Questions to ask an Estate Agent
Having a trustworthy relationship with your estate agent is important, on both the customer’s and the estate agent’s end and can help ease the process when buying or selling a property. Our branch manager, Nathan, talks about some excellent tips on the types of questions you should ask your estate agent so that you can be sure you are making the right choice.
How much experience do you have?
It always helps if your agent has experience in dealing with the type of property that you’re looking to either sell or let. An agent should be able to value your property with comparable evidence of similar types of property (to your property) within the local area, over the course of the past few months. This enables the agent to value the property correctly, to generate the right amount of interest and to get you the most suitable buyer/tenant for you. The past experience of your agent will certainly help with your needs, as the more experience your agent has, the quality of advice you will receive should be higher.
What is your style of communication?
An agent should have many styles of communication tailored for each customer. Different customers prefer to be communicated in different ways, whether this is by email, telephone, texting or home visits. For example, if a customer is in an environment where they can’t use their phone throughout the agent’s opening hours, a good agent will find a way of tailoring their style of communication to their customer’s needs. We also find that a good agent will maintain regular communication to their customer to keep them informed, whether there’s good, bad or no news.
What is your marketing plan for my needs?
There are many different ways to create a marketing plan. We find that one of the most effective ways to showcase your property is using online portals. The reason for this is that statistically, around 97% of potential buyers/tenants start their search online, therefore presenting your property online is really important. Photographs, floorplans, video tours and social media advertising are also really effective ways to advertise your home. A marketing plan should be designed and constructed by your agent, with the agent making sure that your needs are kept at the forefront of their mind to get you moved successfully and as stress-free as possible. Another way of finding the style of your agent is by looking at their current property listings. This is a key indicator of how they portray themselves as agents and how your property could potentially be showcased.
Do you have references that I can see or contact?
This is a fantastic way to find out about your agent, before deciding to use their services. An excellent way to research your agent and the company is to ask friends or family if they’ve heard about the company or the particular agent you’ve been communicating with. Another very useful tip is to look at reviews such as Google or Facebook.
If you are looking for an estate agent to sell your home or you simply want to know more about us as you may wish to sell your home in the future, don’t hesitate to get in touch and find out more about us!
