How to Choose the Right Estate Agent

This guide contains everything you need to know about choosing an estate agent, from what type of agent you should consider to other factors like fees and so on.

Steps To Follow When Choosing an Estate Agent

Follow these steps to choose the best estate agent for you:

1. Choose the Type You Want – Online or Traditional

The first step you have to scale through is determining the kind of agency you want to use. There are two types available to you: online and traditional agencies.

A traditional agency typically has a physical location (office) that people can visit. They also handle the whole selling procedure and would only get their fee once the sale is done. This means that you do not have to pay any fee before the sale is completed. So, if your property is not sold off, you won’t have to spend any money.

Online agencies, on the other hand, carry out their business online. They usually do not have a physical office that you can go to. Also, unlike traditional agencies, you are required to pay an upfront fee before your property is put up for sale. You may be required to pay additional charges, and sometimes, you may have to handle some of the sales procedures by yourself.

So, before you go further, properly consider the options and go with one that you feel is the right choice for you.

2. Make a Potential Agencies List

When looking for a service, the last thing you want to do is settle for the first one you come across. To avoid this, we recommend that you make a list of potential agencies you can use. Now, the key to gathering these potential agencies is asking those around you.

Your friends, families, and neighbors may have at some point needed this service. If this is the case, when you ask them, they will be sure to recommend an agency that they enjoyed working with. Word of mouth marketing is very important (check here to learn more about this), and service providers know this so they try to always make a great impression on their customers.

So, if you speak to those around you and an agency is spoken about but not in a good light, it would be best to avoid them.

If you choose to go with an online agency, then an internet search would bring you a list of potential agencies you can work with.

3. Look Closer

Now, you need to find out as much as you can about the companies you have on the list. One way to do this is to pay a visit to their websites.

You can learn so much information from a business website. In this case, you want to find out more about the services they offer, their staff, and the type of properties they have on their site. Are these properties similar to what you are looking to sell? Are the pictures of the properties of high quality? Do they give proper information about the properties?

Check out these things and use the answers to reduce the companies on your list as best as possible. At the end of this step, you should have strategically narrowed the list to about 2 or 3 agents.

4. Investigate Even Further

Now that you have just 2 or 3 companies on your list, it is time to take an even closer look at each. If you opted for a traditional company, you can choose to visit them at this point. This is the stage where you interview the agency and find out whether they can cater to your needs or not.

Some important things to take note of during the meeting include professionalism, politeness, expertise, and punctuality. Now, in this stage, you also need to make the agent understand your need so they can tell you if it is something they can match up to. For instance, if you need to sell before a given date because you need to move or you are expecting a baby, tell them and see if this can be possible.

Also, discuss your property value. Ensure you get a detailed explanation for why they think what they propose is the value for your property. Ensure you ask them questions about the process like whether or not they have potential buyers, if they’ll come with the potential buyers for inspections, and how often they’ll be in touch.

Finally, find out all you can about the fees you would be charged. Usually, the fee charged is an agreed-on percent of the price the property is sold for. You may also get some additional fees for photography and advertising. A trustworthy agent won’t be evasive about the cost.

Be as attentive as possible so you don’t fall prey to hidden fees at the end of the day. You can visit https://www.businessinsider.com/ to learn how to avoid some common hidden fees.

5. Choose Your Agent

Now that you have taken a closer look at the companies on your list, it is time to make your final choice. To make sure you pick the best agent, consider all the agents you interviewed and figure out which one is offering you the best services at a fair price.

Conclusion

Choosing the best estate agent won’t be difficult if the right steps are taken. Before you choose an agency to sell your property, you need to make a list of potential agencies, and then investigate each properly. Then, you can make the right choice based on your investigations.

Previous post:
Prepping to Buy a Home: All You Need to Know

Next post:
3 Signs You're Not Ready to Invest in Real Estate