Property News: David Maslen on the complete service

Moving & selling

Many estate agents put substantial emphasis on their ability to find a buyer, and they highlight this as a primary reason to through them. However, we believe in going far beyond this. In many ways, finding a buyer is the easy bit! Most switched-on agents have access to most of the buyers in the market, either via their local property newspaper advertising, their website, their boards or their existing database of registered buyers.

But the issue is not actually about selling. For most people it’s about moving. Selling your home is only one component of the process, and for most it is not as exciting as the buying component. Yet agents continue to seek to impress prospective sellers with claims about their successes, their investment in technology, their advertising, etc. and how all of these will help clients to sell their home.

That’s fine, but what next? There seems to be a huge gap in estate agency service that provides the reassurance homeowners deserve when they are moving. On average 30% of sales arranged in England and Wales falls through prior to exchange of contracts (although our own fall-through rate is substantially below this). The chances of a sale failing to exchange can be considerably reduced if the seller’s agents are as concerned about the whole move in context as they are about the sale in isolation. So often, it is issues relating to linked sales or purchases that can be the cause of problems, be they legal, structural or emotional.

Our aim is to make the process of buying and selling to be the celebration it should be, rather than the daunting process it often is. So when you speak to one of our property advisers, don’t be surprised to find them as interested in your moving plans as they are in your sale. Because that’s what relevant service is all about!
www.maslen.co.uk