How to choose the right agent in UK

The best agent for you is the agent that you can trust to guide you through the process. Not ‘all agents are the same’, because we are individuals and we do not perform the same.

Without getting to know the personality of an agent, how do you decide on which agent to work with? A few indicators of a good agent are:

• An agent recommended to you
• ARLA Propertymark arla.co.uk
• NAEA Propertymark naea.co.uk
• Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) rics.org
• The Guild of Professional Estate Agents guildproperty.co.uk

All members are required to work to agreed codes of practice and the relevant logo will be displayed. You can check on the trade body websites to ensure an agent is a member if you have any doubts.

As part of being a professional and holding membership, there are a number of key areas an agent needs to ensure are in place:

• Professionalism and Training– Agents will need to maintain professional standards by ensuring there are on-going training to keep up to date with their skills and knowledge.
• Reputation– Agents have to uphold their reputation to maintain their business and therefore need to take a professional approach to their work.
• Knowing their client– As part of taking on a new clients, an agent will need to take some basic information and identity documentation so that they know who they are dealing with.
• Compliant – Being registered with HMRC to ensure they comply with all the obligations under the money laundering regulations 
• Redress Schemes– All member agents will be part of a redress scheme. If you have a complaint about their services and you are unable to resolve it with the company directly, you can refer your complaint to the redress scheme and they will adjudicate in order to resolve the dispute.

A strong industry knowledge

Knowing and keeping up to date with a fast moving property market is key to getting the best values for your property and will help reach the maximum number of tenants or buyers. A comprehensive website will demonstrate the agent’s business culture and reputation.

Positive first impressions

A professional agent will know how to make a positive impact. If your agent creates a poor impression with you, the chances are they will do the same with any potential tenants or buyers.

The relationship with your agent is important and if you don’t believe that they are diligent enough to do a good job for you or are untrustworthy, then they are not the right agent for you.

Recommendations

As with most professional services, a recommendation from neighbours or friends is a great endorsement of an agent’s services. There should be reviews that can give you insight to other people’s experiences with the agent.