Signs of A Good Estate Agent
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Instead of knocking on every estate agent’s door and comparing costs, you can choose to be on the prowl and pick-point the agent by making clever deductions. This is a good way to narrow down your search to one or several few agents.
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Look who other sellers are using
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Talk a walk or drive around the estates and look at the most popular estate agents being used to sell property similar to yours. You can look out for ‘For Sale’ posters outside listed properties. There must be a reason other people have favored specific agents. Popular agents have a wider reach with a bigger network of sellers or buyers. Such agents can therefore deliver faster and have more insight about the market than those with fewer listings. Sometimes certain agents have a bigger market share within a certain locality. That means if you’re looking to buy a house in that area or want to sell a house in that area, you’ll have better luck using them.

Pretend to be a client
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A clever way to go about looking for a client is to pretend to be a client wanting to sell a house or buying. If you’re planning to sell a home, walk into an agent’s office and pretend you’re looking to buy. The plan here is to gauge how good the agent is in doing their job. This method is best applied when you’ve already shortlisted several firms and you need to choose one. Depending on the pitch you get from the agent, you’ll be able to decide if would be happy with them selling your house or not. You’ll also get to know how many similar units are available and at what prices.

​Specialty agents
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In most situations, you will find agents that have specialized in selling, buying or letting property. Needless to say, by soliciting such an agent, you’ll have narrowed down your results by a big percentage. If you’re looking to let an apartment, you’re obviously going to have better luck with a letting agent instead of working with a buying agent. Look for the right agent that offers the very service you’re looking for.

Niche agents
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These are the special breed of estate agents. They don’t just deal in any property listed or any client that walks into their office. They have particular clients that look for selected properties. They don’t necessarily deal with high-end houses, they simply have a niche area that they satisfy. You might find an agent that only deals with beach houses or one that deals exclusively with bachelor pads. This is a great way to go if you’re looking for something specific and uncommon. You will have a better chance of getting what you want going this route. It might even cost you a little extra but this particular estate agent will get you exactly what you want, and that’s all you’re concerned with.