Reasons to choose a traditional estate agent

Here we take a look at the Top 10 reasons to choose a traditional estate agent, we have seen a rise in online estate agents over the last few years offering budget house sale/rental solutions so why would you stick with a Traditional Estate Agent?

Here’s why we think you should:

1. Online Exposure – Many Traditional Estate Agents are already online, through their very own website as well as having your listings on major portals such as rightmove, zoopla. So they will offer that online service to you as part of the agreement.
2. Get the best offer – You will have an agreement with your traditional estate agent that you only pay their fee if they sell or rent your property. Agents will earn a percentage commission on the property so it is in their best interest to achieve the best possible price for your property. You may pay more with a traditional estate agency as opposed to an online estate agent BUT the traditional estate agent is far more likely to get you £5,000, £10,000, £20,000 more than you would have managing your own sale. So you shouldn’t really look at the online estate agent as a money saving option.
3. Established Network – Traditional estate agents are likely to have an established network of property investors who may wish to snap your property up as soon as you list it! For the asking price in many cases. They will get to work long before the property appears on the internet.
4. Overseeing the chain – Managing the chain is sometimes a very complex process, are you willing to do all this chasing around? Or is your time worth more than that?
5. Manage the process – With online estate agent, more often than not you will need to manage the viewings yourself. This might also include negotiating the price, then when the sale has been agreed you may find yourself doing all of the chasing from the offer itself right through to completion, arranging contracts & talking to solicitors. No thanks!
6. Personal Service – A traditional estate agent will give you a personal service, you will deal with someone who knows all about your property from day 1, this would be a face to face service which will alleviate stress levels throughout one of the most stressful processes you may ever go through.
7. Tried and tested sales and marketing processes – A traditional estate agent will have all of this covered. They will also have an established presence in their local area, not all enquiries come from the online industry and you can’t compete with a local estate agent who will be able to showcase your property from their high street window. The days of people walking into their local estate agency are very much alive and kicking.
8. Local knowledge – Traditional estate agents will bring this in abundance. When conducting viewings they will know the area, and represent your property not just for its own characteristics but also sell based on its location and what living their might bring to someones lifestyle.
9. Qualifying a potential buyers – A traditional estate agent will conduct this work for you, how do we know the offer is real? What is the proof that the offer has come from a buyer who can proceed? Do you really want to take care of this too? As a rough guide in the UK, 1 in 3 house sales fall through, with a reputable and driven estate agent this statistic can be drastically reduced… saving time, stress and cutting through the nonsense.
10. Trust – The majority of people will move more than once in their lifetimes, so they may have had an experience with a traditional estate agent previously, and hopefully a positive one. So, if you are a seller, take advantage of this and revisit the traditional estate agent that you worked with last time, every business loves a repeat client and they are likely to go that extra mile for you once again.

In a nutshell, please don’t look at the online industry as a money saving option, as it could end up costing you more when you review the final value that you get for your property… A traditional estate agent ‘should’ get you the best possible price. We would also encourage you to fully evaluate how much your time is worth, as going with an online estate agent ‘will’ consume a great deal of your time.

If you are an estate agent worried about what the online industry might do to your business, look at the above core values of what you can offer that they cannot, and speak to us about how we can help you market your properties and your services in your local area.