Do you have any tips on choosing an estate agent?

[dandelionpoppy]

I am shortly putting a residential property on the market.

I would be really grateful for any advice you have on how to choose an agent.

Many thanks in advance!

 

[taggyboy]

Dande, check out www.housenetwork.co.uk my sister and Mum n Dad saved thousands on selling.

The internet based company do everything a normal estate agent does but better and without the fees.

You can't go wrong xx

Debbie

 

[dandelionpoppy]

Thanks Debbie. x. I'm sure this is the way to go in many ways, but I should have explained I'm selling it on behalf of my 99 year old Mum, and I don't think she'd be comfortable it.
I do intend using a local company, but I'm ignorant of what qs I should ask them to get her the best deal, and least hassle. I have no idea, for example whether it's usual to haggle on %, or what pitfalls to avoid.

 

[Missy1213]

I'm in the process of selling my home. I asked a few agents to come around and value and also they then tell you how much they charge if you sell through them.
I choose the lowest naturally but also I choose the one that does all the legal work too.
You can negotiate the fees which I didn't know at the time.
One of the estate agents called me back and asked me if I had signed up with anyone and told him I did. He really wanted to work with me and felt he could have found loads of potential buyers and left me his contact details if it didn't work out with current agent and he said we could have negotiated.

 

[dandelionpoppy]

Thanks Missy; it looks like a good idea to negotiate hard.

I feel that I have to also guard against one of them coming in with an unrealistically high value, just to get the business. It may be a hard one to value; needs complete updating, but is in an idyllic setting.

 

[sallyyummymummy]

We haggled on the % commission. And we saw about 5 agents. The range in valuations was from 107k up to 135k. We went with the agent we felt would do more in marketing the house, mid price valuation & haggled the percentage down to 1% based on the fact that we took the premium package which was £200 extra. We also went with the agent we actually liked. One came and was with us for just a few minutes whereas the one we went with was with us for around 40 mins.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using SalonGeek mobile app

 

[dandelionpoppy]

Thanks, Sally!

Will definitely give a lot of thought to who shows most genuine interest.

 

[sallyyummymummy]

We just kind of clicked with the agent we went with. One was smarmy & I couldn't wait to get him out the house. The one who gave us the lowest valuation gave the impression he couldn't really be bothered with our beautiful but small terrace! You'll get a feel for them when you meet them.

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[blossom]

I used to work in estate agency for 12 years and my thoughts would be:

use people you like but seriously, if they are too nice and too polite they are probably not the most effective in town. Sad but true.

give Sole Agency for a set period, say 4 or 6 weeks, after which you reserve the right to give it to another or several other agents, making the original agent pull out all the stops to gain full fee within the timeframe.

I would personally avoid giving to more than 2 or 3 agents as it smacks of desperation to go into every estate agency and be handed the same property by everyone - you are likely to get silly offers this way or people will just be put off.

have a for sale board, they are effective - some agents will knock £50 off the bill if you have one - worth asking.

Go in, ring up, hassle the agent a couple of times a week to keep them on their toes. The clients who are a pain in the ar5e get the best treatment!

Get several agents in to get an idea on price, check zoopla etc, price keenly but not stupidly.

Remember an offer from somebody who has no arranged mortgage or who has a property to sell with no buyer, or whose buyer has no buyer, is not really an offer at all and refuse to hold your property for someone like this.

Good luck xxx

 

[jacquelineanna]

Dandy when I sold my house 8 yeas ago I arranged for three estate agents to come in and value the house.

They all had to attend at the same time, they had to look around the property and the three of them had to agree on a price. I told them that whatever price they gave me would be the price I wanted and nothing lower ... so they had best come up with a realistic price!

After they had all looked and agreed on the price they had 10 minutes each with me to 'sell' their services.

I originally called 4 agents because one declined to do business in this manner.

It worked very well for me.

xx

 

[dandelionpoppy]

There are some seriously great tips here. Thank-you ALL so much.

I do want to put some pressure on the time frame; while wanting to get the best deal for Mum I don't think I can cope with it dragging on for years.

Is it still a good idea having a sign up if there is no through traffic, do you think?

 

[blossom]

There are some seriously great tips here. Thank-you ALL so much.

I do want to put some pressure on the time frame; while wanting to get the best deal for Mum I don't think I can cope with it dragging on for years.

Is it still a good idea having a sign up if there is no through traffic, do you think?

Yes definitely.

If people like an area, they sometimes drive round looking for "For Sale" signs, that would incude driving into culdesacs etc and having a look. Is there a back fence which would more prominently display the board to more traffic?

Also neighbours and visiting people may notice and tell someone they know is looking.

I'd say yes.

 

[blossom]

And you have a right to insist on the agent accompanying all viewings if your mum feels happier with that x