Is there much to choose between estate agents?

[Megaloof]

We are selling a home on behalf of a family member - recently died - 300 miles away. Not in any rush to sell, but on the other hand we are paying council tax etc now so dont want to wait for ever.

It's a while since we bought and sold ourselves- pre Zoopla and Right Move- so wondered if the actual agent makes any difference?

The one we have chosen is well established- the oldest in the town and has another couple of branches further afield. Our only doubt is because they are well established - and not young Turks!- we wonder if they are selling it at all or just sitting back and waiting for buyers to walk through the door.

There have been 3 viewings in 4 weeks which is not great so if anyone has any advice?

It's a lovely pre-war semi - parquet flooring etc and sought after road - but does need modernising ( kitchen, bathroom, new boiler.)

The photos show it is pretty much empty but we have had it thoroughly cleaned etc and the garden is being maintained.

Any ideas?

I would say 3 viewings in 4 weeks is brilliant, but then around here the property market is very slow. I just accepted an offer on my flat today (yay) after 2 and a half years on the market with one agent, we got 4 viewings in that time. 2 weeks on the market with a new one and its sold!

If they're well known and established in the area that stands for a lot I would say. If possible is there anyone you know in the area that could view as a potential buyer on your behalf? We did this before changing agents (as our old agent did viewings themselves) and they were beyond useless, no follow up, didn't try to sell it just let them walk about the place.

Other than that my experience is agents offer much the same as each other so it's as much gut instinct than anything else.

There absolutely is. You want to make sure you pick someone that you feel confident that can chase queries and correctly handle paperwork after selling. An agent that will pass on questions to and from you.

We pulled out of a house purchase in April and one of the major reasons was the level of incompetence by the estate agents dealing with the sale.

One thing that has bugged me so far is that they have not fed-back on viewings- in fact they didn't tell us there had been any viewing until we phoned them about something else. There was an enquiry at the weekend and someone made a silly offer over the phone ( a VERY silly offer) but they didn't call us and tell us about it- I phoned today to ask what the outcome was of the phone enquiry.

They clearly knew the offer was outrageous ( over 30% less than asking price) so there was no way it was negotiable - but we'd like to be kept in touch with what is happening without us having to call them.
AIBU?

There isn't anyone who would view anon because we have no contacts there bar 1 person who is well known so it would look odd. But it's worth thinking about to see if we could conjure someone up.

They are legally required to inform you of any offer, however desultory. How long are you tied in with them? TBH based on what you've said I would use the unreported offer to get out of the contract (telling them that you'll complain to the ombudsman otherwise) and find another agent. Even threatening to do this might put a rocket up them.

Hmm- thanks.
The offer was made over the phone on the basis of 'I've got £XXX in my savings- are they likely to accept'.
Had I not phoned to follow up this guy's questions ( which they phoned us about on Saturday) I doubt they'd have called us.

Not sure how long we are tied in- I didn't think there was a clause for that? DHh has all the paperwork.

There's usually a period of time during which they are appointed as 'sole agent', typically 4-12 weeks.

Do you think it is priced correctly? Did you get multiple values and similar properties recently sold prices? You can instruct an agent at a price suggested by another agent if you don't think their price is right.

What has the agent told you about how long properties are typically on their books for? They get a load of stats from rightmove and this can vary a lot by agent. On their website are there lots of "reduced price" properties or do they seem to stick with the price they first listed at?

Round here I'd expect to get a flurry of viewers to begin with as the agents would have a list of buyers looking in that price bracket. But the market is pretty buoyant here.

It's priced correctly. We spent a lot of time looking on RM at sold prices and taking into account the state of the market there.

We have set the price slightly higher- £10K- than they wanted but it's on the basis of taking a reasonable offer. This is on the brochure. They were keen to pitch it lower for a quick sale but we aren't in a huge hurry and don't need the money to move ourselves.

I don't think there would have been 2 viewings in the first 2 weeks if the price was that out- and there has been no negative feedback on the price.

Do you really have to pay council tax for an empty property?

Yes- 'fraid so. They give you 6 months' grace after a death then you start paying again. It's not full rate- as if a single person was living there- but pay you do.