Design your dream Estate Agency.

Estate_Agent

Hi guys,

Time to stick my neck on the line and ask for your help. I'm a new estate agent - week nine now! - and want to steer the company I am now working for in the right direction. I have some ideas and some previous experience of property but need your help.

The question is, what would your dream estate agent do? We have to make a living, so 0% fees aren't really an option, but any ideas, no matter how odd, would be appreciated.

Have fun, use your imagination and let me know how much better we could be.

Cheers.

ModernSlave

Estate_Agent wrote: »

Hi guys,

Time to stick my neck on the line and ask for your help. I'm a new estate agent - week nine now! - and want to steer the company I am now working for in the right direction. I have some ideas and some previous experience of property but need your help.

The question is, what would your dream estate agent do? We have to make a living, so 0% fees aren't really an option, but any ideas, no matter how odd, would be appreciated.

Have fun, use your imagination and let me know how much better we could be.

Cheers.

Just regarding sales or are you doing lettings too?

Estate_Agent

We only deal with sales, however we have partnered with a very good and well established local letting agency in order to share office costs and cross refer where appropriate. Any lettings ideas would be well recieved.

DVardysShadow

Deal with my pet hate - when potential buyers come in, listen to what they want and don't try to recategorise them to price bands.

Mr & Mrs Shadow: We would like a detached house. There are only 2 of us, so 3 bedrooms are fine and Mrs Shadow does not want to clean an en-suite or a Jack and Jill bathroom. Down stairs accommodation is important, separate lounge and dining room , hopefully a utility and some workshop space so Mr Shadow is not always trolling the internet. Downstairs space is far more important to us than upstairs space.
Young EA fool: How much do you want to spend?
Mr & Mrs S: We don't want to focus on that, we want to see what you have that meets the spec
YEAF: OK, we have a wide selection which meets your requirements, how much would you spend?
Mr & Mrs S: Really, let us just see what you have, please.
YEAF: But there is no point in me giving you details for houses which are above or below your means
[several more iterations, then reluctantly, we name a price]
Mr & Mrs S: Having stated that price, it is the specification we want.
YEAF: [emerges from filing cabinet, with details] Have a look at <address>, which is in your price range. It has 5 bedrooms, an ensuite a Jack and Jill bathroom a through lounge diner and an integral garage.
Mr & Mrs S: Thank you.

[I have done this one here before]

Cannon_Fodder

Well, getting back to people who make a simple information request, at all (not expecting anything radical like within 24 hours), would be nice.

Not lying.

Not wittering on about how usable the space is, even though you agree its not big enough.

Admit you have no more idea on valuations than the rest of us.


"let me know how much better we could be" - its only the expenses/lobbying/lying of politicians keeping you off the bottom spot.

Estate_Agent

Thanks so far.

Shadow - I already do what you suggest. There seems little point to me in trying to sell someone an orange when they want an apple. The right house will sell itself to a buyer. I want to gain some degree of credibility for myself - an oxymoron I know being an estate agent - and not waste time for both myself and the applicants by doing a pointless viewing.

Cannon Fodder - if the space isn't big enough I'll agree. I have someone who doesn't want small pokey bedrooms. So I'm not talking to her about houses with box rooms. Its common sense to me, but I do appreciate that it isn't to a lot of agents.

I happy to be whinged at, it helps me determine if we are on the right track. But beyond this, what else can I do? Would it be easier to list what we already do and what I plan to do?

rl290

I must admit, I was thinking about this the other day, and my opinion was (sorry OP) that I cannot see any use in estate agents for property sales. Instead, why not just have online services the connect buyers and sellers. In return for not paying a big fee, the home owner just has to conduct viewings themselves... which can be far more preferable.

I don't know about you, but I do all my property searching online through the big 3 websites (rightmove, findaproperty and primelocation).. why pay an EA just to take pictures and put them online.

R

rl290

(should add, would be interesting to hear what value you think estate agents add?)

Errata

Read up on Roy Brooks - famous and infamous London estate agent in th 60's and 70's. His property ads verged on the libellous and consequently attracted many readers, a stampede of viewers and shifted shedloads of houses.

Estate_Agent

Only being in my ninth week I have seen that the amount of work done behind the scenes is far more than I had guessed at. From dealing with solicitors and explaining the associated jargon to the vendor, keeping track of the chain, instructing HIPs and professional photographers, money laundering requirements, and general handholding.

I agree that in time we will be buying property online more frequently, but at the moment vendors still seem to want to use the services of someone who knows what they are doing. And yes I know that in most peoples opinion most agents don't know what they're doing.

scooter_chick

As a buyer - show up on time for viewings. Please! If I've travelled to the town I'm looking in, you know what - your property isn't the only one I'm seeing that day. I've got a schedule as well as you & I want to spend the time I've got for your property looking at the inside of it, not kicking my heels on the pavement outside.

Once I'm inside. Yes, I can see it's a living room. Yes, I can see it's a kitchen. Do you think I earn £enough-to-get-a-mortgate-for-this-place by being totally dumb? Tell me something interesting. (Strangely, the houses I've liked best have mostly been vendor-led viewings - why not ask the vendor what the good things about the property are if you need something to say...)