Hi all

We've got our first estate agent round tonight to value our house.

As we're first time sellers I wondered if anyone could give any advice on how to deal with them and any questions we should be asking them.

I look forward to your replies.

Zoe M. x

Not much to ask really as they know what they are doing and how to value your house.

Make sure you tell them that when they start sending you viewers that you only want people who are serious and know exactly how many bedrooms/reception rooms your house has etc.

Dont tell them you are immigrating!!!

Hiya
Don't be too worried about getting the house on the market before its finished. We have had major building works done to our house and are in the process of finishing it all off still - we went on the market with an unfinished bathroom, a couple of cupboards to put in the kitchen and no carpets upstairs.

It did not seem to phase about 95% of our viewers and we have now accepted an offer after two weeks () - the buyers are coming tonight just to run through what we will finish off before we go (mainly the kitchen and bathroom and a couple of snaggy bits) and the plus side was that they were happy to do the carpet themselves so that has saved us another expense, although we did reduce the price a little to reflect this fact.

Our estate agent implied that people either seem to want a "project" or the finished article nowadays. However, its amazing what a fresh lick of paint can do - a bit of nice white gloss on faded woodwork plus a nice neutral colour on the walls works a treat!!!

Also, see post number 9 in this thread: http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...ght=house+sale

Best of luck!
Flossie

Hi Zoe,

Make 'em work for you. Get a couple of agents to quote their fees/percentages and be prepared to drive a bargain. Remember that you may be asked to pay a higher fee if you use more than one agent.

Ask lots of questions about their advertising coverage, success rates, recommendations, etc.

Keep an eye on their 'tie-in' clause - that means you cannot advertise with anyone else for a set period.

Good luck with the sale.

Simon

Get at least 3-4 valuations as they vary a lot more than you think they will. If one valuation is obviously much higher than all the rest don't be tempted (greedy) to go with that - chances are they either got it wrong or just use that as a tactic to make sure you sign with them and then when it doesn't sell they'll want to reduce your price but keep you as a client. Its fine doing this if you're not in a hurry but if you're emigrating you don't want to spend a year chancing your arm. Go with the 3rd highest out of 4.

Also, don't give them exclusivity for too long. 3 months should be enough. At this time of year you will get buyers interested straight away if at all so 3 months is plenty of time for them to get you a buyer and make it clear to them you will be switching after 3 months if they don't produce any serious buyers for you.

Make sure that they will be available for prospective buyers to view or at least contactable when people want to look. It never ceases to amaze me the number or estate agents in britain that don't open at weekends! Or perhaps they will just open for 3 hours on a Saturday morning. The weekend is when people want to house-hunt you bunch of total ****wits! (thats directed at them not you by the way!) Phone them on a Sunday and see what response you get.

I agree with the advice on not telling you're immigrating. For us when we sold the buyers were able to spot the desperation in our eyes in any case but knowing that you are leaving seems to give them the edge especially if they ask for a price drop at the last minute.

Warmly,

Frank

I would have agreed with that too, BUT..... my sister in law had a house to sell, she got 4 valuations, 3 of them where around the GBP235,000 one only said upto GBP300,000 she went with them and they sold it for GBP285,000 in the first week that it went on the market

I had looked at the values (only the "for sale" values as I did'nt have "sold" values, as I do here) and I would have valued it in the 235's as well.

The Estate Agent was one of the longer standing, more reputable agents, and was not the cheapest %, but my SIL ended up with more in her pocket than the other "cheaper" agents.

The thing is they got lucky. On the other hand they could have been waiting a year to sell and had to drop the price in the end anyway.

Definitely agree with the second point though - it doesn't make much difference whether you are paying 1%, 1.5% etc - if they get the job done quickly and get you a good price its worth it.