The Good Estate Agent Knows How To Sell YOUR Home – Top Insider Tips to Find the One!

“Estate agents – they’re all the same, aren’t they?” is, unfortunately, the first thought that all too often comes into people’s minds when they decide to put their house on the market.

It’s not surprising that 1 in 4 insist that selling a house is the most stressful of life events, compared to nearly 1 in 5 who claim the most stressful is having a baby or around 1 in 6 who say it’s planning a wedding, according to one recent nationwide property survey.

The decisions you take at every stage can mean the difference between getting a really good price in the shortest time and not being able to find a buyer. The agent(s) you go with are crucial to obtaining the best possible outcome at the time your property is on the market.

The reality is that estate agents are actually, not all the same. There are a number of indicators, which can be useful to help you decide whether you will succeed with one agent when compared to another.

Understand exactly how an agent intends to market your property

Firstly, you need to check there are similar types of properties to your house displayed in their window, which can be a good indication of an agent’s experience in selling properties like your home. Also take a look around your local area to see which agents appear to be having success by the number of their “Sold” boards on display.

Next, you need to ask the right questions to understand exactly how an agent intends to market your property. Their answers are more likely to provide a better insight than simply going for the most obvious questions, such as how quickly can they sell your home, and how often do they get the asking price? What would you expect an agent to say?

Marketing is more than just putting your home on the major property sites, such as Zoopla and RightMove. An experienced agent understands the importance of time spent in preparation on key marketing tools, especially the number and quality of the photography and the clarity of their descriptions, 2D and 3D floorplans, the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), and presentation of the property itself for viewings.

An agent’s viewing policy can be revealing

Questions relating to an agent’s viewing policy can also be revealing. Your agent should arrange for potential buyers to view your home on a day and at a time when most suitable and convenient to you. Do they contact you and then send around potential buyers straight away? What happens if you are not going to be at home for a viewing. Will the agent accompany a potential buyer?

The question you really need to be asking yourself at every stage is – have you got confidence in the agent that you are speaking with has genuine experience and local area knowledge, and can they be trusted to deliver on the promises they make?

You might get an idea by how your agent responds to being asked what they will do if your property was not selling as well as expected and what redress have you got if there is a conflict or dispute involving the sale of your property.

If you do your homework properly, you should be able to find out if the Estate agents are, for example, members of The Property Ombudsman (TPO) scheme or members of a professional trade association, such as the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA), which provides qualifications and regular codes of practice training to member agents.

Speaking face to face to get the bigger picture

It’s likely that many of the agents you have shortlisted will all appear to offer the same level of services, track record and industry affiliations. However, estate agents can often also have different terms and conditions, and fees applied to different aspects of their services, including marketing, preparing a property’s details and displaying ‘For Sale’ boards.

A good agent should be in frequent touch with you throughout, and not suddenly go quiet if they can’t sell your house in the first few weeks.

So, not all estate agents are the same. You are more likely to pick the right agent to sell your particular home in your specific area if you can choose your local high street agent by speaking face to face to get the bigger picture. Not something you can do online.

Remember – check to see that the agreement you are offered has a time limit (often between 1 – 3 months, but can be more), so you can change your agent if you do find they were not that different after all…