What Are You Really Paying An Estate Agent For?

What Are You Really Paying an Estate Agent For?

If you're thinking of selling your home, you'll soon find yourself sitting across from a series of estate agents, each one more enthusiastic than the last, all armed with a laminated folder and an impressive ability to talk for 45 minutes without really saying anything. Most will tell you about their marketing, some will mention their local presence and at least one of them will say ‘we've got loads of boards in this area’ as if a plastic sign on a stick is the secret to getting you the best price for your home.

Before you get too dazzled by the patter, I'd encourage you to consider a very useful question - what am I actually paying for? Professional photography, floorplans, an accurate property description and listings on Rightmove / Zoopla should be the absolute bare minimum. Because here's the thing; we know for a fact over 99% of buyers look for their next home online, which means whether you go with a national chain or a one man band working from home, they're advertising your home to exactly the same people.

So when an agent tells you they have loads of boards and therefore more buyers; pause for a moment. More boards means they've listed more properties, that is all. As above, we already know where your buyer is coming from. Often, all that more boards equates to is a diluted service...which you only find out about once it’s too late!

Once the listing is live, that’s when the real work begins...

• Who works hardest on your sale - the agency owner with a handful of clients who knows your property inside out, or the high street negotiator juggling fifty?

• Who picks up the phone whenever you call and who doesn’t answer after 5pm or over weekends?

• Who keeps you in the loop with regular communication and who goes quiet for days at a time?

• Who does your viewings with care and gives you useful feedback and who employs door openers?

• Who negotiates your sale fiercely, the one who gets paid when the sale completes or salaried staff?

• And who rolls their sleeves up when things get complicated - because they always get complicated!

This is what you're really paying for.

Propertynest is an independent business that I own, which means I don't have a manager to answer to, a target to hit and there’s certainly no junior negotiator handling your biggest financial asset. Just me, fully invested with every single client.

People work with me because I'm genuine, honest, responsive and I actually care how it all turns out. So when you're making your decision, don't just think about the size of the company, think about the person sitting in front of you - because long after the Rightmove listing is up, it's that person's effort, persistence and judgement that will make or break your sale.