Essential Guides & Advice How To Pick An Estate Agent

Date Published:

22/05/2008

If you thought buying your house was stressful, it can be nothing compared to the process of selling it.

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However the whole dynamic of selling a property has now changed. An agent is no longer that rather bored looking man or woman showing you around some appallingly inappropriate dump. Its important to remember the estate agent is working for YOU.

Are You Local?

So how does one go about choosing an agent? As a potential client you will fall into one of two categories - local or not local.

Local

Being local is a huge benefit. You may well have had previous experience of an agent in your local High Street, and can check for their sales boards and see their local adverts. If you do fall into this category you need to consider which agents specialise in properties similar to yours.

NEVER list your three-bedroom semi with an agent who lists mostly large country homes in an attempt to make it appear more appealing. It wont. Similarly, don't list your rambling country home with an agent selling at the lower end of the market. Pound Shop advertising invites Pound Shop responses.

The reasons are simple. If they have properties similar to yours, over a period of time they will be considered by the community at large, the right agent to go to when searching for that kind of property, and have a pool of applicants who may have missed out on previous properties like yours!

Hopefully, you will find quite a few agents that fit this category because ideally you want around three to carry out a valuation. Remember the valuation is just a professional opinion defined by that agents experience, local market knowledge and general nous. As such it is fallible, so you should also be asking the agent about the details of their service, their approach (what makes them better than the competition in their opinion), their internet presence and their general experience.

Do not simply fall for the one who claims a very high figure unless he /she can back it up with evidence. If they can, go for it!! If you do not agree on price but like everything else about an agent ask them if they will consider your idea of price initially, bear in mind a good agent usually gets it right.

Non-Local

This is the harder category to be in. You may have never lived in the property (say if you were letting it out or bought the property as an investment), it might have been left to you. This is more difficult as you won't know many local people whose opinion you could ask on reputable local agents or even who is active in the area. So where do you start?

The Internet is the best place to begin a search, or any local papers, where they have a Property Section. Remember any agent you contact must be very locally based to the property and list properties within the immediate area. By looking at the properties they already have for sale you can see if they are dealing with the approximate price range your home is likely to fall into and properties of a similar type.

Again try to select three to provide a valuation and listen to their comments. You must, as you do not know the area well, ask for real evidence of what properties they have sold which is similar to yours, when they sold it and at what price. If they cannot be precise or are evasive, perhaps choose someone else. Remember to ask the usual questions about their marketing methods, staff etc.

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