Estate agents generally help Britons to buy or sell houses.
However, choosing the right estate can be tricky.
Most estate agents are trying to win your customers, but will they sell your property for the price you want?
Britons were recently warned to never take an estate agent’s word for it when it comes to one thing. /life-style/property/1190739/estate-agent-agents-trick-warning
Quittance Legal Services warned of agents exaggerating their sold prices.
“Often the agent will tell you they have sold a similar property near yours for a high price,” the firm said.
“Fortunately, you can now cross-check actual sold prices near you.”
Now Phil Spencer’s website MoveiQ has revealed the information you need to get from an agent before agreeing to sell with them.
It said: “For every agent that visits you, ask them to write to you afterward with details on the following:
- The price they suggest marketing your home for and the price they expect to achieve (these may not be the same!)
- Details of their fees and the costs associated with marketing your home
- Full contact details such as the minimum period you are granting them to sell your home
“This information will prove invaluable when it comes to making your decision.”
Various estate agent tricks might catch sellers and buyers out.
What an estate agent wears can put buyers off, according to experts, so it’s important to have a critical eye.
Paula Higgins, CEO of the HomeOwners Alliance, warned of hiring an estate agent who is dressed too smart or too scruffy.
She said: “Your house is obviously the main thing on display when potential buyers arrive for a viewing but according to the great British public the agent needs to look shipshape too.
“A substantial 20 per cent of respondents said if an agent didn’t look presentable they’d steer clear.”
She added: “And at the other end of the spectrum are those agents who take presentable that little bit too far.
“From expensive watches to gaudy cars, 19 per cent of people claimed to look too flashy was definitely off-putting.”
Another expert has warned of a “scandalous” trick to scam naive sellers.
Adam Day, who co-founded low-cost online estate agency Hatched.co.uk, told This Is Money that estate agents are not always looking for the best price for sellers.
He explained: “When a sale does occur there’s also no pressure to secure the seller a ‘best price’.
“Scandalously, there are even training courses on how to convince homeowners to accept lower offers than they want (and deserve.)”