How To Pick An Estate Agent

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Make sure you go for an estate agent who's going to reduce your stress level when you're selling, not add to it. Find out how to choose wisely.

By Sarah Warwick

Selling your house can be a stressful process.

In an uncertain world, and at time when you have to put up with strangers checking the contents of your kitchen cupboards, a good estate agent has the power to make the whole experience of selling your home a whole lot smoother.

Stick To Your Market

Put aside any thoughts of listing your home with the agent who sells equestrian properties if you live in a three-bed semi. But if you are the person with rolling acres, don't think your place will look like the pick of the bunch if it's being sold alongside family four beds. Consider agents with properties similar to yours because they should have a good pool of potential buyers, and knowledge of what these people are looking for. Even within a fairly consistent area, some agents will specialise in properties of a certain style and age, and within certain price brackets. An agent with plenty of information about your part of the market will also know the values homes like yours are being sold for.

Look For Scheme Membership

Look out for membership of trade organisations the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) when you're picking potential firms to list your home with.

Since October 2008, estate agents have been required to become members of an estate agents' redress scheme approved by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to handle complaints. There are two schemes currently approved. The first is the Property Ombudsman Service (TPO) - open to firms of estate agents with a principal, director or partner who's a member of the NAEA or RICS, corporate estate agents, or those sponsored by other member agents. The other is the Surveyors Ombudsman Service, whose members include estate agents as well as surveyors. Ask any agency you're thinking of appointing which scheme it has joined, and check the membership on the scheme's sites.

The schemes address consumer complaints about their members, and the property ombudsman also has a code of practice for residential estate agents, which requires those who sign up to offer additional consumer protection above the legal obligation. Look for the joint TPO/OFT code logo.