How to choose an estate agent to sell your house
Tuesday, 7 June 2011 3:54 PM
When it comes to selling your property, the principles are simple: sell it is as quickly as you can for as high a price as possible. However, choosing an estate agent who can facilitate this for you can be tricky. Don’t just go for the first agent you find. Choose three then interview them like you would do a new employee – after all, you are paying them for a service. Read our top tips for selecting the best agent below.
Take note of ‘for sale’ and ‘sold’ boards
A walk or drive around your local neighbourhood will reveal who the most popular estate agents are – they have obviously been chosen for a reason.
However, be watchful for ‘for sale’ boards that never seem to turn to ‘sold’ signs, or properties where there’s more than one agent's sign up. Boards that change from ‘for sale’ to ‘sold’ quickly are an encouraging sign but the property’s price and condition will also affect how quickly it sells – not just the skill of the estate agent.
Question how the estate agent plans to market your property
It might seem a bit business-like but do ask all the estate agents you see how they market their properties.
There are four main things they should be doing to help your property sell: feeding all their properties to national property search portals as well as specialist, local portals like FabricProperty.com; advertising their properties for sale in local newspapers; displaying properties in their window, and offering you a ‘for sale’ board in your front garden.
Compare paper particulars as well because it’s usually this that gets mailed out to prospective buyers or turned into a PDF and emailed. Particulars should be attractively laid out, concise and with as many photographs as possible. Floor plans and energy report graphs are useful additions.
Do your research on price
Estate agents have their own reasons for pricing properties unrealistically high or bargain-basement low. To avoid being controlled by your agent's agenda, do as much research as possible.
Visit HousePrices.co.uk to check out recent selling prices of homes in your neighbourhood, and check the current selling prices of similar properties online and in local newspapers. This will give you a rough idea of what your home could fetch – but bear in mind that the number of rooms, interior condition and even what side of the road you live on can all affect the selling price.
Invite three different agents to appraise your property and then you can work out a realistic starting point.
Does the estate agent belong to any property bodies?
Estate agents can belong to either http://www.tpos.co.uk/http://www.tpos.co.uk/ (TPO) or the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA), both of which are voluntary schemes.
The TPO aims to provide fair and reasonable resolutions to disputes between members of the public and estate agents, and all estate agents who are members of the NAEA have to be qualified and work to a strict code of conduct.
Both bodies can award compensation for loss, aggravation, distress and inconvenience due to improper practices by a member agent. Although choosing an agent that belongs to a body doesn’t guarantee perfect service, it’s good to know you can get recourse if there are issues.
How do I look?
Property images are key in getting people interested in your property, so pay attention to the quality of the photographs an estate agent takes.
Study the images they have taken of other properties. Are they in focus, inviting and showing the home to its full potential? An agent should make sure all interior lights are turned on, that blinds and curtains are open and that his camera is set to the highest image quality setting.
Quantity is just as important. If you only have two images of your home on its online listing, a prospective buyer will wonder why. Make sure every room is photographed, as well as your garden and the exterior of the property, and that all of the images are uploaded online and put on the paper property particulars.
Local knowledge and lists
Before you choose an agent, make sure you’re happy they know enough about the local area. Do they know the schools with the best Ofsted reports? Can they tell you which mainline station your local trains travel in to? Ensure they know the answers to the questions prospective buyers might ask.
In addition, grill the agents about their lists of waiting buyers. They should be able to tell you how many buyers are registered with them, so you know there’ll be a raft of viewings in the diary as soon as you put your home onto the market.
Feature supplied by FabricProperty.com.
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