HOW TO APPPOINT THE BEST ESTATE AGENT FOR YOU AND YOUR PROPERTY
When you sell your property, it’s vital that you find the estate agent that is best suited to you and your home.
When it comes to choosing the best estate agent for your circumstances, it helps if you can shortlist your options down to two.
The best way to do that is:
Ask family, friends and neighbours as it is always good to have a personal recommendation.
Compare local estate agents based on the facts: which estate agent has the majority of properties for sale in your locality? How quickly do they sell property? Which agent has agreed the highest number of sales in the last 12 months? You can use the ‘Find Agent’ button on Rightmove to compare available and under offer stock levels for estate agents in your locality.
Make sure the agent has experience in selling property like yours. Check there are properties similar to yours on their website.
Look at the photographs produced by the agent. Are they good quality? After all, a picture is worth a thousand words.
Look at the estate agent’s website. Which website do you like best and which is easiest to navigate your way around?
What is their viewing policy? Check they will accompany potential buyers when you are not available.
Once you have a shortlist it’s time to book your market appraisal. This is a great opportunity for you to ask them some further questions to help find the right one to sell your home.
You should ask:
How quickly do they sell homes on their books? How many sales have they agreed on within the last 12 months?
What is their reasoning behind the value they’ve given your property?
How long were they with you at the appointment? Were they thorough in the information they provided you with?
Will details of your property be shared with their colleagues? It’s good if more than one person in the office can talk enthusiastically and with knowledge about your property. Will they get the sales negotiators to visit? If the valuer is the only person to see the property, it is not much use as, at the end of the day, they are rarely in the office taking calls and speaking to potential buyers!
What hours are they contactable? A surprising number of agents are only contactable between 9am and 5pm during the week and until lunchtime on Saturdays, which means they are less accessible to potential buyers.
What is the full process from point of instruction to sale completion? Do they have dedicated departments to assist along the way?
Don’t be fooled by the valuations you are given. Agents know that one of the main reasons people pick them is the valuation they give. Estate agents take two general approaches:
Some agents give deliberately optimistic valuations, to make you think you can get a higher price with them, and then try and talk you down when the level of interest is low.
Some agents insist they are giving a realistic price and tell you not to be fooled by falsely high valuations.
The agent should come armed with evidence of local sold prices to support their valuation. It’s always advisable to take the advice of the estate agent, but it’s worth noting that, within reason, it is you and not the agent who decides what price to put the property on at.
How will they market your property?
One of the most important factors that will influence which estate agent you choose is how they plan to market your property. You need to understand what their plans are and be comfortable with their approach. Ask them:
Which portals are they using? It is the big property portals you need to be listed on; the main one being Rightmove.
Are they able to gain press coverage in local newspapers and magazines? If you are selling a higher end property, will they be able to feature it in any national newspapers or magazines?
Will your property feature in their high street window?
How many buyers does the agent have on their database that are looking for your type of property?
Will your property be listed on social media?
Make sure you get along with your estate agent and that you trust them. They will be the first point of contact for any potential buyers, so you need to make sure that they will represent you and your property well.
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Georgian mansion for sale is one of Northumberland’s grandest residences
We have had the pleasure of serving a variety of clients...
Each member of staff I have spoken to has been excellent, very friendly, professional, and responds straight away. Great service
Mrs VD
1 / 23
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We received excellent service and were well informed at each stage of the process. We were pleasantly surprised when Kate whooped down the phone when she received the key for Golden Lion Mews! We would have no hesitation in giving you and the team 5 stars for service.
Mr and Mrs Marron
2 / 23
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GSC Grays provide an experienced and professional service. From the initial contact with the valuer (Graham Wood) to the closure of the sale they keep you informed throughout. Graham and all of the staff are a pleasure to deal with. I would highly recommend them. I would also give you a 5 star rating.
Marian Lowe
3 / 23
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I unhesitatingly recommend Gray’s Estate Agent in Barnard Castle. We explored a number of agents and chose GSC Grays not because they were the cheapest but because they most inspired our confidence. We were not disappointed; from the initial visit through various stages to completion we were impressed by the professionalism, attention to detail, excellent communication, competent negotiation, and willingness to go the extra mile in customer service. They facilitated the sale of our property in a way that made it feel a pleasure to sell.
H. Thorp
4 / 23
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We have used GSC Grays for selling, purchasing, and renting and have experienced nothing but efficiency and above all friendliness. A great company in our opinion.
Anne
5 / 23
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We have moved house several times over the years so feel well qualified to recognise good efficient service when we see it. All the way through, from the initial valuation to the day of completion, everyone at GSC Grays made us feel our sale really mattered. We were kept well informed of the progress of the sale and any questions we had were answered promptly and clearly. We would definitely recommend GSC Grays to anyone planning to buy or sell a property.
M. Scarborough
6 / 23
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The team at GSC Grays went above and beyond for us. The sale of our property was a tricky one and the team managed it with professionalism, kindness, and enthusiasm. We cannot recommend them enough.
E. Hickey-Mason
7 / 23
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Thank you once again for the excellent care you have taken of us during the sale and now the purchase of our house. We have felt all along that you really cared and were really interested. A wonderful service.
A. Merck
8 / 23
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I will have no hesitation in asking for your property expertise in the future or in recommending your company to others as I think the reports are first class.
Mr Thompson
9 / 23
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Thank you for all your help during our move. It all got quite stressful towards the end and it was great to have you at the end of the phone offering reassurance and advice. We got there in the end and we are delighted with our new home! Just wanted to let you know how much your help was appreciated!
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I just wanted to pass on my appreciation to the whole team for the fantastic job they did for me. The Sales Progression team had a particularly tricky job as the sale was less than easy but they were all amazing.
G.F
11 / 23
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GSC Grays were recommended to me and in the years which I have worked with them, I have found their approach excellent. They take a long term view and provide exactly the right balance between pushing things on whilst keeping me informed – I am delighted to have them on board.
C.C
12 / 23
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Excellent HomeBuyer Report service. Survey completed promptly and initial comments delivered by telephone within twenty-four hours with comprehensive written report received by post shortly after. Clear, concise documentation, which includes advice on rectifying defects and issues that legal advisors may wish to investigate, all professionally presented in a bound booklet enabling a timely informed decision to be achieved in respect of the purchase of the property. Thoroughly recommended.
A. Longstaff
13 / 23
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GSC Grays have always provided a professional and friendly letting service for me. Their regular updates and communication have meant total peace of mind that my properties are being managed with the up most of care. I would definitely recommend GSC Grays to other landlords.
M.M
14 / 23
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When your largest cost in selling/purchasing a new house is the estate agent fees it is a rather large cost to accept, especially with things like Rightmove been involved. However, once my sale was agreed and it was passed over to Catherine in the sales progression team I do believe the fee was easier to stomach as her role in the sale/purchase was worth its weight in gold, and without it, there is no doubt in my mind that things would have not got done in the timescales we and our seller wanted. I really do appreciate all of Catherine’s advice and help in keeping the whole process moving.
E. Sword Lycetts
15 / 23
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Thank you so much to the Barnard Castle Branch and the Sales Progression team for all your help with the purchase of our new home. We are absolutely delighted with the property and were really impressed by the service and experience we had at GSC Grays.
H. Langford
16 / 23
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Thank you to everyone at GSC Grays for your friendly professionalism over the past two years and especially in more recent weeks. I greatly appreciated all you do and would have no hesitation in recommending you to anyone!
J.N
17 / 23
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We have had the pleasure of serving a variety of clients...
GSC Grays were recommended to me and in the years in which I have worked with them, I have found their approach excellent. They take a long term view and provide exactly the right balance between pushing things on whilst keeping me informed – I am delighted to have them on board.
A.N
18 / 23
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Theakston Land has worked with Calum and his team for many years. That work has included a detailed analysis of costs to maximise value. The development appraisal work undertaken with GCS Grays means that I am confident we are getting the best possible price. They make a positive contribution at all levels and help to drive forward long term and complex development projects.
S Marlow Theakston Land
19 / 23
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During 2020 Holly Story has worked on Barningham Estate helping us in our understanding of Natural Capital assets. Holly was instrumental in Barningham’s successful ELMs Test and Trial bid and is leading in the bid’s implementation. Her understanding and thought leadership are helping to bring clarity and good sense to what seems an increasingly complicated agricultural world.
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I used GSC Grays to secure planning for a straw processing building. The shed is in the Green Belt and I was astonished how smoothly the whole thing went through and how easy they were to work with.
J Henderson
21 / 23
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We have been working with GSC Grays Farm Business team since 2018 and with Robert Sullivan for over 20 years. The advice and insight of the team has been invaluable and means that we are now in a much stronger position to face the future and the changes in the industry with confidence. Their passion and commitment to us and the farm is integral to our success.
T. Dent Dinsdale Farming Ltd.
22 / 23
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We could not have chosen a better estate agent. Excellent work from start to finish from all the well-motivated professionals with whom we came into contact. The house was well marketed, and communications were superb, we were always kept well informed.
Mrs A
23 / 23
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