I have never trusted a real estate agent, never been and never will. Too many times I have heard about those horror stories of my friends and from newspapers where people getting fleeced by unscrupulous real estate agents. When I made the decision to move a couple of weeks ago, my well meaning friends warned me to keep an eye on those dirty tricks pulled out by them.
It may seem too harsh and unfair to generalise the fact that all real estate agents are crooks. However the sad reality is that the bulk majority are indeed more interested in penny pinching rather than providing good services. Of course there are some very trustworthy ones and work very hard, but they are a rare breed in NZ nowadays.
The one I am currently dealing with was nice on the phone and answered my questions quite promptly before we closed the deal. The minute I put my signature on the dotted lines and pay the money, she vanishes out the corner of my eyes as quickly as she can. When I called up to ask for more information, she told me to just read the materials in the welcome package and hung up.
Like two days before, I tried to connect the power to my new unit, I was asked to supply a power meter serial number and last reading on the meter by Mercury Energy. Then I called up the real estate agent asking particulars about the power meter. She told me she had no idea and does not know such information. She reiterated that it is tenant's responsibility to get it sorted and not the real estate company.
WTF??? Since they are managing the property, shouldn't they at least keep the important records like power meter serial numbers??? Of course I know I had to connect the power by myself but how the fuck am I suppose to know about this kind of useless details??? For the record, I had paid 3 weeks of bond,2 weeks of rent in advance and 1 week of letting fee with GST before I can even step my foot into that bloody unit. They are earning my letting fee for doing nothing yet they can't even provide me answers to my simple question. Talk about professionalism. Bah! It's just a waste of my breath talking to them.
I gave the agent a terse reply and went to the new flat looking for clues that resemble serial numbers in the meter box. I can only get the meter readings from 2 meters and some meaningless numbers. Then I called another company called Empower and gave them the incomplete details in an embarrassed tone. True to their good reputation and always rise to the occasion, they proceeded to process my request without a hitch.
In the end it worked quite well but this episode left a bitter aftertaste in my senses and reaffirms the bad impressions I had about real estate agents: unreliable, unprofessional, deceitful, greedy and irresponsible. One thing I will know is the next time if I want to rent or buy a house, I should stay away from LJ Hooker.
No comments:
Post a Comment