Over the years we have come across the good, the bad and the ugly when it comes to estate agents!  Here are some sensible tips when choosing an agent to sell your home:

• Always get at least 3 agents in to value your home, but don’t get too many otherwise it will get confusing

• Take a look around your area – which agents have the most sold and under offer boards?  They are clearly doing something right!

• Always ask the agent what their sole agency contract terms are and how long you would be locked in for, and what their notice period is.  It doesn’t benefit you as a seller to be locked in for a long period, you should be free to explore other options if you are not happy with their service

• Always check the small print of their terms and conditions – are their any hidden costs for marketing or if you leave them to go to another agent?

• Don’t always go for the highest valuation – if you have had a range, it’s normally sensible to settle somewhere in the middle.  Make sure the agent has given you good comparables to show how they arrived at their valuation

• Don’t always go for the lowest fee – you do tend to get what you pay for in agency!

• Sometimes a structured fee is a good incentive for agents i.e. if your asking price is £750,000, you offer to pay the agent the full fee if they get anything from £740,000 upwards, reduce that if it falls below and increase it if it goes over – it makes a bigger difference to their pockets this way so they will be pulling out all the stops to get you the best possible price!

• Remember it is often the manager who will come and value your home, you may be impressed with them but they may not be the person who will be showing your house to prospective purchasers.  If you are in doubt, ask to come in and meet the team.

If you are torn between agents, you could be a ‘mystery shopper’ or get a friend to – see whose service impresses you the most

• Finally, if you really can’t decide between two, you could always ask if they would both be interested in coming on board as joint agents without paying a multiple agency fee.  There are two types of joint agency – the first means the fee agreed gets split 50/50 no matter which agent ends up selling it, the second means the winner takes all.  Always go for the second, remember the more commission the agent is getting, the harder they will work for you!