Tag: Letting Agents

What Does an Estate Agent Do?

The real estate market is a multibillion-pound industry and involves the renting, buying, and selling of properties, homes & houses. It is a very competitive market. The real estate agent is the point of contact between the buyer and the seller. They guide both parties and make sure that the transaction is smooth and profitable for both ends.

This article will look at the different tasks and responsibilities of a real estate agent job and how they can help you.

Real Estate Broker vs. Real Estate Agent

Real estate agents and real estate brokers are licensed to facilitate real estate transactions. While they must take the same licensing exam, they perform different roles in the buying and selling of property.

One way to differentiate between a real estate agent and a broker is by expertise. In general, a broker has more education and training than an agent. Brokers are best equipped to handle complex transactions and receive higher compensation for the work that they do.

Real Estate Broker:

A real estate broker or realtor is a person who represents sellers & buyers of real estate, houses or property, a perfect example is Newry Property Sales. While a broker may work independently, an agent usually works under a licensed broker to represent clients. Brokers and agents are licensed by the state to negotiate sales agreements and manage the documentation required for closing real estate transactions.

Real Estate Agent:

A real estate agent is an individual who has completed all of the requirements to qualify for a real estate license, which typically includes taking a number of courses in real estate law and practice. Under the supervision of a licensed broker, the agent may assist in negotiating the sale or lease of property on behalf of their clients. The agent may also show properties that are listed with other brokers or agents.

First Step to Buying a House Includes: Meetings and Tours

As an independent contractor, a real estate agent has to be great at time management and skillfully handling many tasks simultaneously. Real estate agents who are successful at their jobs tend to be extremely organized while being able to deal with the unexpected. Most real estate agents work alone, so they need to know how to do everything that’s involved in running a business, from writing blog posts and marketing their services to updating their database of clients and staying on top of their own finances.

Estate agents need to have strong written and verbal communication skills—especially when dealing with difficult situations—and should be able to negotiate with confidence.

They must also build a network of other professionals in the industry and beyond: mortgage lenders, building contractors, home inspectors, attorneys, architects, cleaning services—you name it!

Preparing and Listing the Property

  • Prepare the home for showings
  • Show the home to prospective buyers
  • Handle negotiations with buyers
  • Advise clients on market conditions
  • Make sure all paperwork is filled out correctly

Preparing and listing the property is the core task of any real estate agent. The agent will ask for a listing agreement from the seller. This is a legally binding contract between the seller and the agent that clearly states what services the agent will provide, how long they will try to sell your property and at what price.

After you sign this document, the agent will take pictures of your property to include in their marketing materials and on their website. They may also walk through your property with you to make suggestions about how to prepare it for sale by advising on topics such as decluttering and getting rid of old furniture or outdated wallpaper or paint colours.

Once all this is done, the agent will write up a description of your property that includes information such as its location, the price that you are asking, unique selling points (such as new windows or an updated kitchen) and local amenities (such as nearness to public transportation or schools).

Estate Agents Handle Property Lease & Sales

  • Real estate agents work for brokers
  • Must be qualified & have a valid license 
  • They work with both home buyers and sellers
  • Overall real estate agents act as a fiduciary

Estate agents are the professionals you call when you’re thinking about buying, selling or renting a house. They have all the answers to your questions about real estate. No one could possibly understand best about your needs than an expert with a degree in real estate who can negotiate for you and offer up advice on how to get what you want in a property transaction.

Estate Agents’ Salary in UK:

Depending on the location, real estate agents are typically paid by commission. This means their salary is determined largely by how many sales they close. A real estate agent in Newry, Northern Ireland stated the average annual salary for estate agent in UK & Northern Ireland is around £30,500.

Where in the USA the average is around £60,000 plus commission

Real estate commissions are vary from 5 to 20 percent of the house sale price, depending on location

  • This is negotiable for the seller
  • The commission is split between the listing agent and the selling agent
  • Sometime the selling agent’s share is typically 50% of the commission

The commission is usually a percentage of the selling price of a property and is negotiable. Typically, it’s 15 to 20 per cent of the sales price, but this number can vary depending on where you’re selling.

The listing agent and selling agent each get half of the total commission, but the selling agent’s share is often greater than 50% because he or she does most of the work.

Once a House is on the Market for Sale or Rent

The role of estate agents in working with sellers

  • Meeting with and understanding the needs of sellers when listing new properties.
  • Prove your ability to market, negotiate, and demonstrate your market knowledge.
  • Establish an asking price based on an analysis of the current local market and comparable properties.
  • Provide the property with relevant listing services.
  • To prepare a listing presentation and advertising collateral, take photos of the property, including the interior and exterior.
  • When you conduct open houses, stage the home properly to make it look perfect.

The Role of Estate Agents with Buyers

  • Meeting, interviewing, understanding, and qualifying prospective buyers.
  • Look up potential properties that match the needs of your clients on listing services.
  • Set up showing appointments for prospective buyers based on their schedules.
  • Show buyers properties and explain details you learned during research or when talking to other real estate experts (home inspectors, appraisers, etc.).
  • Demonstrate negotiation skillset and  them know details about the property you learned from your research or from

Conclusion:-

Estate agents are all about helping their clients find the place that is most suitable for them. Whether they specialize in buying, selling, or renting, real estate agents serve a critical purpose within the last step of the real estate process.

How To Find The Right Estate Agent in Edinburgh?

House hunting is anything but easy. Whether you’re looking for some temporary renting possibilities or dreaming of settling down on your favorite property in Edinburgh- cracking the real estate market is no bed of roses. But that doesn’t mean you have to settle for sub par living accommodations; especially when you have top-notch estate agents in Edinburgh right at your disposal.

If you’re in the market for a new home and you’re not sure how to land the perfect estate agent, we have a few tips for you to consider.  It’s important to find the right estate agent to help you through the process. But there are possibly a hundred estate agents out there; how can you possibly decide who’s the best for you and where will you find them?

We can help you with that-

Meet Top 10 Property Agents

Gone are the days when you had to physically run around from place to place, searching for the right estate agent. We understand how difficult and taxing the house hunting process can be; and that’s why have created a ready directory listing all the cream Edinburgh letting agents. All you have to do is visit our official page and browse through our index of estate agents. When you find the one you like, simply connect with them and take your house hunting process forward.

Your To-Do List Before you Select Your Estate Agent

Do your research

The first step is to do some research on the different estate agents in your area. Find out about school districts, safety of a particular place, rising costs in and around the city, and more. Usually, online reviews are the best place to start. If you’re not sure where to begin, your estate agent can also be of massive help to you.

Meet the agents

Once you’ve narrowed it down to a few agents, it’s time to meet them in person. This will give you a chance to see if you feel comfortable working with them and to ask any questions you may have.

Ask around

Before you sign anything, it’s important to ask around for referrals. Friends and family are a great place to start, and you can also check online review sites like Trust Pilot to see what other people have had to say.

Get a quote

Before you commit to an agent, be sure to get a quote for their services. This will give you a crystal clear idea of the type of budget you want to invest, along with additional ideas like the market rate, cost of additional services. In fact, this can also help you identify hidden costs and if they are being levied or not.

Now that you have a fair idea of where and how to begin, start with your research right away and when you’re sure about moving to Edinburgh, visit our Top 10 Property Agents website to connect with the best letting agents in Edinburgh.

How To Find Affordable Housing in Manchester?

Why not to move to the MOST LIEVABLE CITY IN THE UK ??

A recent global liveability survey surely says it’s worth ever penny!

Over the last couple of years, the real estate prospects in Manchester has seen quite an upgrade, making it one of the most favorable cities to move to in Northwest England. This in turn, boosted employment opportunities and eventually, the living costs of that area. Today Manchester, also known as the ‘ first industrialized city in the world ‘ as come a long way in terms of not just finding a suitable housing, but employment and entertainment parameters too! This brings us to one simple question-

How affordable is the Manchester housing market? Before you get on the phone with your estate agents Manchester, here are a couple of things we want you to consider.

Handpicking Your Area of Choice

If you’re moving to Manchester without a clear area in mind, we strongly suggest diving into the dynamics first before making the move. There are a lot of cool areas in Manchester, but breaking down your requirement and selecting the area of your choice is crucial. For example, if you’re looking for a premium school district, Sale is the place to be. If you’re more interested in temporary residence or renting someplace quiet, castlefield has the best possible lofts overlooking the quaint cobblestone streets and picturesque suburbs.

Bolting Down on Proper Budgeting

So, you have a place in mind, but you’re finances are still a little all over the place. We understand, moving is never as smooth as it should be. But that’s no reason to ignore your budget breakdowns before you make the move. Manchester today is thriving which is all the more reason why you need to calculate living costs and relocation costs too. If you’re struggling to finalize a budget plan, you can always rely on your Manchester estate agents to help you with the necessary details.

Creating your Moving to Manchester Checklist

This point goes hand in hand with the budget planning. This is where you consider living possibilities in Manchester. For example, you know where to live in Manchester, but are you aware of the best schools in and around the area? Do you know about their fee? Do you already have a job in place or are you entitled to student benefits? Discuss these in length beforehand.

Seeking Professional Assistance

Now if you’ve never been to Manchester before, or you have no ties in this city, shifting alone can be quite taxing. Imagine having to do so much in so little time and that too without proper knowledge. This is why we recommend connecting with a local real estate agent who knows the ins and outs of the place. Now, here’s our second important question- Where can you find a trustworthy realty agent? We at Top10PropertyAgents have the largest director of top-notch letting agents Manchester. All you have to do is visit our official website and search our listings for the best agent in Manchester.

Search, compare, and connect with your suitable real estate agent by browsing through our index of acclaimed real estate agents in Manchester today.

How much do Letting Agents Charge to Manage a Property in Edinburgh

Being a landlord is a great self-investment that comes with a lot of responsibility, at least if you are looking for a return on investment. If you wish to have a stress-free renting journey you must brace yourself for tenant complaints, leaks, non-payments and also keep abreast of the letting laws, health and safety requirements. However, if you do not wish to go through this, then passing these responsibilities to a letting agent might be the smart thing to do. But, what is the agent fee for selling property, Edinburgh?

Well, property management involves a wide range of services. It includes property marketing, rent collection, property inspections, tenant screening, property maintenance, financial reporting, Etc. The service is not limited to residential property owners but also provided to commercial property. A good example is Mcallenpropertymanagementinc.com in Edinburgh that provides management services for both residential and commercial property.

Since letting agents have almost similar rates. It is important to look out for the agent management agreement just to be sure of all fees that are charged. You do not want to smile at an 8% monthly property management fee only to find out tons of hidden fees after signing the contract. Commonly exempted fees that you might run a risk of being charged later include additional inspection fee, change of agent fee, serving fees etc. Go through the contract with your letting agent and understand terms such as rent collected, rent due or rental value that would have a great implication on the management fee. It is advisable to go for a property management company that only wants to get paid a percentage of say, the agent fee for selling property, Edinburgh or the rent collected.

Having said that, it is quite clear that hiring a letting agent goes beyond the rates offered. Well, it would be great to find a low-price agent offering a great package, however, it is not the case in most instances. The property management fee is capped depending on services offered, and client’s needs. For example, some investors or landlords would want full management while others would go for partial management

The typical full management package is between 10-15% inclusive of VAT for most letting agents. However, some prefer to charge extra costs for services like finding new tenancy, marketing, advertising, photography etc. Below is a look at some of the management fees charged by top rated property management agents in Edinburgh.

MONTHLY MANAGEMENT PACKAGE.

As earlier noted, the monthly management package for most agents ranges from 10-15%. For example:

www.umega.co.uk- Charges a 10%+VAT for monthly property management.

www.onlineplc.co.uk- charges 10.5% for the full Management Service.

www.cornerstoneletting.com- offers 10% property management with no hidden costs, and two months of free management

www.braidburnproperty.co.uk- provides a competitive rate of 12%/month with no VAT.

Some letting agents charge different fees depending on the type of property. Below is a sample of those agencies in Edinburgh.

www.extramileletting.co.uk – offers different management fees for different properties. For 1-5 properties, they charge 12% (10%+tax 6-15 properties 10.8% (9% + VAT) and a different price for more than 15 properties.

www.maverickpropertymanagement.com

Property Management Fee for Single-Family Homes charge $65 Per Month

Property Management Fee for Multi-Unit Rentals 4 Unit Minimum $40 Per Month

Tennant Placement Service for Lease Option Only One-Time Flat Fee: $400

The other fee that is in not always calculated in the full management package is the new tenancy and marketing fee. If you wish to get these services, below are the figures you might be looking at from different letting agencies

Extramileletting –charges £300 (£250 + VAT) £250 for a new tenancy, with marketing, viewings, credit & reference checks & inventory

Umega.co.uk- charges £250+VAT marketing fee for each new tenancy. An initial set up fee of £95.00 for finding new tenants at a later date, it is reduced to £75.

At Clan Gordon- charges a £175 +VAT marketing fee, this includes advertising (on all of the main property portals), photographs and a ‘to let’ board.

Braidburnproperty– charges £185 deducted from the first month’s rent, NO VAT. Covers marketing. For new tenancy, landlords pay 75% of the first month’s rent

The analysis above evidently shows that most letting agents charge an extra fee for full management services. Landlords or investors should ensure that they understand the contract properly before signing it. Hidden costs always result to disagreements and conflicts between letting agents and landlords.