House Selling Defined
What is an estate agent?
Well, an estate agent is someone who will help you sell your property. There are obviously lots of ways of selling, you can advertise your own property in the newspapers, but an estate agent is someone who will handle the process for you. You do need to be aware that estate agents in England and Wales are not licensed, so you need to check who you are talking to.
What does an estate agent do to sell my house?
An estate agent will help you choose a price for your property. They will also arrange for the property to be shown, and they'll see that you probably won't be around most of the time, so therefore estate agents will have to conduct viewings and show people around. And obviously in terms of valuing it, they're going to have to look what local comparables in that setting to help get a price. There are other things. Advertise on the internet and that sort of thing. But principally, estate agents handle the sale on your behalf.
What is the main advantage of using an estate agent?
The principal job of an estate agent is to have lots of buyers on their books. So when you come to an estate agent, you want to check if they have lots of buyers on their books. Effectively what you're doing is paying a fee for access to their database of buyers. You would expect them to advertise the property locally and nationally if necessary.
Why do I need an estate agent to sell my house?
Well, the straightforward answer is you don't need an estate agent to sell your house. And if you really want an estate agent to act for you, the estate agent has got to add value. The whole point of an estate agent is that rather than you saying to one neighbor, who might want to buy it or have a friend, he may well have eight or nine people behind. The estate agent will have a lot of people who want to buy, and hopefully will add value to your house. That's the reason you use an estate agent.
Will an estate agent make the process of selling a house easier?
The principal reason you'd want to use an estate agent is that you don't want to have to do viewings yourself, you don't want to have to conduct negotiations with a buyer yourself, and particularly because most estate agents will have, hopefully, lots and lots of buyers for your property.
