Choosing The Right Agent Is Key To A Successful Property Transaction

[Michelle Alden]

Fully-qualified, professional estate agents have all the right knowledge and tools at their disposal to sell a property and to achieve the best possible price in the shortest possible time.

Other factors that should be considered before choosing an agent to market the property include:
Local knowledge: how long has the agent worked in your area? Is he au fait with local market conditions?
Does the agent have a valid Fidelity Fund Certificate? Buyers and sellers should ask to see this as it is illegal for agents to practice without one.
Is the agent fully qualified? The industry has standards with which agents have to comply.
Where and how often do they advertise your property for sale?
Is the agent willing to put your house on show?
Does the agent consistently sell property?

The importance of estate agents and the agency for whom they work having valid Fidelity Fund Certificates cannot be over-emphasised. Although the public has, in recent times, become more aware of the importance of dealing with a professional agent, very few ask to see evidence that the agent is legally registered.

What are other factors to look for especially when it comes to Estate Agents that show fraudulent behaviour?

[Richard Webster]

Does the agent have a valid Fidelity Fund Certificate?

What's this?

Although the public has, in recent times, become more aware of the importance of dealing with a professional agent, very few ask to see evidence that the agent is legally registered.

Registered where?

Don't they annoy you these posts referring to presumably US information on a UK website?

[Kaz]

They most certainly do Richard!

The ones I hate the most are where the poster has no genuine desire to be helpful but merely advertising their own company

[IFA]

Looks like a South African business to me judging by the .co.za website address and the location showing as Johannesburg.

It can be annoying (and also potentially confusing and misleading) when posts from other countries appear on forums such as this but I guess that's the global nature of the internet at work.

I agree with Kaz; it's not so much international postings that annoy me, although it would be nice if they were to clearly specify which country their information relates to (especially when that information could be misleading to those in other countries), but its those that are only here to advertise their own businesses without adding any value to the community that I get frustrated by.