What to ask the Estate Agents

[readytosell]

I have 3 estate agents coming out this week to value my property for sale. I was selling a couple of years ago but the chain collapsed, and due to pandemic have held off until now to sell again.

One of those is the EA who I used before and he was very good, but a 'one man band' if you like. I'm not necessarily immediately going with him because my concern is that he was great while times were a bit slower but its a booming sellers market here and I'm nervous about someone spreading themself too thinly.

I'll be asking standard questions such as fees, lock in period, similar sales nearby, where/how it will be marketed. What other good things might be helpful to ask?

I obviously want a good price, but I also don't want to get another chain collapse. Of course these things happen, but I want to minimise the risk!

You could ask them about their current approach to viewings (e.g. only allowing proceedable buyers etc) as although a bit annoying for buyers I think restrictions have meant you get more serious people in.

Ask them if there is anything you can do to make the house more marketable (lick of paint, dress the home office as a bedroom etc).

You could also about "aftercare" e.g. what work they will do to keep chains together/moving etc. (now kicking myself in didn't ask that one of my EAs!)

Their approach to price reductions - when and how much they do them (we rejected an EA who said they'd market at a higher price to "give it a go" then reduce after 6 weeks. This seemed like a recipe for disaster (lenders down valuing, over salesy approach encouraging people not committed to making an offer etc.)

Oh thanks, that's a really good idea to ask about pricing strategy in terms of potential future reductions if it doesn't sell too quickly.

I agree about the aftercare as well, this is why I'm more inclined towards a bigger branch with more people to deal with enquiries and the like, as opposed to the single EA just doing everything by himself, so a really useful question.

Ask who will be in charge of the viewings. We naively assumed it would be the agent that came to meet us for the valuation and thought he was fab, then we never saw him again. Ended up with a new and utterly useless estate agent who could sell a bag of crisps, let alone a house. Luckily he was off on the day when we had a particular viewing that ended up in a purchase. I know it's the house they buyers are interested in but I do think the person showing around makes some difference.

Ask them for their valuation accuracy for the past 12 months, all the comparable evidence they have to support their valuation, & if you're feeling brave, if they'd be willing to work off a no fixed term (i.e. not 12 week) sales contract & as an alternative if they'd be interested in an incentivised fee structure for achieving over the price they are stating can be achieved.

@Justkeepswimming321 great idea, hadn't even thought of that as I just had the one to deal with last time so he did all the viewings himself.

@FurierTransform I was going to see what they were offering in terms of fees and negotiate, but like the idea of an incentivsed fee structure!

Before they come round, have a look at their websites and see if any of them are materially better/worse than the others. That's what your buyers will see first.

Check they're definitely on Rightmove.

Check they won't make buyers go through hoops seeing their financial advisor before even viewing - that could put people odd.

Ask what they think it should be marketed for - bit at what amount they'd tell you that you should seriously consider an offer - likely to be very different.

If the different agents have very different ideas on price ask them why!

Check who does the viewings.

Ask what their fee is. You should be able to negotiate it to a good level for the area you're in but different areas seem to have different lowest standard percentages.

Don't ask about the other terms ana conditions til you've agreed the commission percentage and know you want to use them.

If you are pretty sure you're going to go ahead, that's the time to get your red pen out on the Ts and Cs. You'll need to give the agents a fair run but you shouldn't have to agree to more than an 8 week exclusivity - that's long enough for them to rustle up the good leads in their books or for you to decide you want to swap. Then wrote
in that you only have to give them 48 hours' notice that you want to terminate (and that you can do so by email).

Make sure they'll let you vet the photos and text before it goes live - there are often threads on here with dreadful photos which might put off buyers.

The other stuff is more down to sales management - ie whether they'll only met proceedable people round etc. It's a bit of a moot point unless you're desperate to move very quickly. We found a buyer for a house ages ago but just couldn't find anywhere to move to so the chain still couldn't work out. Personally I'd be happy to have a wider pool of viewers - unless
you've got 3 people offering at the same time, you might want to accept an offer conditional on someone selling theirs soon - they could still turn out to be good buyers. First time buyers and investors can both be very flaky so they're no guarantee!

When you do have a complete chain, do your best to make sure that no-one is using bulk conveyancing farms (this isn't a typo for firms..... that won't help the transaction go smoothly.

Good luck!

Sorry for all the typos - i wrote it from my phone which is much less reliable than a desktop!

@GU24Mum thanks for the response!

One EA was keen to get me to see their financial advisor as I would still need a mortgage for onward purchase, which I must admit put me off a bit as I hadn't even had a valuation from them let alone signed with them.

I don't mind people trying to cross sell, but as potential seller I found it a bit up front, so I can certainly see how a buyer might be put off as well.

Although out of the 3 I'm seeing, they are my least preferred anyway, so could well be a moot point.