Most property purchases turn out to be very successful however in my time there is one common mistake that people make. They investigate and ask questions about the property but never about the agent themselves. This should be a top priority. Here are my hints and tips at narrowing down the best agents from the worst.
1 – Review the agents website. Is it neatly maintained?, is all information up to date?, are the pictures of good quality?. If an agent can not be bothered to keep their website in tip top condition then strike them off your list.
2 – Send the agent a general enquiry form. State your requirements that you are looking for in a property and your budget. Wait for the response. You should not have to wait any longer than 48 hours. Review the quality of the response. Is it professional and informative?
3 – Ask to receive a telephone call at a certain time from the agent. Have a list of questions ready to ask them. Use that telephone call to establish whether you can do business with this company, do the staff know what they are talking about?
4 – Type the company name into Google and review all the results.
5 – Find forums for the area that you are looking to buy into, join one and ask people if anyone else has dealt with them. At this point I do have to say that I am very weary of forums that allow members to talk about estate agents and do not give the agent chance to respond, either good reviews or bad.
6 – Ask for previous customers telephone numbers and names. Actually ring these people to ensure that it is not a fake list.
7 – Question the staff. If they are English how long have they been living in Turkey?. If they tell you they are only there for the summer and go back to the UK in the winter, strike them off your list. You need someone that will be there for you all year round and see the process right through to obtaining your title deeds. I am also going to be ageist here, too many times I have seen 18 year olds in Turkey selling houses. Nine times out of ten those 18 year old are working for next to nothing and really do not care two hoots about your investment for the future. Neither do they know anything.
8- Ask for copies of the estate agents licenses and identity cards. They should be able to fax them or scan and email them to you.
9 – Find out how long they have been in business. Many estate agents are only open a couple of years. As much as I love to help the new business to start up, on this occasion leave that task to someone else.
At this stage you should of discarded quite a few agents that did not fit the bill and you can move onto the next stage which is actually meeting your remaining agents, whether you do this via a viewing trip or make an appointment and arrange your own travel arrangements. So really the golden rule is find your estate agent first, then investigate potential properties.
