If you’re thinking of selling your home, one of your first steps will be to choose an estate agent to handle the sale. From the outside agents often look the same and offer very similar services, so how do you decide which company is right for you?
If you want to find the right estate agent – particularly if you haven’t bought or sold a property for a few years – it’s important to shop around. Keep reading for our complete guide to instructing the right estate agent for you.
Don’t just choose an agent based on their guide price for your home
For many people, asking an estate agent to come and have a look at their property is about one thing: the guide price.
An estate agent will provide you with a guide price for the sale of your home. So, it’s no surprise that you may feel better disposed towards an agent that quotes a guide price towards the top end of your range.
Of course, agents know this. They also know that you’re more likely to instruct them if they suggest a higher guide price. However, simply choosing an agent based on their quoted guide price can be a mistake.
TV property expert Phil Spencer says: “It’s a common misconception that you should simply choose the agent that comes up with the highest price for the property. Although it’s flattering to be told your home is worth more than you imagined, there’s a lot more to selling a place than slapping a high price tag on it.”
If you pick an agent who has quoted a high guide price, this can often mean that you won’t get much initial interest and you may well have to drop the price later.
Any agent can quote a high guide price, so it’s recommended that you look beyond this to secure the right agent.
Establish what the fees are
Estate agents are salespeople. That means that if you can agree a fee structure that incentives them to sell the property and achieve the best price, they are likely to be proactive and keen right up to the point where you exchange contracts.
Consider:
- A fee based on a percentage of the sale price, meaning that if they achieve a higher price you both benefit.
- A ‘bonus’ if they can achieve a certain sale price for your property (for example you might offer an extra £1,000 if your home is listed at £200,000 and they achieve the full asking price).
Many vendors think that driving the agent down on the fee is a ‘win’. However, the opposite can be true. By forcing the agent to accept a lower fee, you might actually be providing a disincentive and the agent may not be as motivated to achieve the very best sale price they can.
Whilst the fee may be a consideration when choosing an agent, it shouldn’t be the deciding factor. Finding a firm that will work hard to sell your home is more important, as we consider next.
Ask what services an agent offers
Different estate agents offer different services for their fee. So, establish exactly what you’ll get for your money. For example:
- Will the agent conduct viewings, or do you have to?
- Is a ‘for sale’ board provided?
- What marketing material will be provided? Will you get a floor plan, photos or a virtual tour?
You also need to find out which online property portals your home will be listed on. Will your property appear on Rightmove, Zoopla or any other home search sites?
In addition, you need to establish whether the agent has experience selling similar homes to yours. If most of the buyers on their database are looking for a 3-bed terrace, they may not be the best agent if you’re looking to sell a loft apartment or a detached country home.
How professional is the agent?
Most agents are smartly dressed and have the sales patter well prepared.
You should dig deeper to find out whether they have experience in selling homes like yours. Yes, they will be confident that they can sell your property, but have they sold anything similar recently? How quickly did it sell? And how many buyers do they have on their books?
Mystery shop the agent to find out how good the staff are
While the agent you meet may ultimately look after the transaction, day-to-day enquiries, viewing appointments and questions will be dealt with by the agency’s front-of-house team.
These are the people in the office who meet potential buyers and deal with online and telephone requests. They also know the properties they have for sale and have established relationships with buyers who are on their database.
As well as meeting and greeting buyers, it’s this team that will look after your sale once you’ve accepted an offer. You need a professional team that will proactively ensure that your sale goes through.
So, mystery shop the branch. Can you get through easily on the telephone, and was your call handled well? Pop in and see how engaging and proactive the agency team are. How helpful and enthusiastic are they?
If you can find an agent that you trust, and who you believe will really care about your sale, you will find that the guide price and fees are suddenly less important. After all, there’s no point hiring a cheap agent if they won’t sell your home.