Is your agent looking after you?
Who comes first? – We have good news for you, at Peter Illingworth Estate Agents our clients are “Number One”.
Peter Illingworth Ryedale Estate Agent, with offices in Kirkbymoorside, Pickering and London explains: The first three weeks of marketing a property will create the most interest, because it is new to the market. Therefore this is the time to harvest most of the enquiries.
Now let’s assume a property goes under offer within the first week of marketing and the selling agent slaps on sold subject to contract notices immediately. Who benefits from this? The estate agent clearly does, promoting his business, certainly not the client selling the property. The deal is at such an early stage and fragile, mortgage offers may have to be made, contracts prepared, searches done, surveys instructed and quotes required for repairs, improvements etc, there can indeed be many a slip between cup and lip relating to property sales. Should the sale fall through the re-saleability of the property will be adversely effected, more so in rural areas such as Ryedale where buyers are fewer and far between than in most urban areas.
So what should happen? If the agent puts the client first which we always do at Peter Illingworth, they will not attach sold subject to contract notices on the sale boards, in the press advertising or on the internet, until the signing of the contract is imminent. This enables enquiries still to be harvested by the agent at the peak period, with applicants being informed the property is under offer and they will be contacted should the sale fall through. The fall through of a sale can often be weeks away from the sale being agreed, the sold board will have acted as a deterrent for enquiries and will invariably lead to the property being sold at a suppressed price and take longer to sell, but if enquiries had been harvested then viewings would have every chance of commencing immediately with little damage to the marketability of the property and the best price can still be skilfully negotiated. Of course best of all, if the buyer starts to play fast and loose with making lower offers or unreasonable demands at the eleventh hour, the sellers estate agents have every chance of having another buyer waiting in the wings.
Peter Illingworth finds this unsavoury behaviour disheartening and sees links to this type of activity with estate agents who overvalue and undercut on fees, with seemingly little interest in negotiating the best deal for their masters, the client.
Should you like to discuss the marketing of your home in the North York Moors National Park and surrounding market towns of Helmsley, Malton, Norton, Kirkbymoorside and Pickering and villages such as Thornton le Dale, Ampleforth, Hovingham, Ebberston, Allerston, Lastingham, Sinnington, Amotherby, Slingsby and Welburn etc. then why not call Peter Illingworth for further advice on 01751 431107