Estate Agent Don’ts – I was watching an “online” estate agents T.V advert again last night – that one where the cheesy smart casual presenter chap says “we do everything other estate agents do” or some such nonsense – and, apart from getting annoyed yet again about how this blatant omission of facts can be allowed by the ASA, it started me thinking that we always hear an awful lot about what estate agents do. However, its also true that what you don’t do as an estate agent can be hugely valuable to the customer.
It may be against the norm to highlight what we don’t do and some of the benefits of an estate agent not doing something may only be clear to clients who have already experienced the other side of the coin but see what you think of the five examples our own client feedback has highlighted;
· We don’t have employees – everyone who works at my agency is a partner in our business. You’ll always be talking to experienced & responsible people whenever you contact us. We’re all dedicated to working together with you rather than fighting over commission.
· We don’t cross sell – if you contact us, you won’t be “encouraged” in exchange for a kickback to see a mortgage advisor or use a particular solicitor. If you do ask us our opinion, we’ll happily recommend local experts we know and trust to do a good job for you. Other than that, we just do what it says on the front of our shop – buying, selling, renting and letting.
· We don’t charge tenants admin fees – yes, the Autumn Statement proposals might mean these fees are banned across the board from next year but we’ve never charged tenants any admin fees. We’re paid by the landlord and those fees cover our admin costs for checking out the tenants.
· We don’t sell “off market” – every property our clients instruct us to sell or let goes without exception onto the open market before we start viewings. Our job is to get the best buyer at the best price for our seller so we firmly believe in giving every potential buyer a level playing field from the start. After all, it isn’t always the first person through the door or even the one that makes the highest offer that turns out to suit our client the best.
· We don’t badger potential clients – if you invite us out to value your home, you’ll get an honest appraisal and plenty of advice backed up in writing. You’ll also be able to get to know us and what we stand for as an estate agent. From then onwards, we will leave you be to make your decision or ask for more information. We also don’t randomly leaflet swathes of houses or tout properties on the market with other agents. We know how annoying it can be to be chased so we’ll leave you to decide whose advice you trust.
For more information on what we do and don’t do as an estate agent, visit us at www.madisonoakley.co.uk
