When should you hear from your agent?
Good communication is essential when it comes to selling a property, with you and your sales agent working closely to achieve the outcome you’re looking for.
So when should you expect to hear from your agent? How often will they reach out to you? And how quickly should you expect them to respond to any questions you might have?
A communications strategy
Right from the outset your agent should be clear about how often you can expect to hear from them, under what circumstances, and in what way (i.e email, text, phone).
This clear communication is all part of the service they provide you as your trusted property advisor and it’s all about stepping you through the process, and ensuring you feel comfortable and confident with each decision along the way.
Ideally, throughout any sales campaign, you should be hearing from your agent at least once a week, with updates on the level of interest there is in your home and whether any revisions to the sales strategy are required.
So what events are most likely to trigger this communication?
With the listing draft
Once the agent has been given the green light to represent your property, they will set to work creating the marketing campaign, organising things like photography and also drafting the listing copy.
You should expect to hear from them with the draft of this listing, which you will need to approve prior to your property ‘going live’ on the real estate portals.
Prior to your first open
Your agent will put together a schedule of open homes, which are designed to create as much interest in the property as possible. They should provide this schedule to you and also offer some strategies to ensure your property puts its best foot forward.
After every open home
Open homes offer the opportunity for the agent to get solid feedback about your property, including whether people are interested and whether the property is being marketed at the right price point.
You should expect to hear from your agent within 48 hours after each open home, offering you feedback about how many people attended, any comments they had, and whether there was serious interest.
When someone is keen
If someone is genuinely interested in your property, your agent should let you know, and they should also provide you with any insight they have about that potential buyer’s circumstances (i.e is their finance in place? Do they need to sell their property first? etc).
Meanwhile, you will definitely hear from your agent if a potential buyer is looking to line up a pest and building inspection, or if they have put an offer in writing.
During negotiations
If someone is keen on your property and is looking to negotiate, your agent will be in regular contact with you, updating you on the state of play, and seeking your guidance.
In fact, communication during this phase is critical, with things potentially moving very quickly.
After the contract is signed
A good agent will also stay in contact with you after the contract of sale has been signed, keeping you updated on whether conditions have been met, and whether there are any delays or changes.
Within a few hours of you contacting them
And of course, your agent should contact you if you have reached out to them and they weren’t available to you at the time.
In this instance, you would expect to hear back from your agent or a member of their team within 24-48 hours.
