Choosing the right Estate Agent

Of course no estate agent can buck the market. Never the less your choice of agent can materially affect how quickly you sell your home and the price you get for it.

In essence, your estate agent is your connection to potential buyers. His (or her) primary role is to:

• Attract serious buyers to your home
• Negotiate a sale on the best possible terms for you the client, and
• Help smooth the sale through to a successful conclusion

Sounds simple enough - but the fact is, all estate agents are not the same

Compare Estate Agents Carefully

When choosing an estate agent, you need to be confident that they'll give you the very best advice on pricing and presenting your home for sale. You need to be sure that they will market your home effectively to the widest possible group of potential buyers. And, you need the peace of mind of knowing that your best interests will be protected at every stage of the sale.

Estate agency, in other words, is a people business. What you are buying is skill, experience, in-depth knowledge of the local market - and a commitment to quality personal service.

Unfortunately, in Britain, unlike elsewhere in the world, anybody can set up as an estate agent — no licence or qualifications are required, and some agents have very little skill or experience.

What’s more, not even the big, well-known national brands are any guarantee of good service. Unlike supermarket chains, which sell exactly the same products throughout the country, the service you get from any estate agent is only as good as the people staffing that particular branch.

So, in many ways your best bet is going to be a well-established independent local agent. More...