ALWAYS CHOOSE EXPERIENCE WHEN CHOOSING AN ESTATE AGENT ! By Mark Welton
It would seem reasonable to assume that most people would appoint an experienced and professional estate agent to handle the marketing and sale of their largest asset, safe in the knowledge that one of the largest transactions they will be ever involved with, is in “good hands”.
Sadly and quite unbelievably, many people will in fact entrust the disposal of their biggest asset with an inexperienced agent in favour of the “cheaper deal”.
The attraction of saving money on the fees charged by estate agents will often take precedence over the countless benefits that an experienced estate agent can provide. In my view, it is complete folly to adopt this mind set, as a saving of several hundred pounds on estate agents fees can easily translate into a loss of many thousands of pounds if the wrong agent is chosen purely on cost.
So what are the advantages and benefits of choosing an experienced estate agent to sell your home?
First and foremost they are likely to have knowledge and understanding of the property market generally and more specifically of the area you currently live. This is especially important when assessing the likely value your home is placed onto the open market. It is likely that your agent will have sold comparable properties in your neighbourhood and will also be able to draw upon a “historical” understanding and perspective of price trends in your area which again is invaluable when deciding how much your home is worth. Experience is helpful in being able to advise on the best time to sell your property in order to achieve the optimum market value. It is not enough to assume that the best time to sell is in the spring or early summer. There is no such thing as the property market as a single entity as different sectors of the market will sell better at different times of the year. For example, the domestic family market tends to follow and respond to school term times and holidays. The first time buying market by contrast will be fairly consistent throughout the year.
An estate agents experience and historical understanding of the market is also critical when it comes to the process of negotiating the sale on your behalf. Many prospective purchasers will often, quite understandably, quote the sale prices of other property in the general area to support the price they offer you. Reality is that the “similar property” may have little bearing on your own for a variety of reasons ie smaller plot, shallow frontage, overlooked by neighbouring properties, not as impressive or imposing etc. A good agent will know the reasons for the difference as they are specialists in their market and are just as likely to have been inside the “similar property” at some stage in their career!
How comfortable are you that your agent is qualified to show people around your home? Are you sure they are saying the right things and know the key attributes to point out to a prospective buyer? Do they know about the schools in the area? How accessible the main line station is or how far their children have to walk to find a safe park to play in? Are they able to talk confidently about the possibility of extending the house, the planning laws and requirements for the same and ultimately what the uplifting value will be with this in mind. It is highly improbable that an 18 year old trainee will be able to confidently consider such matters compared to an agent who has 20 years experience!
Consider also, how an agent prepares the property particulars for your home. Do they know how to present them in the best possible way, highlight the attributes that will most likely appeal to or attract your target market? For example it would be entirely inappropriate to present a 5 bedroom family home in one of the best residential neighbour hoods in the same way as a studio flat in terms of marketing, presentation and detail.
The above are just a few of the issues to consider when deciding whether it is the best policy to choose “economy” over “experience”.