Are Estate Agents Ally or Enemy When Selling Your House?

When selling a house most of us immediately think about using an estate agent to help us with this task, certainly it’s not an easy job and having a professional who knows the property market on your side can be a real blessing. But are things that simple? Can you trust an estate agent? How should you choose which estate agent to work with? In small areas there may only be one choice, but more often than not there are a host of agents to choose from so the next challenge is knowing which firm to work with.

How do you approach an estate agent to sell your home?

Before you decide to sell your house through an estate agent you can invite them to value your property. This will involve them visiting your property and giving you an idea of how quickly your property will sell and for what price. Of course things aren’t as simple as that; estate agents often over and under value property for their own gains. In this case they could over value your property in order to entice you to sign up with them, in the long run though this will only lead to your property sitting on the market longer as many buyers will be put off. The best way to combat this is to get several valuations from different estate agents. From this you can tell roughly what your house is valued at and rule out any estate agents who miss the mark.

What happens if I choose an estate agent who overvalues my property?

A higher value looks attractive from the offset - the promise of more money for your home is a hard notion to turn down. However if the estate agent has overvalued your property the ramifications are simple: your house won’t sell. Buyers will have done their research and know that your property is listed for more than its worth. As such your house will just sit on the market longer whilst your estate agent throws excuses as you such as the “the market is sluggish” or “the area isn’t desirable”. They may even try and attribute blame to you saying the property itself isn’t what is selling - certainly a change of tune from their initial viewing. While an estate agent may be willing to wait for a sale this could cause a real life inconvenience for you.

How should I choose which estate agent to sign with?

• While you invite estate agents to view and value your property take the opportunity to ask questions. Remember that you’re not being impolite - you are a customer and you have the right to ask hard questions. These should include asking tips about the presentation of your house whilst selling; a good estate agent should have lots of tips to offer about things that help homes sell.
• Be frank about money and fees so you get an idea about how much the estate agent will charge and the commission that they receive, this doesn’t mean that you should necessarily go with the cheapest estate agent but it does mean that you should factor this into your decision making. From this make sure you know what you are getting for your money and what services are included in the fees.
• Delve into how they promote properties it is best to use an estate agent who use all available means at their disposal to sell a property including local media and the internet.
• Get an idea of time space - how long will it take for your property to be listed and how long do they estimate a sale will take to secure, this will give you an idea of how realistic the estate agent is and how they work. You want an estate agent who is quick and efficient but you also want to choose someone who is trustworthy and honest when communicating with you.
• A final point to verify is whether or not the estate agent will show potential buyers around the property or whether you are expected to as this may weight your decision.

How long should a sale take?

Remember that no matter how good your estate agent the sale of a house can easily take between 3 - 12 months. This is a long time considering the situation that may have brought on the need to sell your home. In order to help along the process you can make sure your home is clean and tidy and as clutter free as possible. This creates a blank canvas in which buyers can project their aspirations. Your estate agent should be able to advise you further about tricks of the trade that can give your property a winning edge.

When you decide to sell a property you want to make sure that you give it the best chance you can to secure the sale that you want. This means that you will need to put in a certain amount of effort to prepare it for sale but it also means you need to make smart decisions about the people that you choose to represent you in the property market. If selling your property quickly is a priority then perhaps you should consider using another means such as selling at auction or using a quick sell company that will buy your house quickly for cash. Quick sell companies will not offer the full market value of your property but remember that in the traditional market you would still have to pay valuation and estate agent fees which would eat into the amount of money you receive as well as the cost of staying in a property for longer than you had planned.