We catch up with Benjamin Brain, Managing Director of Hannells, to see what he thought of BBC 2’s new six part documentary on Estate Agents…
On Wednesday even
ing, BBC 2 aired the first of a six part series based on the daily trials and tribulations of various Estate Agents from across the UK. As much publicised by the press, Estate Agents are not the most loved professionals in the UK and, usually, whenever I hear “Estate Agents” and “television” in the same sentence it doesn’t fill me with confidence.
However this time, it was rather refreshing to see a relatively well balanced “documentary” which showed the agent’s perspective on a variety of situations. I thought that it was a very interesting watch and not only did it show the vast difference between the London market and the rest of the UK, there were also some lessons to take note of for anybody out there soon to become a buyer or seller:
I think a large lesson that could be learnt from the first episode was to make sure that, as a buyer, you are as prepared as can be before you put forward an offer on a property. As the older couple in Birmingham who wanted the bungalow found out the hard way, just because a vendor has said “Yes” to your offer, does not necessarily mean that the property is going to be taken off the market. What buyers tend to forget is that a good Estate Agent will always act in the best interests of the client who has instructed them – the vendor. Whilst this does not mean that providing a fantastic service to buyers should be dismissed, it does mean that sometimes you have to look at things from the perspective of the vendor.
The best way to avoid this is to make sure that you have everything prepared early on. See an independent Mortgage Adviser and ask for an agreement/mortgage in principle (this is not legally binding, it is just a certificate to show that based on the information you have provided, the lender would be prepared to lend a certain amount) and get quotes from recommended Solicitors. When you do find a property you are interested in, you can show the Agent that you are already financially qualified and you have Solicitors lined up ready to go. This will demonstrate to the agent that you are a serious buyer, you are in a position to proceed and you can get things moving fast – which will add a lot of value to your offer. If people need to move fast, your position and how fast you can get things moving can sometimes be just as important as the amount that you offer on the property.
To me, the episode also demonstrated the value of a pro-active, hard-working Estate Agent. When choosing to instruct an Estate Agent with the sale of your property, it is incredibly important that you choose an agent with these attributes. I’m afraid, and this may come as a shock to some, that if you expect to achieve the best price possible and receive an excellent service, guiding you through the process from start to finish, then just sticking your property on one of the property portals and waiting for floods of buyers to come in just does not cut it. A good Estate Agent will work their hardest, using their local knowledge, huge bank of contacts and marketing prowess, exhausting every option until they have found a buyer for your home. Even the pompous and rather abrupt London agent demonstrated the importance of having an excellent reputation for a particular market and he would have got nowhere without his excellent contacts. There’s a reason vendors pay him upwards of £500,000 to get their property sold. For the knowledge, experience, service and overall price achieved by a reputable local estate agent, the price you pay can literally add £1,000’s on to the asking price and also add security and peace of mind that you simply won’t get elsewhere.
I think the final lesson to be learnt from the first episode was to consider how much you spend on your property before you make any substantial additions to it. The perfect example of this was Susan’s £249,950 detached house in Spennymore. She clearly had expensive taste and had gone all out with expensive additions to her house such as Brazilian mahogany windows and staircases. Whilst it all looked very nice, in an area where the average house price is below £100,000 there are going to be very few buyers who have the finances for such extravagance. If you are going to make big investments in your property for you, think carefully about whether you are going to make a return when it comes to getting the property sold. If you plan on staying put for a few years, this isn’t really an issue as you’ll get plenty of use. But if you are making alterations with plans to get the property on the market in the near future, make sure you do your homework. Will you be able to claw back all the money you have spent on that wonderful loft conversion and has the hot tub in the garden made an ounce of difference to the price you should expect to achieve? – You’d better call a local Agent!
Benjamin Brain
Managing Director
Hannells
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