Things You Should Know When Choosing Your Estate Agent

With so many estate agents available, it can be hard to choose who to use when selling or letting your house – and a good agent can make the difference between selling at a great price and not selling at all, or getting tenants in quickly or having an empty property for months. So what should you know when you choose an estate agent?
Whether you are a vendor or a landlord, your agent needs to be registered with a Redress Scheme. The three approved schemes are The Property Ombudsman, Property Redress Scheme and the Ombudsman Service.

Vendors
If you are selling your property, ask your estate agent about the following:

1. Fees – Is their commission fixed or dependent on the sale price? (While a fixed fee may help you budget, agents that charge commission as a percentage of the sale price will be more motivated to get you a decent price!) Are there other costs – for instance, for sale boards, floorplans, printed marketing materials etc.? How much will the EPC cost and can you order it elsewhere for less?
2. Marketing – In 2015, a new property portal called OnTheMarket was launched. Agents signed up to this site can only list your home on one of the two major property sites, Rightmove and Zoopla. As it is not yet as big as these sites, you could potentially be halving your exposure to prospective buyers by using an agent who is signed up to OnTheMarket, so check this with them.
3. The contract – Does your contract allow you to use more than one agent? If you find a buyer yourself, will you still have to pay the agent? Will you still have to pay if the agent finds a buyer but you decide not to sell? Is there a tie-in period where you cannot change agents? If you do change agents will you still be liable for fees with the original agent?
4. Viewings – Do the agents carry out viewings themselves? If so, when are they available? (An agent who only does daytime viewings on weekdays might not be much use if your target market is people in full time employment!) How many viewings have they arranged for comparable properties? How many viewings usually take place before a sale is agreed?
   For more guidance on choosing your estate agent, the HomeOwners Alliance has a great guide.

Landlords
If you are looking for a letting agent, you should check that they are a member of a professional body, for instance the National Association of Estate Agents, Association of Residential Letting Agents or Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. The following points are also important to check:

1. What the agent will do – Decide what you want them to do: do you just want them to find a tenant, do you also want them to deal with rent collection, or are you looking for a full management service? If the last option, will they deal with matters such as gas safety checks, repairs and maintenance, keeping the property up to rental standard etc.? Will they deal with all aspects of the application procedure, such as credit checks, references and (from 1st February 2016) right to rent checks?
2. Fees – What are the fees for the level of support you are asking for? Is there a fee for including your property on the agent’s list? Will you be charged fees when the property is vacant, and if so, at what rate? Will you be charged commission for tenancy renewals where the agent found the tenant originally, even if you’re not using them for property management? What other charges are there – for instance, administration charges when the new tenant moves in, charges for inventories, tenancy agreements, etc.?
3. Tenancy Deposit Protection (TDP) – If you want the letting agent to deal with rent collection or fully manage your property, find out which TDP scheme they use. Also ask if they have client money protection in place, and follow up with them after the tenancy begins to ensure the deposit is protected – remember, you remain liable for return of the deposit even when using a letting agent.

If you want more information on choosing a letting agent, Prime Location offer a useful guide on their website.

Whether you are selling or letting, choose a well-established agent who really knows the location and has good word-of-mouth reviews. If you get on with them too, that could make the whole process easier!