A typical Saturday in my world. Diary entry 14/07/12

A usual Saturday in the office including numerous WOFT's

I hate working on a saturday, I can think of a million and one things I would rather be doing but, for us estate agents, Saturday's can be the busiest day if the week.

Saturday starts with my 9am appointment to sign a tenancy in the office. Shame the tenants didn't arrive until 9:30 with not so much as an apology. Great start to the day!! 

I go on to the first of the 2 valuations of the day. Valuation 1. Despite providing the owner with documentative evidence of how I came to the valuation price including recent sales of similar properties in the same location, they seem to think that I'm way off the true price of the house and because there 'friend' knows about property and he told them it was worth at least £190,000 then my valuation was way off the Mark and were actually quite offended by the price I had said. Oh well never mind, there's another valuation this afternoon so better luck with the next one, or so I thought.

Valuation number 2. 

It's 3pm . I'm bang on time. Full of confidence because I have done lots of research prior to attending, I knock on the door and wait, and wait, and wait. So I knock again, and wait. Next thing the door opens, big scruffy dog flies out and jumps up on my nice clean suit!!!!! Followed by the owner who comes to the door in a pair of really old baggy grey jogging bottoms, and nothing else!! So there's me all professional in my suit, there's him with his beer belly hanging out. The house wasn't great, the owner didn't care, he didn't want to sell but his ex had arranged the valuation so he had to go along with it. He openly tells me that the ex needs a price so she can buy him out.

Now bearing in mind that my estate agency is actually a business that needs to make money just like every other business out there, if I give a valuation and they use it to settle a split up, then how do I earn any money out of this?? what is the point of me wasting my petrol, my time and my resources to provide this person with a valuation??? So I go on to give them a verbal price and tell the if they want it in writing then it would be £99 plus vat.

Needless to say I didn't last long at valuation number 2. A genuine WOFT

The day ended at 4:15 with a negotiated property sale, a realistic vendor with a realistic expectation