One of my biggest bugbears is being promised something that doesn’t come to fruition, and I imagine there are a few of you that feel the same way. Putting your trust in an agent is something that should be done with caution, so here’s a blog to help you see past the impressive sales tactics and special offers before signing on the dotted line.
- Communication
Isn’t it annoying when you’ve had a viewing, with your heart set on another property, and your agent doesn’t give you feedback? Of all the aspects we ask most Vendors about, regular communication is number 1, and so it is for us! We know how emotional the process of selling and buying a house can be, so we put forth our best effort to get honest feedback from each and every viewer, and pass that information directly to you.
- Honest Market Appraisals
Have you ever been in a position where you’ve seen other properties selling that are similar to yours? Why is that? We find it frustrating to follow an agent who tells potential Vendors what they’d like to hear, rather than what you need to hear. If an agent is willing to lie to you about the value and condition of your property, what else will he tell you or the potential buyers that will view your property? Be honest with yourself. Look at what’s on Rightmove. Are you pricing yourself out of a sale? We all want the most for our property and have budgets to work within. However, the longer you’re on the market, the more people begin to question why it hasn’t sold. Don’t be fooled into choosing the Agent with the highest valuation; this is an old sales tactic, and it certainly doesn’t mean you’ll get the best service.
- Transparency
We have never been so well informed in the history of the world, so let’s use the technology we have to share with our vendors. Long gone are the days when the agents hold the cards. We have carefully selected a database, which gives our Vendors 24hr access to statistics and viewing feedback. We like you to have control when selling your home, and we are just here to help you.
- Work, Work, Work
Selling your property, that’s not so difficult…working to make sure the sale goes through, now that’s where we earn our money and save yours too. Make sure your agent really cares! For us it’s easy; we are the local agents. We love this area, and we really care about your property. We’ve seen too many sad situations where agents with little or no care let sales slip through. When thousands of ££££ have been spent on legal fees, searches, etc., does it matter to them? Not so much. They’ll get another sale. Make sure you’re not just another number entering the machine. That’s not just annoying, that’s appalling! As a family run business, with vested interested in our community, every Vendor and house sale is incredibly important to us. That is why we work, work, work to get each house sale over the finish line as soon as possible.
- Marketing
Make sure you research how an Agent you’re considering has marketed their other properties: where do they advertise and what coverage will your property get (Rightmove, social media, office frontage presence)? Do the pictures represent the property well (it may sound silly, but are the pictures straight? You’d be surprised what’s on Rightmove). Research shows that people react to certain tones and colours; is your agent aware of this? And lastly, are their adverts written well?
- Online Agents
This is a hot topic at the moment. Whilst watching an advert for a particular online agent last week, I thought hey, £600 for selling your house isn’t bad. However, this is upfront and for no work, other than listing your property. The business model is not built upon selling your house. It’s about getting houses on the market, whether they sell or not is irrelevant, they have £600 (not to mention all the extra bits and pieces that add up) in the bank, and then, it’s onto the next one. Estate Agent Today writes an article called, ‘Purplebricks: “Weakness Ahead” Over Completions, Warns Financial Analyst’, in which they say “’Purplebricks claims to be the best-reviews estate agent online, but if it is not selling homes, there is a risk that its hefty valuation will not live up to its much-advertised hype.’ Allen’s reference to not selling homes follows an analysis some months ago by another financial specialist, Anthony Codling of Jefferies, who calculates that between November 2015 and March 2016, only 14 percent of homes listed on Purplebricks in three sample areas - Bournemouth, Southampton and Birmingham - had actually completed. ‘The question that will become increasingly important for shareholders is ‘how many of its homes that it is listing has it sold?’. Unlike other estate agents, this is a fact that Purplebricks elects not to disclose’”
So they you have it; some useful hints and tips before selecting your agent…and of course your agent is William’s Way ;)
