Perks of selling your flat with us

Giving the flat exclusively to an agency has several advantages for the transaction: Advantages for the owner

A) The agency marries you

If the flat is sold by several people, it can happen - and it does happen - that an agency works very hard to find you a buyer but at the last minute another agency comes along with an offer and wins the deal. The first one will have worked for nothing and in the long run it discourages real estate agencies from sharing properties. Therefore, they will try to hide their flats so that a competitor does not take them away from them and they will dose the effort in case they end up losing the operation.

If they have it exclusively, they invest all their effort in selling it: there is no risk of the result of the work being taken by someone else. You may think that having it exclusively takes the pressure off them to go fast, so they relax and don't fight for the sale. If you have this suspicion, you have chosen the wrong agency. Break the exclusive contract as soon as you can and change estate agents. And remember that, nowadays, relaxing is a luxury that agencies simply can't afford: if you don't sell, you don't get paid, and no one has a lot of income in this day and age.

B) Choose well

What can be an advantage if the professional is competent can be a nightmare if the agency fails you. That is why it is vital to select very carefully, and that they are serious and trustworthy. At Engel & Völkers we have an extensive network and real estate consultants trained in our own academy.

C) Exclusive sells faster

The agencies have it clear: flats without exclusivity are published hiding their address so as not to give clues to the competitor. This is obviously not to the liking of buyers, who want to know where the flat is located right from the start. For this reason, on idealista.com and other portals, properties with an exact address are shown before the others. This means that they are seen more, have more contacts and are sold earlier. Consequently, if the real estate agency has exclusive rights to the property, it will be able to advertise it better and the final beneficiary will be you. In addition, agencies have marketing tools to promote certain properties: featured properties, virtual tours, professional videos... which properties do you think they choose to invest in these tools?

D) A single interlocutor

The process of selling your home is going to be long and hard. You need someone you can trust, who will guide you and guide you. Your flat is on the market and gets reactions. If several different agencies tell you about it, it may be impossible to draw clear conclusions. Events will happen very fast and there will come a time when you will have to decide. If you depend on what several agents tell you, you may end up making the wrong decisions.

E) The contract with the estate agent

Have it checked by a lawyer. It is important that you feel comfortable with him/her, and that he/she leaves you free to change agent if necessary. For this I advise short terms, but no less than 6 months. Bear in mind that the average length of time an advert remains on idealista.com is 12 months. A solvent professional can sell much faster, but you have to give him/her a minimum of time.

F) Fees

Thinking that you can save them is like wanting to go to the dentist without paying. Selling a flat is really complicated nowadays: you have to fine-tune the price, have a portfolio of buyers, invest in advertising, attend many visits and deal with paperwork. And it's also going to be one of the biggest financial transactions of your life, so a mistake or a legal mishap can be a serious problem. If you pay your mechanic for a small repair, are you going to skimp on something so important? The money invested in hiring a real estate agent could be the best investment of your life if they manage to sell the property quickly. You can try it on your own, but think that in a down market, every month you lose money and maybe more than the estate agent's fees.

G) The keys

Talking about exclusivity means talking about trust. If you don't feel like leaving the keys with your agency, look for another one that gives you more confidence. Selling is complicated; not having the keys can be a serious setback for the seller. In addition, there are owners who give the keys and owners who don't, but with so many flats to sell, the salesperson prioritises. Which flat will he/she dedicate more effort to and which one will he/she go to if a buyer arrives who wants to see the house right away?

Advantages for the agency

A) Give it a try

Most agencies don't work with exclusivity simply because they don't try. If you don't try, you won't succeed. "There is no way, they don't want to. Giving the floor to many agencies is customary. They refuse. This is what all your competitors think. That's why - almost - nobody works with exclusivity. But agencies that only work with exclusivity do exist. And on idealista.com we are seeing 2 things: that there are more and more of them, and that they are doing very well.

Be careful: the owner wants to sell, but he is not going to give you anything for free. If you want the exclusivity you are going to have to work hard for it.

B) Organise a casting

Sergi Verges, a successful professional from Calafell, says that he doesn't work with properties, he works with owners. "I'm not interested in houses, I'm interested in people", he says. So select. If you like the owner, you find him reasonable and serious and his intention to sell is firm, marry him. The selling process will be long and hard and you have to go through it together, so choose carefully. If it's not clear to you, simply don't accept the sale. Or did you marry the first couple that came your way (if the answer is yes, you can stop reading)?

C) The owner needs you

There are a growing number of desperate homeowners. Some have been trying to sell for years and what started with "I'm not going down, I'm in no hurry, the buyer will come" has turned into "I can't wait any longer, it's not that I don't have any offers, it's that they don't even call me, we're running out of time, I've gone down and nothing". In addition, the massive disappearance of agencies, which have closed, has left entire municipalities without real estate agencies. On idealista.com we are seeing every day individuals who turn to professionals who are 30 km away from their homes, simply because they have no other options.

What does the owner expect if he/she gives you the exclusive?

A) Trust

He's not going to marry just anyone. Prepare all your credentials and document them well: professional associations to which you belong, qualifications and training, sales made, portfolio managed, years of experience?

B) Work

If it is now customary to give the flat to seven agencies, it is because the owner thinks that this way the overall effort to sell his flat will be greater. You have to convince him otherwise by explaining in detail all the steps you are going to take.

C) Price

Obviously the owner aspires to sell at the highest possible price, but excessive aspiration is the most common cause of lost sales. It is mandatory to document in detail why you are recommending one price or another. Remember that the owner nowadays has a lot of data at his fingertips, although he will often not know how to interpret it.

D) Fair fees

One of the most common accusations made by the owner to the agency is "they take the middle road, lower the price and that's it. After all, they don't own the house". The solution is to propose an escalation for your commission in which if the price goes down, you also charge less. This way it is clear that the interest of both parties will be to sell, but not at any price.