How do you choose an estate agent to sell your home?

[Swaliswan]

We've been on the market for 17 weeks now and we're not very happy with our agent. We keep having other agents telling us that they can't believe that our flat hasn't sold as it is a really good price for the size of the flat and the area it's in as well as there being a shortage of flats in this area at the moment. Obviously all of the agents want to market our flat but I simply don't know how to choose a good agent. Our current agent was very impressive when they came out to do the valuation but they have failed to deliver so much of what they have promised us. How do I cut through all of the rubbish that estate agents say to get you on their books and choose an agent who will actually keep us updated and get our property's details right on Rightmove?!

Might be worth thinking about the following:

Do you like the agent (and their team) that you will be dealing with? Business is business, but it definitely helps to have rapport with the people who're you're paying to sell your flat.

How much comission do they want? In the current market it's worth trying to haggle.

What is their marketing like? Do they present the properties that they have on their books in a way that you like?

How do they market the properties? Do they use several websites, or just RM for example? Do they advertise in the paper?

Why not try being a mystery shopper? You or a friend could phone up - do you get treated well as a potential customer?

Do they sell properties similar to yours? Most agencies will specialise in a certain tranche of the market. How much are they selling at the moment?

And lastly - word of mouth. Ask your friends who they would recommend.

Good luck

Thanks for such a comprehensive answer! I guess that it's all obvious really but I'm so tired from having a 7 week old baby and a two year old to run around after and I am sick and tired of presenting our property for viewings.

Look around your area at properties similar to yours. Who is selling (look for sold and sale agreed signs) the most houses?

Do mystery shopper for sure.

Call and talk to your agent tell him/her you are not pleased with how things are going and lay out how you want things to change, e.g. Different wording of ad, more prominence

If you are not pleased with how you get on call one of the partners for a chat to see how they feel about your property and how they are selling it. Make sure he knows you are keen to sell, particularly if you are prepared to drop your price.

Def have a look round locally and see who has sold most properties like yours

Also have a very frank discussion with your current agent about why it isn't selling. With our last house we weren't happy with the agents performance, and after speaking to the branch manager, things were a lot better

Swaliswan - much respect for trying to sell your house with a newborn and a 2 year old.

I agree with the others that it's worth having a frank discussion with your current agents to see if they can do anything to change the situation.

I've spoken to them in the past and haven't got anywhere. The agent who was supposed to return my call is the bloke who owns the company. If he can't get something simple like that right, I think it's time to change agents! I get the impression that people do really like the flat but are put off when the agent insists on them seeing the in-branch financial adviser before making an offer - something that they said they wouldn't do when they came out to do the valuation

BTW, slackrunner, it was not my plan to be selling the flat with a newborn and a two year old when it went on the market when I was 30 weeks pg. The agents all reckoned that it would sell in 4-6 weeks!