Which estate agent should I use and what makes a good one? Post Reply

[LondMum]

Hi
My property has been on the market for a few months now and though it has had offers, things have either fallen through or offers haven't been high enough.
I am now thinking of changing estate agent but was wondering which is the best one to use?
My current one is a local company and they are friendly but I wonder if they are too friendly and not pushy enough(ie don't try and talk people around when they come up with poor reasons with why the property isn't suitable).
Also they are local so don't have a network of other offices that they can tap into for other potential clients (this is what the bigger estate agents are telling me and why I should switch to them).
Any views? Which ones tend to get the job done in a slightly trickier market?
Thanks

[jonathan @ hamptons]

Hi LondMum,

I run the Hamptons office on Northcote Road so whilst of course I'm going to biased towards Hamptons, I would say the following:

The market has turned completely from earlier in the year and is much more in the buyers favour. Properties are sitting on the market for longer and prices have dropped about 5% - 10% from their peak back in the spring. Obviously I don't know your property but in the first place I would take a look at Rightmove & Zoopla and see whether your price really is in line with what else is on the market. We all like to think that our home is the best one out there but is it really and is it on the market for the right price? Buyers are all looking for a good deal so if your property is even a whiff overpriced then you will simply not get viewings.

If you have been on the market with the same agent for a few months then the reality is that they are simply waiting for someone to see it online and book in to make an appointment. When you first instruct an agent you are effectively buying their "book" of buyers that they have registered, and by now your current agent will have exhausted theirs. Of course I'm going to say this but obviously the bigger the agent the bigger the "book" - that's just common sense. The other benefit of a bigger agent is that they will have multiple offices from which to generate viewings. So for example last year we sold 40% of our properties to buyers who were never registered in our Northcote Road office. Buyers from Fulham, Clapham, Pimlico etc might not think of SW11 as their initial choice but we persuaded them to come and look here and they liked it enough to buy. We also have access to many overseas buyers who register with the bigger agents first - most overseas buyers haven't heard of a small agent or indeed Rightmove/Zoopla so they will call an agent that they've heard of internationally.

In choosing who to move to I would say first and foremost go with someone big. The market is trickier but the fact is that properties are still selling. October was actually our best month since April so there are definitely good buyers out there, you just need an agent that has the ability and the tenaciousness to go and find them. Most importantly though is to go with someone you feel you can get along with - it's going to be a long process and it's feel even longer if you're working with someone you don't like!!

Do feel free to give me a call or drop me a PM if there are any questions you have - although I do work for Hamptons I try to give as unbiased advice as possible.

Jonathan

Hamptons International
98-100 Northcote Road
020 7924 2170

[jamie @ dRAW]

Hi LondMum,

With regards to which agent to use it depends where your property is, where is it?

It also depends on a number of other factors why it's not going. By the sounds of it you have been unlucky if you've been getting offers. Also your expectations may have been set to high, most estate agents will promise landlords great prices so inevitably you will use them, then spend the next couple of months bringing the price down to where it should be blaming external factors for why it hasn't gone.

You don't want pushy agents, know one likes them and people can tell when their arm is being twisted. Buying a house is most people's biggest purchase so they need to feel comfortable. You need an agent who is smart and 'sells' the house with information. They need to have complete knowledge of the area, they need to be attentive and listen to what their purchasers are telling them. They need to be reactive and adaptive to the situation. They basically need to have half a brain and not just be motivated about making their cut. People need to trust them, people buy from people they trust that is the key. There are still good estate agents out there but there are a lot of reasons why the industry generally gets bad press.

If you're looking to change estate agent or are thinking about it, ring a few in the local area, get them to come out and meet you and go through everything with you. Trust your gut, if you like them and believe in them other people will. You can also go multi-agent and have a few on but people generally see this as bad when trying to sell their house as it looks like it's not going so your net is spread as big as possible and can appear desperate. Generally in today's world as long as it's listed on RightMove and Zoopla etc you'll be attracting the same people.

Also have a look on Rightmove and Zoopla see what other properties similar to yours in your area are on for.

If you have any other questions let me know and I'll do my best to help. I also agree with what Jonathan has written.

Kind Regards
Jamie

[LondMum]

Thank you both for your advice.
I have been looking at what's coming on the market and do think the price is right (we have achieved that price but things didn't work out).
What I would love from an estate agent though is one that is honest and gives constructive feedback. Every agent that has come to see my property has said how great it is but not one has really provided any feedback on what we could improve. It may indeed be the case that the property is the best that it can be but when I watch programmes like "Phil Spencer secret agent", and I see very obvious things that should have been changed before putting properties on the market, I wonder why the estate agent hasn't given the feedback (prior to Phil Spencer coming on the scene)?
Your point on getting on/liking the estate agent is a good one. I guess you do spend a lot of time speaking with them so it's best to not have to dread having those chats!
Thanks again!

[jonathan @ hamptons]

Hi again,

I think that in all honesty the vast majority of the places we see are absolutely fine as they are, and generally there is no particular magic wand treatment that suddenly makes them instantly sellable. Most of our sellers are pretty savvy and have seen enough property programs to figure out that they need to de-clutter, freshen up and generally present their property as best they can before they go on the market.

In terms of much more work than this however, there are probably more buyers who would like to do a bit of work to somewhere as there are that want to buy a "turnkey" property with everything done, so there is a limit to what additional work we would recommend. Most of our buyers would prefer something that offers them the opportunity to add value later on so the vendor that only offers the completely finished product is actually alienating all the buyers that don't like their specific taste.

I've never seen the program you refer to but you need to be pretty good at your job to become an estate agent valuer on Northcote Road so I'd hope that most of my compatriots would be able to give some pretty good advice and not miss out any obvious changes that need to be made.

Jonathan

Hamptons International
98-100 Northcote Road
020 7924 2170

[Motherslittlehelper]

Many will do a 1% fee (plust vat of course, hmm) and tell you not to tell any one !

[jonathan @ hamptons]

Hmm, yes and no daddydaycarerocks. I am a firm believer in the term you get what you pay for and when you're selling what is probably the biggest asset you have then I'm not sure that I want to instruct the agent that simply offers me the lowest fee.

Fees charged by agents are often the subject of debate. I mean what do we really do? Stick the property on Rightmove, wait for the enquiries to pile in, open the door for viewings and when someone makes an offer pass it all over to the solicitors and wait for it to exchange. If only this was true.

The Rightmove bit is certainly true - 98% of our initial enquiries come through the internet but that's only half the story. The majority of buyers we have are already registered with us - they enquired about a different property some time ago, didn't like it and we are constantly talking to them about other places. Less than 5% of buyers go on to buy the property they first enquired about so we have to nurture the remaining 95% to find something else that they do like. That takes time & skill and time & skill costs money. My team at Hamptons is one of the most experienced team I have ever worked with. Experience costs money.

Only 10% - 15% of our work involves the work leading up to agreeing a sale - in modern estate agency most of our work is done once a sale is agreed, with negotiators having to skilfully deal with solicitors, brokers, lenders, search companies and related sales. All of this takes time and requires patience and experience to ensure that sales don’t stall. On average a third of sales fall through between sale agreed and exchange of contracts and yet in our Northcote Road office the figure is just a tiny 4% meaning that you can rest assured that once your sale is agreed it will almost always follow through to completion. Experienced negotiators cost money or they will simply go and work somewhere else.

We charge more than 1%. Not a huge amount more but we're definitely not the cheapest agent around and I think we're worth it. My team is expensive to run but they get the best results and for that my clients thank me. One client once said to me that he wanted to write me the biggest cheque I'd ever had for selling his house as no matter how much it cost him he was still getting the lions share. We ended up getting him 12% more for his house than the other agent had quoted so I don't think he minded to too much!!

As Red Adair once said "If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur".

Jonathan

Hamptons International
98-100 Northcote Road
020 7924 2170

[Motherslittlehelper]

I am not saying that you go to a small outfit - we recently sold our house at 1% fees through one of the largest names in the UK.

It cost us £15000 (you get a reasonable car for that) so hardly a cheap way to sell a house so I dont get the 'you get what you pay for' mantra. We got asking price.

In my view, estate agents offer a valuable service, but its more of an admin role than one that requires much more than that.

[firsttimerSW11]

Hi OP
I haven't always loved estate agents but we sold our house recently through Hamptons and I found them to be great. Very professional. The team mostly live locally so don't come across like some other agents who just want to make a fast buck and zip out of there in their green minis and 3 piece suits back to their hot desks on Lavender Hill.
I was initially reluctant to use them (sorry Jonathan), but in retrospect I'm so glad I did. Definitely have a chat with them. What's the downside?

On another point, I also watch the Phil Spencer show occasionally, and I think that no matter how good an agent is, they do want your business so they are unlikely to walk in to your home and tell you all the things you need to change in order to sell it as most sellers would be fairly defensive about their houses and take offence at what might be seen as criticism. So you can't blame the agent for not telling you that your kitchen isn't modern enough or your olive green bathroom is a few decades out of date.

[jonathan @ hamptons]

Hiya,

I really wouldn't disagree with the admin role analogy in the spring or last year where frankly the market was so crazy any old Joe could have sold a property. However I genuinely believe that the market we're in now (a much more balanced market, much harder to get buyers to look at properties and even harder to get vendors to accept offers when earlier in the year the same house down the road sold for £100k more) is much harder and I know for a fact that it's seriously challenging some of the younger more inexperienced agents. I know of two quite well known agents who are seriously struggling to pay their bills at the moment because they've got into a downward cycle on fees and now simply can't get the business model to work.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not criticising the 1% agents, I would just question whether the guys charging the lowest fees are really likely to be the guys getting you the highest prices - that doesn't really make much sense to me. Maybe we should use the US model - 3% from the buyer and 3% from the seller, now that would be nice. :D :D

Jonathan

Hamptons International
98-100 Northcote Road
020 7924 2170

[jonathan @ hamptons]

By the way, thanks firsttimerSW11 we very much appreciate your kind words. I genuinely have no idea who you are but it means a lot to hear that my team are appreciated and they did a good job.

Jonathan

Hamptons International
98-100 Northcote Road
020 7924 2170

[LondMum]

Firsttimersw11, I know what you mean about not wanting to offend people but I think it's in everybody's interest to be as open as possible. Everybody involved (seller and agent) want to sell for as much as possible and as quickly as possible. If the current fashion was for bright orange walls then I would be happy to paint my walls that colour and live with that for a couple of months so I could get a sale. I know other people don't necessarily see it that way and prefer the compliments but that seems a little daft to me.

Jonathan, I do hope that US system doesn't come here! But I do think the English system needs a change. It seems wrong that somebody can put in an offer and then back out weeks or months later without any penalty! In my opinion, a deposit should be paid when an offer is made. I think sellers and buyers waste a lot of time and money by deals going wrong that way.

[btcmum]

I also recommend Hamptons - we have dealt extensively with their Balham office and (in the past) their Northcote Road branch. Great service both times!

Although they are 'local' Rampton Baseley are also excellent…..

Good luck!!

[NYE31]

For what it's worth I def think you get what you pay for, and I think that some agents are better for the sub £500K market, others for the £500K to £2M & then the Hamptons, Savills, Knight Frank etc for the £2M+ where the highest stamp duty rate kicks in.

I've come across most of them & I would agree with Jonathan of Hamptons, we had nightmares with a purchase & sale & it if wasn't for the agents, it would have fallen through on both occasions. The agents made it happen when the solicitors, surveyors had missed things, not communicated etc.

It also helps to have a good agent for your onward purchase, again our agents saved the day when the agents for the house that we were buying were less than honest about exchange & completion dates & we came close to ending up with no where to move to a week before Christmas with a 2.5 year old.

When our sale & purchase finally went though, I was very happy to pay the fee, and hand deliver champagne & flowers to the team.

Good luck & PM me if you would like recommendations

[jonathan @ hamptons]

First of all a genuine and heartfelt thanks for the positive remarks about Hamptons - it really is very much appreciated.

I totally agree with NYE31 in that it also helps to have a good agent on your onward purchase, although as it's the property you fall in love with rather than the selling agent, sometimes you don't get much choice in the matter. More often than not my team end up managing the whole chain as opposed to just our own sale as in all honesty it makes our (and your) life infinitely easier.

One thing I would say is not to get too caught up with which agents sell at which end of the market. I can promise you that the "big three" agents are just as interested in your £500k flat as they are in a £2m+ house. I'm astonished how many between the commons houses I go to value, only to be told by the vendor that they "only thought you sold the big stuff". Believe me, for our office a £1.5m house is the big stuff!!

Last year 70% of the properties we sold were flats and 90% of those were under £650,000 so please believe me when I say that we're just as keen to sell (and have many, many buyers for) one and two bedroom flats as we are the "big" stuff.

Thanks again for all the kind comments.

Jonathan

Hamptons International
98-100 Northcote Road
020 7924 2170