Estate agents!

QuidProQuo

Ask them what are their opening hours and do they have different staff working weekends.

There are some fixed fee agents in my area who are renowned for having different staff at weekends who don't have a clue about properties that are available.

Ask how they vet interested parties and once an offer is received and subsequently accepted would they continue to market the property until you decide otherwise.

How often can you expect your property to be pictured in the newspapers?, do they advertise on the internet?

If you want them to conduct viewings how many agents do they have available to do so and what days/times are they available for viewings?

margaret_3

These are super replies and will help me also. However, I have one question that I would like answered please.
We only have three estate agents here---two of them established and one only here since last month. However, the new one is part of a nationwide chain and the other two are just local though they advertise on the internet.
Who do I go with?
Many thanks for any help.
Margaret

mini

margaret wrote:

These are super replies and will help me also. However, I have one question that I would like answered please.
We only have three estate agents here---two of them established and one only here since last month. However, the new one is part of a nationwide chain and the other two are just local though they advertise on the internet.
Who do I go with?
Many thanks for any help.
Margaret

I'd repeat theabove advic, I have been in a very similar position to you only we have 3 local agents & 1 new one, I visited them al, got house details, chatted with them, one shop I couldn't even open the door of & presumed it was closed, later transpired the door does that Get quotes from them all, give them very little information of what the other agents have valued at, don't just go with the highest price. I agree with the previous poster who said to see who was enthusiastic over your house. I found 2 of the local estate agentsdidn't seem to have a clue, one sent me a letter about valuing my home with another house valuation on:mad:

ask other people you know locally if they have sold recently, or sometimes they know of people who have. We are paying )0.75 commission excluding VAT, should be more but I bounced the commissions from one to another to see who would bite then asked the preferred agent to match it.

I would also suggest picking up house details from the estate agents & checking the quality of photos, some are awful! and also how they lay out house details inside, do they display internal pictures on the displays, some don't, do they have internal pics on their individual house details & website?

Having observed or newer local agent who has opened up, I thought they offered a poor service, I asked for house details & never got them after 3 requests but they do seemt to be advertising a lot to define their existence & selling more than other agents.

Good luck!

mini

margaret_3

Thanks a lot mini. You have been most helpful.
I have only seen the new lot so far and he asked how long I had been in the house and how much I had originally paid for it.
We live in a row of about 14 bungalows and none have been sold for a long time so it will be difficult for new people to value them.
It's quite a problem.

mini

Hi again Margaret,

I'd say to get valuations from the other estate agents, see waht they come up with & consider how much you need to gain from the sale to enable you to move where you want to.

Do you know of any similar bungalows nearby, or does the estate agent, if you can find some, you could alwasy have a look at this website http://www.nethouseprices.com/ and you can search to see how much similar properties have sold for, of course the price may vary greatly depending on condition & location etc, it's still good for a nosey though!

mini