Know Your Property's Worth Before Selling

Selling a property can be a stressful experience and finding the right Estate Agent to sell your home is an important decision. Not only can the Agent affect the price you get for your property, but also the speed of sale and amount of stress involved in the process.

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Check Sold Prices In Your Postcode

Sold prices can vary significantly from one road to the next. Get the most recent sold prices for your street or postcode. Find out how the agent has arrived at the valuation of your property. Also, look up the property on Gloucester City Council’s website to view the property’s planning history and to find out its council tax band. If the property has had any major work done such as extensions or a loft conversion then this will affect the valuation as well as attracting buyers who require similar properties.

Compare How They Market A Property

When looking at how a property is going to be marketed, look at the detail of what the estate agent will be doing for you. Find out if they will be taking professional photographs of your home. Ask if a floor plan will be created. Find out which property portals they will be listing your property on. Will they be advertising your property on social media? Find out how many viewings they will be arranging and how quickly you will get feedback after each viewing.

Understand The Fee Structure

The charges made by Estate Agents vary very greatly, therefore you should ask them for full details in writing before agreeing to their use of your property. Normally a Sole Agent is paid a lower percentage than a Multi Agency Office, however as there are more agents showing a property then there is a greater chance of receiving viewings and potential purchases. Sometimes a fixed charge is made regardless of the final selling price of a property. This with the other charges that may be made, i.e. for photography and floor plans, plus the payment terms, should all be fully detailed.

Confirm Accreditation And Redress Scheme

As mentioned above, also check if the valuer and agent is registered with a redress scheme such as The Property Ombudsman or Property Redress Scheme and also check if they are members of any professional bodies and follow the professional standards of chartered surveyors and valuers. Again this will take 5 minutes to check but could be a lifesaver in the unlikely event of any dispute.

Weigh Local Knowledge Against National Reach

A national estate agent chain may have deep pockets to spend on its property marketing but will have to rely on national property databases when analysing local prices. These can lack key information on local houses and therefore the local price per road. An independent Gloucester estate agent like Murdock and Wasley can therefore provide excellent local knowledge of houses for sale in your street and provide insight on which roads command a premium as well as an idea of the active buyers in the area. This should be weighed up against the agent’s commission rate and how they intend to market your property.

Ask How Viewings Are Handled

Make sure that viewings are booked and showed in a way that suits you. Ask who will be showing round potential buyers, and how quickly you will receive feedback after each viewing. Some agents attend every viewing and contact the seller the same evening, others can leave it days to contact the seller with feedback of viewings.

Take your time to get a few estate agents compared properly before you commit to the first agent that comes to your door.