Choosing an estate agent

arachne

I completely agree with Hazyjo - go see a similar property with the estate agents you're interested in as a potential viewer and see how good they are at selling to you/how much they know about the property etc.

In relation to the small independents/big chains debate - I don't think it's that clear cut. The house we're buying is with a small independent and they have been AWFUL. I hate ringing them because they're so patronising on the phone; they are completely uncommunicative and had absolutely no interest in keeping the sale together when we nearly pulled out the purchase. However, they did do a pretty good viewing. We've also been shocked by the rubbishness and general lack of interest from two other small independents selling houses we've made offers on, as we expected them to be better than chains.

On the other hand, we sold through a large local chain. On the viewings I sat in on, they were completely useless and did nothing to sell our property to the viewers. However, they got feedback after every viewing (something none of the independents have asked us for as buyers) and after we'd had an offer, they negotiated it up for us without us even turning the initial offers down and kept a good relationship with the buyer throughout the time between offer and exchange. Another large local chain have also been really good with keeping us informed about properties that match our requirements (although they have tried to sell their mortgage service to us on every viewing, which has been very irritating).

If I were to sell again, I would go for the cheapest one, as long as their office staff didn't talk down to you on the phone. Most estate agents I've had contact with over the last year of selling/buying have not been worth their fees so you may as well pay as little as possible. The main thing is that they advertise on rightmove and that they do accompanied viewings (if you don't want to do your own).

flora48

Has anyone had experience of using an on-line estate agency? I have looked at House Network, they seem to advertise on all the usual websites. I have found the estate agent on my recent sale to be reluctant to to accompanied viewings and eventually charged over £4K for doing what seemed very little. If a seller is willing to conduct viewing are these on-line agencies worth a go?

timmyt

RedfordML wrote: »

timmyt,

Any idea of how I can get a list of Independant EA in my local area, is there a website/directory which I can access IEA details?

no such luck. but the point is simple, avoid national chained agencies. Family ones or ones with a country set of offices is fine, as they really do provide top notch service as their local reputation is crucial.

where are you based and I will go on Rightmove and make some suggestions?

sonastin

timmyt wrote: »

as their local reputation is crucial

...only works if a) they are a long-established firm with a deliberately cultivated reputation - as many EAs are fly-by-night operations and b) it is the same people driving the firm as the people who set up the reputation - "under new management" could see the good rep going up in smoke quickly.

Much better to look at them through a buyers eyes. If you like the style of their ads and the places you see them adverstising, give 'em a call as a buyer. If you like the way they treat you when they're trying to sell to you, chances are your buyers will like dealing with them as well. Then make sure they offer what you want - e.g. will they show people round if you don't want to, will they get feedback for you, etc.

And if all else fails, go for the cheapest!

avenida

I live in Northern Ireland and we dont use rightmove, mostly propertynews or propertypal. I have found on one of these websites stats on estate agents (in my area),

So out of all the houses each agent has on the market:

The 2 dearest agents have sold a total of 48 houses
The cheapest one has sold 18
Then the other 3 have sold between 1 and 23

The dearest agents charge £200 to put house on market and 1% + Vat in selling fees

The cheapest charge £175 to put house on market and between £500 - £1500 in selling fees (depends on sold price of house) its like price bands

rilou81

Is it an Irish thing to charge to put the house on the market? Mever heard of it in the UK.

avenida

rilou81 wrote: »

Is it an Irish thing to charge to put the house on the market? Mever heard of it in the UK.

We are part of the UK but yes all the agents in Northern Ireland do it, not sure about southern Ireland I think its so they still make money if vendors take house off market

Russell123

It's not right to say that online estate agents should be avoided because 'they don't do accompanied viewings'. MOST High Street agents don't either. Go online. You will save literally thousands. Try these eMoov.co.uk

timgallon

I am about to market my property using an online EA (Hatched).

If it all works out i will save a lot of money (£4.5K on the worst local EA qoute i got).

I know i will have to do all my viewings but im comfortable with this and have the time as i am out of work at the moment.

Incyder

I put my house on the market last May and accepted an offer in June.

I knew I would be wanting to sell about a year earlier, so in that year i watched carefully what agents boards were going up in my area and who was getting the most SOLD signs up.

It was blindingly obvious that my towns two newest independant agents were getting about 70% between them. The big fat lazy boys such as Allen and Harris were being trounced.

When I decided to sell I invited the 2 independant agents to my house, seperately, for an interview.

Based on that interview and my feelings about what each one had to say, I chose one. They both charged 1.5% + vat.

One of the deciding factors in who got my business was that agent 1 had two similar houses to mine on his books already, and agent 2 had twelve similar to mine.
I therefore concluded that agent 1 would give my house more priority and push it harder. I was correct, they did.

Both agents are well known and well respected where I live. I think we have a total of 12 agents in my town.

They did all the viewings (5 in total)
They did list my house on rightmove which is essential I think.

When I signed the contract it was for 3 months only so they did not try and tie me in for long which is good.

They both valued my house at 130k with a view to getting a 125k offer (stamp duty threshhold)
Indeed they were correct, the first offer was for 123.5 which I refused, they then upped it to 125 which I accepted.
I had hoped for 127.5 but that just wasn't going to happen becuase of stamp duty on top.

I would score my agent 100/100 for their service, attitude, knowledge, politeness, efficiency.