his flat and signed him up to a six week contract.
I promptly phoned the agent to cancel, only to be met with a new sales pitch as the person on the other end of the line recounted lines he would have picked up from my dad about our family circumstances to pull on my heartstrings and keep the businesses. He even offered to change the terms and work with other agents.
The agent claimed he asked my dad if he should call a relative but he declined. Now I know there is no qualification in common sense, but some instinct would have helped here.
When I said I wasn’t happy about the professionalism and approach of the firm, he said it was a free market and agents were allowed to pick up business once a property has been on the market for long enough.
While he may be right, surely knocking on the door of a pensioner with a clear disability should ring alarm bells.
The Property Ombudsman warned about the practice of door knocking a few years ago. This is what its guidelines say about touting
Advertising for New Business (Canvassing)
- 3a You must not use unfair methods when seeking new properties for sale by unsolicited approaches. Advertising material must be truthful, not misleading and fully explain who the message is from, its purposes and how the seller’s interest can be followed up.
- 3b In your canvassing material, if you seek to use a property you have recently sold and where completion has occurred, you must obtain the new owner’s prior permission.
- 3c When you advertise for new business your fees should be shown inclusive of VAT alongside a statement confirming that VAT is included.
- 3d If as a result of an unsolicited approach a seller is interested in using your services, you must draw to their attention, and explain before they are committed to another contract, the potential of paying fees to more than one agent where another agent has been previously instructed to sell their property.
- 3e You must take decisions on the content of your advertisements independent of your competitors, including whether to advertise your fees, charges or any additional costs, or any special offers, discounts or other value offering.
- 3f You must act promptly if a seller or property owner asks you to stop canvassing them.
So is extreme canvassing an emerging trend?
TPO tells me that there were 20 complaints about touting regarding sales last year and three for lettings.
So far this year there have been 10 complaints for sales and two for lettings.
As the market gets more competitive, with concerns of nervous buyers and sellers, is this the way the industry is going? How far should you go to get business?
Comments (18)
Like it or loathe it, door knocking works – especially on properties that have been on the market for over 6 weeks or so.
It all depends on how you approach it, if you’re literally just knocking to ask them to change agents then it will backfire 9 times out of 10. However if you’re just introducing yourself, giving your business card and a report of properties youve sold similar to that of being marketed it can be a very powerful instruction gainer.
No No No !
It’s selling door to door no matter how you dress it up!
If you’ve sold 10 properties in the street, great just put that on a leaflet (publisher works for me) and post it through the letter box.
DO NOT KNOCK ON THE DOOR, YOU DONT KNOW WHO IS ON THE OTHERSIDE, A VULNERABLE PERSON COULD BE LIVING THERE.
Or are you so heartless you don’t care?
Nothing like an over reaction there Paddy.
It’s not difficult to find out who lives there based upon their house being splashed all over the internet. We as Agents deal with many different types of people and those experienced enough if they do encounter an elderly person or vulnerable person you approach with caution and know how to act.
As I said, I know of agents who aggressively door knock and steal pretty much all of the listings which fail to sell. As I mentioned done correctly it’s a powerful tool.
Perhaps all door knocking should be made illegal, if its for the purpose of generating business. I have no problem with my competitors posting their drivel through my clients’ letterboxes but I do believe actually knocking on the door is utterly bad business and clearly potentially alarming for relatives of the elderly and vulnerable.
I have a client who is classified vulnerable and I know she would sign almost anything put in front of her. I had another client who had limited reading skills talked in to signing a contract with a well known large corporate on the basis she had been told she wasn’t in a sole agency contract with my firm, when she was. Other than the obvious embarrassment for her as she would now have to admit to all she couldn’t read it puts us all in a bad light as a bunch of cowboys.
I for one believe a good business is built on reputation and hard work.
Door knocking (as out American cousins would say) SUCKS !
In some areas where door stop selling has been prohibited it would be illegal.
Hungry for the business.com
Don’t agree with agents door-knocking. Smacks of unprofessionalism.
I personally would regard door knocking as an intrusion into my privacy and suggest the person goes away, and put it in no uncertain terms. Door knocking is like spam email and unsolicited telephone calls and demonstrates a total lack of professionalism, in my view. If approached in this way I would regard the person as a barrow boy or cowboy builder type or dodgy tarmac layer.
Why would anyone trust a company that uses such tactics? General leaflet drops not targeting an individual is acceptable in my view but in my case this form of advertising would merely be fodder for my recycling bin.
PS looking forward to a lot of dislikes!!!!
14 day cooling off period?
No , you are overpriced and if you want to sell drop the price.
You cant stop people knocking on your door, tarmac, windows, etcetc,,part of owning a house.
I don’t agree with door knocking but you have to live in the real world.
woops sounds harsh.. tbf if a member of the family called me and explained the situation there is no way I would enforce the contract… that is the problem. difficult one if your father is adamant he wants to use them..2 week cancellation policy?
Equally if the door knocker is told to “go forth and multiply” he should not be surprised or offended.
Sorry to hear about your father, hope the move materialises and your situation is made that little bit less stressful.
I am struggling to see what the agent has done wrong?
Door knocking is part of estate agency, and as you point out above if agents follow the rules there should not be an issue.
An agent has knocked on the door, spoken to the home owner, put across their proposition and even asked if the home owner would like to talk to a family member. The property was obviously not getting the interest so a change was needed / wanted. This agent was there to help.
When a family member turns up to the property all set on changing agent and this has been done already this can be annoying as you have taken time out of your day and have the embarrassment of letting the agent know you have booked to come round.
To the agents defense they offered to change the terms of the contract.
As i say, unless i am missing something i am failing to see what the issue is? – Is it you just do not think agents should be knocking on doors full stop? – If that is the case 90% of agents will have to change their new business processes.
Unless you live in a picturesque village with only one local agent i am sure every other town / city most agents door knock – Some will say they will not but i bet they are “Cardigan Agents”
Public begging, in the form of door knocking, is a sure sign that agents have run out of ideas. The social clues are evident. Homeowners don’t want to be interrupted by this or by unsolicited phone calls. Not saying the agency is better or worse. Just that they are desperate and desperate agencies will do anything to survive. Make more calls, knock more doors? It’s intrusive and should be stopped
And there it is. In one post you have just demonstrated your lack of understanding of our business.
Why am I not surprised at your comment, Agent Orange? If you recommend harassing potential vendors as a legitimate business practice, your social awareness is less than I originally thought. Marketing and promotion have moved on. Still, diversity requires that some are left behind.
Perhaps those who door knock demonstrate their own standard of business practice but not professionalism. Perhaps these standards explain why the public hold estate agent in low regard.