Homeowners reveal biggest pet peeves when estate agents come to visit

Leading estate agent media provider, Giraffe360, has revealed the biggest estate agent bad habits that UK homeowners find the most annoying when inviting them into their home.

The survey of nearly 3,000 UK homeowners commissioned by Giraffe360 asked what the biggest pet peeves were in relation to the last time an estate agent visited their home.

Top of the table was their failure to remove their shoes when entering a homeowners property. A major cultural faux pas to some nationalities and a case of simple good manners for us Brits, but one that many agents seemingly overlook.

But while the debate over removing our shoes when entering someone else’s home may have raged for many years now, the second biggest issue with agents was the fact that they simply didn’t take the time to photograph the entire property they intended on selling.

The third biggest gripe for homeowners was the fact that their agent failed to shut doors behind them after leaving a room.

Many homeowners also stated that they didn’t feel like their agent took long enough when visiting their property, while some even failed to photograph the external areas of the property.

Some made negative comments about the home in the presence of the homeowner, while some lingered around the property for too long and others took it upon themselves to rearrange furniture without asking.

Giraffe360 CEO, Mikus Opelts, commented:

“Estate agents have a pretty poor reputation in the UK but it’s fair to say that much of this is based on the previous reputation of the industry rather than modern day standards.

There’s certainly no agent in the land that wakes up planning to offend a home seller when visiting their home, but it’s long been an area of contention and it’s easy to see why. The agent is embarking on what is essentially a business meeting, while a seller is of course inviting them into their home where they may have certain standards they expect them to adhere to.

So in the vast majority of cases, any offence caused is likely to be an oversight on the part of the agent. With the market also moving at an incredible pace right now, they may be struggling with the high demand for their services and so when considered in this context, it’s perhaps understandable that they don’t fully view the property and its full potential.

Of course, the other thing to consider is that many will also be utilising third party media providers when it comes to visiting your home to compile photos and floorplans. While they are doing so to ensure a higher quality of photograph than they can provide in house using their smartphone, they have little to no control over the individual standards of these companies and how their employees conduct themselves when visiting a customer’s home.”