Selling: How to choose an Estate Agent?

Chelsea__Thomas

Hi All,

I wondered how everyone chooses an Estate Agent to sell their property?
Any advice?

Thank you!

DaftyDuck

I ask them to come and view the property. Any wearing pointy shoes or sufficient perfume to get Herr Blix out of retirement gets short shrift. I ask for their appraisal, valuation, terms and conditions of sale, commission rate and length of contract. Then I ignore all that.

I have already:

... visited this site and look at the data, well aware that it can be fiddled. I visit the outside of the shops and look at their displays. I have entered a choice one or two, and asked about a property in the window. If they have a brochure in my hand in a minute, they get a good mark. If they have three, they get a gold star. If they wipe snot on their sleeve while waffling that they have to wait for Maureen to get back from lunch to work the printer, I leave.

I look at what properties have sold on Rightmove and Zoopla in the last few months. I look at what is currently on offer in my area. I will look at the local newspaper adverts, even though I think their time has passed.

Then, when the few I favour visit, I'll rule a couple out for being bores, wearing too much perfume, or being smarmy gits. I do pay attention to what they say they'll do for me in selling the house, but there's a Council gritting lorry and a shovel handy for all the pinches of salt I treat their promises with.

Normally, one just seems a bit better than the others... bit more genuine, more likeable, even more honest.

Sometimes it's the free pen. Not often, but sometimes...

SmlSave

I just chose the cheapest as it was a sellers market. I knew people who had used them before and that they didn't pester for updates during the selling process.

eddddy

When you get 3 or 4 of them round to do market appraisals - remember that the goal is not to convince them how wonderful your house is, the goal is to interview them to see who you want to give the business to.

Just another comment to throw into the mix: On a couple of occasions I've chosen the nice friendly EA, because I liked them - and then nothing much has happened.

Then I've moved on to the pushy rottweiler in the shiny suit, who I didn't like so much - and they've got people through the door and offers within a week or two.

onlyroz

When we sold our flat we went with a local independent estate agent rather than a national chain - I thought that they might have more local knowledge, be more interested in maintaining a good reputation and therefore be more motivated to help me sell.

Missus_Hyde

onlyroz wrote: »

When we sold our flat we went with a local independent estate agent rather than a national chain - I thought that they might have more local knowledge, be more interested in maintaining a good reputation and therefore be more motivated to help me sell.

We also used a local estate agent when we sold my late mother's house last year; he was an absolute star and knew the local area very well. He also had a pool of serious buyers (not time wasting Saturday morning window tappers, as he humorously referred to them ) and sold the house within the first two days, before it was actually on the market, for the price we wanted. He steered the whole sale through from viewings to completion, kicked the rather slow solicitors up the backside when necessary and the whole thing was done and dusted within 3 months, with the added bonus of enabling us to sell the house to a lovely buyer. The whole process was as seamless as it could be.

When we were looking for an estate agent we did have a couple of national agents round as well as a couple of local ones; frankly I wasn't impressed with the nationals and I'm so pleased that we picked the agent we did.

My sister recently bought through local agents (not the same one as it was in a different area) and again found them very helpful and efficient. Having read some of the horror stories on here regarding estate agents, I can only conclude that we were lucky, but I would always use a local firm as opposed to a large chain; quite apart from anything else, I think a local agent has his own business to look after, whereas a large chain doesn't really have the same interest and enthusiasm.

Prothet_of_Doom

I would pose as a mystery buyer looking for something nothing like your house and see if they try to flog you something like your house.



Pre-Internet : My Wife goes into the estate agent we have chosen some weeks after it has been on the market, and !!!! all interest due to erm 13 identical houses (or they were in 1936) in the same street. and 1000 identical houses within 10 miles.

Woman is asking if they have any 2 beds new on the market, because they've looked at everything in the area.

My wife asks the lady what price range they are looking at? Their Top limit is £250 less than our Price. My wife picks up a set of details for our house off the display, tells her that we probably would be able to move down by £250, and that she can view our house when she gets home in about 30 mins.
They both turn around and ask agent why they haven't given the lady our details.

a) You are looking for 2 beds not 3
b) This is above your price range
c) Erm actually Mrs Doom did tell us the price flexibility so yeah we maybe could have given you the details.

And you want paying because ?

Penny49

I used a lovely local agent, not the biggest one. I went for the smaller more personable agent - the owner did the valuation & I couldn't fault them at all

Chelsea__Thomas

Thanks - does everyone always ask local agents? How do you find them? By looking for sold signs?

dc197

I suggest you look at marketing material that they produce. When a buyer views, do they get a glossy cardboard brochure or a print out?

We got valuations from three agents. We asked for a quote from the agent whose newspaper listings are the best (best photos, descriptions, free of EA-babble, no spelling mistakes). When you turn the page in the property paper and get to their section, it's like house !!!!!!. Then when you get to the end of their section and turn the page to the next agent. it's like dirt is blown into your eyes.

Is the office occupied by a handful of mature people called Nigel and Brenda, or crammed with 21 year olds called Kyle and Chardonnay?

Call up and ask about a specific house. Do they fob you off with details of an unrelated house?
On a viewing, do they tell you about another house?

If price is an issue, as for a discount. We asked the one we thought was best, but most expensive, to match the price of another, and they did. Their pricve came down to 2/3rd what they originally asked for, before VAT.

elverson

You could also look at the reviews on https://www.allagents.co.uk but take them with a pinch of salt! For agents which I've dealt with their overall rankings have generally been about right.