I'm an Estate Agent. What do you expect from me.

Pal

As a handy tip, I would suggest that, if possible, the estate agent makes sure they conduct every viewing, even if the owner is present. Most owners are rubbish at showing people around their homes.

I was shown around a house at the weekend by an owner who seemed determined not to switch the lights on! Hard to view a house in the dark!

Pal

AND.... Tell people about any major faults with the house BEFORE you send them round for a viewing. If the house is near an airport flightpath or a main road then warn them about the noise. Keeping quiet in the hope that they won't notice doesn't do anyone any favours and makes the agent look shifty.

Also, if a previous sale has fallen through because of something a survey revealed, let future people viewing know about it before they view, and give them an approximate cost of putting it right. Ensure that the owner knows you are doing this, and if the person likes the house, warn the owner that they are likely to have to negotiate on that issue.

Although you are working for the vendor, there is absolutely no point in sending people round to view properties if there is little chance of a sale going through because of noise or other problems with the house. Much better to be honest and make sure that the vendor has reduced their expectations accordingly.

Include measurements for all rooms and all gardens. So many properties on Rightmove have misleading pictures of the garden and no measurements. If people are not bothered about garden size then having the measurements won't matter - but those of us who need to know get annoyed with viewing houses that we are never going to buy, and I am sure that the owners get annoyed as well.

bluekp

By boyfriend and I bought our first house last year - think we'd both agree that we preferred it when the estate agent showed us around the property rather than the home owner.

That said, we would have preferred it even more if the estate agent had left us alone for a couple of minutes (subtly of course) so that we could discuss between us what we were thinking.

Pal

My wife and I were quite comfortable standing in front of the agent telling them exactly what was wrong with the property! After all, without honest feedback, how are they going to find us the property we want, and how are they going to give the owners an honest appraisal of their chances of selling at their asking price?

It is only when you like the property that you need "quiet time" in order to avoid being seen as too keen!

sarah_elton

As a recent FTB, my wishlist from that perspective would be:

1) Only post me details of houses I can afford - I told you £120k was my limit as my mortgage was £116k - yes that house on at £140k is lovely but it's not going to happen!

2) On a similar note, once I've told you "i'm sorry but I've found a place now with another agent so remove me from your mailing list", please do so.

3) Don't lie to me - I asked how long a property had been on the market, and this very young BSer said 'a week' - I'd been watching it on Rightmove for five.

4) Be on time for viewings wherever humanly possible - especially on freezing cold and wet days.

5) If you only focus on high end properties, and don't have anything under £300k, just tell me that from the outset - I don't know which agents are which. Don't dismissively take my details and bin them the minute I walk out the door.

6) The agent I found a place through was great throughout - what I love about them is (a) they're happy to spend time passing the most daft little questions through to the seller, even though I know at £115k it's one of their lowest commission properties, (b) if I phone to ask the seller something, they always phone back the same day, even if just to say 'we left a message but he hasn't responded yet - sorry', and (c) I went to the place yesterday a week before exchange + complete to measure up, and the agent was pointing out things I should query with the seller, and how to fix a few things etc. Lovely.

sarah_elton

And best of luck to you OP! The lovely agent I'm buying through started as one office in a nearby town (business is run by two brothers) some time in the 90s IIRC. They now have five branches in the local area and I couldn't recommend them more.

Jorgan_2

Stockmarket-diva, best of luck with your new venture. As a fellow EA I would say one if not the most important thing to you is to communicate between your vendors & purchasers on a regular basis. Vendors rightly expect to have feedback after each viewing and all parties want to be kept up to date with what is happening with their sale/purchase. It never ceases to amaze how as an industry this simple task is often over looked, just look at some of the feedback you've got already.

A good web-site can make a big difference as to how your business is perceived by others, just make sure it is updated at least once a day.

If you are not a member of the NAEA or similar then it may be worth joining for a couple of reasons. Firstly it shows that you are prepared to abide by a code of conduct laid out by the member body and secondly, the industry is due to be changing with the introduction of HIPS in 2007. By being a member you will be able to get more information as to what is going & when.

Finally, don't be afraid to ask for feedback from both sides, you may not like what you hear sometimes, but if it is constructive & you act upon it, it will stand you in good stead.

bylromarha

Loads of great advice here. It's so nice to know that somewhere out there is an EA who listens to their customers.

Good photos need to re-emphasize...we're looking at properties at the moment where the main photo includes a for sale board with another company!

Also floorplans...can't emphasize how useful ours has been. People don't look shocked when they walk into a room as the photo/virtual tour/enhanced measurements by the agent hasn't mislead them. This company did ours...the guy was professional and nice too...again, not expected!

www.particular-plans.co.uk

Looks like you can fax them details to turn in to floorplans as well as have them visit, so worth checking out as so many buyers/sellers appreciate floor plans I think, and if no-one else is offering them, more business for you!

Be prepared to negotiate your fee. One agent round here won't even talk to you about it.

Listen to what I actually want as a buyer. Don't send me 3 bed details when I want 4.

Get your junior staff to be just as professional as you. I've had some very interesting conversations with EA staff about the origins of my name, staplers and have noticed another in a EA window swilling her mouth out. Mmmm.

That's about all for now! All the best with the new venture

EagerLearner

Hi there,

As first time buyers, here is what we have on our 'Estate Agent Wishlist' that could help you:

- I am a first time buyer, with 120 max to spend to avoid stamp duty. Sending me details of 125k or 250k will just annoy me and I feel you haven't listened. They go in the bin.

- I want gas central heating. To date, most properties we have received have night storage heating, completely ignoring our requests. they go in the bin.

- Call me after a viewing. Last Saturday we viewed 2 properties with an EA who just abandoned us to go on another viewing and never even had the decency to call us and a) apologise, or ask what we thought of the properties. Therefore we don't call this estate agent.

- Add a floor plan and add all the pictures of the properties. No pictures makes me not call in at all, one picture only makes me thing it's a waste of time viewing it as there must be something really wrong with it (if it was great, the estate agent would promote it as such). These go in the bin.

- Advertise on Rightmove - I work full time and only have the weekends to view etc, so looking on one site rather than dozens is really helpful.

- LAST but not least - TELL ME about the local area you're suggesting I live in! I may be re-locating from somewhere completely different. Consider the target age group for the property and at the very least mention there is a Tesco nearby or a newsagent. Rather than saying the overused 'close to amenities', look at https://www.upmystreet.co.uk with the relevant postcode for the street and in a few seconds, full local details will be available to add to the colour particular. This will enormously help anyone interested in that property... We are FTB, nice to know re: Blockbuster, nice trendy bars, Sainsburys, local buses/trains for commuters etc

Hope this helps

Sophie

Doozergirl

Sorry, OT, but EagerLearner, properties at £125k are often priced to be knocked down to £120k It's always worth making an offer you know