Being in the front line of people wanting to sell their home or investment property in the past few years has been a learning curve, to say the least.
I’ll be able to provide you with insight into the thoughts of an estate agent, and how to get market a property.
Don’t be fooled by agents overvaluing your property just to gain your business, it doesn’t work out long-term…
We have potential clients that look elsewhere to sell their property, and that’s fine, we generally see them back after 2-3 months of their property sitting on the market with little-to-no traction or viewings.
Choosing an Agent to sell your home
What and Who to look for…
Reviews
The modern concept of consumers expressing their experiences have evolved from word of mouth, to online reviews.
The easiest way to track this is with Google Reviews.
The trend tends to be that people tend to express their dissatisfaction online, a lot more prominently than positive experiences. To help narrow your search, have a look at the reviews of the agents you’re potentially interested in using and scour them for both positive and negative comments.
In addition to the above, have a look at the overall number of reviews they’ve harvested.
The more reviews, the more business they’ve worked with. With this, it should mean they are well-versed with the selling process and the intricate techniques involved to complete a sale to its fruition in the best time frame possible.
Market Presence
Market presence can be perceived in a few different ways.
As you drive around the local area, you may spot that there are marketing boards in the gardens of houses. This is important as it adds an element of reach for potential clients to spot the opportunity to buy your home.
Another way to detect and monitor market presence is to have a look at the types of platforms that the agent markets on. Reach is a huge part of gaining the attention of prospective buyers.
Zoopla, OnTheMarket, RightMove, as well as a few other popular platforms are the ones you should be checking to ensure your chosen agent is active and advertising on.
We would suggest questions surrounding any existing databases held with clients details that are actively and currently searching for property. Ideally these clients should already be pre-qualified and ready to move forward with little hesitation.
Clarity and Transparency
First impression is a massive aspect of a property being marketed.
An agent that takes the time out to draft a full and thorough advert and description is top-tier.
From details of footprint and floor plans, to details of lease length, ground rent’s and service charges, all of which are necessary to be clearly marked and transparent. If not, there may be prospective buyers out there that may overlook your property for these details not being clearly communicated.
What and Who to avoid…
Non-Substantiated Market Research & Evidence
Anyone can conjure up a figure and say “yeah your property is worth £350,000!”.
Don’t take this information as gospel, they may be professionals, but it’s near impossible to get an accurate asking price figure without facts and figures.
There should be analysis done for the local area – ideally a 1/4 mile radius of your property – of documented properties similar to yours that have sold in the last 12-28 months.
Overvalued properties sit on the market for longer than necessary not getting the traction you’d hope, whilst falling down the listings on property portals such as Zoopla. The further down the listings your property is, the less likely it is to get enquiries through on.
Undervalued properties get lots of enquiries, and you run the risk of losing out on potentially losing out on thousands of £ from this costly mistake!
If your sales representative turns up and has no substantiating evidence, question why not and how they have come to the conclusion of their suggested asking price.
Rushed Instruction Transactions
Don’t feel pressured to rush to give an agent instruction to have your business.
The contract you’ll enter with an agent is usually between 8-12 weeks, you don’t want to spend that time tied to the wrong agent delaying the whole process.
Tied to the wrong agent, receiving offers you aren’t happy with, or receiving a service you’re not satisfied with will only prolong an already frustrating situation.
It’s acceptable to tell an agent you’ll let them know, but be transparent with them, if you meet with 5 agents and choose to go with agent #1, contact the remaining 4 agents and tell them you’ve gone else where. This will save them tediously chasing you up day after day to get an answer.
This process is daunting, but don’t let it cloud your judgement.
Other Than That, What Else?
Theres not much else to it to be honest…
Take your time, don’t rush, that’s the main factor to remember.
Rushing clouds your judgement, rushes impulse decisions without fully thinking it through.
You’ll be selling your property – potentially – for thousands of pounds, its a big commitment and that takes time.
The only other aspect I’d suggest, if you’re presented with hard evidence of suggesting asking prices, that is the current market value buyers are willing to pay. You could choose to go an increment up to try your luck. But insisting it’s listed for tens-of-thousands of pounds higher than their suggested asking price will only bring delays and dis-satisfaction to your table as there won’t be many buyers willing to go so far above what they can purchase elsewhere.
Fancy speaking to an agent that ticks all the right boxes? Get in touch with our property experts to discuss your wants and needs!
