Choosing the right estate agent.
Who you instruct is one of the biggest decisions in your sale, and it shapes everything that follows: your asking price, how your home is presented, and how much of your money ends up in your pocket. This is a fair, practical guide to what genuinely matters when you choose, and the questions worth asking before you sign.
Look past the board, and past the biggest number.
It is natural to be drawn to the agent who quotes the highest figure or has the most boards on the road. Neither tells you much about the price you will actually achieve or the experience you will have getting there. The agents worth your time are the ones who can show you the substance behind the promise.
Our advice is simple: interview two or three agents, ask each of them the same questions, and judge them on the honesty of their answers and the quality of what they already do, not on flattery. What follows is how to do exactly that.
Six things that genuinely matter.
Weigh every agent you meet against the same six measures. They separate the agents who will sell your home well from those who simply want it on their books.
An agent who regularly sells homes of your type, in your area and at your level knows the buyers, the roads and the evidence. Ask what they have sold nearby, and to whom. Local, comparable experience is worth far more than a national name on the board.
The right agent shows you the sold-price evidence behind their figure and is willing to tell you something you may not want to hear. If one number stands out, ask for the evidence and the launch strategy behind it: the right price depends on your motivations and timescale.
Look closely at how they present the homes they already sell. Professional photography, film where it is warranted, accurate floorplans, well-written copy and a considered launch across the portals and their own database. Ask to see recent examples, not a brochure of promises.
You should know exactly who is handling your sale and be able to reach them directly. Ask who will value your home, who will conduct viewings, and who will progress the sale, and whether that is the same person throughout or a handover once you have signed.
A good agent sets out their fee plainly and in writing, and explains exactly what it includes before you commit. Read the terms of business: the length of any tie-in, the notice period, and whether the agreement is sole or multi-agency. Clarity here prevents friction later.
Check that the agent belongs to a government-approved redress scheme and follows the consumer-protection standards of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, and that they carry out the anti-money-laundering checks the law requires. These are the marks of a properly run agency.
Questions worth asking every agent.
Put the same questions to each agent you meet and compare the answers side by side. The way an agent responds tells you as much as the answer itself.
- 01What have you recently sold that is comparable to my home, and at what price?
- 02What is your valuation based on, and can you show me the evidence?
- 03Who will value, market, view and progress my sale, and is it the same person throughout?
- 04How and where will you market my home, and may I see recent examples?
- 05What is your fee, what does it include, and is anything charged separately?
- 06How long is the tie-in period, and what notice do I need to give to leave?
- 07Is this sole agency or multi-agency, and how does that affect the fee?
- 08How often, and how, will you keep me updated once we are on the market?
- 09Which redress scheme do you belong to?
A few things to check before you commit.
None of these means an agent is wrong for you, but each is worth a straight question and a clear answer before you sign.
If one figure is markedly above the rest, ask to see the evidence behind it. Sometimes there is a genuine reason; sometimes it is a number chosen to win the instruction. What matters is the evidence and the launch strategy behind it, matched to your motivations and timescale.
A lengthy sole-agency tie-in can leave you stuck with an agent who is not performing. Understand the length and the notice period before you sign, and be comfortable with both.
If nobody can tell you who will actually handle your sale, that is worth pausing on. Being passed between departments, or left in a general inbox, is how sales lose momentum.
If the homes an agent already sells look rushed or identical, yours is likely to be treated the same way. The care they take with others is the care they will take with you.
Fees, tie-ins and what is included should be in writing and clear before you instruct. If you cannot get a straight answer in writing, treat that as your answer.
Sole, joint or multi-agency.
Under sole agency you appoint one agent for an agreed period. It usually means a lower fee and a single team fully invested in getting your sale right. Joint agency shares the instruction between two agents who split an agreed fee, while multi-agency lets several agents market your home at once, typically for a higher fee and with the home visible on more than one agent’s books.
There is no single right answer, only the one that suits your home and your priorities. For distinctive homes, many sellers prefer one committed agent who knows the property and the buyers well and can control how it is presented. Whichever route you choose, read the tie-in length, the notice period and the fee basis carefully, and make sure it is all set out in writing before you instruct.
Held to the same six measures.
We would ask you to judge us by exactly the standards above. Here is how we answer each of them.
The same senior expert values your home, markets it and negotiates your sale. Fifteen years of selling the finest homes across Ascot and the villages sits behind every valuation we give.
We show you the sold-price evidence, price to draw the right buyers into competition, and never inflate a figure to win your instruction.
Editorial photography and film, accurate floorplans, considered copy and a launch placed where the right buyers genuinely look, including those already on our books.
A single expert who knows your sale inside out and is reachable directly, from the first valuation to the day you complete. Nothing is left to sit in an inbox overnight.
We set out our fee plainly and in writing, and explain exactly what it includes, before you instruct us. No surprises, and nothing buried in the small print.
Membership of a government-approved redress scheme, the consumer-protection standards of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, and the anti-money-laundering checks the law requires, all as standard.
You should always know exactly who is handling your sale.
When you sell with us, I am your day-to-day contact through the viewings, the feedback and the progression, and a director is across every sale. You get one name and one number, reachable directly, rather than a call centre or a general inbox. If you take one thing from this guide, let it be that: never instruct an agent who cannot tell you who will actually look after your home.
Choosing an agent, answered
On valuations, agreements and terms. For the full picture, read the Seller’s Guide.
Look past the valuation headline to the substance: genuine experience with homes like yours, a figure backed by sold-price evidence, marketing you can see the quality of, a named person who will handle your sale throughout, and clear fees and terms in writing. Interview two or three agents, ask each the same questions, and choose the one whose honesty and track record you trust, not simply the one who quotes the highest number.
Not on that basis alone. An unusually high valuation is sometimes used simply to win the instruction. Ask any agent to show you the evidence behind their figure and the launch strategy that goes with it: the right price is the one drawn from comparable sales, live demand and your own motivations and timescale, given honestly and in line with the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024.
Ask what they have recently sold that is comparable and at what price; what their valuation is based on; who will value, market, view and progress your sale; how and where they will market it, with examples; what their fee includes; the length of any tie-in and the notice period; whether it is sole or multi-agency; how they will keep you updated; and which redress scheme they belong to. Straight answers to these tell you almost everything you need to know.
Under sole agency you instruct one agent for an agreed period, which usually means a lower fee and a single team fully invested in your sale. Multi-agency means more than one agent markets your home at once, which can widen exposure but typically carries a higher fee and can leave your home looking widely touted. Many sellers of distinctive homes prefer one committed agent who knows the property and the buyers well. We will always talk the options through with you honestly.
It depends on what you want from the sale. Online models can suit a straightforward, price-led sale, but they often ask you to value, photograph, show and progress the home yourself, and there may be no local expert accountable for the result. For a distinctive home, where accurate pricing, presentation, skilled negotiation and hands-on progression make a real difference to the final figure, a local, director-led agent usually more than earns their fee.
Read the fee and exactly what it includes, the length of any tie-in period and the notice required to end the agreement, whether it is sole or multi-agency, and any charges that could apply if you withdraw. Make sure it is all in writing and clear before you sign. A reputable agent will be happy to explain every line; anything vague or verbal is worth questioning before you commit.
Put us to the same questions.
Invite us to value your home and ask us everything above. An honest figure, clear terms and a name to call, with no obligation to sell.