Choosing an Estate Agent

If you're looking for an estate agent to sell your property, then personal recommendations are a good place to start, especially from someone who has sold property similar to yours - perhaps a former neighbour.

It's a good idea to ask a number of different agencies to value your home, and then decide which one will fulfil your requirements the best. Make sure that you consider the following points:

• Look for an agency that demonstrates a good knowledge of the area and shows a genuine interest in handling your sale.
• Ask each agency what they see as your home's main selling point, and get detailed information on how they plan to advertise it. How often will it appear in the local paper? Do they have a web site or do they supply details to a composite web site that covers a number of agencies?
• Look at the sort of details your chosen agents produce for properties like yours.
• Consider using a smaller agency - they may depend more on your sale and make more effort than a large agency, which may have so many properties that they can't give yours their full attention.
• Choose someone you get on with. A good relationship with the agent is important and will make it easier to sort out any problems that may arise.
• Remember that fees are negotiable and you should always try to arrange a lower fee, particularly when selling a desirable property.

Don't automatically opt for the agency quoting the highest sale price - they may just be desperate to your business. A difference of 5% is acceptable, is the estimates are adrift by more than this, asked the ageing quoting the highest rated to justify the figure with actual examples of recent sales of similar property in the area.

Once you have decided which agency to use, make sure that you check the following points:

• Look at the charges carefully - most agents charge a percentage of the final sale price, which means you only pay if and when the property is sold, but some may offer a lower percentage and charge fees for advertising, putting up the sale board, and arranging viewings, all of which you may be liable to pay for immediately.
• Check the small print and asked what happens if you sell to a neighbour, friend, or colleague - some agencies claim ' sole selling rights' (not the same thing as ' sole agency' rights), which means you have to pay their fee even if you are not selling the property without their help. This may even apply for a set time of your contract with the agent has expired.