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Top Things When Choosing an Estate Agent

Choosing an Estate Agent

Buying or selling a property is one of the most important decisions in our life. It’s not something you do every day. So choosing an estate agent may be one of your life’s most stressful decisions. As selling a property is almost a once in a lifetime occurrence most people seek the help of professional estate agents.

The right estate agent can make the process much easier for you. To get the most out of selling your property you need to find the right agent. So finding the right agent is very important for you to stay easy and relaxed.

The right agent will be able to attract buyers with the best price. The agent will all help steer the sale along. There are plenty of estate agents on the market. But how can you identify the bad and the good? Choosing the right one can sell your property at a higher rate than you expected. The following are the comparisons you may use to find yourself the right estate agent:

Services estate agent offer

Ever wonder what does an estate agent do to earn so much? The real estate agent gets a commission based on the price of the property. He arranges selling, renting and management of buildings. Detailed responsibilities of a real estate agent are:

Help you identify the value of your property

They are always involved with buying and selling of property. So they are the ones you go to for identifying the real market worth of your property. Most estate agents are also surveyors or lawyers. So they can help you figure out the true value of your property. 

Market your home

A good agent arranges everything that’s required to properly market your home. This includes photographing your place to write attractive descriptions of your home. They also make sure the details get the view of potential buyers. They do it both online and through their professional networks. 

Arrange a visit for buyers:

Agents also guide potential buyers into your place for viewing. Its one of the main responsibilities of an estate agent to arrange such meetings. They try their best to satisfy all the queries made by buyers and sell the property.

Conduct negotiations:

Managing the negotiation between the buyers and the owners are a key part of the agents job.the buyer initially makes the offer to the agent. He passes on the or offer to the owners. Then the agent arranges the negotiations based on the sellers’ response. 

When selling property it’s vital to employ the best agent available sorting out from all the options. They are paid commission based on the selling price of the property. So you are automatically in a stronger position. If they can’t sell the property they don’t get paid. 

House for sale

Choosing an estate agent

Property management is not something anyone does on a regular basis. So choosing an agent to handle everything for is much more convenient. To add up it, can help you get some Extra money from the sale. So making your choice for the right property agent is the most daunting task here. The agent will handle a lot of the hassle by himself from thereon. Some basic consideration on how to choose an estate agent to sell a house are:

Ask for recommendations

It’s good to look out for recommendations while starting off your quest to find an estate agent. The most obvious place to look for advice is to ask your family, friends and colleagues who have recently availed such services. 

You can ask about their experience and figure out the pros and cons of the service. This way you can choose whether you want the same or better service. Also, look out for ‘sold’ or ‘For sale’ signs in and around your area to figure out who doing well. Make a list of potential estate agents who can offer you their service.

Narrow down the choices

Upon making a probable list of agents look up their websites. You may find a lot of information about them that you were looking for. Take a look at the properties they have listed to the sale. Compare them with your property, whether they are similar or not. Also, take a look at the quality of the photograph and the way they present the advertisement.

If the contents in their webpage satisfy you, then keep them in the list when you narrow down your list of probable agents. Upon narrowing down your list after the research you can consider taking their appointment to discuss your prospects. 

Check industry credentials

Once you finish shortlisting agents check out their credential. For instance are they associated with estate agents trade bodies. This will ensure you better service.  

There are a number of trade bodies such as National Association of Estate Agents(NAEA) or Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors(RICS). These professional comply with certain code of conducts while operating. This enables them to maintain high standards in estate service. 

You may get tempted to call or email the agents right away. But you will get a much better understanding of who they are or what are their capabilities upon making a visit to their office. So make yourself an appointment before going to their office. As you are going to ask them to deal with your most valuable possession it’s better to take a look at it yourself. 

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Perform a field inspection:

Once you are done with meeting the agents offer them to come over and see your property by themselves. When they arrive pay attention to their punctuality, politeness and knowledge of the business. Approach them to know the real valuation of your property. Attempt to get a valuation of your property from multiple agents. Let them justify their opinions. 

 

Majority of people verify the value of their property from multiple agents. Most of the time the amounts are somewhat similar. But it’s not uncommon for someone to turn up with an amount that may surprise you. The agent will always try to get you the highest value for the possession. This is because their payment is also dependent on the value you get for the property. You may even consider going undercover to research the real value of your property disguised as buyers.

Ask these questions

The agencies charge differs on the basis of the deal you make with them. Ask the following questions to be sure about the terms and conditions of the contract:

What is the charge for sole agency and what is the tie in period?
Sole agency is where the agency has exclusive rights to sell your property for a specific period of time. In this case, if another company sells your property you still have to pay the sole agent its fees. Generally, for these kinds of deals, the fees are 1% to 2.5% of the sale price. These kinds of deals may have a tie-in period of up to eight weeks

How much the agency charges for multi-agency?
In a multi-agency deal more than one company will list your property in their books. You will only have to pay the successful agency which gets the best price. Normally the fee for these kinds of deals is 2.5% to 3.5% of the selling price.
When you are done asking about their deals and services ask a few questions to get a background check of the company:
1. How long the agency has been operating?
2. How will they advertise your property?
3. Who will look after the viewers of the property?

Decide whether you want a solo agent or multiple agents

Before you decide on the agency decide what type of service you want to avail from them. Sole agencies are cheaper. On the other hand multiple agencies mean your property will get more exposure in the market. 

The chances of a quick sale with sole agencies are very unlikely. Multiple agencies working on your property may bring a higher bidder from which both you and the agency will profit more. 

Try to start with some time in your hand you may start off with sole agency. If you don’t get the proper response you may jump to multiple agencies. 

Help the agent to help you

Once you have made up your mind on the agency you are going to employ to sell your home to help them understand your situation as well. You may have a particular reason to sell your property within a certain date. Be honest to them about your circumstances. A good agent will tailor the right deal for you.

How the estate agent will market your home

With all your research and facts finding you may already have an idea of how the estate agent will market your property. Get an idea in which portals they are going to market your property. Will there be any additional charges you will need to pay if for advertising. Also, ask them if they are going to advertise the sale in any newspaper. You should also try to know if they have buyers ready to purchase the property within their professional network. 

How much do estate agents charge in the UK?

The charge of agents depends mostly on the service that you avail from them. Fees vary on the percentage of selling price. But you may have to pay a fee if you want to withdraw your The property from their books. A good agent will explain to you all the charges. Make sure there are no hidden costs in your deal. For the sole agency, the charge is normally 1% to 2.5% of the selling price depending on the type of property. For multiple agencies the price increases to about 2.5% to 3.5% of the selling price. 

Traditional vs online estate agency

Nowadays you can also sell your property online apart from following the traditional way. Although online agencies offer sellers more freedom to directly contact with the buyers. When selling online you are all on your own. They will list your sale 

On the other hand, high street agents will list your property on their books. They wait for real buyers to approach them. They will also list your property on Rightmove. It’s the UK’s no.1 online real estate portal. 

You may be able to sell your property with either of them. But the cost of putting your property for sale online is a bit less. But it has also been noticed that estate agents can sell your house to a much better rate almost all the times. 

This is because they have their own professional network. They also know who the potential buyers of your property. Not just that, they can add value to your property. The way they can engage the buyers with their service and work out the deal swiftly creates this value. This is why still most successful property sales still happen through agents rather than online. 

estate agent dealing with clients

Things to watch out for in the estate agent contract

Estate agent contracts can be tricky. So make sure about everything before signing. You should never have to pay more than what you need. Here is a checklist of all the things to be sure while signing the contract:

  • Review all the commission rates.
  • Be sure about your deal includes VAT in the fee. If not try to deal it with the agent.
  • Review the type of contract you want. It's not recommended opting for a sole agent. As you will have to pay the estate agent even if you manage a buyer by yourself.
  • Make sure there are no withdrawal charges or additional fees or commission.
  • Even if you opt for a solo agency be sure of the tie in period. Never go for an open-ended tie in the period as it enables the agent to charge you even months after they stopped marketing your property.

Make sure when you shop around for an estate agent you get the one you the one who you can trust. Get the one who can better connect with your potential buyers reviewing their latest performance data. 

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