Estate agents seem to be the butt of many jokes, a permanent punch line about what it means to be a terrible person. But why are they so maligned and frowned upon?

Well, much of it is hyperbole, but as with all clichés there is going to be a certain soupcon of truth in there somewhere. However, what seems to make them hated is the same thing that makes other companies successful – an attempt to do their job to the best of their ability.

An estate agent’s job is to sell houses. They are therefore going to try and sell those houses for as much as possible. What shoe seller would get extra points for selling a pair of brogues for far less than they were worth? For those wanting to sell their homes, the fact they are driven and focussed on doing this job is therefore a very good thing, so why the animosity?

Well, there is one more reason – the housing industry is not regulated in the same way that many industries are. Therefore, there are going to be some very bad ones out there. It is easy to find estate agents on the high street, but far harder to find estate agents who are actually very good at what they do.

Therefore, the hatred that many have for the profession could well be based on individual experiences with poor companies. Selling and buying homes is a very stressful undertaking and going through the process with someone who is not good at what they do will undoubtedly lead to a certain anger towards the profession.

By searching for estate agent reviews, those selling and buying houses can have a far better experience, and whilst sharing estate agent reviews might not be good news for the charlatans or clueless ones, for the industry as a whole it may well help to remove the terrible reputation and make selling and buying homes a pleasure and not a chore.