Of course, the most obvious trick is to ask everyone you know who they would recommend. You want to know which friends have moved recently and who they used. Make sure you find out if there are any issues. You can also look around the area or online and see which estate agents are getting a lot of business. Online reviews from real customers can be a big help in swaying your decision. To check out our verified reviews on Google and Facebook, click here.

All estate agents are required to be members of the Property Ombudsman, so make sure that yours is. Many will also be members of various trade bodies. Memberships of these will mean that the estate agent has to follow a code of conduct. This likely implies that they will have a higher standard of professionalism and diligence and, therefore, be better for you.

One trick you can use is to go into an estate agency and pretend to be looking to buy a property like yours. You can then evaluate how they treat you. Are they showing the property in the best light? Would you buy your property from them? This will give you a realistic idea of whether they can sell your house easily.

You want to make sure that you ask the estate agents certain questions- things like, if you go for a sole-agency contract, what is the tie-in period, and how much do they charge? How will they advertise your property? What is their strategy to help you achieve the best price for your home? Who will handle the viewings? What makes them different from any other Estate Agent? Do they have a large local database of potential buyers - how is this database kept up to date? How long has the estate agent been established, and what is their experience level?

This is your home shop window. Look at each of the online properties of the local Estate Agents on the market. Look closely at the photos - Has the photographer ensured each room is clear of clutter or oddly coloured items? Do the photos look amazing? Has the agent got a 3D virtual reality viewing option for each property? Do they have a floor plan? This is a must for potential buyers who want to see the property's layout. Is there anything that makes that agent stand out? Do they have a video of the property? Look at their Facebook page - do they have a big following, and are they posting regularly?

People crave information these days - they want to view properties from the comfort of their sofa. It's vital you choose an agent that doesn't just rely on a handful of badly taken photographs.

Go onto Rightmove and click sold/under offer. Count which agent is selling more properties than anyone else in your area. There may be an agent in a town close to you that's taking that area by storm, so put in the county and see if a particular agent is selling more than anyone else. The homeowners alliance is a good website to help you research: https://hoa.org.uk/ - Don't put your real phone number, as online agents will hound you! This site will give you key stats like the percentage of asking price achieved by each agent and the percentage of houses they bring to the market they sell. DO NOT use get agent. If you enquire about them, the agent will likely have to charge you 25% more than they usually do as the agent charges 25% of the fee you pay the agent! I often found clients were already registered with us and would have used us anyway, but I had to pay getagent 25% of our fee! Hence, all my details have been removed from getagent's site!

So, hopefully, all of the above will help you choose an Estate Agent.

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Thank you for taking the time to read my article.

Ben Roberts

Managing Director