4 reasons why you still need a traditional estate agent to sell your property

4 Reasons you need a traditional estate agent to sell your property

The sudden increase of services helping both homebuyers and sellers complete their own property transactions is relatively recent. While doing the work yourself could save you fees charged by estate agents in Southend-on-Sea, for many, going it alone may not be the way forward — and could end up being more costly than a commission in the long run.

1) Greater convenience

The full-time job of an estate agent is to act as a liaison between buyers and sellers. So, if you’re selling your home yourself, you need to be available to receive calls from interested parties, answer questions and make appointments. Potential buyers are likely to move on if you are busy or don’t respond quickly enough. Alternatively, you may find yourself making an appointment and rushing home, only to find that no one arrives to view your home. If you appoint a local estate agent to help you, they will take on these tasks for you.

2) Negotiating is a complicated business

Assuming both the buyer and seller are reasonable people, direct negotiation can be transparent and allow both parties to look after their own interests. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case.

An estate agent can play the “bad guy” more easily during negotiations, preventing any bad blood between a buyer and seller which can often put a stop to a sale. An agent can help by speaking for you during difficult negotiations and will smooth things over to stop them from getting personal. When you’re selling property in Southend it can be beneficial to have an estate agent who will represent your best interests without turning off potential buyers who want to quibble about price or fixtures and fittings.

3) Estate agents can’t lie

Well, OK, actually they can. But if they are licensed professionals, there are more repercussions if they do, than for a private buyer or seller. If you’re working with a reputable estate agent in Southend with an agency agreement, who is an NAEA member, the agent must act in his clients’ best interest, not his own.

In addition, most estate agents rely on referrals and repeat business to build the kind of client base they will need to survive in the industry. This means doing what’s best for their clients should be as important as any individual sale.

4) Not everyone can save money

Many people avoid using an estate agent in order to save money, but keep in mind that as a seller it’s likely you may not reap all of the benefits of not having to pay commission. For example, if you’re selling your home on your own, you will probably decide the asking price based on comparable properties for sale in Southend. Many of these properties will be sold with the help of an agent. This means the seller gets to keep the percentage of the home’s sale price that might otherwise be paid to an estate agent. However, buyers who are looking to purchase a home sold by owners may also believe they can save money on the home by not having an agent involved. They might even expect it and make an offer accordingly.

Some buyers will even demand to split the savings and insist this is written into contracts. As a seller, you may prefer to pay commission to a professional agent who will help sell your property in Southend, rather than give away money to a stranger for the privilege of buying your home.

The bottom line

While there are certainly people who are qualified to sell their own homes, taking a quick look at the long list of frequently asked questions on most “for sale by owner” websites suggests the process isn’t as simple as many people assume. And when you get into a difficult situation, it can really pay to have a professional Southend estate agent on your side.