When selling or renting your property, your estate agent is the one who will handle most of the work for you. They will coordinate everything from viewings and offers to paperwork, timings and key collection, which makes them essential to a smooth transaction. But how do you know if an estate agent is the right one for the job?
Read on to find out 5 of the most important qualities that make for a great estate agent and what you should look out for when choosing yours.
Great communicator
The key to a quick and successful sale lies in your estate agent’s communication skills. They should be quick to respond to any of your questions, make their fees clearly known right from the start, and make sure to keep you updated with any progress.
After each viewing, you should also expect them to call back within a day or two to let you know the buyer’s thoughts. This feedback is a valuable step in the sales process, so they must communicate it to you quickly so you can act on it before your next viewing.
This responsiveness is also essential for renting. If there’s an issue with the property or your tenant, then you’ll want to know about it asap so that you can protect your asset.
If your estate agent isn’t communicating with you clearly or regularly, then this could also mean that they’re neglecting potential buyers or tenants. If you do have any doubts, don’t be afraid to send a friend in as an undercover buyer so that you can see just how responsive they are.
Engaging personality
An estate agents’ main role is to sell or rent your property, which means they’re going to need a winning personality. Make sure to choose someone you feel comfortable dealing with and who engages with you in an honest and authentic way. If you feel relaxed around them, then good chances are that your buyers will, too.
This is key when it comes to finding a long-term tenant who will treat your property with respect. If you’re a landlord looking for a more hands-off approach, then the estate agent is the one who your tenant will be dealing with on a regular basis. This means that tenants often forget that an estate agent is acting on behalf of someone else, so think of them as the face of your property and choose someone who is pleasant to work with.
An engaging personality is also really important for negotiating. Someone positive, friendly and confident will be more likely to secure you a better deal than someone negative and hard to talk to. At the end of the day, you want someone who puts you at ease and inspires trust in both yourself and your buyers.
Driven and passionate
Someone who has a deep passion for property will be driven to secure you a successful sale. This energy will coarse through everything they do, from keeping organised and being responsive to doing everything they can to find you the right buyer.
But how do you know if someone has that drive? The first thing to look out for is how much they want to know about you and your property. Someone who is passionate won’t try and pitch themselves to you, but will instead show an interest in you and your needs by asking questions.
This passion will also be clear from their thirst for knowledge about the local area and current market trends. This will help them provide an accurate valuation, while also ensuring they match your property with the right buyers.
Once you find an estate agent that has a clear passion for what they do, you can be sure they’ll feed this energy into quickly securing you the best deal and taking care of your property.
Tech-savvy
The modern-day estate agent has access to a whole range of tools that can help with every aspect of their work. When it comes to admin, a tech-savvy estate agent will be able to streamline their processes so that they can focus more of their energy on looking after tenants, negotiating and securing sales.
They will also have access to a multitude of online marketing tools, and used correctly, these will help target potential buyers. Once they find someone who is interested, VR, 360-degree photos and videos offer immediate viewings 24/7. This gives buyers a more vivid impression of your property, filtering out buyers with high potential to save time on physical viewings.
Finally, new technologies are giving estate agents access to increasingly detailed market data. This will give them a clearer picture of any trends that could affect your sale in some way, as well as helping pinpoint demographics for more accurate marketing.
Using technology like this can improve your overall sales experience significantly. Make sure to ask your estate agent about how they plan to market your property, and if they quote figures, don’t be shy about asking to see the data.
Honest and trustworthy
Your house is potentially your biggest asset, so when it comes to selling or renting, you’ll want to find an honest estate agent that you can trust. Unfortunately, some estate agents aren’t as honest as they should be and might lie about offers, viewings or feedback to make themselves look better. They might also try to offer you ‘extra marketing’ services if your property isn’t getting much interest, even though they should have been doing everything they could right from day one.
So although you might find someone with all the above traits, at the end of the day you’ll want to find someone with integrity. Look for an agency accredited by professional organisations like the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA), SAFEagent and the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA).
We also recommend checking out the Best Estate Agents Guide, a comprehensive list of estate agents that meet the strictest professional standards. If you want to hear about other people’s experiences from your area, then try looking up online reviews.
The bottom line is that you need to take your time and fully research any potential estate agents you want to work with. They will be handling your property and it’s vital that you can trust them.
Get in touch with Coleman Estates
At Coleman Estates, we pride ourselves on delivering the best services possible and are one of the most highly accredited agencies in Telford. This drive and passion has seen us become Telford’s best rated estate agent, with yearly appearances in the Best Estate Agents Guide.
If you’re looking for an estate agent you can trust with your Shropshire property, our friendly team would love to hear from you!
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