Supragal Posted April 14, 2007 Share Posted April 14, 2007 Everyone keeps telling me the selling market is really good and picking up every day at the moment, I've had about 4 viewings in 10 weeks. It may just be the property but I was wondering if some estate agents are better at selling... anyone had any experience of changing agents or anything? They all advertise in the same places, we checked all that, so is there more to it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted April 14, 2007 Share Posted April 14, 2007 Normally the only difference is what percentage they charge you to sell the house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren Posted April 14, 2007 Share Posted April 14, 2007 Some are better than others. You want to be with one that has a large advertising budget and you need to review your details carefully are they as good as they can be if not tell them so. Oh yes ring you agents and ask em what the problem is with the house or is it just that the markets slow etc? HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supragal Posted April 14, 2007 Author Share Posted April 14, 2007 I talked them down to a low-ish rate compared to the standard rates of them all. I don't really know what to look for in the description... I got them to come round today to take more pictures as the gardens come out now instead of being winter mud!! Maybe that will help. How do I know if they have a large advertising budget? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markymark Posted April 14, 2007 Share Posted April 14, 2007 Handing the keyboard to my girlfriend for this one as she's been an estate agent for a good few years: Hi Rosie - difficult to be specific on why your property isn't selling. You are right, most estate agents do the same sort of thing - the main thing that normally varies from agent to agent is fee structure. If you have negotiated a good fee then you more than likely with a decent agent who has been keen enough for your business to drop their fee. Having worked in estate agencies in Scotland & England, I've seen the worst of the worst & the best of the best. The best out there are the ones that abuse marketing - don't listen to all the estate agents who try to justify their huge fees by saying 'we advertise on 19 websites & 8 papers blah blah...' - http://www.rightmove.co.uk IS where houses sell - 85.% of our buyers come from rightmove. So make sure your photographs on rightmove show your property in the best light (no xmas decs, no snow, no clutter etc.. - which I'm sure you're already doing). Make sure your agent has a decent description & variation of photos - & most importantly, make sure he got your asking price right. Even if it's £5,000 overpriced, it can make all the difference. Something simple to check is where you price sits with rightmove price brackets (e.g. if it's on for £252,000 it will sit at the bottom of a long list rather than £249,995 sitting at the top of a search). If it would be any help, pm me your postcode - I'll check it out & see if I can offer any friendly advice. Sometimes the most simple changes make the biggest differences! (I also hate estate agents so don't worry, I understand your predicament) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barney Posted April 15, 2007 Share Posted April 15, 2007 Check out your local estate agents, short list what you consider to be the best three and get them round and basically "interview" them. Choose the one that you feel will do the best job for you. Make sure you make it clear what you expect from them, ie: frequent updates, feedback from viewings etc. In order for a good estate agent to sell your house to the best of their ability you need to make sure you have done everything possible to make your house saleable......and a good estate agent will advise you on these points. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveK Posted April 15, 2007 Share Posted April 15, 2007 When I was deciding, it was all done by phone - but I chose based on my "feeling" from talking to them. Some of them just didn't seem bothered, and didn't inspire confidence when they did the valuation. I was happy with Halifax (but made them adjust their charges) and have been very impressed with them (even though the house hasn't sold yet). However - I've also discovered that selling a house is a bit like "the weakest link". Even if you get the best estate agent in the world and sell your house in a day - one of the people in the chain will be using Arthur Dayle's Used House Emporium, so the whole thing still takes ages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supragal Posted April 16, 2007 Author Share Posted April 16, 2007 Yeah I did do all that, got 3 round, went through what they were going to do and their fee structure, and in the end went for the one we liked the most as he seemed most interested so I negotiated his fees down to what we were happy with and went from there... MarkyMarks gf- thanks We removed as much clutter as possible, problem is, it has to go somewhere!! I'll pm you the rightmove link so you can see what you think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
razza Posted April 16, 2007 Share Posted April 16, 2007 Try and show them round yourself, ours was on the market for months, had a few viewings but nothing came off, showed one couple round ourselves and sold it the next day. You sell yourself not just the property, and you can tell them all the benefits of the place instead of what the estate agent thinks the perceived benefits are.... stick it on ebay[GRIN][/GRIN] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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