An estate agent is basically a person or a company that arranges the renting or letting, selling and management of buildings and properties. With the development of the internet technology, many people prefer to use online methods to sell their property. This has brought along online estate agents. The main advantage of the online agents is their low costs that they charge and less work for you. The main problem with online estate agents is finding the right agent for your property. The traditional agents have offices that you can visit and negotiate what you want them to do for you, online agents may not have offices. It was easy to avoid bad street agents as information was shared through word of mouth which may not be the case with online agents; this means you will have to do a lot of research about them.
Tips to find an ideal Online Estate Agent
- Estate agent reviews – It is important to keenly read through reviews and testimonials before settling on an estate agent. You should look at the details of the people who are reviewing the agent as it is hard to know if they are genuine or not. What are they saying about the company? Are they using it currently? Are they happy? Most genuine companies will use a third party to compile their reviews.
- Where will they advertise your property – are their websites visible? You need maximum exposure to sell your property successfully. Check how many successful sales have been made through their site.
- Read through their terms and conditions – It is very important to read through the small print to know what you are liable of, what protection they can guarantee you, what information is standard to the industry. Most companies put information and conditions that protect them in case of a certain event.
- Their affiliations – Reputable agents are affiliated to accredited bodies that provide consumer support. Most of these are bodies that you can be a member of. These bodies will provide you with more information to help you make a decision. You should also look out for The Property Ombudsman which governs all the agents and are members of by law.
- Purchase one of their services – After researching and settling on the estate you may purchase one of their minor services just to see how they handle it. If they can’t handle the small job then there’s no need to give them a big job.
Keys and lock the door on the background of solar garden
Is price a factor to consider when selecting an agent?
Most online estate agents will charge a lower rate than the street agents but in turn, this will affect some services. Street agents will charge more but they will be more involved in the selling of your property. The online estate agents may not attend a viewing of the property. Here are the types of online estate agents according to their prices.
l High priced agents – This may offer to value your property, attend viewing and provide legal support and sell your property
l Middle priced agents – This will offer extra services apart from selling your property that is worth the price you are paying
l Low priced estate agents – This will do less other than selling your property.
You should choose the appropriate agent according to how they will meet your needs.
