What do Estate Agents do?

DazRave

Quite a generic title, yes.

As FTBers, it's the first time we've had to deal with Estate Agents. Over the last 4 months we have had the pleasure of dealing with quite a few of them (obviously, only as buyers), however, difference in service from each has varied significantly. We both come from Marketing and Business Solution type of backgrounds so naturally we've been trying to work out where the benefits are around using an Estate Agent.

I'm not necessarily bashing Estate Agents here or saying they are not needed, but after a few searches, I can't really find a definitive list of what they actually do? What they legally need to do or simply what some do that others don't that make them stand out.

My list so far:

• Conduct relevant checks to prove the vendor is actually entitled to sell the property - Calling on local knowledge and research
• Work out the price point for the property to enter the market at
• List the property - Take images, perhaps create a floor plan, write up property spec, add to rightmove/zoopla etc, stick a sign in the garden
• Schedule and manage viewings and then surveys
• Act as negotiator between buyer and vendor - From making offers to agreeing exchange and completion days
• Send the buyer's conveyancing solicitor some sort of info pack of the property details
• Hold keys and hand them over on completion days

The above is pretty much as far as we've got (twice now) when dealing with an Estate Agent. Can anyone (through a sellers eyes, preferably) add to this list?

Cheeky_Monkey

The biggest advantage of using an Estate Agent is their access to Rightmove :beer:

G_M

DazRave wrote: »

My list so far:

• Conduct relevant checks to prove the vendor is actually entitled to sell the property - Calling on local knowledge and research

To a limited extent. But buyers and their conveyancers need to do more in-depth checks to ensure the seller has the right to sell

• Work out the price point for the property to enter the market at

Offer advice on this to the seller - it is the seller who decides what the property should be marketed at

• List the property - Take images, perhaps create a floor plan, write up property spec, add to rightmove/zoopla etc, stick a sign in the garden

Yes

• recommend to seller if/when a price reduction is advisable
• arrange open day if requested
  

• Schedule and manage viewings and then surveys & any other visits to the property a buyer might request
• Respond to initial queries the buyer may have
  
• Act as negotiator between buyer and vendor - From making offers to agreeing exchange and completion days

negotiating price; negotiating fixtures/fittings; facilitating access for professionals; negotiating issues resulting from survey, valuation, professional reports etc



Exchange & Completion dates are negotiated/agreed by conveyancers, not EAs

• Send the buyer's conveyancing solicitor some sort of info pack of the property details

name/addresses of buyer/seller to both conveyancers with agreed price


liaising between buyer, seller, buyer's conveyancer, seller's conveyancer up to Completion

• Hold keys and hand them over on completion days

if requested by seller

?

..........................................................................

Eric_the_half_a_bee

DazRave wrote: »

Work out the price point for the property to enter the market at

This used to be the real value added of an Estate Agent - the competent ones knew the market well enough to get a decent price for the home in a reasonable space of time. And back in the old days, this was worth a reasonable %age fee.

With the advent of Zoopla etc, however, except for a small minority of unusual homes, I doubt they are much more expert on this topic than a homeowner with a decent internet connection.

I don't expect to see many high street EAs on traditional fee models in 20 years' time.

DazRave

That's ace. Thank you @G_M

So from what I can make out, the value of hiring an EA comes from their people skills. The facilitating, managing and negotiating parts being the most tedious for a Vendor and therefore probably the main reasons sellers opt to use them?

The other stuff sounds like fluff really.

Eric_the_half_a_bee

Cheeky_Monkey wrote: »

The biggest advantage of using an Estate Agent is their access to Rightmove :beer:

A number of flat fee EAs now provide this at a fraction of the traditional fee.

Josephiney83

A good estate agent is what gets the sale completed. We are in the middle of a very protracted sale and purchase and the difference in level of service between our estate agent and our vendors' estate agent is astounding.

DazRave

Josephiney83 wrote: »

A good estate agent is what gets the sale completed. We are in the middle of a very protracted sale and purchase and the difference in level of service between our estate agent and our vendors' estate agent is astounding.

Surely the overall bare minimum you expect an estate agent to for fill is to 'get the sale completed' though?

What do you think differentiates yours over the vendors?

Josephiney83

You'd think so wouldn't you? Our vendors' estate agent is much much better than ours. We have to chase ours for absolutely everything, we often call for an update and they say 'oh funny you should call, X happened three days ago'. Meanwhile our vendors agent have been giving us advice on how to get our sale to completion (because obviously that affects their sale). They're just much more 'on it' in terms of the sale progression.

Davesnave

Sales progression and negotiation are the key things, along with the magic keys to the Rightmove portal.

With the more DIY approach, there is greater potential for things to go paridae-up, and roughly 1/3 of sales do.

Of course vendors vary as much as agents, so some of them should never conduct viewings. However, most are certainly no worse than a bored guy in a shiny suit, leaning against the wall and fiddling with his 'phone!

Missus_Hyde

Josephiney83 wrote: »

A good estate agent is what gets the sale completed. We are in the middle of a very protracted sale and purchase and the difference in level of service between our estate agent and our vendors' estate agent is astounding.

Sales progression and negotiation are the key things, along with the magic keys to the Rightmove portal.

With the more DIY approach, there is greater potential for things to go paridae-up, and roughly 1/3 of sales do

When we sold my late mother's house, we had the most fantastic estate agent. He was local and had worked in the area for years; he had a pool of clients looking for properties and sold the house to a lovely buyer within the first couple of days that it was on the market, before it even got onto Rightmove, for a price that we were more than happy with.

Furthermore he kept his finger on the pulse of the sale thorough out the entire procedure and pushed things along, kept us informed the whole time and kicked our rather slow solicitor up the backside when necessary, so the whole thing was done and dusted within three months.

What a star!