The Modern Estate Agent - What do you want?

jivebunny

He's removed all he's details. The only one promoting his business now is you.

It seemed a fair question.

The 3 estate agents in my area charged 1% + VAT. Seemed ok.

I don't want that much from my estate agent so long as they advertise it on rightmove, act as a rebound wall for buyer questions to bounce away any pushy tactics, take good pictures (and will update them with mine if I send them better one's from when the sun is out), are honest and don't come across as bull sh*tters and blaggers.

I wouldn't consider using an internet based one.

Tixy

Living in a rural mid size market town I would never consider an internet agent, vast majority of houses sold in the area are to people who are local (I would also only choose an agent who does use right move as well).

For me price isn't the most important thing, yes its a factor but I would also base my decision on the EA and how they acted when they came to intitially view my property and on looking at the quality of their brochures/photos and the adverts they put in the local paper.

Recent example of 3 agents visiting a property for the first time
1 - owner of long established independant agent - mid 50s steady reliable kind of bloke
2 - employee of chain of estate agents - male, 30s, stereotypical 'shiny suit' estate agent. Indiscreet, mentioned other properties and his opinions on their owners.
3 - employee of regional chain of estate agents - female, late 20s, very enthusiastic, came across as professional and interested in the property and area.

No prizes for guessing 3 got the job, and I would warn anyone local away from number 2's firm.

Kendall85

DVardysShadow wrote: »

You are being jumped on for being a borderline spammer, not for being an estate agent.

Anyone who appears on this site with a hint of a selling agenda for anything gets jumped on. regardless of their product.

There are a number of professionals on various parts of the site - the Housing Forum has probably more than most other Forums on the site. Generally, they join in discussion on a peer basis and give advice where they can. They also give more than they take, although I am sure they all feel that it is worth the effort for having an ear to the ground on issues which arise in their area of expertise.

Hi there,

Whilst I do not wish to antagonise the situation further I have to query how what I have posted is deemed as 'SPAM'.

I have joined in discussions previously to offer advice and help.
Take yesterday for example I posted in a thread where somebody was selling in Bedford, I did my best to offer advice to the person asking.

But like I say I'm not here to argue with people on the internet, I'm just asking for what people would like to see from a modern estate agent, provide a better service myself and any other professionals reading can also take it on board.

Thanks

J.

Kendall85

evoke wrote: »

Jeez.

Cut the guy some slack. He is an EA after all... lol.

Anyway, I think a fair fee would be 1% to 1.5% of the final purchase price and it shouldn't go up for multiple agency listings.

Internet EAs are a load of guff - nothing beats a friendly, proactive, local EA who always answers the phone, replies to your emails quickly and gives you regular status updates. The personal touch from someone displaying a bit of niceness can't be beaten.

I was satisfied with the EA who sold my property. The scumbag EA who wasted weeks of my time is another story though.

And EAs shouldn't use the trick of charging £100 for an EPC and the EPC guy turns out to be a photographer. This is effectively paying the photographer a fee as the work involved in getting the data for an EPC is minimal.

Forget advice on YouTube - as an EA you should provide advice based on the seller's situation and their property. There is no one size fits all advice. And please get people to remove personal effects before photos are taken.

Most important things for me (with hindsight) were integrity (or the impressions of integrity), regular updates via phone call, meetings and email. The feeling that the EA was on my side and clarity about everything - in other words, direct answers to direct questions, even when the answer wasn't what I wanted to hear.

Hi There,

Thanks for taking the time to respond.

It is really interesting to see how internet agents are percieved some people think they are great, others do not.

I think the general opinion is perhaps that if you live in an affluent area and your property is in good condition an internet estate agent will save you money.

The High Street Estate agent will serve you better if perhaps your property isnt in the above catagory as you'd like to think they would be phoning their register of existing clients.

Regarding the Youtube video advice it was simply going to be what to do and what not to do (as you stated re: Personal effects).

Thanks again.

J.

Kendall85

PJD wrote: »

Fair fee:
Is there really a massive difference to the amount of work involved in selling a 200k property than an 800k one? I've never understood why agents will charge so much more to sell a more expensive house. Both my adverts for my £200k Lamborghini, and my £4k Ford Fiesta on Autotrader, cost me exactly the same amount of money to advertise.

I have dealt with a fair few estate agents, and I hated dealing with all of them bar one. I know one EA who has only been in the business for a relatively short period of time, and I have always found him to be very honest, very knowledgable, and always offered a balanced view, - not one sway by whatever edgender he had at the time.

Free advice vids - yes, good idea.

Most important aspect when selecting will be a balance of fees and service. No point paying nex

Hi There,

Thanks for taking the time to respond.

re: fees. I think it depends on the property in question a 200K 3 Bedroom semi on an estate isn't going to require as much time and effort as a 800K Grade II Listed Farmhouse in the middle of nowhere. - However, I don't believe (if we are going on a basis of 1.5%+VAT) that it should cost another £6000.

I think its a very easy job to do badly and as you say you've not had great experiences with other agents bar the one you last used.

Thanks for your comments.

J.

googler

Kendall85 wrote: »

re: fees. I think it depends on the property in question a 200K 3 Bedroom semi on an estate isn't going to require as much time and effort as a 800K Grade II Listed Farmhouse in the middle of nowhere. - However, I don't believe (if we are going on a basis of 1.5%+VAT) that it should cost another £6000.

What do you think it should cost?

What charging model or structure do you propose?

DVardysShadow

Kendall85 wrote: »

Hi there,

Whilst I do not wish to antagonise the situation further I have to query how what I have posted is deemed as 'SPAM'.

I have joined in discussions previously to offer advice and help.
Take yesterday for example I posted in a thread where somebody was selling in Bedford, I did my best to offer advice to the person asking.

But like I say I'm not here to argue with people on the internet, I'm just asking for what people would like to see from a modern estate agent, provide a better service myself and any other professionals reading can also take it on board.

Thanks

J.

Spam is very much in the eye of the beholder. You joined in November 2010, with your own mortgage problem. Now here you are, an Estate Agent. You post once or twice with some advice in Feb and the same again last night.. And here you are now, with your links on your profile and it turns out that the person you were helping lives in your area, of all the 'review my right move listing' posts we get here week after week.

Now many here are bombarded with spam day in day out, by phone, fax, post, email and web browsing. This site is not immune. We get morons selling stolen credit card details, dodgy phones. We get spam drivel bots which scrape text from the rest of the internet and post it here with the intention of raising their privileges to provide links in posts - or just drivel to provide a link in their profile. Fortunately, it gets jumped on and removed. Now perhaps you will get the idea that this site is spam intolerant.

In fact, I can see some merit in what you are proposing with your survey. But as MissMotivation says, this is a thread which will end badly. I am trying to give you a clear picture of where you stand on this site. The responses you have received on this thread show that you are right on the edge between rejection and acceptance. And somehow, the survey approach is the naffest marketing of all

If there is any intent for self promotion here, please just leave. If you don't want to self promote, can I suggest you start with a new ID, no links and no way to get to your website.

Kendall85

DVardysShadow wrote: »

Spam is very much in the eye of the beholder. You joined in November 2010, with your own mortgage problem. Now here you are, an Estate Agent. You post once or twice with some advice in Feb and the same again last night.. And here you are now, with your links on your profile and it turns out that the person you were helping lives in your area, of all the 'review my right move listing' posts we get here week after week.

Now many here are bombarded with spam day in day out, by phone, fax, post, email and web browsing. This site is not immune. We get morons selling stolen credit card details, dodgy phones. We get spam drivel bots which scrape text from the rest of the internet and post it here with the intention of raising their privileges to provide links in posts - or just drivel to provide a link in their profile. Fortunately, it gets jumped on and removed. Now perhaps you will get the idea that this site is spam intolerant.

In fact, I can see some merit in what you are proposing with your survey. But as MissMotivation says, this is a thread which will end badly. I am trying to give you a clear picture of where you stand on this site. The responses you have received on this thread show that you are right on the edge between rejection and acceptance. And somehow, the survey approach is the naffest marketing of all

If there is any intent for self promotion here, please just leave. If you don't want to self promote, can I suggest you start with a new ID, no links and no way to get to your website.

Hi There,

- I think you and some others are over-reacting I apologised for the Link and Location and duly removed them.

- Re: the thread ending badly I have to disagree, there has been a good reception there are only a few that seem to want to bring negativity into the thread and derail it.

- I see your point about the spam bots etc, but still I'm merely asking for peoples opinions, no Links, no sales.

- I don't see why I should leave or make another account because a few people saw it fit to shoot before asking.

I'd like to set the record straight;
As you stated I joined in November with a mortgage query this was due to me googling the subject and MSE providing a link with someone with a similar query.

I had chipped in a few times previously but at the time was working full time 6 days a week (+Extra) and didn't afford the luxury of sitting in front of a computer for prolonged periods of time.

I now own my own business and was simply asking for well informed opinions and advice based on experience.
Is it so bad I want to provide people with a good, honest and innovative service?
How many threads do you see on here with Agent X doesn't do this, Agent Y Charged me this etc..

I'd very much like to be a part of this community, help people and change perceptions of the industry.

Can we get back on topic please?

Thanks

J.

Kendall85

googler wrote: »

What do you think it should cost?

What charging model or structure do you propose?

Hi There,

The charging model I follow is a set fee no matter the value.
Estate Agency is very different from how it used to be, it is very much reliant on the internet as is most of the retail market.

On the high street however it entirely depends on what the agent proposes to do for the fee.
If it is as simple as List on Rightmove, List in the Local Paper and call the existing client register then I believe 1% is more than enough for a property at 800K.

However there are agents that provide regional marketing across computer linked offices, a London Link, Open Days and Professional Photographs.

Ultimately it is what the vendor is prepared to pay for.

I hope that answers your question.

Thanks

J.

nearlyrich

My pet gripe about EA is the dodgy pics they use, get a professional in for heaven's sake!

also don't tell complete porkers if you don't know say so and find out.