Getting the best from your estate agent
Choosing the right agent is the key to selling. We tell you how, with tips from winners of the Estate Agency of the Year Awards.
Heard the one about the homeowner who liked their estate agent? No, thought not. Or how about the estate agent who sold a house last week? Again, no. It figures.
Joking aside, the past 18 months has witnessed a slump in the property market that has seen prices fall in double digits, with more than 30,000 estate agents losing their jobs since the start of the credit crisis.
Nevertheless, if the British high street is anything to go by, a potential seller has a huge choice. While the stock of available property has fallen, demand from buyers is growing, so in theory it should be easy to find a good estate agent. Yet, as rising complaints to the Property Ombudsman over the past 12 months prove, theory doesn’t always work in practice. This is especially true when it comes to selling one’s home.
So how do you choose which agent should take on the job for you? How can you “manage” them once they are marketing your property — and what should you do when you encounter problems, or if it all goes wrong? We’ve spoken to a number of winners from the 2009 Estate Agency of the Year Awards, sponsored by The Sunday Times, and come up with some fail-safe tips. Which means, hopefully, that in your case the jokes above need not apply.
Choosing your estate agent
Start by opening your eyes. Who has boards up — not just “For sale” signs, but, more important, “Sold”? If your neighbours have successfully moved, which agency did they use? If your house is similar to theirs, how much did it sell for? Would they recommend them? Phone only those agents you think are the most likely candidates, and judge how they respond — it’s not a good sign if they don’t answer promptly and efficiently, or fail to get back to you.
Make sure you sign up only with agencies that specialise in selling homes similar to yours — there’s no use picking an agent that focuses on letting student flats if you’ve got a family house to sell. Look to the internet, too. More than 75% of people start their search online, so make sure your potential estate agents are well represented on the many portals that list hundreds of thousands of available properties. You should also look at the company’s own website. Is it easy to navigate and regularly updated?
David Newnes, managing director of Your Move, which won the Best UK Large Estate Agency of the Year award, says trying to book a viewing via a company’s website is a good way to see just how effectively monitored their online service is. The response should be immediate. The start of your search is a good time to see how properties are presented online. Are the photographs of high quality? Are floor plans included? What other search options are provided for potential buyers?
Once you have a short list, bring at least three agents to your home, to meet them face to face and get a valuation. Grill them on how they came up with the figure, and remember, you shouldn’t necessarily pick the agent who arrives at the highest asking price. “Some agents will price to flatter, but they should have done the relevant research — have found out what similar properties are for sale for or have sold for,” Newnes says. “A well-prepared agent should give some comparables.”
By Lucy Denyer & Emma Wells
Sunday Telegraph 29th November 2009
