“Poor value for money...”
1 Star Review
Jun 01,2021
By:
'Joseph Feyertag'
Jun 01,2021
Branch: Oxford, 251 Cowley Road
Services: Sales (as a Vendor)
Sold price: £400000
Would you recommend?: No
Postcode: OX1
Branch: Oxford, 251 Cowley Road
Sales (as a Vendor)
Sold price: £400000
Postcode: OX1
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I'm afraid we have to add to the recent spate of people who have had bad experiences with JCP.
We listed our flat in Grandpont for sale with JCP's East Oxford office in July 2020 at a commission of 1.5% (+VAT) and (£175 +VAT).
9 months down the line, we felt stupid that we didn't negotiate these fees down based on the service we received. The agent pressured us into taking our flat off the market after a first offer was received, then waited 6 weeks until October to let us know that said buyer was withdrawing her offer based on the survey in August. When we found a second buyer, the same agent ignored our conditions for accepting the offer, delaying the whole process by another 4 months from October to February. The sale was eventually completed after many headaches in April at a significantly lower (over 5%) price, and ultimately we felt that the agent created more problems than they solved.
The service we received certainly didn't justify the £7,200 we spent, so we raised this. There has been zero acknowledgement from the agent (apparently they went "over and beyond") and so we have regrettably had to take this to the Property Ombudsman.
To protect others from making the same mistakes we did, here are some top tips for selling with JCP:
1. If possible, avoid altogether or use the North Oxford branch
2. If you do go with JCP, negotiate the commission down to 1.25% (which is the market rate most others, e.g. Breckon and Breckon, charge)
3. If they do insist on a premium rate (1.5%), at least make sure they agree to reduce it if the property takes too long to sell (e.g. above 6 months) or sells at a significantly lower value than the asking price (e.g. 5%).
3. Make sure they include the £175 + VAT for EPC, photographs, and floorplans within that commission. They will try and list it separately, even (as in our case) the EPC was recently done and can therefore be downloaded for free off the internet.
4. When the agent calls you to pressure you into accepting the first offer, just ignore them and keep your property on the market for a minimum of 2 weeks in case other offers come in.
5. Send important communications to them in writing, e.g. conditions for accepting the offer. They will try and do everything over the phone which, conveniently, makes it difficult to present evidence when you do have to take this to the Property Ombudsman.
I wouldn't want my worst enemies to go through the same experience we had with JCP, so I hope some others find this useful. But best just to avoid!
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