Company Details

If I could give zero stars I would. We selected First Choice Move as we were aware that they were the biggest sellers in terms of volume of homes in the Whitehaven area. To our surprise and disappointment, we quickly discovered their negative and discriminatory practises with minimal support at stressful times during the sales process. We first called them to come and value our house on the 17th of May. From the outset the valuer was negative about our house, pointing out only the flaws rather than acknowledging all the work we had done (complete new electrical system and junction box, new hot water system, shed, new radiators, new windows and a new bathroom). The valuer lacked enthusiasm and was very negative and dismissive of my wifes points (whom was on the phone) around all the work that had been done and talked down the property. We agreed to proceed with a valuation of £119, 995. However we were informed that if the price was too high it could be devalued as a previous property had been by a surveyor and used a recent example. The property went live on the 21st of May and we got 4 requests for viewings which were encouraged by. On the 22nd of May we had 2 viewings booked. The first arrived with partner, did not introduce themselves to my wife and immediately started talking about dropping the price and a previous experience where there were 'serious structural defects' from a previous attempt to buy a house and complained how the vendor would not drop the price. As soon as they had left they offered the much lower price of £113,000 which we could not accept. At the same time we were informed that the second viewer had called to cancel. I was clear that I would not accept the much lower offer and proposed £115,000 which was accepted. However around 30 minutes after this we received a knock at the door and it was in fact the second viewing. This couple were not English and told us that they had not cancelled and appeared surprised. From what was to come this situation would not surprise us. We showed them around and then they left. From there things only got worse. The Banks surveyor was happy with the price, however the buyer decided that they wanted a Home Buyers report, which was we were to discover, was solely to pressure us to drop the price even lower. This call came through on a Saturday the 1st of June at around 4pm and completely changed and overshadowed our weekend. My wife and I called First Choice at around 4pm to discuss this request and our concerns were completely ignored and all we were told was if we did not agree to this survey the sale would not go ahead. My wife felt particularly aggrieved as she is of African origin and the representative from First Choice repeatedly spoke over her and stated that she could not understand her and combined with the previous treatment of the second couple whom viewed our house demonstrated concerning and discriminatory practises from the company. However, the Home Buyers Report went ahead and again on the 15th of June the results came through from the buyer with only concerns being shown which we were able to answer all but one of them but were informed that a 3rd survey would need to take place, this time for damp. Again I queried this due to the disruption it was causing to us as we both work and we had to continually change our schedules to accomodate these demands. However again to our surprise we were informed that should it not happen, the sale would fall through. By this point, my wife and I felt totally unsupported and it was clear that First Choice were supporting the buyer rather than us and we were alone in this process. However on the morning of the 25th of June, the damp survey took place and the rep stated that the work would cost £4000. To our total shock, on the 28th of June, the buyer again sent through a mere snippet of the report with a costing of £8000 to First Choice, expecting us to drop the price by £8000. It was ignored that £5000 had already been given off as a gesture of good will and by this point we had had enough and issued an ultimatum of a final price of £113,000. The buyer (much to our relief) decided not to proceed and to the clear disappointment of First Choice we requested the property be placed back on the market. On the 1st of July, I contacted First Choice and was surprised that no further interest had been received. The same was the case on the 4th of July and my wife and I had had enough and called First Choice and requested the property be withdrawn from the market as we were going to relist with a different estate agent. I am glad we did this as with the new estate agent we got the price we wanted with the minimum of stress. First Choice clearly prioritised our buyer and at times my wife and I were in tears during the process and there was no support from them for us and clearly we were small fry to them.

I am extremely disappointed with the way First Choice move dealt with us when buying a home. Firstly, when requesting a viewing on the property we wanted, we were told no and that the seller only wanted cash buyers or those that had already sold their house (ours was on the market), so instead we got in touch privately with the seller and we were able to view the house. After viewing the house and after going through the process of selling our own (privately), we put an offer in with first choice move and the offer got accepted. However, there was apparently someone else who had viewed the house and also put an offer in which also got accepted. They basically told us both the house was ours (us and the other person) and gave us a deadline to show proof ours was sold (in the process). We were messed about from the start, to the finish! would not reccomend using first choice move at all. Just to clarify, we purchased the property in the end with absolutley no assistance or help from first choice move.

Absolutely fantastic service.from start to finish kept us informed stayed in close contact.fab photos of the house.best estate agent I have ever used.

Thankyou so much to first choice move, especially Chris for taking the photos and doing a fabulous portfolio/right move advert and to Ben for keeping us updated at all times and for making the whole process simple and efficient. Everything was handled really well, the price was reasonable and overall we are very satisfied. I would 100% recommend to everybody. Thankyou Chris, Ben and the team.

I am writing this as I am disappointed with this estate agents, they are all very nice and friendly when selling you a home but when you want to sell it after spending time making it nicer and putting money into the property it’s a different matter. The property I bought was on the market for £69,995 and it went down to £64,995 when I couldn’t get my morgage first time. When I spoke to the lady abought coming to value it she said it would go under £65.000 or under, I said why when it was up for £69,995 and I have changed the property as it was filthy when I got it, she said in the matter of 2 weeks the market had decreased and I said how has it changed in a couple of weeks. I felt she wasn’t listening to what I was saying and all she wanted to do was put the same pictures on the site with a lower price and also said go to another estate agent and put the phone down. I will not be using that estate agent again and would advise anyone to stay away from them when buying or selling a home. My reply to your message is I got frustrated because the lady was supposed to come out today but called me to say she couldn’t come out to the house, I told her I had taken the day off and she replied saying I could come today but it is a waste of time without even looking at what I have done to the property, i was trying to explain what I had done but because I am foreign I got someone English to talk to her but once again she wasn’t listening, I never said I wanted it put up to £80,000 I said that is what the valuation came up on zoopla. So she was negative from the beginning of the conversation, it was like it’s only been valued and she couldn’t be bothered again because the price had gone down because the property has a shared back yard and that’s all she kept saying. I got a valuation from another agency today after showing them the property before and after what I had done to it and they said they would put it on the market for £79.999 with just seeing photographs. How can a market price decrease in 2 weeks and you said it can’t be £80,000 but another agency can do that and I have proof of the valuation.

Contacted estate agent regarding a possible offer on a property, made an enquiry as to weather the seller would sell freehold instead of leasehold, was advised I would be contacted with an answer. Never heard from the estate agent again. Poor Communication.

The customer service from first choice move is an absolute joke. My best friend was buying her first house through this shambles of an estate agent and they messed her around from start to finish. They knew that the sale had fell through on the house she was buying for weeks but didn't tell her until a week before she was due to move in. Absolutely joke of on estate agent, clowns

First of all I will agree with the other reviews of the staff, of the three members of staff that I spoke to, all were friendly and polite and would give them 5 stars. Having made an offer on a house, they informed me the seller was not willing to give me an answer to if they would accept it or not until I had seen the house (within their right, it is their house at the end of the day and their choice who they sell it too), but, this left me in an awkward situation. I tried making the estate agent aware that we were happy to make the offer and not see the house and only the survey would be a reason for us to pull out, but they still wouldn’t give me an answer until I had viewed the house. With being in the Armed Forces, it would of meant a 7 hour drive from Ipswich to North Cumbria on a Friday on the all the busiest roads. This also required accommodation to be booked overnight. I enquired with the staff to make them aware as my concern was if someone else made a bid before I was able to view it. I made them aware I would be happy to compete with any offer. As cash buyers, we had the ability to go over the asking price if a bidding war ensued. I was promised that if any such bid came in, I would be informed and be able to compete with the other offer. To my complete shock, 5 days later and 2 days before viewing, I received a call stating the house was off the market and an offer had been made which the seller was happy with and all other viewings were cancelled. Again, i accept this is the sellers right to do. For me, the estate agents did not represent their client, I found it hard to believe they did not inform them that there was potentially a competing person that may be willing to bid higher than the one received. Why would a seller not want a higher selling price? When I enquired if I was able to put a higher offer in, they said we are only passing on the message from the seller. The message you failed to pass on was that I would have competed with an offer made on the house and got you a greater commission. Our only hope now is the sale of the house falls through and we get a second chance at it but unlikely. At the end of the day, we will find another house as all people do but the annoyance of losing the money for the accommodation we booked is mildly annoying.

I tried two high street estate agents and after the house had been on the market for over a year with no viewings decided to go with First Choice Move;I am so pleased I did,they didn't tell me to drop my price,I had viewings with positive feedback and sold my house.Everyone at the office was very helpful and their charges are extremely reasonable,I would certainely recommend them!!

We found first choice estate agent very professional and helpful. They arranged several viewings and always kept us fully informed of feed back. Once an offer was agreed first choice continued to keep us informed right up to completion. We would highly recommend First choice. They offer a good service at value for money. Thank you very much first choice.

Lovely staff, first rate service, Great prices, nothing too much trouble. Brilliant!