Finding the Best London Estate Agents

Regardless of whether you are planning to buy or sell a property in the English capital, London, you must do your homework to find a trustworthy, knowledgeable estate agent, who can successfully manage the process and help you secure the best price.

However not all estate agents are equal, in their experience, or knowledge of the postcode areas you’re interested in, so it’s up to you to first go through a thorough agent selection process and to succeed at it, you need to know what criteria and questions to ask to eliminate contenders and end up with the best representation for your needs.

Selling a property is one of the most stressful events, in our lives, so much so it is ranked higher than getting divorced or starting a new job.

Choosing the right agents is easy with a plan. Rather than selecting the first real estate professional you come across; or worse, left with no clue who to choose to represent you, read this helpful guide to finding the best London estate agents.

Shortlist Estate Agents

If you are planning to sell your home in London, you would be smart to shortlist your search to three possible estate agents. Most likely, all three agents will be from different agencies and therefore go about their service differently. When you meet the agents, you’ll get a good impression on how methodical and professional they are and what their core drivers are to secure your business.

Invite Prospective Agents To Your Home

Engaging with prospective agents in your home will provide you with valuable insight into each one and what’s motivating them for your business. Do they love their job, or are they not selling many properties and they’re desperate to get your business? To get them to your property, invite each one to provide a property valuation.

Property Valuation

While your goal might be to receive the best possible price for your home, you shouldn’t automatically select an agent who offers the highest valuation, as it’s a common practice to appeal to the homeowner’s desire of a high price and overvalue your property to secure your custom.

Instead, know beforehand the price range for your home, and once the agent presents their valuation of your property, you won’t show surprise, and you can see quickly more onto assessing the service.

Keep in your mind; estate agents are practised at face to face communication, so they know which buttons to push to gauge your response. What they want to know during the visit at your home is ‘will this person list their property for sale with me?’

Keep your emotions in check and focus on gathering the information you need to make a proper assessment of each agent. You want to know what the agent offers clients, and what experience and achievements do they have in the industry. For example, professional real estate agents like Keatons provide the free instant home valuation however their client focus is very much on their service, hence their first class reputation.

To make a selection from your short list of agents, get answers to specific questions. Marketing your property to get the best price in the shortest time is key, so let’s start with what you need to know about marketing strategy.

Understand Their Marketing Tactics

It is also vital to understand how an estate agent plans to market your property, which will ensure you are confident that your home will reach as many potential buyers as possible to secure a fast sale.

For example, you should ask them:

• What portals they plan to use (such as Rightmove, Zoopla, OnTheMarket, etc.)
• If they pay to advertise a property listing in a newspaper or magazine – and which ones will they choose
• If they plan to feature your property in their window

Choose an estate agent who will endeavour to promote your property to as many people as possible, which can help you to secure a fast sale and receive a superb offer on your home.

Discuss Your Specific Needs

An experienced estate agent can tailor their services to fit your specific needs. It is, therefore, important to discuss your requirements and budget so that they can offer recommendations based on your circumstances. If you don’t like what you hear, you will know they are not the best option for you, so you can browse the market until you find the right fit.

Book an Appointment

To boost your confidence that an estate agent is ‘the’ right company for your needs, you should book an appointment to visit their office.

While emails and phone calls are great, meeting a qualified estate agent, face-to-face can boost your confidence that they will do everything in their power to help you find your dream property or quickly sell your home for the best price.

Plus, it will provide you with an opportunity to ask various questions, which can help you to make an informed choice on whether to hire their services.

Summary

Your home is your biggest asset, so whether your buying or selling, you’ll want to engage real estate agents who understand your requirements and can deliver you the experience and outcome you desire, which surely includes achieving the best price. 🙂