“Pick a Letter”
There are many styles of estate agency operating in the Peterborough area, and picking the right one to sell your property can be daunting.
Different agencies provide a variety of services, yet some people are unaware of the indirect benefit that apparently unrelated services can offer. Whilst you may be thinking of selling rather than letting your property, have you considered the benefit of instructing an agent who also provides letting services – as we do – as it could be the make or break of your sale, for a number of reasons:
Firstly, as we handle both sales and lettings, we have long-term buy-to-let property investors permanently on our books who buy through us regularly. They know us, they make quick decisions and reliable offers. They prefer to buy through an agency that also does lettings because it is easy for them to then let out their new investment. Indeed, we are often able to find, reference and process a tenant who can move in quickly – even on the day of completion in some instances, thereby helping to maximising the investor’s return on investment!
Secondly, many of our tenants, wishing to get their foot on the property ladder, subsequently go on to buy a property. As we build good relationships with our tenants we are in prime position to be able to help them buy one of our own clients’ properties – smoothing to move from rented to purchased accommodation.
Thirdly, there are times when a vendor decides not to sell, but to rent, or even pursue both options simultaneously, in which case we are of course well positioned to handle both. Likewise, it is sometimes the case that a prospective tenant decides to buy instead of renting, again adding to our stock of pre-qualified buyers.
So when the time comes to sell, pick an estate agent who also offers letting services. It will improve your chances of a successful sale on the best possible terms!
“Avoid Virtual Tours”
Some agents have introduced a number of concepts and innovations which they hope will impress you enough to sell your property through them, yet we do not believe that every apparent “tool” at an agent’s disposal is necessarily to your best advantage.
For example, some agents use virtual tours on their website, and on the surface this appears to be a reasonable and useful addition to a website. However, we choose not to use virtual tours of our clients’ property on our website. This is because we do not believe that anyone will buy your property unless they actually step inside and have a look for themselves. The purpose of a website is to encourage buyers to contact us and, following a qualification procedure in the interests of security, subsequently view your home. Virtual tours can even prevent viewings as there appears to be no need for the buyer to physically visit your home!.
Additionally, due to the limiting nature of lens technology, virtual tours can often make a property appear much smaller than it actually is. They certainly convey little, if anything, of the atmosphere that a property has to offer. Unfortunately, atmosphere is often the hidden “I’ll know it when I see it” quality to which buyers certainly do need to be exposed.
Our role as estate agents is to facilitate the sale by ensuring that maximum numbers of qualified buyers actually visit your property, and this has been a key component of our success. I know I’d rather give my property to an agent who has a great record of getting buyers through your door, than to one who has tried to automate what remains essentially a people business!