Estate Agents Not Telling the Whole Truth

[Glassman]

Listing:



Street View:



Another example is listed as a detached property. The images don't show something quite relevant: a convenience store (and parcel hub). Have a look at the listing and then click on Street View to see the 'Amar' corner shop which is part of the same building.

Listing on Prime Location: here.

[Mammasaid]

And?

Estate agents have since estate agents come into being always taken the most favourable views and neglected to show the least, lest a buyer is put off.

[scenario8]

For clarity, what’s the issue with your first example? You don’t say.

Is it that two different lenses in two different camera positions display a differing image?

Example two appears to show a detached property. Is the issue that it is very close to another building (and that the term detached shouldn’t be used - or should have an additional prominent explanation)?

Fwiw I don’t use Primelocation. Didn’t much enjoy it. Perhaps it’s more enjoyable with increased exposure. I dunno.

That listing read like something from 20+ years ago! Thanks for the entertainment.

[Josemartinez]

Isn't that part of the job of being an estate agent or in fact any sales position? Their whole job is to sell so they make the product seem better than it is and hide anything that could put buyers off.

[blueg33]

Josemartinez said:

Isn't that part of the job of being an estate agent or in fact any sales position? Their whole job is to sell so they make the product seem better than it is and hide anything that could put buyers off.

This. It was even dealt with back in the 1990’s with the Property Misdescriptions Act. Excluding things from photos is permitted.

[Mr Pointy]

Can someone explain the issue with the first bungalow?

[mac96]

Mr Pointy said:

Can someone explain the issue with the first bungalow?

I assume it is the use of a wider angle lens giving the impression of room to park 6 cars.. But EAs often do that , to get whole property in the picture without having to stand across the road and include parked cars etc .

[dave123456]

To be fair the street view could be a year out of date.

[Mr Pointy]

mac96 said:

Mr Pointy said:

Can someone explain the issue with the first bungalow?

I assume it is the use of a wider angle lens giving the impression of room to park 6 cars.. But EAs often do that , to get whole property in the picture without having to stand across the road and include parked cars etc .

The Streetview picture could be foreshortened though & it's possibly no more accurate than the EA picture.

[heisthegaffer]

This vaguely reminds me of the listing for the house near Dungeness power station.

https://www.eastfootball.co.uk/forum/forum/non-foo...

[Familymad]

When viewing the house,this month, I took the non AI doctored picture:

[Glassman]

dave123456 said:

To be fair the street view could be a year out of date.

Probably.

My friend went to view this one, and I tagged along. The space between the front of the property and the boundary is about two metres. In the listing it looks double that.

[EW109]

blueg33 said:

Josemartinez said:

Isn't that part of the job of being an estate agent or in fact any sales position? Their whole job is to sell so they make the product seem better than it is and hide anything that could put buyers off.

This. It was even dealt with back in the 1990 s with the Property Misdescriptions Act. Excluding things from photos is permitted.

The PMA was repealed years ago and the current framework is provided by the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (replacing the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008).

[twokcc]

Far worse than photos.
Property for sale in middle of market town in Nottinghamshire.town centre flooded in 2023 storm Babety. Estate agents office 300 yrds away also flooded. Cant seeall 30 staff they claim to have being newly employed. Evaded in listing by link that doesn't work to flood risk site.
Owners(they didn't live in it at time of sale) coughed up on TA6 form -even had invoice for remedial work from 2013 when it had also flooded

Worse than Athur Daley

[alscar]

The bungalow is simply a photo taken at a much better angle so arguably the EA is just doing their job.
I couldn't see mention of the word detached in your second example but again not really doing anything wrong ?
There was a recent thread where Japanese Knotweed growing had been omitted from the listing which I would have thought more worthy of examples for your title ?
We went to look at a property the other day where permission for a solar farm at the edge of one of the boundaries had been given and no mention whatsoever which again would have thought a better example !

[normalbloke]

Alternative facts..

[Wills2]

It's always a good idea to use google maps to suss out the facts of how a home sits in its location rather than rely on estate agent photos.

[E-bmw]

In other news today different cameras with different lenses make the same thing look different!

[TGCOTF-dewey]

Familymad said:

When viewing the house,this month, I took the non AI doctored picture:

At least there's a bonus garage door in the real one

[Nicetobenice]

Familymad said:

When viewing the house,this month, I took the non AI doctored picture:

I am struggling to see what's wrong with this

However in general I agree we need to look at how houses are bought and sold. The system here is a total st show
I've just had someone withdraw the day before exchange by sending a text - this was about 6 months after accepting the offer.
I've also had issues with people somehow proving they are cash buyers to the agent and then being nothing of the kind.

It feels like pretending to buy property is a hobby for some people.