Foxtons crazy valuations

There's a house on Alma Grove (Bermondsey) that Foxtons have put on the market at £450k. The highest price that one of the houses in our locality has reached was £360k last year. The houses are all the same size and apart from decoration, don't vary that much.

I know that Foxtons are famous for over-valuation but this seems crazy to me

I viewed a flat with them last week in Streatham which was £255k. It needed at least £30k spending on it in my opinion, and I told them it was vastly overpriced.

According to a very in-the-know friend of mind, Foxtons have a reputation for placing extremely high valuations on properties in order to get the business. When properties fail to sell, they then - it is alleged - advise vendors to lower the asking price.

As I have said in the earlier message put on about Estate Agents. Foxtons are a bunch of liars and thieves!!
This is what they did to us to devastating effect. We went to court because of them and lost tens of thousands of pounds. They are the scum of the earth and hopefully, although I doubt anytime soon, they will go out of business.

Please, please don't go with them for buying or selling a property.

Unfortunately, they seem to be vastly successful. I don't think they'll be going out of business.

They're trying to get a foothold in SE1, despite not having an office, and so offer ridiculous valuations which are very tempting for vendors and landlords (ashamed to admit I have used them, but not impressed). Also, the valuers are on targets to sign up as many properties as possible and overvaluing is the easiest way. Foxtons has a very aggressive culture and most of their staff don't last longer than six months, hence the constant recruitment advertising in the press.

The lack of a local office also means they haven't got a clue about the area and the character, features and price variations in the different pockets of SE1. For example, they listed our flat near Southwark tube as Shad Thames and we actually asked them to lower the valuation as we knew it was far too high.

I thought they might have improved after that BBC programme last year but if anything they've got worse. Stick to a local agent.

This still makes great reading though...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4826444.stm

I love it when they send round their junk mail - gives me huge satisfaction to drop it straight into the green-and-friendly recycle bin!

It'd be greener and friendlier for them not to have printed the junk mail in the first place!

My experience of estate agents is at least 90% negative. Surely theirs is Britain's most despised profession?

Foxtons have a deserved reputation as sharks and creeps. Avoid at all costs.