Which estate agent would you choose from the following...
Discussion
anonymous said:
[redacted]
G-P and Mann are both part of the same group... Countrywide.
I THINK G-p are a franchise operation, whilst Mann are employed by the CW group.
Chancellors are independent, but still a big firm.
Edited by scotal on Monday 26th January 17:25
I had 2 valuations when i was looking at selling my flat
1st guy came round at at best was only ever going to know what each room was, just so uninspiring, don't think he could have sold it to me.
2nd guy came round and actually pointed out the positive points, got the job.
even when i was looking at houses it was surprising how many agents told you nothing more than the basics, no attempt to sell the properties, may as well have not been there.
1st guy came round at at best was only ever going to know what each room was, just so uninspiring, don't think he could have sold it to me.
2nd guy came round and actually pointed out the positive points, got the job.
even when i was looking at houses it was surprising how many agents told you nothing more than the basics, no attempt to sell the properties, may as well have not been there.
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Really great website. Thats the end of the good points in my opinion. My experience of them is terrible, staff were clueless about the local areas, completely unable to show what was asked for and all had followed the estate agent stereotype to the letter. I'd steer well clear of them. Scratch Foxtons off the list. They do have the best website, but I have caught them lying on several occasions.
If you know your neighbours, it's often worth asking them if they know anyone who might be interested in your property. In desirable areas, people who are renting already often look to buy and people living there often know people who are also interested in living there.
You need to ask them to justify why they are proposing price X. They should do this by comparing it to similar properties they have sold recently or have solid offers on. They should hopefully be able to send you details of recent sales and prices to back up their valuation.
Asking prices on websites can be extremely misleading, so it's not easy to get a real idea of what's moving at what price from them.
I *think* if you can find someone with access to up to date land registry information, you can get a good idea of what's being paid as well, not the couple of months delay stuff you can find on the web.
Don't tie yourself into one agent for too long, because if it's not working you can be stuck for up to 2 months or more. It's often worth the flexibility of appointing another agent, even if you let the initial agent go with it for say 4-6 weeks first.
ETA: The best way is usually to ask someone who has sold recently in your area (apologies for pointing out the obvious)
If you know your neighbours, it's often worth asking them if they know anyone who might be interested in your property. In desirable areas, people who are renting already often look to buy and people living there often know people who are also interested in living there.
You need to ask them to justify why they are proposing price X. They should do this by comparing it to similar properties they have sold recently or have solid offers on. They should hopefully be able to send you details of recent sales and prices to back up their valuation.
Asking prices on websites can be extremely misleading, so it's not easy to get a real idea of what's moving at what price from them.
I *think* if you can find someone with access to up to date land registry information, you can get a good idea of what's being paid as well, not the couple of months delay stuff you can find on the web.
Don't tie yourself into one agent for too long, because if it's not working you can be stuck for up to 2 months or more. It's often worth the flexibility of appointing another agent, even if you let the initial agent go with it for say 4-6 weeks first.
ETA: The best way is usually to ask someone who has sold recently in your area (apologies for pointing out the obvious)
Edited by 2something on Monday 26th January 18:39
I've had nothing but bad experiences with Countrywide agents. For example when I went to get the keys to my first house which was bought through them, they had locked them in their key cupboard and then lost the key to it. Minor inconvenience but symptomatic of the general poor organisation and feckless people.
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Try and sign up with them for no more than 4 weeks. This will give them a fair crack of the whip, but leave you free to try elsewhere if you don't feel they are doing enough. They will probably try and tie you in for longer tho.I'm not too far from you, and can report that given the price is right (about 15-20% down from peak of Summer 07) things have been selling.
Best of luck!
James,
As has been said try not to get tied in to them for more than 4 weeks, although I agreed 6 weeks in excahange for 1.15%.
We've just had an offer of £145k on ours.
Forgot to say, we had Townsends, Chancelors, Seymores, Keelans and Brandons round. We went with Brandons and second choice was Seymores.
As has been said try not to get tied in to them for more than 4 weeks, although I agreed 6 weeks in excahange for 1.15%.
We've just had an offer of £145k on ours.
Forgot to say, we had Townsends, Chancelors, Seymores, Keelans and Brandons round. We went with Brandons and second choice was Seymores.
Edited by phillvr6 on Monday 26th January 20:12
Also try and sell privately if you can - I had mine on www.houseladder.co.uk - it was free and you only paid when you had an enquiry. I got to the day of exchange with a couple from there but then they inconsiderately split up so the sale fell through but it would have cost hardly anything in comparison to what estate agents charge.
cslgirl said:
Also try and sell privately if you can - I had mine on www.houseladder.co.uk - it was free and you only paid when you had an enquiry. I got to the day of exchange with a couple from there but then they inconsiderately split up so the sale fell through but it would have cost hardly anything in comparison to what estate agents charge.
Yeah if you have time to kill, can negotiate, and know all the laws in the books, all the contracts backwards and forwards, not to mention if it's a hot market, then yes, otherwise, no.AUDIHenry said:
cslgirl said:
Also try and sell privately if you can - I had mine on www.houseladder.co.uk - it was free and you only paid when you had an enquiry. I got to the day of exchange with a couple from there but then they inconsiderately split up so the sale fell through but it would have cost hardly anything in comparison to what estate agents charge.
Yeah if you have time to kill, can negotiate, and know all the laws in the books, all the contracts backwards and forwards, not to mention if it's a hot market, then yes, otherwise, no.cslgirl said:
AUDIHenry said:
cslgirl said:
Also try and sell privately if you can - I had mine on www.houseladder.co.uk - it was free and you only paid when you had an enquiry. I got to the day of exchange with a couple from there but then they inconsiderately split up so the sale fell through but it would have cost hardly anything in comparison to what estate agents charge.
Yeah if you have time to kill, can negotiate, and know all the laws in the books, all the contracts backwards and forwards, not to mention if it's a hot market, then yes, otherwise, no.
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