Can I change Estate Agents??

MAYFLOWERS

Hi

I have had my house up for sale for a few weeks and I know I/m impatient but I have only had one viewing - I have seen a house I want to buy but obviously can/t do anything until I sell mine!

The Estate Agent who has my property sold it in three days last year but the market has changed and I am a little concerened that it is not being marketed as well as it could be - for example it is on a corner plot, it is a lot bigger than it looks from the outside and it has lovely views from the back window - only small points I know but they don/t seem to include details like this which I/ve noticed other agents do! Does this matter??

Also I have signed a sole agency agreement - can i still change agents???

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

theGrinch

firstly speaking to your agent and see what their plan is to sell your property. agree a strategy with them. consider selling it yourself using the local paper and the net. there is nothing stopping you doing this while you have an agent working on it.

as a last result and if the contract allows then consider multiple agency, but I am not sure if this will help.

BrixMorta

I’m afraid the market is quite different to last year. The only property selling within 3 or 4 weeks of coming on to the market are those that are competitively priced & I dont mean a couple of grand less than the others. There is so much choice out there for the few genuine buyers that they naturally sway towards the best priced houses. As an example, 3 bed semi’s on for £195k are actually changing hands between £182k and £185k. You will sell your home quickly but only if you can come to terms with this. Pass the drop onto the property your buying and if they wont take it find someone who will.

Your contract will be watertight, check how long it’s for and give formal notice at least 2 weeks before the end of the agreement. As previous post suggests, talk to your agent, they may be prepared to come to some arrangement. Perhaps a Dual agency with another agent in the town where by they split the fee.

mini

I am in a similar position to you, one viewing in 5 weeks I have already chosen 3 houses I want to move into to....

We are signed into a no minimum period contract, worth checking what yours says? Also may be worth asking your estate agent what they can do to help your house sell, is it in their shop indow front? Does your local paper have some featured houses with more info than the rest with interior pictures too? ACn your house be one of those? Do your house details sound as attractive as you would wish them to? Do they feature some interior pics? The idea is surely to tempt people into wanting to see more.

Best of luck

mini

divadee

when i first chose my estate agents a couple of years ago, i researched well and picked what i thought was the best one (not necessary the cheapest). After 2 weeks had not had one viewing, nor a phone call this was when the housing market was going stupid so thought it odd, i called the agent pretending to be a mother looking for flats for her son, outlined the money and what sort of thing (not exactly my flat as that would of been obvious) and do you know they didnt once offer me my flat :eek: they said all they had was a one bedroom flat at 100k or a 2 bedrrom house at £130k nothing in between. i think they must of forgotten about my 2 bedroom flat at £116,950 then hadnt they.

I went storming down there angry as hell and got them to rip up the contract i had with then there and then. still had a few weeks left to run, but i said its either that or i sue them for breech of contract as they are not marketing my property. they choose to rip it up as they knew i was right.

The excuse they gave was they had just forgotten about my property at the time. I wanted to know how many other people who called had they forgotten to tell about my flat.

Went to different agent straight away and signed with them had a phone call when i got home and said they had 3 viewings lined up

I would check your agents slyly if you can and check they havent forgotten about you.

bert

Your house isn't selling because you are asking too much for it in todays market.

Keep in mind we are at the crest of a house price crash.

frugal_dougal_3

bert wrote:

Keep in mind we are at the crest of a house price crash.

bert,

I am challenging you to put a time scale on it !

dougk_2

bert -

All your messages are short and you don't explain your reasoning. Perhaps you can enlighten us on your reasons for being on the crest of a crash and like F_D has said when and by how much..........

Secondly how do you know MAYFLOWERS house is being marketed at too high a price - she hasn't told us the price or the area for a start!

The market HAS picked up in the Reading area for example and despite the fact our buyers pulled out we have had 6 viewers in 3 days adverstising it at the same price as before xmas.

Mayflowers - Take a look at rightmove, fish4homes etc and see what else is available in your area that is similar to your property and see how yours compares. Also search for sold and under offer houses and see who the estate agents are and if there is a common theme. Also check with your agents and ask for stats from their web advertising. Ours produce a monthly sheet showing how many views our property had on the rightmove website, how many telephone enquires they had etc.

Also look at other house adverts, see what attracts you to them and see if you can word something you think would attract viewers. Then gp see your EA and ask them to reword their material to include your ideas - I know it sounds like you are doing their work for them , but it may help!

Wicker_Man_3

Even within an estate agent you are dependant on the particular negotiator assigned to your property. If you are not happy, go in and have words.

Before that, be devil's advocate. Look at the details sheet they sent you. Are you happy with the description and photo's? A friend of mine is an amateur photographer. He thought the photos taken of his house were ghastly. Thus he staged the house for the best shots, and picked a bright day for the external shot, all done with a 35 mm SLR. He then got me to scan the best photos and took a CD to the estate agent and told them to use the ones he provided.

The difference in the detail brochure (and Rightmove) was staggering, and he sold within a week.

frugal_dougal_3

I agree Wicker Man.
And why do so many agents take pictures of houses with cars, vans and motorhomes stuck in front of them ?


****Please check your Pm Wicker Man**********

frugal_dougal_3

I agree Wicker Man.
And why do so many agents take pictures of houses with cars, vans and motorhomes stuck in front of them ?


****Please check your Pm Wicker Man**********