Sellers¿ lies, adolescent estate agents, naff hot tubs, and remote controlled garages: Lessons from a househunter in Kent | Mail Online

Sellers¿ lies, adolescent estate agents, naff hot tubs, and remote controlled garages: Lessons from a househunter in Kent | Mail Online

Wanted: one family home, detached period (no low beams), preferably Georgian, within a village setting or rural, quite road, no traffic noise and that is realistically priced … stop there, and there’s the rub – the ‘realistically priced’ tag.


I’m house hunting and getting a little dispirited to say the least. I decided to dedicate the last three weeks to finding a house, moving out of London and into Kent. We know exactly what we want and both of us have owned over the years a number of properties in Kent. We think we know the market a little.


Dealing with the agents is frustrating. There are two types of estate agents – the fly-by-night boys, with their aggressive sales arm with the barrow boy attitude and ill-fitting suits to match who take to using your first name rather than affording you the courtesy of attaching your title and surname and have no interest in your requirements, but to hit their sales targets. Then there is the old-fashioned, courteous, land agent, qualified surveyor, whose company has been around for donkey’s years and survive on their reputation and knowledge. Although, one of the latter-type of agents did call me the other day and asked, 'Perchance, would this be Mrs. Atkinson?' (really!). I am told by the grown-up agents in Kent that there is little stock, but what is on the market is vastly over-priced with sellers having a very over-inflated view of what their properties are worth. Coupled with that their competitors are overvaluing and undercutting fees and this seems to be the norm outside of the London property bubble.