The Trust Problem in Estate Agency – And How to Fix it
You May Have Heard We’re All Cowboys and Girls (Here’s Our Response)
There’s no getting away from it. Estate agents don’t fare very well in the league table of trusted professions.
In a recent survey*, nurses were the most trusted professionals. 92% of people said they would trust them.
Fair play to the nurses.
Estate agents came in the bottom ten. 32% of people said they would trust them.
We still outperformed politicians (9%) and social media influencers (6%). But to be honest, that’s a low bar.
Why on earth do estate agents rate so poorly?
We’ve heard it said, more than a few times, that estate agency is like the wild west, that it has more cowboys than a free cowboy convention in Texas.
But today, things couldn’t be further from the truth.
Estate agency is more regulated than ever. But we’d still like to see higher entry levels in place.
The laws estate agents have to abide by are as long as your arm. Additionally, there are numerous codes of practice, guidelines, and ethical standards.
(We like it that way, actually.)
And then there are professional organisations – like the Ethical Agent Network, which we’re proud members of – that keep standards sky-high. We have to pass strict tests and stand by our promises to keep our membership.
Cowboy estate agents (or cowgirl estate agents for that matter) don’t last long.
They soon get run out of town.
There’s greater transparency in estate agency than ever before.
You can thank the Internet for that. Social media and online reviews, like those on Google, make it easy for sellers – and buyers – to spot the good from the bad and the ugly.
(Feel free to check out our Google reviews by the way.)
But we have to be honest. Not all estate agents are equal.
When you’re selling your home, you are entitled to be sceptical and to demand the best.
As local independent agents, we think that stands us in good stead.
We don’t promise what we can’t deliver. We’ll strive to give you a realistic market valuation of your home and an appraisal of its saleability.
We have clear, fair sales contracts with no hidden catches. And we have transparent fees.
We’re not just about getting the sale. We genuinely love helping people with their moving plans, whether they are sellers or buyers. We also treat landlords and tenants with respect and honesty.
We strive to support our community whenever we can.
And, we’re very proud to say, that we have many customers who recommend us. They refer us to their family, friends, and friends of friends.
You don’t get that by being a rootin’ tootin’ here-today-gone-tomorrow caballero (keeping up the Wild West theme there.)
Of course, if you still don’t trust estate agents, you could always pop down to your local A&E. and ask the duty nurse to come round and do you a valuation (at least they should be trustworthy but maybe not accurate).
We hope that’s reassured you. And that, if you’re thinking of selling your home or renting your property out, you’ll give us a chance to explain why we’re the people you can trust.
Estate Agency Done Ethically
We are proud members of the Ethical Agent Network (EAN).
A national group of independent agents who have been independently tested to ensure we meet strict standards of honesty, service, professionalism and community care.
To learn more about what we do and why we earned the EAN and are the only local agency in the network, contact us today.
Scottish Property Centre have branches in Dunoon, Cardonald and Shawlands covering the Argyll and Glasgow property markets. We have local experts serving local people.
Did you know we now do factoring? If you are interested in changing factors and would like to speak to our team at 7days.property get in touch with us now.
