The Durham Estate Agents
- Friendly and personal service based on in-depth
local knowledge. - Efficient and effective marketing built on
leading-edge web technology. - Reliable and authoritative guidance of the
whole selling process.
Durham Estate Agent
With a few exceptions, Durham estate agents tend to be quite old-fashioned in their approach. While the best estate agents in Durham combine high levels of personal service with the use of cutting edge marketing and management technology, this is unfortunately not true of all Durham estate agents.
The best Durham estate agents understand that what clients are looking for is a very strong internet presence, efficient and proactive handling of enquiries and a friendly service based on in-depth personal knowledge.
A typical Durham estate agent carries out the following functions: marketing Durham properties; negotiating offers; and progressing the sale through to completion. Some Durham estate agents have their own in-house mortgage adviser which means that they may be particularly keen to provide a mortgage to the buyer.
Most Durham estate agents have a shop in the city centre, but this is increasingly seen as unnecessary in an age when most buyers would choose to look for Durham estate agents on the internet. Sadly for these old style Durham estate agents, they tend to be locked into long-term tenancy agreements which mean they spend huge amounts on premises and have less to pay for good quality staff. In comparison, the more modern Durham estate agents have high quality staff, many with bachelor’s degrees and some with a master’s.
Some Durham estate agents are members of professional bodies such as the RICS. Others have senior staff who are members of the National Association of Estate Agents, Durham area. At least one County Durham estate agent has no professional affiliations or qualifications at all. However, the good news is that every Durham estate agent must (by law) be a member of a consumer redress scheme. The better Durham estate agents will be full members of the government-backed Property Ombudsman Service. Durham estate agents must also be registered with the Office of Fair Trading. This is to do with money-laundering prevention.
Most Durham estate agents will accompany some of the viewings they arrange, but not all. However, the best estate agents in Durham accompany all their viewings. This ensures that the prospective purchaser can get answers to all their questions and give honest feedback to the estate agent, in Durham and elsewhere.
