Choosing An Estate Agent
So your new in Bloemfontein, looking to buy a house and have no idea which of the 100+ estate agents operating in the city to choose. Here follow some tips and pointers to help you to choose the right estate agent for you!
Find out which Estate Agents are active in the areas you're interested in
Take a drive and look at some estate agent boards in the area you want to buy a house in, those are usually the estate agents involved in that particular area and they will know the area and what it has to offer best.
Reputation
If you think you found your ideal estate agent, ask around about them and when you go to meet them, ask them a few questions in relation to how long they've been doing this, ask a few questions about laws pertaining property transactions and have a nice little casual talk to get a feel for how much your estate agent knows, whether he's confident and experienced or just nervous and dodgy!
Ask to see the agents Fidelity Fund Certificate
This is a certificate issued by The Estate Agency Affairs Board. If your estate agent doesn't have one, he's not serious about what he does! This certificate is issued only to estate agents who comply with the conduct rules set forth by the Estate Agents Code Of Conduct, asking to see the certificate is a good way to separate the good from the bad. Only Estate Agents who are serious about what they do will have a Fidelity Fund Certificate.
Estate Agent commission
It's never fun to fork out money but remember this is your estate agent's bread and butter, his salary, what you give him in exchange for his professional service. Make sure however though that you don't end up paying your estate agent more or less than he's worth!
Promises
Estate Agents love to make promises regarding advertising your property in local papers, in their windows or on sale signs but many of them never deliver, despite having made that promise. Make sure you get all promises your estate agent makes in writing before appointing him, especially if you're giving him a sole mandate selling right!
Doubling up
Be very careful, if you're a seller and you've put your property in with more than one estate agent. Make sure that two agencies don't bring the same buyer to your property. If the buyer sees the property through both estate agencies and then decides to buy it through the second one, you are liable to pay both estate agents their full commission amount! If you notice two agencies have the same person interested in your property alert them immediately to prevent this.