Natalie Ward-Kerr, Founder and Director
www.frankestateagency.co.uk
Spring is finally in the air and with that comes the most traditional time of the year when sellers choose to list their home, gardens are beginning to bloom and the warmer air can’t help but lift our spirits, but where do you start the journey to select the right agent for you.
First step is to banish the massive mis-conception that all agents are the same, because we are most definitely not.
When considering the best agent for your needs, it is essential to do your research and understand the differences between the larger corporate firms to the typically smaller but local agencies. Whilst the brand power and target driven sales ideology that the big corporate cats offer can appear somewhat tempting, this extensively staged production can often come at the expense of personalised service and essentially a lack of personal investment to your individual needs. In contrast, working with a smaller independent firm is often known to foster a much more hands on approach, tailoring services to meet the specific needs of each and every client and in doing so building long standing relationships where no one is just a number. The larger the firm, the more layers of different roles and departments which can lead to slower response times and less of a personal knowledge of each home and the clients positions whereby dealing with different staff members day to day can eventuate in hugely disproportionate levels of service.
We would always suggest arranging three different valuations, this ordinarily gives you the opportunity to meet each representative, discuss fees and contractual ties and explore the varying valuations.
Some key points of research you can conduct yourself prior to these appointments, firstly track the number of reductions each agent has encountered with their current listing portfolio, this will undoubtedly prove a an interesting trend when you compare your valuations from agent to agent. Secondly, take a look at how many properties they currently have for sale, if it’s a high number I would beg the question, what time do they have to manage more?
One of the most frustrating aspects we tend to encounter at Frank, is hearing the horror stories of what is known as your ‘tie in period’ to your chosen agent. Naturally, when discussing choice of agent, fees are the most frequent and commonly asked question which is obviously a big consideration, however the lesser known aspect of the contract is the length of time to which you are contractually bound to that agent. In other words, you may find yourself feeling extremely dissatisfied with your selected agent merely a couple of weeks into marketing, then when you question giving notice you discover you are tied in for as much as 22 weeks and unable to leave. Ethically, this is one of the contractual elements we strongly disagree with at Frank Estate Agency. It is our belief that to retain your business we should be working our socks off to keep you happy as opposed to depending on the handcuffs these contractual ties bring, we therefore abolished any sense of tie in to our contract, allowing our clients the freedom to leave at any given point.
One of the biggest factors we believe should be considered are the people. Selling and buying a home can be a notoriously stressful time and the team you surround yourself in can be make an incredible difference for your experience. Trust and knowledge are two of the biggest key factors to consider and actually, do you like them?! Ask yourself, do you think this individual is going to be as personally invested in this as you? Because they should be. We never underestimate the privilege of being the chosen agent and treat each new listing as though it was our home, that just how we think it should be.
To ask any questions relating to listing your home, feel free to pop us a call anytime on 01502 800451 for some gentle but FRANK advice.
Most importantly don’t be afraid to ask any questions, no such thing as a wrong or bad one…