On the Market and UNSOLD with an Online Agent
Frustration is probably the best word to describe your feelings right now if you have a house on the market and unsold with an online agent. We want to help you sell your house. Use the advice below to challenge your online agent and make sure they are working for you.
Firstly speak to your agent and ask them how they qualify the viewers coming through your door. What do we mean by qualify you may ask? Qualifying viewers is a series of questions your agent should ask before they come through your door to make sure they are serious.
Qualifying questions
- Who they are?
- How many viewings they have had
- Current situation
- How long they have been looking
- What they are looking for in a property
- Budget
You may think these questions are intrusive, especially if you are looking to buy a house yourself. But think of it this way. Do you want someone viewing your £400K house who can only afford £350K? Do you want someone viewing your house who would love a period terraced house when your house is a new build detached? Do you want someone viewing who wants a project and yours is perfect to move into? I assume you said no to these questions. This is why it is imperative to speak to the viewers in depth before booking to see your property. Ideally the viewers would also have an agreement in principle for their mortgage. Have appointed a mortgage broker or have something in place, to say that they have the finance available to buy a property.
This leads us nicely into viewings and management of the viewings. With online agents you generally have to pay extra for the agent or a third party to do the viewings. We recommend that the agent manages the viewing. With us there is no extra charge for this service, but with an online agent this may not be included. Follow the criteria below if you are managing your own viewings.
Viewing Management
Block book viewings on the same day.
This enables you, the viewer and the agent to manage their time effectively.
Back to back appointments.
Creates competition when there are multiple viewers at a property. You or the agent can of course tell them that other people have been viewing your property, however they may not believe you.
If the viewer puts in an offer it is more likely to be a serious offer because they believe others are interested in your property and they don’t want to lose out
Agent / Third Party viewing management
This point links into qualification of the viewer. If your agent has qualified the viewer, when they are at your house the agent can highlight any key features that match what the viewer deems to be important in their new home. The agent is best placed to ‘sell’ them the house when they know what is important to them.
Feedback
Ooooo we don’t all like feedback do we? Especially when it’s on the property we have shaped into our home, but forget that! Feedback is important. You need to ascertain what the viewer liked, didn’t like, and ultimately what their thoughts were on the price of your house. Why you may ask…. Well here is a breakdown:
LIKED:
Key features of your property to be highlighted at every viewing, especially if more than one potential viewer has highlighted these as positive features in your home. These should be focused on for the sale.
DISLIKED:
Some will be personal taste. However if certain aspects are repeatedly highlighted, then you need to look at whether something can be done to turn these negatives into positives. If for example, several people say that the mold in between the bathroom tiles is off putting, then consider a re grout, or use mold and mildew remover to try to eradicate this for the next viewing.
PRICE:
By asking the viewer what they thought the house was worth the agent can sometimes draw out an offer. Let’s say again your house is on the market for £400K but the viewer said that although they liked your home they only thought it was worth £380K the agent can draw this out as an offer and use this point to begin the negotiation process.
There is a lot of information to take in here, especially if you, as an untrained seller are taking it on yourself. Please do not hesitate to contact us, we can help you manage this process. We are also happy to share with you the form we use to qualify buyers for the houses we have on the market. Email hello@fowlerandpowell.co.uk or contact us if you would like a copy, or if you have any questions relating to selling your house.
Our mission is Moving Made Personal, we take on a maximum of 8 properties per member of staff to ensure we do everything wepossibly can to help sell your home. To view other blogs in our series click HERE.
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We hope you have found this information useful, thank you for reading.
