A week in the life of an estate agent: Tuesday

Tuesday. I arrived at the office early to get set up. Our meeting covered yesterday’s activity, following up and offers. We have a number of agreed sales that need to be progressed into the hands of solicitors. The longer I’m in agency, the more paperwork is involved. We need to satisfy anti-money laundering requirements and help buyers and sellers find the best solicitors. We like working with local solicitors with a proven track record. If you need one, try Tozers or WBW. If they are too busy, give me call and I can put you in touch with other good firms. We need to be sure that buyers have funds and finance in place so their purchase is as smooth as possible and we also need to ensure those involved in chains appreciate the timescales involve. If you haven’t moved for a number of years, you may find that we get you a buyer in no time at all, but overall, the time things take is longer than you expect.

Beyond this, my day today is mainly about viewings. Bungalows in the £300,000 to £400,000 seem to be the most popular today and I’m meeting with purchasers who are sold subject to contract. These are probably the best type of buyers to work with in current market conditions. Although cash buyers are in some ways king, they have the time on their hands and sometimes take longer choosing the right property. I do of course enjoy working with clients with different circumstances and making things work. I love a challenge.

Throughout today I am working with Courtney, the newest member of our team. She is young and enthusiastic and the feedback we get is that clients love viewing houses with her. Sellers also appreciate the gentle way she persuades people to buy their homes. I am passing on some of my experience and knowledge, especially on how to optimise the effectiveness of phone conversations both for clients and also us in achieving our targets.

To finish off today, I have a viewing at a park home. They form a specialist market and are purchased in a different way. The senior partner at Coast and Country has assisted numerous buyers and sellers with this type of transaction. We have great rapport with many of the local park home site owners which always helps.

Oh, and we have just been awarded BEST ESTATE AGENT, DEVON 22/23 at the International Property Awards, sponsored by Rolls Royce so there was a team presentation photo.

I’ll be back tomorrow.