Choosing a Daventry Estate Agent

When it comes to choosing a Daventry Estate Agent, you have a few options to look at. Obviously, I am biased to my style of agency which is a slightly different to what is available out there at the moment. We can go onto this later. The question is, how can estate agents be different? Surely they all do the same thing?!

Types of Estate Agency Businesses

There are three main categories of agency in the market. There are of course many agencies with nuances that you could argue set them outside of these groupings, but for this exercise and to ensure you make the best decision for you when looking to sell you home in Daventry, we will keep it simple.

Traditional Estate Agents

Traditional Estate Agents are often know as ‘High Street’ agents. Most of the time you will see them with offices on the high street. Usually well established and who employ staff who conduct the day to day operation of the business. Typically, the owners may not actually work for you, the client or in the office.

Before the advent of the internet and more specifically Facebook and Rightmove, estate agents had to be in front of the public in the high Street. But things have changed.

There are however a couple of examples of well known high street agencies closing offices and moving into the sector of agency detailed below.

Hybrid Estate Agents

Hybrid? Usually interpreted as a cross over between two types of something, or style of something. In the case of Estate Agents, it is the middle ground of the Traditional and the Online (below) elements.

In some cases these agents have offices but are not based centrally in a town or city or on what we call ‘Estate Agents Row’. You know, those streets where you see office after office of the same type of business! Hybrid agencies may not be on the street as it were, but work from business parks or from above shops.

They can be operated by a single person or small team and you usually deal with the owner of the business when you meet them. They are also most likely to be experienced estate agents having come from the traditional model and offer the same service and be local to the area they operate in. The idea being to keep overheads/costs lower so to pass savings to the customer. Something that is possible due to the online presence of any business now.

Online Estate Agents

Online Estate Agents do what they say on the tin! They are visible only online. They have no office base in the area and normally employ agents who work from home. These agents often cover a large area or region. Costs associated with using them are low, often with add on costs for things like accompanied viewings or even a board. Some of the bigger online firms have centralised offices. Most if not all contact is via a website rather than a human. Sometimes agents (but not always) working in this model are not hugely experienced.

What are the benefits and negatives of each?

Traditional Estate Agents

They are still in the majority in terms of presence and business type. Usually the longest established of all agents, with highly prominent shop fronts. This makes them highly accessible to the public. However, the fact that 95% of engagement with homes for sale in Daventry is conducted on the web initially, means that shop fronts are not actually how you sell homes anymore.

But, countering this argument is another fact – you cannot beat face to face meetings when talking about homes, and people still do walk in. If the office is placed in a central location of a busy town, the agent should have more opportunity to market and sell.

Traditional Estate Agents also tend to have more staff. Maybe that means more calls can be answered. It can also mean that there are more chances for messages to get missed or information or action to be dilated. Also, staff and office means overheads, which is why most established high street Estate Agents are more expensive to use.

Lastly, the chances of the owner of the business working for you specifically is very low.

Hybrid Estate Agents

This is the new growing sector of Estate Agency. Often maintaining the benefits of traditional agency but adding in a new and in some cases ‘Americanised’ way of operating. Sometimes with offices (often from home) but not on the high street, still accessible to clients but realising that the public do not really visit to get their property fix anymore.

Smaller teams, often operating on their own as the service is designed to be more personal and specialist. By keeping overheads down as they haven’t a big office, lots of staff, sign written cars and the like, they can offer the same marketing packages and services for less. More focus is given to the induvial client.

Agents in this type of business are often self employed. Meaning that their income is solely based on results. This means a more focused and motivated agent working for you. As Hybrid agents often mirror traditional agency on fee structure, i.e. no sale no fee, the onus is on them to perform.

A best of both worlds as it were.

Online Agency

Is the way to go if you want to be more hands on. They tend to offer good marketing packages but fall down on the constant support throughout the whole process. Some rely on offers being made via a website. This isn’t the way to negotiate value on your biggest asset. Post offer and sale support is an incredibly vital part of any Estate Agency role. If you go down this route you can often find that this is lacking or the person who you first met no linger takes your call. But, it is often cheap, but is cheap best?

What type of Agency is Skilton & Hogg Estate Agents?

Skilton & Hogg Estate Agents Daventry is unique in terms of being somewhere between a Traditional and Hybrid model. We have an office in the town centre of Daventry, literally in the centre located on Prince William Walk and Sheaf Street. We offer a full package of services, including accompanied viewings and video tours. Nothing is extra. However, we have kept our costs down to a minimum and pass this saving to our clients.

We are a self employed Estate Agency, meaning the person you meet is the person who see’s it through with you. That is David Bruckert. David takes sole responsibility and accountability for the sale or purchase of your home. Deals with all matters and manages the sale to completion of contracts. This type of service is similar to the realtor in the U.S. You employ one person to handle all of your property needs, it creates relationships. This is how David believes Estate Agency should be conducted and needs to be considered when choosing a Daventry Estate Agent.

Having spent 20 years helping people buy and sell homes, David believes in the personal element of a service that has been seen to be lacking in many areas of the industry. So he makes it his mission to alleviate stresses and strains that appear when selling a home. Is this important to you when choosing a Daventry Estate Agent?

So, we firmly believe our model is the best. High Street presence, the best online appearance and a dedicated local Daventry Estate Agent overseeing and working directly within each house sale or purchase.

If you’re going to be choosing a Daventry Estate Agent

Then speak to David at Skilton & Hogg Estate Agents. We would be delighted to offer you a free market appraisal and valuation. Mention you have read this blog and your fee would be locked at £995 inclusive of vat and our complete service.

Call us on 01327 624275. Email on dbruckert@skiltonandhogghomes.co.uk or click here to request an appointment!