McEwan Fraser Legal Estate Agent good to sell?

lizzy2mellow

Has anyone used McEwan Fraser Legal to sell their house?

I am in the Scottish Borders and their presence seems to begrowing with big radio adds giving a strong impression that they can get abetter market price but cost more to use…

I am just looking for honest reviews from people who havesold with them. Are they reasonable/fees/quickness etc. Do you get what you payfor?

I have heard horror stories from friends who have used otherEstate agencies, paid lots of money for advertising etc which was very poor andhad hardly any viewings over quite a long period of time. I my certainly not desperateto sell my property but would like to think it would sell within 3-6 months nowthe market seems to be picking up pace quite quickly.
Thanks Lizzy

BitterAndTwisted

No agent "can get a better market-price" as it's the market which decides on the price, not the vendor nor the agent.

What you are seeking is an agent who will market the property properly and at the right guide-price so you get the maximum exposure.

How many properties has this agent sold in your area in the last three months?

lizzy2mellow

Hi, I am really looking for an agent that can offer good service for the price they charge, and can get me a decent price at the same time. They seem to be giving a great impression in their own advertising but I am wondering if this is proven with peoples own experiences of them. I really don't know how many houses they will have actually sold, where could I find that out?

When I bought my own house 7 years ago I realised that the selling agent has actually done a really poor job of presenting the house to buyers (which I guess worked in my favour as I got a lot more than I initially thought) but obviously don't want this to happen to me.
My friends agents just don't seem to put a lot of effort into their adds and I actually thought about marketing my house myself as I feel I could probably do a much better job. But then again I don't want to mess anything up so given McEwan sound so good at what they do I would probably been inclined to go with them, that's if what they say is true.
I've never sold before and it's scary not knowing what's the best thing to do. That's why I really value personal experiences.
Thanks Lizzy

googler

Most of the readership here will be in E&W, and are unlikely to have heard of a single solicitor firm operating in the Edinburgh market, and the remainder of this post probably won't mean too much to them.

You need to ask yourself where your prospective buyers will be looking. You're in the Borders, so I would imagine your buyers' first port of call will be the BSPC, either in print or via their website. However the firm named above is a member of the ESPC. There's no value in being in the ESPC if your local buyers' first reaction is "I couldn't find you in the BSPC"

How many properties have they got for sale in The Borders? Are they willing to do the viewings for you, since you're removed from their central market? What do you think of their presentation on the properties they have listed already? There's no value in knowing how many they've sold in the last three months if they haven't sold anything in your area. Also, do you really want to going into central Edinburgh to meet your solicitor, sign papers, etc etc? Wouldn't it be more convenient to stay local?

Of course they sound good in their adverts, that's what advertising is for....

lizzy2mellow

On their website they say they got estate agent of the year Scotland and UK. But I haven't known anyone with a personal experience. They are growing in the Borders with 10 new posts advertised recently, which I can only assume means they are getting a lot more business. I have heard alot of negative stuff about some other local agents so put off. But torn on who to use.

googler

lizzy2mellow wrote: »

On their website they say they got estate agent of the year Scotland and UK.

All that generally means is that they were judged best out of those who entered the competition. There could well be better out there, but because they didn't enter for the same awards, they weren't considered.

The judges won't look at EVERY agency in the UK ...

MobileSaver

lizzy2mellow wrote: »

Has anyone used McEwan Fraser Legal to sell their house?

I am in the Scottish Borders

I don't think there's any argument that the majority of buyers these days use the web as their first port of call for house buying so, as pointed out by googler, if your property won't appear on the BSPC site then McEwan Fraser would appear to be a very poor choice.

googler

... and of course, if you do hire this 'award-winning' agency, I'm sure we'd all like to hear how your experience pans out....

Here's what the entrants did to be considered, lifted from the organiser's website at http://estateagencyevents.com/lettings/faq.html - I've presumed the process for letting and sales agencies to be the same - note that none if it involves any reference to or consultation with past or present clients of the agencies concerned -

"How do I enter the Lettings/Estate Agency of the Year Awards and what is involved?

Entering the Lettings/Estate Agency of the Year Awards is a simple process and in fact we have made it even simpler in 2014 than ever before. First you need to register online for the categories that you would like to enter. You can enter as many categories as you like. Once registered you will receive access to your relevant questionnaires. The questionnaires will need to completed and emailed to us along with your supporting material by 2nd May 2014. There is a 1500 word limit on each submission to help make the entry process simple. You will receive confirmation when your submission has been received.

What is in involved with the judging?

The judges will review your submitted questionnaire and supporting material. Your nominated contact provided within the questionnaire, will be contacted for a telephone interview with one of our panel of judges between the 16th May and the 30th May 2014. You can provide 2 points of contact. This generally takes between 15 and 20 minutes. The judge will discuss your submission in more detail and if necessary ask additional information relevant to your category. Mystery shopping exercises will also be undertaken to help prove or refute your claims."

sandy0

Hi
I sold my house with MF last year, after looking in to lots of others and had dealings with Leslie Deans (worse than useless) I went with MF we did get a sale after 6 weeks 10k under the home report but that’s my discussion to take or leave it.
When the agent came round (ex-pro footballer, says it all) he was all talk and gold chain any problems call me day or night! Yeh right...
Keep an eye on the schedule, the problems I had with bad English wrong details, price not correct on the espc was 10 fold, a very stressful time, no apologies about all the mistakes but plenty of attitude, we were treated with such disrespect and stupidity ( both professional couple working in the media ) as if we new nothing about anything never mind basic copy!
Pro photographers don’t think so ended up taking some of my own as his were not up to scratch.
Would I use again, not sure…time is a great healer.
But I thing they are all as bad or as good as each other.
As for the property awards don’t make my laugh, awards organized and voted on by the legal and property community of Scotland.

alisonb1965

No they won't get you a better price and I would recommend that you go with a local solicitors firm who knows the area and the local market.

McEwan Fraser are more expensive than other firms and definitely not any better, they have a marketing department to deal with their awards entries that smaller firms don't have.

I work in a solicitor/estate agency in Edinburgh and McEwan Fraser are notoriously difficult to deal with, they leave everything until the week before settlement and if problems arise it can cause delays in settlement.

unknown-adw

I hope this doesn't come too late for you but please don't use McEwan Fraser. I tried to sell my property through them but have had nothing but problems over 6+ months - they hit us with undisclosed fees throughout the process and apart from that communication is bad to non-existant, unexplained delays at every stage of the process. They did get plenty of viewers in, which often seemed to happen just after I'd complained, and some of them appeared to me not to be genuine (of course I can't prove that, but it is my opinion). I do know for sure that they've failed to follow up on some viewing enquiries, and rarely get feedback from viewers, and that they've offered us exactly none of the promised advice with regard to changing asking price etc. to help the property sell. Happy to take your money and couldn't care less about the service they provide.

They also handled the purchase of our new place and turned it into a hugely stressful expereince - phonecalls and emails unanswered and we got far more information and support from the selling solicitors. One of the most unprofessional companies I've ever dealt with and I wish I'd never heard of them.