As I am an Estate Agent operating in the Buckinghamshire area, I am obviously aware of the stigma attatched to the trade. (A lot of which is justifiable, judging by what I have seen and heard some of my competitors get up to.) The purpose of this post is not to "Big-Up" myself nor the company that I work for( which is why there is no mention of my company nor the exact area in which we operate), more to perhaps offer help to sellers when selecting an agent. First of all, the rule to any form of marketting is exposure. It is obvious that a smaller (often cheaper) agent will have less impact that a larger one. It's an unfortuanately sad fact that smaller agents often bite off more than they can chew. They are undoubtably very freindly and work really hard, however, there is a lot more than the lamen expects for an estate agent to do to actively market. It's a lot more involved than simply putting a photo in the local rag and hoping the phone rings. Often the smaller agent will cover a larger area with a single office/team which will sadly increase the risk of your home being lost in the crowd. So satisfy yourself that the company are able to give your property the attention that it needs.
When it comes to pricing, there is nothing that an Estate Agent or mortgage Surveyor does that you cannot do yourself (in fact most surveyors call Agents to help them with pricing and comparibles anyway). Have a good scour around for properties in your area or in similar areas that are comparible, but BE REALISTIC. You can use Rightmove to see what else is about and if you check the Include Sold Subject to Contact box you can see the asking prices of the houses that are actually selling. Even more useful than that is Nethouseprices.com where you can type in your postcode and see what houses in your street have achieved. So research properly, if you are realistic and well researched there is no reason you cant achieve the best possible price. The final ingredient is integrity. This is the hardest thing to measure. Ultimatly it comes down to can you trust them. Don't just put that down to the rep that visits you, speak also to the team in the office. It may be that the rep can talk the talk, but can his/her team walk the walk??? Two ways you can measure integrity of the company. Firstly is do they subscribe to the ombudsman scheme. If not ask yourself (or even them) what have they got to hide. Secondly by there success, if they are a company that always stands out i.e always seems to have plenty of boards both for sale and sold over a sustained period of time. Then it is often safe to say that they must be getting a fair amount of repeat business so something is going well. I hope this helps, it's a bit concise, if you want any ellaboration just ask. Or perhaps you dissagree then say and put your tuppence worth in. I would be interested in any views. Join In.
The industry is basically unregulated. So basically anyone could do it. I wouldn;t want anyone working for me, however, who I didn;t feel could do the job. Another reason why it's important to check out the whole team. And ensure the agencies credentials are suitable.
Originally posted by wotalad: Even more useful than that is Nethouseprices.com where you can type in your postcode and see what houses in your street have achieved.
Good post, however land registry data on places like nethouseprices.com can not be entirely true as you will be aware of.
I personally will be trying to offer 5 percent deposit paid if and when i sell a house to help it sell quicker and get more FTBs buying. This incentive wont be submitted to land registry, and people should be simply aware of this. More relevant when building new build but still could be an issue when buying a fairly new property or somebody who has simply sold then property with an incentive invisible to the person researching actual sale prices
True, however it's worth remembering that the business is never an exact science. The old cliche of 'It's only worth what someone is prepared to pay' is true. Nethouse prices is a useful tool to point you in the right direction. It is also worth pointing out that it is unwise to compare a resale property with a new build. Builders often put a premium onto their properties so similarly to cars(although not quite with the same severity) there is often a depreciation as soon as you complete.
Not intending to be personal, but your username and spelling proficiency makes you supremely well qualified to be a negotiator for any one of the EA chains in my part of the world (NE London).
Chosing an agent is not easy - especially with a highly saleable property in a very hot locale. They will be all over you - calls will get returned and appointments will be punctually kept - until you have signed the contract, after which you will experience the kind of attention that has made a certain lo-cost airline's customer service dept (in)famous.
This is not just my jaundiced view based on one recent experience. It is also that of everyone I know who has bought/sold in the last decade or so. I have only sold 5 properties, but must have viewed hundreds over the years - and the good EA experiences are countable on one hand (usually a result of one conscientious sole supported by idiots).
In my new neighbourhood there are the usual chains (including the one I bought through, and abolutely useless) and one tiny independent. It has been there for donkey's years and run by two middle aged middle class types. They are pleasant, they don't call you "man" nor say "fink and fought", don't deal with you whilst eating a McDonalds (happened to me TWICE), know the difference between a Victorian and Edwardian house as they do the geographia of their patch, and return calls without fail. It's a shame they don't have more properties for sale (though obviously enough to make a living).
When the time comes for me to sell again, they will definitely get my instruction.
------------------------------ 35% constitutes neither a majority nor a mandate
Not intending to be personal, but your username and spelling proficiency makes you supremely well qualified to be a negotiator for any one of the EA chains in my part of the world (NE London).
Never a good idea to criticise someone for their spelling, and then make spelling and grammatical errors on the same post!
Originally posted by Simulcra: MODS: My post was up for review because of keywords. If there is a problem, then please let me know what you dont like and just take it out?
FROM THE MODS. OK SIM, WE HAVE REMOVED THE KEYWORDS AND POSTED YOUR COMMENTS> THANKYOU>
" and you bunch of useless would love to up your and tell you where to business. "
I know that one of my criteria for choosing an estate agent would be one who knew how to spell "friend" "marketing" "laymen" and "ultimately", and the second would be that they knew the difference between "there" and "they're".
OK I know spelling flames are stupid, but sometimes people just ask for them.
I may be wrong, but I get the impression that ‘wotalad’ thinks he knows what he’s talking about. Somehow I feel that he may have only been an EA for perhaps 12 months, has received plenty of corporate brain washing and now feels qualified to offer advice.
There are some good EAs out there but they are very much in the minority. Often long established types in market towns who probably know the sales history of almost everything on their patch and have weathered the storms of booms and bust. Sadly the industry has been taken over by people you wouldn't trust with your cat, let alone your life savings. If I was a time served agent I'd want regulation asap.
Most of the estate agents I had the misfortune to come across in South East London were illiterate smarmy idiots who obviously couldn't find a proper job. I don't appreciate being called "mate" or "guvnor" or "squire". And listen to what I ask for - if I want to see a Victorian conversion why are we now on our way to see a new-build block of flats? And why do all the blokes have tragic lower league footballer haircuts? The ones that make them look like they've either just woken up or are very surprised. Shiny suited slimy toads.
I suppose I am in quite a good position regarding EA's. I know quite a few and have known some for almost 20 years and have dealt with a lot of them in business as well so I sort of know how they tick and operate. I guess I would go for the comment that those Agents who have been "around the block a few times" (bit like me! ) are better than those in striped shirts and red braces and calling everyone Mate or Guv (personally I would hate that!) So, when a certain property was placed on the market by a certain Agent in my locality I couldn't believe the overvaluation of the property and I just knew it would be a Dead Duck as far as selling at that price goes. Sure enough, after several weeks and lots of viewings nothing was happening. Knowing the owner of this particular Agency extremely well, well enough to call him Mate anyway, I phoned him up to enquire why his 'Boy' had valued this property so high and thus giving the Vendors such a false expectation of what it would sell for. He admitted that the price was too high and he was going to speak to the Seller about it and try and get the price down which, to cut a long story very short, he did....by a whopping £150,000 !!!! (I know the buyer by the way )
As it was a probate sale the Seller's needed to sell reasonably quickly and having been on the market for 6 Months they were getting very fidgity about not selling, especially as Council Tax payments had kicked in for them. The moral of the tale is that some of these Agents do not have a clue when valuing a property and make it up as they go along I reckon. At least in days of old an Agent use to measure up and quote square footage available and a few other things but sadly this has all finished these days in favour of details kept to a bare minimum and photographs taken with a mobile phone camera and valuations plucked out of thin air. Mel.
As most of them wouldn't know a Victorian sash from a Velux and an Adam fire place from Adam himself, why trust them with a value? They make Said from The Apprentice look like a saint.
FWIW, I'm an EA and I can tell you that at least a third of our Vendors hike the selling price up and beyond our valuation. We've often got no choice to market the property at the vendors inlated price, as we would never get the instruction.
Not intending to be personal, but your username and spelling proficiency makes you supremely well qualified to be a negotiator for any one of the EA chains in my part of the world (NE London).
Never a good idea to criticise someone for their spelling, and then make spelling and grammatical errors on the same post!
Ahem, embarassed, contrite and suitably chastised. Mine weren't quite so bl**din' obvious though!!!
Although I have no experience of EAs outside, I suspect London agents are the very worst. (Paranoid about spelling/grammar now...!).
God knows I do not wish for a market collapse in an 88/89 stylee, but it would certainly shake out the EA industry. In Walthamstow's main drag, "Hoe Street", from where I recently moved, in what cannot be more than 500M there were 20 different agents. Shortly before our move, one of the few remaining non-EA shops closed down, and re-opened 3 weeks later as...the 21st agent! (and it wasn't Century 21 - who are already there but not included in my total as they are a bit further down!).
You'd think all this competition would make them super-efficient wouldn't you? Not a chance. They're all equally dire.
Please, anyone in the industry; explain to me how, if it's not the easiest, money-for-old-rope scam on earth, one street in one area can support 21 identical profit making businesses?
------------------------------ 35% constitutes neither a majority nor a mandate
Originally posted by nicksss: FWIW, I'm an EA and I can tell you that at least a third of our Vendors hike the selling price up and beyond our valuation. We've often got no choice to market the property at the vendors inlated price, as we would never get the instruction.
Surely if the price is over-inflated, and you know its unlikely to sell at that price, why take it on? Surely its a waste of your time?
trevgo, i recently sold my flat in walthamstow!the estate agent i went with did get me the result in the end (on the market for £185 and got £181 for it, was very pleased) but i did get messed around a lot.
when we bought in the 'stow 4 years ago, i was shown around a flat by a guy from an estate agent on hoe street with the initials AK. he said no one else had put in an offer, so we put our's in and it was accepted, only to find out days later that the buyer and seller were about to exchange contracts. i ddin't mind being used, obviously, as their safety net, but was seriously miffed at not being made aware of this. i was heartbroken at the time
Rev, we take it on as we would not get the business otherwise. Some vendors eventually drop to our valuation, other vendors take disinstruct us and put it with another agent, often at our original valuation or lower. Bring on HIPS I say - at least you'll get the serious vendors coming out to play.
Originally posted by nicksss: Rev, we take it on as we would not get the business otherwise. Some vendors eventually drop to our valuation, other vendors take disinstruct us and put it with another agent, often at our original valuation or lower. Bring on HIPS I say - at least you'll get the serious vendors coming out to play.
That is the only good thing I can think of about HIPS it will stop the Timewasters from putting their property on the Market in the vague hope that some Mug will pay an over-inflated price for it. (check speling... it's OK ...great post it up!) Mel.
Originally posted by nicksss: Rev, we take it on as we would not get the business otherwise. Some vendors eventually drop to our valuation, other vendors take disinstruct us and pu
All Hail the mighty hamsters! 
) are better than those in striped shirts and red braces and calling everyone Mate or Guv (personally I would hate that!)
