Estate Agents - Urmston Flixton & Davyhulme in Trafford, Manchester UK

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Selecting an Estate Agent

Whether you are thinking of buying a house in Urmston, Flixton and Daveyhulme in Trafford, Manchester or planning on selling one, you will have a tough time doing it yourself. Today, a property deal cannot be completed with the help of an estate agent.

Gone are the days when your estate agent would a dingy man trying to show you properties that you would not even think about in your dreams. Today’s estate agents are dynamic marketing people who have the ability to find you a house exactly as per your requirements or sell yours at a price you expect. But the most important fact to remember is that the estate agent works for you.

Before you select an agent as your representative, you should check out certain criteria to ensure you have the right guy.

* Local or Non-Local: If you are local to Urmston, Flixton or Daveyhulme in Trafford, Manchester then you should look for an agent from that area. The benefit of using a local agent is that in most cases you would be aware of his/her experience. You would have seen their sales boards and local adverts while passing through your local High Street.



Along with being local, you should also check if the agent deals in properties similar to yours. It would do you no good to list your three-bedroom penthouse with an agent who only specialises in mansions. In the same way, an agent who sells properties for the lower end of the market would not have the right customers for your country home.

Agents who deal in the properties similar to yours tend to develop a reputation in the community for providing the right kind of properties and so would have a list of clients who would be interested in your property.

While you might find many agents around Urmston, Flixton and Daveyhulme in Trafford, Manchester who match your requirements, you should ideally pick three to four to get a professional opinion. Gather market knowledge, price ideas and general norms about properties from all of them. Also check out details of the services they provide, their USPs, and their overall experience.

Make sure the agents actually have some sales notched up and are not claiming something they have not done. While the chances of the agent not agreeing to your price at the outset are high, if you like the agent, you should go ahead with him or her because chances are, a good agent will be on target.

If on the other hand, you are not local to Urmston, Flixton and Daveyhulme in Trafford, Manchester, finding a local agent will be that much tougher for you. Chances are you might not have any idea about the property market of the area. In such a scenario, the best place for you to start you search is the internet or local newspapers that have a property section.

You should look for an agent that is local to the area where your property, or the one you are interested in, is based. Check for their property listings and as above, select at least three agents that have properties in your price range for a professional opinion. The one point to remember here again is to pick agents that have sales against their names, not evasive ones who just claim they have many deals happenings.

If required, ask them for references of past clients who have purchased or sold properties through them, but be wary of their giving references of family members. As there is no certifying government body for estate agents, you will have to go by your hunch feeling and pick those you feel most comfortable with.

* Affiliation: While there are no legal regulatory bodies for estate agents, you can always check for their affiliation with voluntary regulatory bodies such as the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) and The Guild of Professional Estate Agents (GPEA). These bodies require their members to sign a code of practice so that they take business more seriously.



Urmston, Flixton and Daveyhulme in Trafford, Manchester also have a few agencies that have been set up by solicitors. Such agencies fall under the purview of The Law Society, which is a statutory body, and so are much better regulated. If you can find such an agency, you should definitely consider it.

* Check the Fine Print: This refers to the terms of service and fees information provided by the agent when you sign a contract of retention. You are not supposed to pay any charges to the agent unless they sell your property and absolutely nothing if you are buying; this should be mentioned clearly in the contract. If you are appointing someone as your sole-agent, the contract period should not extend beyond 8-10 weeks.



If you are a buyer, you are more or less protected as the agent only handles the actual sale; all other documentation including the transaction itself is handled by a lawyer while the property is assessed for value by an independent surveyor. That brings us to surveying.

* Property Valuation: Whether your property is located in Urmston, Flixton and Daveyhulme in Trafford, Manchester or elsewhere, you should never finalise a deal without having it surveyed and evaluation. If you do not, chances are an unscrupulous agent might undervalue the property you are selling, or stick you with an overpriced property. The best way forward is to get an independent surveyor to look at your property and give you a proper market value for it.



The benefit of using three different agents is that you can cross check their quotes to get an idea about any one of them cheating you on the price. Quite often, agents tend to hide actual offers and then put forward a “lower” offer from a friendly party to get hold of your property for less. Beware of such practices. If however you are made aware of all offers and then the friend’s offer turns out to be best, you can go ahead with the deal.

Buying or selling, always listen to your agent carefully and cross-question any statements that seem dubious. If your agent is good and scrupulous, you will get all your questions answered correctly. In the end, it all boils down to your feeling comfortable with the agent. Once you have the right agent, you can rest assured that your deal for a property in Urmston, Flixton and Daveyhulme in Trafford, Manchester will go through like clockwork.