Sowerbys Estate Agents Reviews 

Slow, unfriendly, unhelpful service.

This is an pretentious, shambles! It has many grand ideas above its station, and its claims to being 'prestige', 'elite', 'up-market' are totally unfounded, unjustified and simply a silly, arrogant little brand, that is staffed by silly, arrogant, pompous twits! I have had properties on the market, and have, as I always do, invited agents to value. On each occasion (with my properties of around £600,000 to £800,000) they have valued lower than every other agent, and when asked, have, then, raised the valuation to match, but with this nonsense: 1.5% commission, which is the highest in the whole of Norfolk, with any agent. They won't budge on this, and yet ALL other agents will and do, and then they simply stop replying to emails. THIS is how Sowerby's communicate! They don't have a clue about anything other than their green-welly, Burnham Market (Max Sowerby's beginnings), Barbour image, with the most appalling customer service I think I have ever, ever come across. Even when trying to obtain a valuation date, I was greeted, on the phone, by someone who just didn't seem to appreciate that over a week for the meeting was just not right. They are totally useless, and over-priced, because they have so many staff, and love their silly social media, and trendy little offices. Get real! And to anyone out there reading this, the going rate for sole agency is 1.00%. You WILL obtain this! Don't let poseurs like this lot sham more. And go to an agency that actually will pick up a phone or reply to an email and one that doesn't think of itself as some kind of Royal patron! They are rubbish!

Reply to their very late reply:

This is for the readers: Sowerby's, now, charge 1.65%! The highest commission of any agent in Norfolk and Suffolk and I suspect in most counties! Yet, they have fewer properties. This isn't a case of simply being more selective and wanting to strive for an elite, and positive look, this is the old story of over pricing, then fewer customers, and then over pricing more, as they think it is best to charge, rather than produce! And also, how many months did it take to reply to this? Once again, my advice: go elsewhere, negotiate a commission that is right for the area, not some pompous Chelsea set idea, now in Burnham Market!

Absolutely the worst people for answering the phones, answering messages or emails!!!
Rude people showing you round and they don’t tell the truth about the properties.

Asked to come and value my property came with a brochure of house pre extension and a valuation before they had viewed the house. They must have psychic valuers. Beats me how you can value a property prior to seeing it

We were selling our house. Katie and Teri from the Dereham branch were both lovely, they communicated well with weekly updates and went out of their way to keep us informed of the process despite as with any house sale it not having its hick up’s. They chased the chain and the solicitors for us and nothing was too much Trouble. We would higher recommend them and all the staff at the Dereham branch. Thank you for supporting us through a stressful process. With the best intentions we hope not to use you again.

The communication during the home-buying process was very poor. When an offer is made ‘subject to survey,’ it is reasonable to expect Sowerbys to clarify their position. They should have the courtesy to explain that, in their view, paying for a survey will not be considered once a first offer has already been accepted on that basis.

Some of these reviews are not believable based on my experience with the Kings Lynn Branch over the last 2 years.

They are simply fantastic and a pleasure to deal with.

Jane & Rachel are a credit to the Business.

I have emailed the Dereham branch x2 to request details/fees for managing my rental property.

My emails have been ignored! Naturally, this is a poor first impression and I won’t be using them.

Update: Sowerbys response on Trustpilot took over 1 year. I think this is a good indication of how important their clients are to them.

They poorly understand the role of an estate agent. They push the seller to spend money on solicitors to a contract against waste of time buyers who are just playing with you. They cannot read survey reports and blame the buyer when the sale falls through due to the lack of due diligence they should have done on a buyer

Laura provided many negative opinions as to why she thought a Sheringham property was unsuitable for me, none of which were based on fact. Eventually agreed to check the facts. By which time I was so irritated by her manner, I gave up on the property. One question, apparently designed to dissuade me viewing was: "Do I mind having neighbours?" I suppose one answer to that would be....
depends on the neighbours.

James at Sowerbys in Norwich was the epitome of professionalism, he truly is an exemplar of what a good estate agent should do. Nothing was too much trouble for him.

Spencer was very professional and friendly in our recent dealings. His attention to detail, depth of knowledge and advice was impeccable.I have no hesitation in recommending Sowerbys and Spencer’s team to anyone thinking of buying, selling or simply seeking tentative advice prior to their decision making.

We have recently viewed a house in Norwich advertised by Sowerbys Estate Agents. Millie from Norwich branch was very professional, booked the viewing swiftly, asked questions about our needs, and provided good explanations about the property. If there was a question she did not know the answer to, she has been very good at asking the vendor and come back to us quickly. The brochure and dimension on the floor plan (which is missing in some other agents’ adverts) was very helpful as well. We ended up not purchasing the property we viewed with Millie, however, she deserves top marks for her professionalism and dedication. We highly recommend Millie.

Excellent service.
We recently purchased a home in Norfolk, the service and dedication was second to none. Jack from the Fakenham branch was professional and accommodating. From our first viewing, to questions answered quickly onto our second viewing. More questions and requests for images of fixtures and fittings. We found Jacks manner and ability so keen and able to deliver. Even on the moving day, we were pleased to receive a variety of gifts waiting for us, such a lovely gesture. Jack has since provided us with recommendations for local trades. We cannot thank them enough, Sowerbys and especially Jack for their professionalism and guidance.

We were advised by one of their negotiators to view a house which was 200 miles + from where we live on the understanding that it had architectural merit and charm. At no point during our two phone conversations did the Sowerbys representative mention the words “might benefit from some updating” when the actual sad truth was that the house needed 200k spending on it with, potentially, no positive results at the end of the renovation. I know that estate agents tend to see every property through rose tinted glasses but in this case they would have needed to convince Stevie Wonder that the property had any potential. They are refusing the refund us the cost of our trip as they feel “clients who saw the house had a positive experience”. This statement does not seem to gel with the fact the house has now been on the market three times in the last four years and has still failed to sell. Sow’s ear and silk purse come to mind.

We had an excellent experience using Sowerbys Estate Agents in Hunstanton, Carol showed us around, she knew a lot about the property and was able to answer any questions we had. Carol was also available for a second viewing and nothing was too much trouble when showing us around.