2nd February 2024
At Surrey HomeSearch, new clients often ask "What can a Property Search Agent add to my property search that I couldn’t do myself?" Take a look at our brief summary below of just some of the ways a Property Search Agent could help you:
Searching for a property is extremely time consuming, which is often hard to juggle with everyday life. It is simply not enough to keep an eye on Rightmove or other online property search portals and wait for the right property to pop up. Many properties will be under offer by the time they make it online - and those properties that the agents are keeping “quiet” or marketing “discreetly” will never be seen.
As your dedicated Property Search Agent, Surrey HomeSearch will work on your behalf to find you the perfect property. We ensure that we are in regular contact with the local estate agents covering your search area and are aware of potential properties that are about to hit the market, or are being discreetly marketed. We research properties, give the low-down on areas and preview properties on your behalf to save you the time with properties that may not be suitable. And when we have found you the perfect property, we negotiate on your behalf, always working to get the best price for you – our client.
Clients often come to Surrey HomeSearch as they are looking to buy a property within Surrey but they live outside of the area. Many of our clients are making the move from London, elsewhere in the UK or overseas and are seeking to find their perfect Surrey home. Clients have often been actively searching for a property for some time. Many have missed out on previous properties or are just struggling to be taken seriously by estate agents as they live further away and can’t easily arrange to view properties.
Not only are we the eyes and ears on the ground for our clients, Surrey HomeSearch are the presence with the local Surrey agents and we are able to preview properties as soon as we hear about them – meaning that more often than not we are the first-through-the-door to view a property.
Working with a buying agent like Surrey HomeSearch will signal to an agent that you are serious about your home search. Your buying agent will also help you to present yourself in the best possible light when it comes to putting an offer in.
What is “discrete” or “quiet” marketing of a property and why are some houses not advertised online?
Local estate agents will have a number of properties on their books that are being marketed “discreetly”. This means they won’t appear on Rightmove or the other online property search portals and they won’t even appear on the estate agency’s own website. With the digital fingerprint such that it is, many homeowners are wary of putting their house on public display. Some vendors don’t like the idea that the guide price will be displayed so publicly, others would prefer not to have photos of their property on show, but many vendors simply do not want time wasters: they know that their property will sell but they do not want hundreds of buyers traipsing through their property. These property owners will instruct an Estate Agent to sell their property but will ask the agents to keep the property “low-key”, meaning that only serious buyers or their search agents will be informed that the property is coming to the market.
At Surrey HomeSearch, we will open up your access to these “off-market” properties.
What percentage of properties that you find your clients are off-market?
Around three quarters (or 75%) of the properties that we find for clients are off market. We don’t guarantee to be able to secure you an off-market property, but for those properties that have hit the open market, we are often first through the door to view and have managed to secure the property for our clients before the majority of viewings have been able to take place. We have an excellent relationship with the local estate agents which enables us to have this head start.
What our clients say about Surrey HomeSearch
"When attempting to relocate from SW London to Surrey, after a year of fruitlessly searching, we considered using a buying agent. Having never used one before, after some research and phone calls with prospective agents, Surrey HomeSearch were the outstanding candidate in terms of fees and the rapport we had with them. Immediately, they set to work in finding us our dream house and sent us a list of potentials on the same day, followed by a week of previews on our behalf, providing video tours and expert opinion. In truth, we didn't know exactly what we were looking for, and after a local tour with Helen, we built a much clearer picture of the area and the house we wanted. Helen presented new properties, almost on a daily basis, many of which were off-market / pre-market on account of her excellent relationships with local vendors, developers and agents. In short, I cannot say enough positive words about our experience with SHS, from initial meeting, until after completion. If you are considering using a buying agent, these guys are EXCELLENT!" Mr and Mrs B, September 2023
If you are looking to move to Surrey and are thinking about instructing a Property Search Agent, we'd be happy to chat through your search requirements and see if we can help to find your perfect Surrey home.