Put your estate agent to the test 

Questions to ask an estate agent when they value your property and what to do next

We have prepared the following ideas/tips which we hope are helpful.

The first thing to do is to buy your local newspapers (all of them). Look through the property sections and choose 3/4 estate agents that are in the area and who look professional.

We know it can be a bit time consuming but you must invite a minimum of 3 to 4 estate agents round to value your property, to get a true realistic idea, and so that you can get the answers to the questions you must have, to make your decision.

When they arrive have a individual list of the following questions ready for every agent, at this stage do not let them know you are inviting 3/4 agents round and after they have looked at your home ask them for their honest thoughts (make a note)

• What do they think of the property? Again tell them to be honest

• Is there any thing you need to do to make this property more saleable? Explain you need their advice because they are the property people and there are the ones who are dealing with the public all the time and you are not. (Confirm that you will not be offended)

• Ask if you were to do all that what they had recommend, then what is a realistic value after?

• Ask how long this person has been valuing property?

• How long has he been working in this area?

• How long has the company been trading in this local area?

• Where is their office?

• What newspapers do they advertise in and how often?

• Approximately how many properties do they have on the market at the moment and how many of them are a similar type of property to yours?

• Ask what commission they charge for sole agency, then ask what commission is charged if the property is given to more than one agent? i.e. multi agents.

• Ask if the commission is negotiable?

• Do they accompany viewings? At the end of the day you are employing a sales person to sell your house not a telephone sales person who just sits in their office!

• Are they open at the weekend?

Remember that you do not have to have a qualified RICS chartered surveyor to be able to give a market appraisal i.e. Estate Agents Valuation. After you have seen/met all the local agents at your home, it is now time for you to go and meet them at their office (do not make a appointment just turn up and catch them off guard). Explain that they had recently been round to value your property and you wanted to discuss it for another 5 minutes. If the person that visited you at your home is not there or not available then ask for the manager, again you must be prepared with the following questions.

• What do they think of the local market at the moment?

• Are they selling property?

•Are properties selling quickly?

• Approximately how many properties are they selling per month?

• How many of the property sales had a chain?

• Do people have to take offers at the moment? If so what kind of offer do they think you will have to take?

• How many members of staff do they have at the branch/office?
 
• If you were to put the property on the market with them how often will your property be advertised in the local newspapers and which newspapers will they use? Ideally you want them to advertise your property a minimum of once every two weeks. Remember marketing is so important.

• Will your property be advertised in their office window all the time?

• Will your property be marketed on the web? if so where?

• Do they have an in house marketing brochure?

• Will your property be marketed through any of their local offices?

Once you have done this with all the estate agents, you will have a very good idea what estate agent to choose; whether you should go sole or multi agency; the commission you will be charged; a realistic idea of what price you should put your property on the market at and the offers you may have to possibly consider taking.

This may sound like a lot of questions to ask and you may be asking yourself why we recommend you visit the branch/office.

The reason we recommend you do this is because you may have not met the manager; you may get different answers to your first questions; you get to see where their branch/office is; you get to meet the staff/sales people who are about to try and sell your biggest asset and you can get an idea of how your property will be advertised in their office and what their details on properties look like.

Also see:

Secrets about estate agents when valuing a property
Quick sale - the conventional way
Property buyer types

Contact us or apply online.  If you are looking for a quick sale we can help!