- An estate agent can make all the difference when it comes to buying or selling your home, which is why it’s important to be able to tell the good ones from the bad ones. Here’s how…
As you might already be aware, buying or selling a home is stressful business. While we would all like the process to be as simple as agreeing a fee and exchanging keys, there are countless other steps that need to be navigated. This includes working with estate agents to get the deal done.
Trouble is, the level of service you’ll receive from estate agents will vary from person to person. Some estate agents will play an essential role in helping you to complete your transactions, while other may do nothing more than get in the way, and charge a fee for doing so!
So, if you’re already working with a property solicitor and you want to find the right estate agent to work with, here’s a useful guide to help you spot the good ones from the bad ones!
Why Might You Need an Estate Agent?
While they aren’t absolutely essential, an estate agent can be invaluable when it comes to buying or selling your home. An estate agent’s role often goes well beyond simply ‘selling your house’ or ‘helping you find a new one’. These are some of the services you might require from an estate agent:
Valuing Your Home
Unless you’re already a property market expert, placing an accurate valuation on your home isn’t exactly the easiest task in the world. That’s where a good estate agent will come in handy.
Estate agents will place an accurate valuation on your home to help you maximise the amount of money you make from a sale, while also making it an attractive prospect for prospective buyers. That’s not an easy task, which is why it requires someone with an in-depth knowledge of the local (and national) property market.
Marketing Your Home
If you want to sell your home, one of the most important questions you might be asking yourself is how you go about finding buyers who want to take a closer look. It’s not as if you can simply post a listing on Facebook and wait for the offers to come rolling in!
An estate agent will market your property through a number of different platforms, including at least one major property portal, such as Rightmove or Zoopla. An estate agent may even offer extras like ‘premium listings’ which make your home more visible on those sites. Be warned though – that will come at additional cost.
Guiding You Through Properties to Buy
If you’re an inexperienced buyer, the property market can appear a little daunting. That’s where the support of an estate agent can come in handy. They can run you through details you might otherwise overlook, putting their knowledge of the local area to good use.
Sometimes, you won’t know exactly what you’re looking for in a home until you work alongside an estate agent who can keep you informed.
Tips to Separate the Good Estate Agents from the Bad Ones
Seek Out Estate Agents with Quick Response Times
One of the most immediate signs that an estate agent is good at their job is if they are very responsive and quick to provide an answer to any questions you have about your transaction.
A good estate agent will also be very proactive in their communication with you, which means they’ll raise any concerns without any prompts from yourself. This means that any issues related to your transaction will be addressed before they become a hinderance.
When you’re getting in touch with various estate agents, take note of the ones that are the first to respond and are more than willing to take on your transaction.
Check Their Training and Credentials
When you’re looking up estate agents, you should always pay close attention to the credentials they have earned. Estate agents who have taken on extra training will be better equipped to help you with your property transaction, and will likely have a range of extra skills which will come in handy.
The majority of estate agent websites will have staff profiles, which will include information related to their skills and experience, so you can put this to good use.
Read Through Customer Reviews
The great thing about the internet is that you can check the reviews for just about anything before you proceed. This, of course, includes estate agents.
It’s easy to pay attention to what an estate agent says about themselves, but it’s often more important to take a look at what other people have to say about them.
If there aren’t any reviews online, then you can always ask an estate agent to provide feedback from their previous customers. A good estate agent should have nothing to hide in this respect; be wary of any that are reluctant to share what others have said.
Be Sure They Understand Your Needs
A good estate agent will always understand your needs as a client. As such, they will handle your case with the aim of closing a deal quickly, and in a way that is satisfactory for both buyer and seller.
Everybody will have different priorities when it comes to a property transaction; someone selling a family home will need a different service to someone selling a one-bed apartment. So, be sure that your estate agent is switched on to your needs and delivers an appropriate service.
If you don’t think an estate agent truly understand your needs, they probably won’t be for you.
Are You Looking to Work with an Estate Agent for Your Property Transaction?
So, there you have it! If you’re interested in working with an estate agent to help you buy or sell a home, then this guide will have hopefully given you a few pointers as to how you can tell the good ones from the bad ones.
Have you got any prior experiences with estate agents you’d like to share? Feel free to leave a comment below!
