Author Archives: Sam

We’re often asked in an initial consultation, “which agent would you recommend?” There are two answers to this question, and neither is what the homeowner is hoping for! Firstly, we don’t yet know without conducting a considerable amount of investigation and research, and secondly, that information is privileged: only once a client engages our services do we share with them information on which agent is the right one for them.

There are 15,000 agents in the UK, and selecting the right one can be like finding the proverbial needle! So how do we choose our ‘preferred agents’? We only allow around a dozen agents to work with us, so you might describe us as ‘picky’! At the very least we expect an agent to fulfill the following basic criteria:

Track record – whenever possible, we prefer to work with agents we know and trust, and that we have had past success with.

High level accountability – if something goes wrong in your local branch, I need to know that I can take the issue up the chain, to a senior executive. With most of our preferred agents, this contact is a managing director or partner; in this way, I am confident we will achieve the very best service for our clients.

21^st Century marketing techniques – the brochure, photography and online marketing conducted by an agent is scrutinized by us to make sure it is of the highest quality, and that it successfully targets the right type of buyer.

The right attitude – our preferred agents all understand the value of what HomeTruths do, and that we’re all trying to achieve the same result – to sell the house for the price our clients want. These agents encourage and welcome our involvement, listen to feedback, and continually monitor their marketing activity to ensure it remains fresh and relevant.

This collaboration really works! In the past twelve months, over 80% of HomeTruths’ clients sold within 6 months – including one poor seller who had been trying to sell his beautiful Georgian home for 6 years! Was it too expensive? His agent thought so, but I didn’t – we helped him sell for £40,000 over his asking price in 6 weeks.

A word to the wise: choose your agent as carefully as you choose your friends, and you will have a better chance of keeping him onside, and selling your home for the price you want.

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.

Standing in my kitchen at home on a Sunday morning, peeling potatoes one-handed, generic smartphone in the other, I’m being subjected to a courteously-phrased but stinging tirade. My crime? I’m “not letting” a buyer view the house she’s just spotted on Rightmove until the day after the Royal Wedding.

If you’ve ever been in or around estate agency you’ll know that, once in a while, one of those houses comes up that would just sell itself in seconds. After stiff competition on a three-way valuation, I am the proud custodian of keys to just such a beast.

According to Mrs Polite-but-Miffed, many agents of her acquaintance will happily sell her a house without marketing the property (one wonders at this point why she hasn’t bought any of them) and this is the “expected and professional” way of doing things. Mrs PbM thinks I’m frustrating her in order to “artificially boost the price”.

I disagree. By delaying viewings, I have had time to organise clearance, cleaning, gardening and wait for blue sky photos. A RICS survey has been commissioned for the benefit of both seller and prospective buyers. Laborious newspaper advert deadlines don’t matter, tortuous Rightmove upload speeds are immaterial and the Easter hols are safely out of the way. Even our Facebook and Twitter clientele have been duly informed. By the time viewings start the house will be pristine, with every corner ready for detailed inspection. Unproceedable buyers will have had time to get themselves into a better position and my vendors should have a truly representative selection of prospective purchasers to choose from.

Is there an advantage to selling core market properties “off market”? If you’re the shy and retiring type, maybe you don’t want the world to know your business (although in my city, they already do!). Swift revenue generation for agents is a major plus and the chosen buyer is likely to think positively when picking the agent to sell their home the next time. However, should we be prioritising their interests over the sellers?

It’s still a buyers’ market out there but every home deserves a shot at maximum exposure. How many times have we heard owners say with glee that their house “sold to the first person through the door” and we’re thinking, yes but did you get the best price from the best buyer?

The answer, as always, is down to time: time for the agent to agree a proper marketing strategy with the owner, time to get details right and advertising prepared; time for buyers to do proper research rather than a quick flip through Zoopla, Mouseprice et al, and time for vendors to concentrate on maximising the saleability of their home.

Sadly, time is an increasingly rare resource in estate agency these days.

STOP PRESS: since writing this post, we re-launched the house, and our approach generated 28 viewings in 1.5hrs last Saturday. Another 9 viewings since, 4 revisits + 5 nosy neighbours – vindication of our technique I think, especially as we have already received asking price offers!

This week’s guest blog is courtesy of the dashing Carey Gilliand. Apart from running my independent estate agent in Bath (Madison Oakley) with two partners, I am a local history buff, amateur photographer, proud father to two beautiful daughters and a keen gardener. For my sins, I have over 15 years experience selling homes across Bath & Somerset for both corporate and independent agencies.

www.madisonoakley.co.uk

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.

I recently attended a month-long fitness ‘boot camp’; you know the kind of thing: lots of exercise, clean eating plan and a very scary instructor (thanks Jo!) to keep you on your plan. Halfway through the month, I had a social occasion to attend, and asked Jo if I could have her permission to take an evening off my plan, so I could enjoy the delicious food and a glass or two of wine. “Of course”, she said. “Just don’t be surprised if you don’t reach your goal”. A bit harsh, I thought. Could one evening of enjoying myself really make that much difference? My goal was a weight I really wanted to achieve, and if that one evening was going to put me in danger of not making it, I just wasn’t prepared to risk it. That evening, I stuck to fizzy water, and stayed away from the pastries and crisps. It wasn’t so bad, actually. Two weeks later, I stood on the scales, elated that I had, in fact, reached my goal, to the pound. I was so glad that I’d stuck to Jo’s advice; after all, she was as keen for me to succeed as I was.

What has my boot camp got to do with selling houses? It’s all about following the plan – the plan of proven success. Note that these are prices ex. VAT. You can use the VAT calculator to calculate including VAT prices.. When we deliver a Home Sale Strategy to a client, in the form of an action plan, it is designed to get the house sold for the best price possible. If that client then decides that instead of the estate agent we’ve recommended he uses, he wants to use someone he knows from the golf club, or that the front path is fine as it is, despite the fact we have advised it be weeded and tidied, can he then really expect to get the result he wants? Do what we tell you to do – no more, no less – and you’ll massively increase your chance of selling your house for the price you want.

Our advice is, after all, the right advice to sell your house.

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.

Remember Kate and Will’s Royal Wedding? If you’re anything like me, you were eagerly awaiting that first magical glimpse of Kate’s dress. For months, it was the subject of conjecture and rumours, and still managed to end up a complete surprise. No one knew who the designer was, the colour or the style. And don’t we just love it? The surprise for me, and millions around the world, added to the excitement and enchantment of that wonderful day.

Kate’s determination to keep the secret is something that every seller could learn from! When we sell our home, there is a tendency for the estate agent to try to show everything, warts and all, in the brochure and photography. The property of a client of ours, has been listed on Rightmove with 52 photographs! The problem with this, is that a buyer will make a decision about whether or not to view a home based on the photographs, and if there are images of every nook and cranny, they don’t need to come to see it! In this sense, less is definitely more. Or in marketing speak, you need to sell the sizzle, and not the sausage. Here are my top 5 tips for keeping your viewers interested and excited about your house:

1. Make sure there are no more than 6-10 photographs in your online advert. Any more than this, and you risk losing their interest before they have even seen the best features of your home;

2. Look at your description, both in your online advert and also in your brochure. Is the copy wordy and overly descriptive, complete with full measurements and every power point listed? It should be punchy, full of emotive language and enthusiasm. Create atmosphere with the wording, and make sure every word entices a buyer to view.

3. Your brochure should include up to 20 photographs, but at least half of these are better as ‘lifestyle’ shots. These could be a glimpse of the garden through the gate, a window seat with an open book and a cup and saucer, or a posy of flowers on a bedside table. If you have a country property, try a shot of muddy wellies by the back door, or a stack of logs in the sunshine. Urbanites could try a bowl of limes on a shiny kitchen surface, or a bottle of bubbly and two glasses on the coffee table, with just low lamps lit.

4. When your viewer arrives, make sure all your internal doors are closed. Invite them to go first into each room, opening the doors like opening a present. In this way, they ‘take ownership’ of the house.

5. Try to make some little secret corners, in your house and also in the garden. This might be a little reading corner, or a garden bench hidden by shrubs, and secret paths are loved by adults and children alike.

You only get one shot to make a great impression on a viewer. If they are under 40, they are most likely very used to browsing online, and with a click, you’ve lost them. Unless you can pique their interest and hold their attention long enough to create a desire to know more. Do it right, and they’ll reach for the phone, and book that viewing.

As for Kate’s dress, well it was certainly worth the wait.

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.

It was the great Henry Ford who said, “If I’d asked people what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse.”

If you ask a viewer what they think of an asking price, they will tell you it’s too expensive. Why shouldn’t they? If they don’t want the house, it will look too expensive to them, and if they are thinking about offering, their comment will help them to justify a low offer; it’s a win-win for them.

Don’t ask a viewer what they think of an asking price; their answer would be as relevant as asking a horse rider what car they want.

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.

It is probably safe to assume that if you have ever sold a property you will have considered dropping your asking price.

Some of you may have been asked by your agent to think about a price cut, others may have been advised it is the only way you are going to secure a sale. And did it work? If the answer is yes, chances are your house would have sold anyway.

At HomeTruths we believe you should never lower your asking price. And here’s why:

8 reasons why you should stick to your asking price:

1. In most cases the drop in price you make probably won’t make any difference to your buyers… whatever their budget. Unless you can afford to slash the price by at least 25% (and why would you?), it really won’t make an impact.

2. Your property was originally valued based on some sound research and by an expert in the industry. What’s changed?

3. A price drop can cause suspicion among buyers, what’s wrong with it? Why have you lowered the asking price? Not a good impression to make on your potential buyers!

4. Unless there is good reason, your house shouldn’t be the cheapest on the street/estate/area. Buyers want to feel they are getting something special. Lets face it ‘cheapest’ and ‘special’ don’t often go together in the same sentence.

5. If you are feeling pressure from your agents to drop your price, ask them what else could be done to secure that sale… put the onus back onto them. That’s what you are paying them for.

6. In today’s market most buyers will most certainly make an offer, not many people will go straight in with the full asking price. If you have already lowered your price, and then go on to accept an even lower offer, how much money have you lost? You do the math.

7. Dropping your price may lead to other properties in the area doing the same. Not only will you have driven down the overall value of homes in your area, but you will still be in the same ballpark as everyone else in terms of price. The net effect? You will be in a similar position as you were before you, except slightly worse off!

8. And finally, have confidence in your price, if you don’t, no one else will!

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.

Complaints about estate agents have soared this year. The property ombudsman, Christopher Hamer, in his 2010 annual report, published this month seems to be baffled by the increase, saying “A significantly reduced number of housing transactions, to my mind, should have led to fewer referrals to my office”.

At HomeTruths, where we deal with unhappy sellers on a daily basis, this news comes as no surprise. This week I have already spoken to three sellers, on the market between £550,000 and £5 million, all of whom are fed up of the lack of customer service from their agents. “The never ring me” was one lady’s complaint, another frustrated gentleman protested “I seem to be doing all the work for them!”

Julian O’Dell, founder of TM Training and Development specialises in training estate agents to improve their customer service. “We always advise firms to mystery shop their staff to ascertain the current levels of service being offered to clients,” he explains. “The most common errors in applicant registration include a lack of enthusiasm in tone, a lacklustre greeting, a lack of agenda, an unskilled questioning style, a failure to establish key information and to present properties in the right fashion, or in some cases, at all.”

Our experience reflects Julian’s. Over the last few weeks I’ve had the following results from my mystery shopping of estate agents all over the country:

I was asked to confirm my request that the details for a premium property as the address I gave last transacted at only £250,000
“I’ll just grab an envelope so I can write your address straight onto it” No telephone number? How will he follow up my enquiry?
“We don’t send out property details by post: it is the 21st Century after all” – and this on a £750,000 property
“We don’t like to waste property brochures” – who said it would be a waste to send a brochure to a prospective buyer?
“We don’t have that property listed” (they did)
“That property has been sold” (it hadn’t)
“The problem with this property is that it isn’t in a great village” (I hadn’t asked)
“The owners are keen to do a deal” (they aren’t)
“Everything is on our website, I suggest you have a look through and call me back if you see anything you like.
“This property is being handled by another office – I suggest you call them instead.”

And just this morning…. I was asked for my date of birth! When I asked why, he responded that it was “standard practice” then tried to book me an (unwanted and unsolicited) appointment with their mortgage advisor, despite having told him I was a cash buyer.

I really do despair of the lack of any degree of customer service in this industry. Try calling your local Mercedes dealer and enquiring about one of their premium cars. I did, and was treated to a far superior service than most estate agents offer; I was engaged in conversation about my requirements and timescales, with a high degree of charm and courtesy. I almost forgot that I was conducting a mystery shopping experiment and was very tempted to book a test drive!

Julian sums it up nicely, when he says “A basic principle in estate agency is that the quality of an agent’s applicant registration helps determine sales performance.” Good luck with your next recruits Julian – I think you have your work cut out!

Julian can be contacted on 01480 405583 or visit the website at www.tmtraininganddevelopment.co.uk

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.

So many times our clients tell us they don’t have a For Sale board outside their home; why? we ask incredulously. In this difficult market, if you are serious about selling your home, why would you not utilise a free marketing tool? In short, why would you keep the fact you are selling your home a secret from potential buyers?

There’s a current trend in my sleepy, commuter belt, Surrey village at the moment; estate agents have started sponsoring local school events and its become apparent that this is quite a clever marketing move. The way it works is this; schools approach the agent to sponsor say, their school ball, the agent gives them a sum of money (giving them the opportunity to “contribute to the local community”) and in return the parents of the children at said school place an agent’s board in their garden with a very small sign declaring their sponsorship of the event. The point being that Mr and Mrs White then see a board outside a house they’ve had their eye on for a while, they call the agent and are disappointed to find out that in fact that particular property is not on the market. However, the agent then seizes the opportunity, while he’s got a potential buyer on the phone, to offer them something similar and…bingo! They’ve got viewings booked in with a couple of new potential buyers. Having spoken to one local agent, who tells me that they’ve sold 2 properties this month as a result of such sponsorship, surely this is further proof that boards really do work.

So don’t be like R. Whites, don’t be a secret lemonade drinker, put up a sale board. If you’re still not convinced, give us a call here at HomeTruths where we drink our lemonade with pride.

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.

Just seconds into a first meeting we form an impression of people based on their appearance and how they’re dressed, and it’s much the same with the first sight of a front garden.

If you’re selling your house the prospective buyer will quickly form an opinion of what the inside of the house is like, based on the appearance of the front garden and entrance to the house.

Try to imagine what the house looks like to a first-time visitor, take a photo from the entrance and see what this reveals.
These simple steps will help to create a smart, stylish exterior:
• Clear any old leaves and debris, sweep paths, clean windows

• Move any dustbins or recycling boxes out of sight

• Remove any flower pots with dead or unattractive plants

• Replace collections of numerous small plant pots with few larger ones

• Use plant pots of similar material, type and colour

• If there is any grass, cut it and trim the edges

• Cut hedges

• Fill containers with single colour (much smarter than mixed colours) bedding- plants for a quick fix. Match the flower colour to the paintwork of the house, or choose a contrasting colour.

• Use light eg white or pale yellow flowers, to bounce some light into shady areas.

• Invest in some smart lollipop-shaped topiary shrubs to place either side of the entrance, and as long as you remember to tell your buyer that they’re not included in the sale, you can take them with you.

Then just sit back and wait for the compliments!

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.

I don’t know about you, but still I get excited about the post arriving. The satisfying thud it makes when it hits the doormat is a very welcome sound, and I often stop whatever it is that I’m doing and go to investigate. As I shuffle through the envelopes, I sort by recipient, then by importance, and if I’m lucky enough to have received a hand-written envelope, I seize upon it and eager open it first without delay. Handwritten in this digital mail-merged age, is a rare treat, and it often means good things: a letter from a friend, a cheque perhaps, or a quote from a old-fashioned tradesman. How much nicer it is too to get something through the post, rather than by email. It feels more personal somehow, more substantive, less able to be dismissed with a click of the mouse.

Its exactly the same with property details. On the screen, the houses can appear unloved, surreal, unattainable, cold: in short – unhomely. Yet, a lovingly created brochure in my hand, with its hand-crafted copy and warm, inspiring photography, can really bring a house to life. There is something very satisfying about actually holding a physical brochure, instead of just gazing at the information on a screen. Whilst to my knowledge, no research exists to back up my theory, I am nevertheless certain that a printed brochure as oppose to a virtual one, results in more and better quality viewings.

Last week, I had cause to call an estate agent in Essex to ask him to send me a client’s property brochure. “Sorry madam we don’t send out hard copies,” he responded. “This is the 21^st Century after all,” he pointed out.

“But I don’t have a printer,” I pleaded (a little white lie, I admit).

“Okay,” he relinquished “just this once”. True to his word as a massive favour to what he thought was a prospective buyer, he printed a copy of the internet and actually posted it to me.

Since when was it considered to be a “favour” to send a brochure to a interested buyer? When did the property details become a open “hard copy” and as such, an outdated form of marketing?

If you are trying to sell your house, and viewers are not exactly beating a path to your door try this little exercise: call your agent, posing as a buyer, and ask for your own property brochure to be sent to you. See what happens, but I warn you, you may find the response disappointing.

I’d be interested to hear our Essex agent explain to Mercedes, Argos or Next, that physical paper marketing does not work.

Maybe I’m just a little bit old-fashioned. But, then, there are a lot of us around, and some of us buy houses.

If you’d like my help to sell your home more effectively, please answer a few short questions here and if I think I can help you, I’ll be in touch.