Why Your Estate Agent Isn’t on Your Side

I want to say something that sounds obvious once you hear it but that nobody in the property industry seems keen to spell out: the estate agent showing you around that flat does not work for you.

They work for the person selling it.

I don’t say this as some sort of bitter rant. It’s just how the system works. And once you properly understand the incentive structure, the whole house-buying experience starts making a lot more sense.

How agents get paid

In England and Wales, estate agents are instructed by the seller. They agree a fee — usually 1–2% of the sale price, sometimes plus VAT — and their job is to sell the property for the highest price in the shortest time. That is the entire job description. They are not paid to help you find the right home. They are not paid to point out problems.They are paid a percentage of the final sale price, by the seller, on completion.

Now think about what that actually means. Say an agent is selling a flat for £350,000 at 1.5% commission. They earn £5,250. If you negotiate the price down by £20,000 — a huge saving for you — the agent only loses £300 in commission. Three hundred quid. That’s a rounding error on their monthly target. They would much, much rather close the deal quickly at the higher price than spend weeks going back and forth on a negotiation that barely affects their take-home. Speed matters to them more than price. Always.

Both sides, same agent

In the US, there’s usually a listing agent who works for the seller and a buyer’s agent who works for you. Two agents, two sets of interests, at least some pretence of balance. In England? Same agent handles both sides. They’re called “dual agents” and they’re supposed to treat everyone fairly. But they’re being paid by the seller. Where do you think their loyalty sits when push comes to shove?

I had an agent tell me, during a viewing, that the seller “might accept” five percent below asking. That sounded helpful at the time. In retrospect, I think the seller had already told the agent their absolute minimum, and the agent was anchoring my offer to a number that was still very comfortable for the seller. They were managing me downwards from the asking price while making sure I didn’t go too low. Helpful for the seller. Less helpful for me.

What they have to tell you (and what they don’t)

Estate agents are regulated. The Estate Agents Act 1979 and the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 mean they can’t make false or misleading statements, they must disclose personal interests, and they must pass on all offers to the seller.

But there’s a massive gap between “must not lie” and “must tell you everything useful.” They don’t have to volunteer that the neighbours had a party wall dispute last year. They don’t have to mention the railway line behind the trees that you can hear at rush hour. They don’t have to tell you the property has been on the market for nine months because the seller won’t accept a realistic offer. There’s a legal distinction between misrepresentation (illegal) and omission (mostly fine). Agents live in the omission zone. That’s their natural habitat.

The greatest hits of pressure tactics

If you’ve viewed more than a couple of properties, you’ll recognise the script. “We’ve had a lot of interest in this one.” “Another viewer is putting in an offer today.” “At this price, it won’t last long.” My personal favourite is “the seller is looking for a quick sale” — which translates roughly to “please hurry up and offer before you do any research.”

Some of this might be true. But when an agent says there’s another offer, you have absolutely no way to verify it. They don’t have to show you evidence. It’s a remarkably effective way to get you to bid higher and faster and with less due diligence. I fell for it on the second property I offered on. Rushed the offer, got accepted, then discovered during searches that the building had an ongoing drainage issue. Pulled out. Lost £800 in solicitor fees. If I’d spent one more day researching before offering, I’d have found the drainage problem in the EA flood maps and never offered at all.

So how do you protect yourself?

First — do your research before you view, not after. If you already know the comparable sale prices, the flood risk, the EPC rating, and the crime data for an area, the agent can’t guide the narrative. You walk in with facts instead of feelings. That changes the dynamic completely. This is exactly what a Viven report gives you — fifteen sources of data in one place, before you’ve even stepped through the door.

Second — ask specific questions, not open-ended ones. “Is there anything wrong with the property?” is easy to dodge. “Has there been any flooding in this area in the last ten years?” is harder to sidestep. “What’s the remaining lease length?” requires an actual number. “Why is the seller moving?” sometimes produces genuinely revealing answers. The more specific you are, the less room there is for creative omission.

Third — verify everything independently. If the agent tells you the council tax is Band C, check. If they say the broadband is fast, check. Not because they’re necessarily lying, but because details get mixed up between properties and nobody else is going to live with the consequences if it’s wrong.

Fourth — do not rush. The urgency is designed to benefit the seller, not you. If another buyer really is about to make an offer, panicking won’t change that. Take the time you need. If you lose the property because you spent an extra day checking the data, there will be another property. There is always another property.

And fifth — if your budget allows, consider a buying agent. They’re the one professional in the process who actually works for you. They charge a fee — typically 1–2% of the purchase price or a fixed rate — but for higher-value purchases the negotiation savings can more than cover the cost. They’re not cheap, but they’re the only person at the table whose interests are genuinely aligned with yours.

What this all means

None of this makes estate agents bad people. They’re doing a job within a system that has specific incentive structures. But the system has a gap: nobody in the transaction is responsible for making sure the buyer has complete information. The agent works for the seller. The broker works for the lender. The solicitor runs standard searches that cover the legal basics but not much else.

That gap — between what you need to know and what anyone is motivated to tell you — is exactly why Viven exists. We don’t sell properties. We don’t earn commission. We just pull together the data that’s already out there and give it to you in one place, before you make an offer. Because in a system where nobody’s truly looking out for you, the best thing you can do is look out for yourself.