How to Choose an Estate Agent (What the Fee Buys)

The clocks go back in a fortnight, there are pumpkins on doorsteps from Clayton to Queensbury, and the Christmas lights won't be far behind. For a lot of people round here, autumn is when moving plans either get serious or get parked until spring. If yours are getting serious, the first big decision you'll make is which agent to trust with your biggest asset. Get that right and everything else gets easier.

The trouble is, most people choose on two things: the valuation figure and the fee. Both matter. Neither tells you much on its own.

The highest valuation isn't a price, it's a pitch

Invite three agents round and you'll likely get three different numbers. It's tempting to go with the highest, but a valuation is only a figure until a buyer agrees to it. Some agents quote high to win the instruction, then start pushing for a reduction a month in when the viewings dry up.

That matters more than usual right now. The latest Rightmove figures show the number of homes available to buy is at a 12-year high, so sellers are facing a genuinely crowded market. Buyer demand is also running around 9% below this time last year. In that kind of market, an over-ambitious asking price doesn't get you more money, it gets you sat there while fresher, better-priced homes get the viewings.

Ask each agent to show you how they arrived at their number. Recent sold prices on your street, comparable homes currently on the market, honest reasoning. A figure with evidence behind it beats a flattering guess every time.

What the fee is actually paying for

A lower fee that results in a lower sale price is a false economy. On a typical Bradford home, a difference of a few thousand on the final figure dwarfs the difference between a 1% fee and a 1.5% one. So the question isn't "who's cheapest", it's "what am I getting for the money".

Here's what I'd want to see behind any fee. Proper photography taken in good daylight, not a phone snap on a grey afternoon. A written description that sells the home rather than just lists the rooms. Accurate floor plans. Prominent placement on the portals where buyers actually look. And someone who answers the phone when a buyer rings at six on a Tuesday, because that's often when the people who are serious come looking.

Who actually does the work

This is the one people forget to ask. With some agencies you deal with a different person at every stage, and the one who valued your home is never seen again. Viewings get farmed out, calls go to a central office, and nobody really owns your sale.

Find out who will be handling your property from valuation through to completion. Who conducts the viewings, who chases the solicitors, who calls you with feedback. The average time to find a buyer nationally is now 64 days, and then there's a further stretch to get to completion. That's a long time to be left in the dark. The person steering it should be someone you can actually reach.

Negotiation and the bit after "offer accepted"

Getting an offer is only half the job. A good agent earns their fee in the negotiation, and then again in the weeks between acceptance and completion, when chains wobble and surveys throw up queries. Plenty of sales fall through for reasons that a sharp, attentive agent spots early and sorts out quietly.

When you're comparing agents, ask how they handle a sale once it's agreed. How often will they update you? Who's chasing the chain? That after-sale graft rarely shows up in the sales pitch, but it's often what gets you moved.

A few questions worth asking

Keep it simple. How did you reach that valuation. What marketing is included for the fee. Who will I be dealing with day to day. What's your tie-in period and notice. And how do you keep a sale together once it's agreed.

The answers will tell you far more than the headline number on the front of the brochure.

Thinking about a move before Christmas?

The weeks between Halloween and the new year can be a quiet winner for sellers. Nobody views houses for fun on a dark November evening, so the buyers who are out looking tend to mean it, and there's less competition on the market than in the spring rush.

If you'd like an honest valuation and a straight conversation about how I'd market your home, I'm happy to pop round with no obligation. Call me on 01274 955 559, email michael@brownsett.co.uk, or book online at brownsett.co.uk.

Michael Brownsett, Brownsett Personal Estate Agents. Premium marketing. Personal service. Outstanding results.

Thinking of moving? Get a free, no-obligation valuation at valuation.michaelbrownsett.exp.uk.com or call me directly on 01274 955 559.