Playbook, estate agency
The first appointment, and what happens in the hour after it
Three unrelated first visits run off one website. A buyer walks round a house with a negotiator. A tenant sees a property that may be agreed before the end of the day. A seller has a valuer standing in the hall, free of charge, and that appointment is also where the instruction is won. In all three cases nothing is needed at the door and a good deal is needed shortly afterwards, which is why the useful answer is about the hour after the appointment rather than the appointment itself.
Why this is not the general answer
The handling pattern for first visit questions holds across every trade. What follows is the part that does not.
- One page has to serve three appointments that have nothing in common beyond being first, and the seller's is not really a viewing at all: it is free, it produces a number, and it is the agency's own sales call.
- The answer to what should I bring is nothing, which sounds unhelpful until it is followed by what is needed afterwards, so the reply has to move immediately from the door to the paperwork.
- A buyer's offer is weighed on position as much as on the figure, so proof of funds or an agreement in principle changes how an offer is received in a way that genuinely surprises people buying for the first time.
- A tenant's first viewing runs on a much shorter clock than a buyer's, because a property can be agreed the same day and the referencing pack is what decides who gets it rather than who saw it first.
How it arrives
- what do i need to bring to a viewing
- how long does a viewing take
- do i need a mortgage in principle before i offer
- what happens after i have seen it
- what do you need from me to rent it
- is the valuation free and how long does it take
What has to be indexed for this to work
| What a viewing is actually like at your agency | How long it runs, whether a negotiator accompanies or the vendor shows people round, whether a second viewing is normal, and whether measurements or photographs are allowed. Small facts, asked constantly, and none of them anywhere on most agency sites. |
|---|---|
| What a buyer needs before an offer is put forward | Identity checks, proof of funds, a mortgage agreement in principle, and what you mean by position. Write it as what strengthens an offer rather than as a hurdle, because that is both truer and the reason people will read it. |
| The tenant application pack | The documents referencing needs, identity, right to rent where it applies where you operate, income evidence, previous landlord, and when a guarantor comes into it. Applicants who arrive with this ready are the ones who get the property, and saying so is doing them a favour. |
| What the market appraisal involves | Who comes, how long, what they bring, whether it is free, and what the seller has afterwards. Sellers are wary of this appointment because they assume it is a pitch. Describing it honestly, pitch included, works better than pretending. |
The reply
For the viewing itself, nothing at all. They run about twenty minutes, a negotiator meets you at the property, and you are welcome to look round twice [1]. What matters is the hour afterwards. If you want to offer, an offer backed by an agreement in principle and proof of funds is taken very differently from one without, so it is worth having those ready before you go [2]. If you are renting rather than buying, the referencing pack is the thing to have to hand, because a property can be agreed the same day. I cannot book the viewing itself, so leave me your name, an email and which property and the branch will arrange a time.
It answers the literal question in three words and then immediately moves to the part that decides the outcome, which is the only structure that helps a first time buyer. Framing the paperwork as what strengthens an offer rather than as a requirement makes it advice instead of a barrier. The lettings sentence is short but present, because the same page catches both and a tenant should not have to ask again.
Where it stops
The trigger. The visitor wants a viewing arranged, wants to put an offer forward, or asks what a particular property is likely to go for.
I cannot put a viewing in the diary or take an offer, and neither should sit in a chat window. Give me your name, an email and the property and a negotiator will ring you to arrange it and take you through the next step.
It stops answering before it guesses, says who will pick it up, and asks for the one thing that makes a reply possible. Nothing about it reads as a dead end.
Never say this here
Out of bounds
- Never tell a buyer their offer is strong or likely to be accepted, since the seller decides that on a whole picture the assistant cannot see, including offers it knows nothing about.
- Never tell an applicant they will pass referencing, because that is assessed against criteria set by the landlord and the referencing provider, and a reassurance that turns on the wrong characteristic is a serious problem for the agency.
- Never suggest a figure a property might be valued at ahead of the appraisal, as the seller anchors to it and the valuer then spends the appointment arguing with a chat window.
- Never promise a viewing time, since the diary is not visible to it and the occupier has not been asked whether the slot works.
Questions
- Which of the three first visits should the page lead with?
- Whichever your traffic is. Most agency sites are read by buyers and tenants at night and by sellers on a weekend, so it is worth keeping the appraisal in its own clearly named document rather than folding it into a page about viewings.
- Is telling buyers to have funds ready off putting?
- It is the opposite if it is framed as advice. First time buyers find out about position by having an offer beaten, and an agency that explained it beforehand is the one they instruct when they come to sell.
- Can it tell somebody what to expect at their specific viewing?
- Only in general. It has no sight of the appointment, who is showing it or what was agreed, so it should describe how your viewings usually run and hand over anything about a particular property or time.
Keep reading
- Everything for a estate agencyViewings, fees, referencing and deposit rules are answerable at any hour. Valuing a property or discussing an offer is not.
- Handling first visit questions in generalWhat to wear, where to park, how long it takes, whether they can bring somebody. Cheap to answer and disproportionately valuable.
- Handling viewing requests outside branch hoursMost viewing enquiries land when the branch is shut. What the assistant can settle about access, notice and hours before a negotiator sees it.
- Seller fees and landlord fees, kept in separate lanesSellers ask about commission and tie ins, landlords ask what the management fee covers. Same words, different audiences, different answers.
- Deposit questions where the wrong answer is a compliance problemTwo different payments, two different rules and one word. What the assistant explains about protection, deductions and what is refundable.
Try it on your own material
Upload a document or point it at your site, paste one line of HTML, then ask it something only your business could answer.