should I ditch the EA?

henpecked1

We instruted our agent 2 weeks ago and he is a really nice man.

Over the past 2 weeks we have had three viewings, not the surge i was hoping for.

I have driven past his window in the local town and found our house is not in there. The EA only advertises every 2 weeks in the main paid for newspaper but even then he has 6 properties, so whilst mine was featured last week (1 viewer resulting) i am thinking it will be a long time before I get mine in that premium paper again. I have agreed 1.75% which is premium.

I dont want the house to be on the market for ages if the marketing is going to be slow. So on that basis, should i opt for an EA who advertises every week without fail a large selection of properties.

Also, the village we live in neighbours a very small town which has a few EA. We are 7 miles from a large town (Newbury) so I am wondering whether I should consider footfall and appoint an agent in the main town rather than the small town.... any ideas?

V.Lucky

I don't think many potential buyers just scour the newspapers these days. Internet is the way to go.

What websites do they advertise on?

henpecked1

rightmove and their own.

Blackpool_Saver

are you willing to post a link to your rightmove addy?

googler

henpecked1 wrote: »

...Over the past 2 weeks we have had three viewings, not the surge i was hoping for.

I have driven past his window in the local town and found our house is not in there. The EA only advertises every 2 weeks in the main paid for newspaper but even then he has 6 properties, so whilst mine was featured last week (1 viewer resulting) i am thinking it will be a long time before I get mine in that premium paper again. I have agreed 1.75% which is premium.

I dont want the house to be on the market for ages if the marketing is going to be slow. So on that basis, should i opt for an EA who advertises every week without fail a large selection of properties.

We're in a recession, and the papers are full of articles about how difficult it is for homebuyers to get lending........ how many did you expect in the first two weeks?

What did you agree in terms of press advertising? Are you paying for a slot in his advert? Are other clients paying to go in the adverts? If not, there's a finite limit on what the agent can spend on advertising.

henpecked1

some agents locally rent 2 pages and feature 30 ads, so more exposre elsewhere is better?

googler

Didn't everyone suggest you revise your kitchen photo in another thread..... more than 2 weeks ago?

googler

henpecked1 wrote: »

some agents locally rent 2 pages and feature 30 ads, so more exposre elsewhere is better?

If those agents bill their clients for the adverts, would you be willing to pay for your inclusion in the advert?

keith969

I guess the problem is that, lovely house though it is, you are in the middle of nowhere and your property will only suit a certain type of person. Its a bit of a trek from Reading or Swindon, the main employment centres in the area, and how far away is the nearest school / supermarket?

So quite honestly 3 viewings in 2 weeks isn't that bad. What about going with multiple agents, you may get better coverage and more viewings?

stokesley

googler wrote: »

Didn't everyone suggest you revise your kitchen photo in another thread..... more than 2 weeks ago?

Yep, move the bread bin, thing sticking out behind it, and all the other bits and pieces, then get the EA back to take a better shot. We did just that when we weren't happy with EA photographs. Most of them really should take a training course in how to quickly present a room better - we've seen some amazing shots of interiors, full of junk, family pets and God knows what else. One man's cat is another man's Marmite...

Doozergirl

I'd remove the kitchen pic altogether. It's probably the weakest point rather thn one of the strongest but your house is cute, I'd view it if I were looking for something like that.

I really don't think that three viewings in two weeks at the back end of August is that bad. The last two weeks of August are supposed to be traditionally the quietest in almost the whole year!

It does take time to build momentum as well anyway so I'd always give it five days from photos etc to expect anything much at all.