Estate agent tricks: Buyers vulnerable to cons thanks to virtual viewings - watch out
PROPERTY for sale? Buying a property? These are the estate agent tricks you should look for now the property market has been given a boost by lockdown rules lifting.
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The property market has boomed in the past day after the government revealed estate agents can get back to work. Before the lockdown was announced an estimated 450,000 people planned to sell and move.
Now virtual viewings are the recommended method for viewing properties, one expert has advised people be aware of what to look out for to ensure they are checking their potential property thoroughly.
James D Marshall is the founder and CEO of Pupil, a spatial data company.
He has detailed the most common ways estate agents mislead buyers and renters.
The expert claims it is now more important than ever that consumers are aware of these, as agents are desperate to start shifting their stock.
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Estate agent tricks to watch out for
Misleading photos
James warned estate agent may use old, deceptive photos to improve the look of the property.
They may also use a super wide angle or cropped photos (photos that crop out pylons, for example).
Misleading floor plans
While floor plans would appear to be trustworthy, even these can be misleading.
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James warned "for illustrative purposes" could appear on floor plans with incorrect or embellished square footage.
What is more, some floor plans consider eave storage and attics without staircases as usable square footage, while most buyers likely would not.
Sometimes floor plans show doors hung the wrong way or baths were they are only showers.
No floor plan at all could indicate a property is very small and the add is attempting to mislead.
Incorrect or misleading compass data
This could be used on a floor plan to make it appear that a property faces a more desirable way.
Incorrect price per square foot
Agents might indicate a price per square foot when the floor plan measurement is wrong.
How can you get ahead of the competition amid the property market book and sell your house quickly?
Movewise's CEO Tom Scarborough has given his expert guidance.
He advised to switch agent if yours has gone into hibernation.
He said: "Proactive agents have been building applicant (buyer) lists getting ready for this moment.
"They have plans for bringing staff out of furlough, health guidelines in place for conducting viewings, hand sanitizer ordered already."