Estate Agents.

Be Prepared

As a buyer you will find Estate Agents more interested in you if you are a serious buyer.

• Have a mortgage in principle.

• Be clear as to what you want.

• Be clear on location.

• Size of property.

• Price you can afford.

Are Estate Agents Regulated?

In the UK Estate Agents are not closely regulated although they do have to comply with the Estate Agent Act of 1979.

Estate Agents may however choose to become members of RICS (Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors) or NAEA (National association of Estate Agents) and it is advisable as a buyer to check their membership of these bodies for your own piece of mind.

What is an Estate Agent?

An Estate Agent is someone who sells, rents or manages property in a particular area.

Estate agents do the marketing of the property and negotiate with prospective buyers on behalf of the seller/vendor.

What does an Estate Agent do?

Estate agents carry out a very wide range of duties.

• Residential letting agents usually handle either sales or lettings, some however do both.

• An Agent who works on Sales will meet people who wish to sell property and work to a price and time scale.

• They handle marketing for the property, target buyers, advertising etc.

• They meet potential buyers, discuss what they are looking for and take them to view houses they think are suitable.

• When they succeed in finding a buyer for a property they will generally hand over to lawyers who handle the legal side of things.

Who pays the Estate Agent?

The Estate Agent acts for the vendor/seller.

• It is the vendor who pays the estate agent a commission which is a % of the sale value of the house which is generally between 1.5-3%

• Note the buyer does not pay a fee.

Estate agents who work in residential lettings may charge the owner in different ways. However as a tenant they will also charge you for finding a property. This is usually a flat fee up to about £250, which is described as an application or administration fee.

Understand your Estate Agent

• Don't alienate the Estate Agent.

• When times are good and the market is buoyant and there are more buyers than sellers, Estate Agents may treat you badly and not return you calls or send you promised information. However when the market slows, the good ones will be a model of co-operation.

• Unfortunately Estate Agents appear to have a bad reputation. This is generally not the case as home buying is sometimes a nightmare situation and they are caught in the middle.

Finding an Estate Agent

• Click here to view a selection of Estate Agents from our providers directory.