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Real Estate Information |
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Choosing An Estate Agent
With so many estate agencies vying for your business, choosing the right agency can be difficult. We have put together the following top ten tips to help you find and use the most appropriate estate agent to sell your house. 1 - Shop around Shopping around different agents is a must and will allow you to get a good idea of the different prices and service you can expect. If the agent knows that you are talking to their competitors, you are more likely to get the deal you want on their fees. 2 - Local presence Opt for agents with a good local presence. Good indicators of a local presence are plenty of boards, reading 'sold', a prominent office on the local high street and listings in the local papers. Speak to friends, family and colleagues about agents they have used in the past as personal recommendations are often invaluable. 3 - Valuations Always get more than one valuation and don't always accept the highest. Quoting a high figure is one thing, actually achieving the sale is another. Try to find out from the estate agent if the figure is a result of knowledge and experience in the area or are they just trying to win your business. Do your own research, using the internet and local papers to compare the valuation against other similar properties in the area. 4 - Sales and marketing package Find out how the agent is planning to market your property and what the marketing collateral, i.e. brochures, adverts, website, will look like. When it comes to selling, try to find out how good the agents will be at negotiating on your behalf. Do they appear organised, focussed and professional? Would you buy a house from them? 5 - Website The Internet is now a very popular tool amongst people looking for new homes and it is vital that your agent has a good website to market your property with. Can the site be found on search engines, does it provide clear navigation to the property listings and are properties presented appropriately? A number of agents also list their properties in the large national property search engines like RightMove and Fish4Homes, extending their reach to a further national audience. 6 - Trade association Try to use agents that are members of associations, such as The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) or The Ombudsman of Estate Agents Scheme (OEA). You are more likely to get a professional service and if anything goes wrong the associations will often help you and the agent resolve the dispute. 7 - Fees Negotiating a lower fee with the agent may prove to be a false economy. Remember the agent is working for you and by cutting their money, you will be reducing their incentive to work as hard on your sale. Instead, try to create an incentive to benefit both parties. If the agent can get the full asking price, then let them have the full fee, but maybe you can negotiate a reduction in the fee, if they are not able to achieve the full asking price. 8 - Contracts Read the contract thoroughly, ask questions and never sign up to anything that you do not understand. Check the period of time for which you will be legally bound. There is nothing worse than being locked in with an agent providing poor service. Insist on a time period that will allow you to change agents easily, such as monthly or even weekly. 9 - Multiple agents To achieve a quick sale, you may want to use more than one agent to market your property. If so, another point to check on the contract is whether the agent insists on 'sole agency'. This means that they will still be able to charge you a commission fee, even if you sell your home privately or through another agent. 10 - Transparency Estate agents are required by law to not make false or misleading statements about the features of a property. They must also declare both promptly and in writing if either they, a business partner or relative would like to buy your property or if the agent will benefit in any way (above and beyond the agreed commission) from the sale of your property. Don Suter is Managing Editor of the UK Property Portal (http://www.ukpropertyportal.co.uk), an online directory and magazine for UK property sales, rental, surveyors, mortgages, conveyancing, property insurance, removals, news, investment and development. For more information on selling your home and finding estate agents, browse through our property search pages
MORE RESOURCES: Broncos connected to real estate purchases around Burnham Yard, potential stadium site The Denver Post Small real estate investors reach record market share, now dominate 59% of investor purchases Fox Business Real estate brokerage eyes move to Salesforce Tower Crain's Chicago Business Real Estate Transfers ~ May 30, 2025 The Bedford Citizen After 50 years of blazing a trail for women in real estate, a Hampton Roads magnate retires The Virginian-Pilot Startup aims to bring assumable mortgages to the masses RealEstateNews.com Household Real Estate Asset Value Falls to Start the Year Eye on Housing Attorney General Jeff Jackson Frees North Carolinians from Predatory Real Estate Agreements NCDOJ (.gov) Lynn Goessling Talks Real Estate Trends in St. Louis Business Journal Armstrong Teasdale MV Realty update: Listing agreements terminated in Florida RealEstateNews.com Real Estate: 8 properties, including apartment complex, change ownership in Clark County Arkadelphian.com Interview: Heidi Addo, vice president, Michel Commercial Real Estate Finance & Commerce EG Real Estate: 11 Sold & 13 Open East Greenwich News Former GE Headquarters Site in Fort Point Sells for $57 Million Amid Struggles in Lab Real Estate Market Boston Real Estate Times SDCERA commits $250m to real estate fund Private Equity Real Estate | PERE MARWEST APARTMENT REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST ANNOUNCES 10% INCREASE IN MONTHLY CASH DISTRIBUTION POLICY Yahoo Finance 4 rate-lowering strategies to share with buyer clients RealEstateNews.com Q&A: Colliers’ Devon Dvorak builds career in multifamily real estate Finance & Commerce Tech Bytes: reAlpha enters a new market, eyes national expansion RealEstateNews.com Home equity dips $4K as prices slow, costs climb RealEstateNews.com Brooklyn BP Antonio Reynoso has taken cash from real estate interests despite pledge New York Daily News Archie real estate platform wins Delaware EDGE grant Cape Gazette Real estate news: Tesla Collision Center property in Irvine sells for $21M Orange County Register TCRS commits $150m to real estate fund Private Equity Real Estate | PERE Related Beal Celebrates Topping Out of Leiden Center II at Innovation Square in Boston’s Eastern Seaport Boston Real Estate Times Aleut Real Estate breaks ground on hangar facility at Pryor Field Business Alabama Magazine The Best Real Estate of the Year, From Merv Griffin’s La Quinta Estate to a Historic Oxfordshire Manor Robb Report Photos: Bing Crosby’s historic California estate sells for $25 million San Francisco Chronicle New Perspectives: Cheers! | Real Estate Insights Piedmont Exedra MassHousing Announces Expanded, Statewide Down Payment Assistance Program - Boston Real Estate Times MassHousing Announces Expanded, Statewide Down Payment Assistance Program Boston Real Estate Times Kevin Joyce Talks Residential Real Estate, Mortgages & Opportunities For Sellers & Buyers Rockland County Business Journal Matthews Real Estate Opens San Francisco Office Connect CRE Galvanize Real Estate Buys Maryland Industrial Portfolio CommercialSearch Traci N. Powell, real estate broker and advocate for Black homeownership, dies at 44 The Philadelphia Tribune LOCAL REAL ESTATE TODAY 6.13.25 KQEN News Radio Real estate transfers in Hancock County for May 2025 Muddy River News Licking County real estate transfers for May 26-30 hit nearly $1.5 million in Pataskala The Newark Advocate Invesco Real Estate Provides $355M Refi of 24-Asset Industrial Portfolio Commercial Observer $28.2 million record home sale in West Palm Beach at 3030 Washington Road The Palm Beach Post Fond du Lac County property sold for $1.53 million in real estate transfers for June 2-6 fdlreporter.com News of public record: Muskingum County real estate transfers Zanesville Times Recorder Northwest Healthcare Properties Real Estate Investment Trust Announces June 2025 Distribution Newsfile Wake Up Your Real Estate: Defining Real Estate Nonstop Local News Real Estate Agent Booms and Busts Calculated Risk Brookfield Asset Management names CEO of real estate in reshuffle Pensions & Investments Building Futures Annual Awards Gala Fordham University News of public record: Coshocton County real estate transfers Coshocton Tribune Real estate transfers: Canton supermarket property sells for $8.2M Canton Repository $354M Deal: Bridge Investment Group's Massive Industrial Portfolio Refinancing Spans 6 Key States Stock Titan Mortgage Rates This Week Remain Stable With 30-Year FRM at 6.84% Norada Real Estate Investments Construction crews raising the next business park for fast-growing Kyle The Business Journals Investors Are Selling a Record Share of Homes To Cut Their Losses—Especially in These 5 States Realtor.com Major Real Estate Deal: Lead Real Estate Secures Prime Spot in Tokyo's $6B Tsukiji Waterfront Transformation Stock Titan Loyola names MCB Real Estate’s David Bramble as Business Leader of the Year Loyola University Maryland Real estate giants crack down on exclusive 'off-market' home listings in major shift for buyers Fox Business U.S. States With Lowest Mortgage Rates Today – June 13, 2025 Norada Real Estate Investments Reality star's real estate company locks hundreds of North Texans into controversial contracts CBS News Top industrial real estate trends J.P. 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