The appointment of the right agent is key to achieving a satisfactory sale
Category Advice
Rowan Alexander gives tips on finding a good estate agent.
The most important decision facing anyone deciding to sell a home is the choice of the estate agent he selects to handle the task.
“As in so many other spheres,” says Rowan Alexander, Director of Alexander Swart Property, “80% of the sales in many areas are done by only 20% of the staff. The remainder may well be performing satisfactorily but they do not match the high levels achieved by those who really know how to market and sell a home --at a fair price, in as short a time as possible.”
So – what should a home seller do to ensure that the agent appointed is a real achiever? Alexander says that there are recognised steps which can greatly help in these matters.
“The first and most fundamental step,” he says, “is to check that the agent has an Estate Agency Affairs Board Fidelity Fund certificate. If the agent does not, he may well be operating illegally and the seller will have no compensating body to which he can appeal should the agent behave contrary to the law, for example absconds with money which he should not in any case be handling. The possession of a Fidelity Fund certificate is one among many indicators that the agent is not bogus.
“Secondly,” says Alexander, “the seller should try to establish just how well the agent knows the property market in the area he serves. A few probing questions may reveal that he has little or no idea of the latest price fluctuations, whether up or down and is ignorant as to how these relate to national price movements. It may also transpire that he does not know which price categories and precincts in his area are performing best and has only a vague picture of the types of buyer most interested in the area.
“These fundamental facts,” says Alexander, “can be established if the agent has access to the better research bureaux, is in touch with other top selling agents and has a management that keeps him fully informed.”
The third step in the selection process, Alexander says, should be to insist that the agent reveals which, if any, homes he has sold in the last six to twelve months – and he should be able to show, too, how close the sale price came to the asking price and how long the home was on the market. Very large discrepancies between the asking and achieved price probably indicate that the agent overvalued the home so as to get a mandate—a dishonest practice that occurs all too often. Equally important, the agent should also be able to give the potential client the names and telephone numbers of people with whom he has recently worked and he should be willing to allow the new client to consult them about his performance.
“While it is true that even the best agents can go through lull periods in their careers, a prolonged period of non-achievement should be a warning sign that all is not well and the agent is probably not up to the task,” says Alexander.
Having done this initial groundwork, the seller should then, says Alexander, quiz the agent on just how much advertising his agency will be prepared to spend on behalf of the home – and where they will place it.
The seller should also investigate just how frequently the agent will hold show days and how often he himself will be in attendance at these. Show days, says Alexander, have a proven record in achieving results and a lack of willingness to hold them is a sure sign of a lack of commitment on the agent’s part. In addition, the agent should be able to show that he is heavily involved in promoting the homes (and himself) through the social media because today these are an integral part of any property marketing exercise.
The frequency with which he will report back by telephone and by email on the progress – or lack of it – that he is making should also be made clear before any agent is appointed. At the outset, says Alexander, it is also important to establish just how deeply the agency’s management is involved in backing up its agents.
“The ability of an efficient, caring management to motivate and encourage its agents should never be underestimated,” says Alexander. “If they are not “hands-on” on a 24/7 basis they are quite likely to have a slow- moving, unenthusiastic team.”
Three further pieces of advice from Alexander are also worth heeding.
“Be very careful,” he says, “about appointing an agent solely on the recommendation of a friend. We all like to do our friends a good term and to find work from them – but dinner table and bar tips must be corroborated by other referees, at least three or four in most cases.
“Furthermore, the home seller should not be put off by the agent insisting on a sole mandate. The simple truth is that almost all the best agents work almost entirely on sole mandates. Awarding a sole mandate ensures that the agent and his management will commit themselves 100% to the task in hand. Sole agencies are the proven way to achieving a good price.”
Similarly, says Alexander, once the seller has decided that he has identified a real performer, he should not quibble about the commission, even if it is above average.
“Only poor performers are willing to work on low commissions. The high-end agents, those achieving, say, two or more sales per month, invariably obtain such good prices that these more than compensate for the higher commission paid to the agent.”
For further information, contact Rowan Alexander on 0825813116.
Author: Independent Author
