What Does Your Estate Agent Actually Do?

With the number of homeowners using an online estate agency to sell their home rising, lots of people find themselves asking the question: What does your estate agent actually do?

When we see the poor showing of some estate agents, it’s easy to understand why some people don’t really know what their estate agent does (or at least should be doing)! At Jordan & Halstead, we’re proud of what we do and when we see our team working tirelessly for our customers, it seems like a shame that so many people don’t realise what they get up to every day!

In this blog post, we’ll take a look at what your estate agent actually does, and how to make sure you find an agent who will take the time to do all of these things for you.

What Your Estate Agent Should Do

Help Set The Value Of Your Home 

A home valuation is one of the very first steps you take into the process of selling your home, so it’s vital that you get a valuation that is accurate and reflects the optimum price for your home. You want your valuation to reflect the highest possible price of you home, while also being realistic in your market and at a price that will help you sell quickly.

It’s a balancing act to get an accurate valuation that will also help get you the best price for your home, and takes a wealth of talent and experience to help get a good valuation. You may also be advised to make changes to your home, add an extension or redecorate to help increase the value of your home. This can get expensive quickly, so at Jordan and Halstead, we will only ever advise you to make changes that will result in a concrete net gain for you.

We’re passionate about property, so even if you’re not looking to sell your house right now, we’ll still be happy to give you our professional advice on how to improve the value of your home, with no obligation.

Market Your Home

In today’s market, one of the most important parts of your estate agent’s job is to market your home to as many relevant buyers as possible. At Jordan & Halstead, we guarantee to spend more time and money on marketing your property than our competitors, to ensure your home is seen by everyone who needs to see it.

This is also a bit of a balancing act, as you want to get your house out there to the widest possible pool of buyers while also discouraging enquiries from buyers that aren’t serious or who your home isn’t right for. Your agent should be an expert at helping to target this market well, giving you lots of enquiries from engaged, interested buyers.

We’ll also always send professional photographers to take pictures of your home, to ensure they are shown off in the best possible light in listings, to attract potential buyers from the very first impression.

Conduct Viewings

You may wish to show potential buyers around your home yourself, but many sellers find this is a lot of pressure and would prefer for their estate agent to conduct viewings instead. 

We like to find the things that you really love about your home, and to emphasise them as we show potential buyers your home. The things that you love and actually attracted you to the home in the first place help to give a sense of personality to the home that resonates with potential buyers.

Your estate agent should also have a wealth of information about the home available for potential buyers, that you might not have yourself, such as exact room measurements, surveys and other documentation that is important for buyers to know, and are seen as a more neutral party by potential buyers. By giving a complete overview of the house, many buyers will know instantly whether your house is right for them, helping to weed out enquiries that aren’t serious.

Manage Negotiations

The negotiations period is when having an experienced estate agent who really understands you, your property, the market you’re selling in and the art of negotiation really comes into its own. All offers are made to the estate agent, who will then pass them onto the seller, and act as a middleman between the buyer and seller.

Your agent help advise you on whether to accept an offer, or to wait for something better, based on the asking price, similar sales and the general state of the market. If you’re a buyer, you can also ask the estate agent for more information about the seller to help give you a better idea of what kind of offer would be accepted by the sellers. 

A good estate agent will be able to keep both parties on the same side throughout negotiations to help the process run smoothly and get the best possible result.

Do The Admin

Buying and selling a house can be a pretty complex procedure, with a lot of paperwork, jargon and other ‘legalese’ to wade through. With an experienced estate agent by your side, you can cut through the noise and understand exactly what you’re signing, and how to get the best results from your sale, throughout the process.

How To Choose The Right Estate Agent

When you’re looking at choosing an estate agent, you want to find someone who you get on with, and who really understands your home and the local market. 

As highly regarded estate agents with over 10 years of experience in the local property market, Jordan & Halstead are perfectly positioned to help you sell your home. We are passionate about property and helping people buy and sell their homes in the local area.

Our team of experts are kind, honest and committed to you, and are always willing to go the extra mile to help make the process of buying and selling your home easy.

To find out more about Jordan & Halstead, the services we offer and our approach to estate agency, contact our experienced team today.