Choosing to Instruct House Network

Selling your property is an important decision, but instructing the correct estate agent to represent you is crucial.

Some people think that the best is always the cheapest option, or the most expensive is the best service provider, others think that as long as they are marketed on the biggest property websites then that’s all they need. Not many realise that the most important aspect when selling a home is the service that your estate agent offers to you and your buyer. It really will make the difference to whether you sell your property or not.

Imagine instructing the cheapest estate agent because you want to save the most money, but then realising after, that they are not picking up their phone quick enough for when potential buyers phone up to make enquiries, book a viewing, or they are not calling you in time to put an offer forward. The cheapest agent could well hinder your chances of selling and leave you wondering what exactly they are doing for you. It’s all very well instructing an agent but they have to manage your property professionally at all times, one slip could cost you a buyer and you may never know about it.

You must entrust your property sale to an agent who is going to offer you a continuously high level of service, you need an agent who gives you a direct dial into the same person who understands your property and can help you every step of the way from first viewing to completion day. You need an agent who is going to feedback to you regularly, not just about your property but the market conditions in general. You need an agent that is pro-active.

We have been established for over five years improving our own in-house software to provide the very best in customer focused service. Communication is essential between client and agent, and we constantly supply information to you throughout the process. Without this experience and IT development it would be impossible to reach such standards, so be wary of any agent offering low fees without this trading experience.

We understand in this difficult economic climate that people want to save money and this has always been high up in our mission statement, but alongside this, it’s to maintain the highest levels of customer service along with marketing on the best possible UK property portals. This together with our low fixed fees mean that we can offer a complete estate agency service.

Before you decide who to instruct as your estate agent we’d strongly advise that as standard they:

Employ individuals that are NAEA qualified

Should be part of the NAEA (National Association of Estate Agents) as a company

Should be a member of the Ombudsmen for Estate Agents and OFT (Office of Fair Trading)

Give you a direct dial to your own personal estate agent at all times

Handle all telephone and email enquiries quickly and efficiently

Give you an online account to track your property performance

Market your property on key portals such as Rightmove, Prime Location, Property Finder and Find a property

Charge a fair commission rate, ie £100’s rather than £1,000’s

Have a fixed rate of commission so that there are no hidden charges

Do not penalise you for going with another estate agent at the same time

Do not charge a termination fee for coming off the market

Value your property in a fair way and listen to your own requirements

Give regular updates into market conditions

Give regular statistics to show how your property is performing

Deal with viewing requests quickly and efficiently

Ensure that viewers are vetted before they are allowed to view your property

Provide feedback from all viewers of your property

Qualify buyers financially before you decide to sell to them

Make sure that your buyers carry out a survey in a timely fashion

Check that the survey on your property comes back without any issues and if so address them

Provide your solicitor with a contact person at the estate agency who can deal with any issues during the sale

Provide regular sales progression reports once a sale is agreed

At House Network we offer all of the services above, without them our business would fail and so would your property sale. Without the constant improvement and evolution of our business model we would not have grown to become the largest online estate agent in the country. Our business has grown through word of mouth and from our repeat customer base who once sell through us rarely use another estate agent ever again.

We believe our fees to be a fair reflection of the work involved in successfully managing the complete property sale from start to finish, we would strongly advise anyone who wants to sell their property to ensure that their agent offers the same level of service but at a fair commission rate. You could have the most expensive agent or the cheapest agent in the country but if they’re not offering this level of service then you may just be ruining any chance you had of selling in the first place.