Many estate agencies simply act as a broking service that matches people to property. However, we are acutely aware that there is far more to successful selling than this alone. Indeed, about a third of property sales arranged in this country fail to reach completion.
One of the main reasons is that a buyer simply gets cold feet and withdraws as a result of “buyer remorse”. This is a familiar phenomenon to estate agents and occurs when a buyer feels overwhelmed by the apparent enormity of the decision to buy and takes the more comfortable “low-risk” option and stays put.
Perhaps the buyer is offered another property which they prefer, or something else comes on the market that makes the price they have offered on your home look expensive.
Your buyer may lose their job or get a promotion. They might decide to get married or divorced; they might inherit or win a fortune, or their business may be experiencing difficulties. There could even be a global pandemic (surely not)!
Whilst these types of issues are generally unavoidable and naturally have a profound effect on people’s decisions, the main problem concerns timing. Because offers in this country are not binding until exchange of contracts, the longer the time between offer and exchange, the greater the opportunity there is for the buyer or seller to decide to withdraw.
We therefore go to great lengths to help you move and work tirelessly to reduce this window of opportunity. That’s why we allocate a dedicated sales progressor to every transaction, whose job it is to facilitate a fast exchange of contracts. This will include a focus on the buyer qualification process (if this has not already been done), although most time will be spent in helping other estate agents and solicitors involved in linked property sales, as a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Our aim is that your link should be the strongest. Some estate agents leave this vital specialist task to their sales negotiators, but we find having a dedicated sales progression department is hugely effective in ensuring that our sales stick!
Our role is not just to find a buyer, but to help you move! Why not put us to the test and see how strong your sale can be – you might be pleasantly surprised!