Choosing the right estate agent

Have you ever wondered exactly the work that estate agents do to earn the huge fee they take when they are selling a house? Find out how they can help you sell your house, ensure an agreement and make sure you’re able to get it to the end.

Here’s the things you can expect your estate agent to do when it comes to selling your home.

Help you set the value of your home

An estate agent is able to give you an informed opinion on the worth of your house and help you set the correct price for the market. They’ll draw on their expertise of the local market and well as sales prices for other local properties similar to yours from the Land Registry to give you an accurate picture of what homes like yours are selling for and why you might offer more or less.

It is crucial to do your research first so you can have an idea in your head. To begin, you should start with a no-cost online instant valuation and by checking Land Registry figures. Then get three different appraisals by an estate agent since some firms might employ the technique of over-estimating the price of your house in order to gain you as a client. A good estate agent will be aware of the features buyers in the region are seeking, and will be able to inform you if it’s worth making any changes to increase the appeal of your home in order to get a better price. They should be able impress you with their local knowledge and expertise in selling houses similar to ones like yours.

If you are considering using an online estate agency but you are still considering using an estate agent, it is recommended to obtain three appraisals from high-street firms because online agents tend not to have the same local market experience and will therefore be heavily reliant on data from the internet to carry out their valuations.

Sell your home

Your estate agent should make arrangements for your property to be professionally photographed. You should also have an exact floorplan drawn up , and compose a thorough, precise appealing description of your home that can be used in the brochure, the display in the store and on the major portals for property. It shouldn’t cost you any extra for photography and these other things as they’re included in the % price that estate agents charge to market and sell your house. Be sure that the photos are current as they’re crucial to draw a lot of attention. If they are not, ask that new ones are taken. Also, take a look at the property’s details. They must be accurate so that you don’t face problems later on the line. Your estate agent should be able inform you how the biggest property websites function – for example, Rightmove and Zoopla and also have accounts with them to ensure that your property will be advertised on these sites.

When you begin marketing your home , it’s legally required to possess the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) which provides potential buyers with information about a property’s energy usage and typical costs. Your home will be given an energy efficiency rating from the A (most efficient) to G (least efficient) and the EPC will be valid for a period of 10 years. Your estate agent can organise this for you at the cost of. Request a quote from your estate agent, but do some research. If you have purchased your house in the past 10 years, you might have a title certificate that remains valid.

If the property you own doesn’t sell as quickly as you had imagined – or the estate agent has promised you a speedy sale – contact the estate agent you have hired and ask what the reason. They’re paid to advertise your property to make a sale happen, so ask them why your home isn’t securing a sale. Keep in contact with them, asking for feedback from viewings and what they are taking to market your home.

Conduct viewings

The estate agent you choose to work with will schedule inspections of your house and help potential buyers navigate the property to answer all questions or concerns that buyers may have. Agents should ensure that your home is secure after a viewing. Learn how to prepare your home for viewings. When your property is listed being marketed by the estate agents, they could possess a database of prospective buyers that have expressed an interest in properties similar to yours. They’ll contact them to market your home to.

Estate agents may also host an open house for your home that a lot of potential buyers come to your property during a certain time period. The benefit of employing an estate agent to manage the viewings for you is they are perceived as a less sceptical party by prospective buyers who might ask them questions that they might be reluctant for the proprietor to answer. This takes the burden from needing to show potential buyers around your house.

If you organize viewings on your own You should check out how the estate agent making their commission. In this scenario it is possible that you would be better off using an online estate agent. There is usually the fixed amount (which costs less than the percentage commission fee high street agents charge) however, it is due upfront i.e. whether you decide to sell your home or not. The default choice for online estate agents is to show potential buyers around the property on your own. Hybrid estate agents such as PurpleBricks and Yopa are becoming more popular and offer an expert from the local area who can conduct viewings on behalf of you. Other online estate agents are expanding their offer of the option of adding additional viewings. They usually cost an extra cost, so consult the agent about how many viewings are provided, the additional cost is, who will be conducting the viewings and what the procedure will be in real life.

Manage negotiations

An essential part that an estate agent’s role is to manage negotiations and act as a go-between for any potential buyers as well as the owner of the property. The offers should be presented for the property’s estate agents, who will then forward them to the owner and, similarly, relay the response of the seller to any proposal made. During this time, the estate agent is able to be helpful to the buyer but ultimately they should always put their client, the seller first, and strive to get them the best price for the property.

If you are thinking about offering a price for the property, you may ask the estate agent for more information regarding the status of the owners – have they found their ideal home and are they in the need of an immediate sale or do they need someone willing to be patient while they search for somewhere to live? Buyers can also usually find out what kind of offer could be accepted by the seller through an estate agent.

Verify that the buyer is serious

According to the Property Ombudsman Code of Practice Estate agents are required to undertake reasonable measures to find who the purchaser is and the availability of their money to purchase the property, and then provide this information on to the seller. This will cover whether the buyer is required to sell a home, requires a loan or asserts that they are cash buyers, or any other combination of these.

Typically, they’ll require the buyer to show an understanding in principle with an institution that lends money to demonstrate that they’re in a good position to afford the property. Find out more with our guide to proving money. In this Code, estate agents are also legally required to send all offers on the table for their clients, which is you the seller even if the purchaser hasn’t been financially qualified at the time of making their offer.

If you decide to decide to accept an offer it is the responsibility of the estate agent to continuously monitor the progress made by the buyer towards obtaining the required amount of funds and to keep you updated. All of this information will aid your estate agent in advising you on the position of the buyer and how serious or convincing an offer is. You should have the ability aid you in deciding whether not to accept an offer – but ultimately that decision is up to you.

Keep things moving

After you’ve accepted an offer, or had an offer accepted, the estate agent needs to issue a Memorandum of Sale to the buyer, the vendor and their solicitors, providing all the information they need on each other as well as the solicitors. Most people believe that the role of an estate agent is over when an offer has been accepted and accepted, but this is when an experienced estate agent can really come into their own to ensure that the offer is accepted by removing obstacles up and down the chain and working towards the crucial points of exchange of contracts as well as the date of completion. In this time, your estate agent will serve as your counselor and aunt as you negotiate the ups and downs of the sales process. You can lean on them for as much or as little as you want.

Be wary of the agents that promote in-house services

Finally, don’t feel forced to work with the estate agents’ partnership firms including their own conveyancers or mortgage brokers that they have commercial relationships with. Only use an in-house broker when it has a broad panel of lenders or ideally covers the entire market. By all means get quotes of the services recommended by the estate agent – from conveyancing to mortgages and removals. But you should take a look at other options to ensure that you’re getting the most value for money.