Choosing the right property practitioner

It takes time and care to develop a friendship or relationship - and it also takes time and care (albeit a different kind) to find the right property practitioner to help you find a home, sell your home or rent a home. Jawitz Properties breaks down the process of finding the right real estate professional to help you reach your property goals. 

First things first: Ensure that the property practitioner has the right credentials

In terms of the rules laid out by the Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority (PPRA), every property practitioner must be registered and have a valid Fidelity Fund certificate. You can easily check a property practitioner's status online and the PPRA website will tell you the status of the agent's Fidelity Fund Certificate. The search functionality of the website will hunt for exactly what you enter in the name field - which can be problematic. For example, if you're looking for a property practitioner whose name you know to be "Jessica Smith", but her full name is actually "Jessica Jane Smith", you will not find her if you search for "Jessica Smith". It is sometimes better to search by first name or surname only and sift through the results.

Make a list of property practitioners who have a good reputation in your area

Knowing the area is an important part of selling a property, and if there are a few property practitioners who specialise in your area, it's worth putting them at the top of your list. They will be able to tell buyers about all the advantages that your neighbourhood offers in ways that someone less familiar with the area will not. A quick browse through the available listings in your area will show you which property practitioners' names keep coming up. 

Over and above thinking about the property practitioner as an individual, it's worth looking at the agency that he or she works for. Have you heard of them? How long have they been operating for? Do they have a good reputation? Do they have good reviews on Google? Answering these questions will help you find a property practitioner who you'll feel completely comfortable working with.

Ask pertinent questions

If you're selling a property, you're entrusting your biggest asset into the hands of someone you probably don't know. This means you're entitled to ask questions! Some of the questions you should be asking include the following:

• How do you plan to market my home?
• How well do you know the area?
• What is your commission?
• What are the recent sales in my neighbourhood?

When asking these questions in the initial conversation, take note of how well you get along with a property practitioner and before you sign a mandate with anyone, bear in mind that you'll be working closely with them in the weeks and months ahead. Commission is a particularly important thing to ask about because rates do vary from agency to agency.

A great way to proverbially kill two birds with one stone is to ask a prospective property practitioner to come to your home and do a valuation for you. This means you get a free valuation - which is the first step to putting your property on the market - and an opportunity to meet the practitioner and get a feeling of how well you will get along.

If you're interested in selling/renting your property, we encourage you to contact your local Jawitz property practitioner. We will carry out a free valuation of your home and - if you should choose to entrust your sale/rental to us - we will put our over 53 years of hyperlocal knowledge and experience to use to find a buyer/tenant who will love your home as much as you have.