Tag: estate agents uk

How to pick the right estate agent to sell your property & which ones to avoid

Posted on by

 

With such a broad choice of estate agencies out there to choose from, where do you start?

Online or High Street?

I’ll keep this short, DON’T use an online agent or one of those that charge a lower fee which is all upfront.

 

Real experience

I’m not saying that there aren’t some hard working estate agents out there; with good intentions, but most estate agents don’t even own their own home, let alone bought and sold investment properties. It’s very difficult for an estate agent to truly understand the needs and concerns of a homeowner or a landlord if they’ve never been through the process themselves.

 

Operating in sales and lettings

Many sales agents aren’t privy to the massive amounts of legislation surrounding the lettings industry, which makes it a risky business to instruct an agent that doesn’t also operate in lettings. Some firms do both, but you need to make sure that the person you’re dealing with is active and well versed in both sales and lettings on a regular basis.

 

Office location

Selecting the right selling agent for the job is crucial and don’t pick an agent based on their office location. This used to be important, but in this digital era, circa 98% of house sales now come from an online enquiry, via Rightmove or Zoopla for example. Therefore, it is much more important to find the best agent, not where the agent is located.

 

Lower fee upfront or a higher “no sale no fee”?

I suggest that you avoid the new hybrid agent model with their headline cheap fees. This business model has been designed to suit the business and not the customer. Although the sales fee is lower, you have to pay it all upfront, whether they sell your property or not. It has been proven many times over that this option will cost you more overall because of the ubiquitous lower sale price that this type of agent is achieving. They spend most of their time trying to find new people that want to sell instead of trying to sell your property, which is understandable, given the way the business model has been established. There is no financial incentive for them to try and sell your property or to assist the solicitors with the sales progression. Average statistics have proven that selling through this type of agent will not enable you to maximise your sale price, it will take you longer to sell and it will increase the chances of your buyer pulling out.

Here are some recent statistics that show how the average UK estate agent has been performing…

31.6% of property is reduced in price by an average of £25,000 before it’s sold.

The average property takes 91 days to find a buyer.

26%  of sales are falling through because the deals are not progressing forward quick enough.

 

I’m pleased to say that Embarq’s statistics make far better reading than the industry average (above). This is because we have a very broad knowledge on compliance, financial aspects and being market strategists as well as estate agents, we know exactly how to maximise the market place for each individual property.

 

You must not underestimate the importance of finding the right estate agent for the job. Quibbling over the difference in fees could cost you tens of thousands of pounds. Aside from all of the aspects mentioned in this guide, just the negotiation skills of an agent will have a huge bearing on the final price that’s agreed. Without blowing one’s trumpet, I have won numerous awards for negotiation, and other estate agency related topics, which I have taught to my incredible team at EMBARQ. My guys follow a rigid process that enables us to consistently achieve the best possible price for our clients. We more often than not negotiate the asking price and in many instances, even higher.

 

If you require a FREE market appraisal to find out what your property is worth for sale or for let, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

 

Gina Jo Giles (formally Gina Jo Parry)

Part 1 of 12 – The Basics – ESTATE AGENTS – Getting into home-ownership or property investment

Posted on by

The Basics – Part 1 of 12 – ESTATE AGENTS

Before I start explaining how to buy your first home, become a landlord or how to become a property developer, you’ll need to understand some of the basics first, otherwise, you’re likely to find the whole process confusing and perhaps stressful, especially when using unorthodox strategies to buy a home or property investment, typically for those with a lack of funds and/or good credit rating.

Throughout your property journey, you’re going to encounter a number of different professionals, which ones will depend on whether you intend on becoming a homeowner, landlord or property developer. I’m going to start off with ESTATE AGENTS. Takes one to know one…

ESTATE AGENTS

Estate Agents market properties for sale on behalf of sellers (vendors) in exchange for a sales commission, typically on a no sale, no fee basis. An on-line breed of agent has entered the house selling arena as of late, some of which charge a fee upfront, irrespective of whether they sell the property. Typically, an online agent is cheaper but they have no incentive to sell and it’s been proven; on average, that it’ll cost vendors more to sell with an online agent, because they tend to achieve less for the property. Like all industries, there are good and bad. Finding an experienced agent isn’t enough, you need an experienced and knowledgeable agent that’s proactive and up to date on all legislation, together-with access and the know-how of the latest marketing techniques.

You need to deal with both good and bad agents in order to maximise your opportunities. The grades and qualifications bar is set very low to become an estate agent in the UK which is why it’s plagued with the ubiquitous stereotype. If you want the best property deals from them, then treat them with respect, keep in regular contact and tell them what they want to hear in some instances.

Most want to know that you are serious and that you have the ability to complete a purchase swiftly. This is so they can get paid as quickly as possible. If you don’t have the money and/or the credit to be able to purchase a home or property investment in the traditional manner and you are intending on adopting one of the unorthodox strategies to enter the property arena, then you’re wasting your time and energy trying to explain your proposed methods to most of them. If they don’t understand it; which is likely, then they don’t want to know. You just need to submit an offer amount, in certain strategic ways, and then either try and arrange to meet the seller directly and/or converse your proposed strategy to them via your solicitors.

If you’re intending on buying, controlling or selling a leasehold property, then agent selection could make a significant difference to how the deal ends up. Leasehold is a minefield compared to freehold and there are many other specialist property types, such as HMO’s, commercial, land, mixed-use, etc etc, that should be dealt with by experts in these fields in order to maximise performance.

It also makes a big difference to deal with an agent that has a broad knowledge of the interconnecting industries, such as mortgages, conveyancing, tax, investment, strategy, planning and development.

You’ll be surprised how much VALUE you will gain from selecting an expert level estate agent over the alternative.

Watch out for our next post on MORTGAGE BROKERS.

David Giles – Partner