Selling Guide
Hello,
Welcome to Autograph Estate Agents. I started Autograph Estate Agents in 2015 with my wife Joely and over the years we have put together an incredible and very experienced team of senior negotiators, ensuring that everyone receives an exceptional service.
We are passionate about property and doing what we say we are going to do. The business has gone from strength to strength and are pleased to have built up an excellent reputation within the local area. Word of mouth is very important to us and we will go above and beyond to ensure that you have the best experience and make things as simple as possible, keeping you informed throughout the whole process. Don’t just take our word for it, please do have a look at our many reviews on Google, you may even recognise a few local names!
Our ethos here at Autograph is to give you the very best levels of customer service in the most effective and streamlined manner. I work in the office full time allowing me to be one of your main points of contact from start to finish.
One of the most important things that often gets forgotten about is who the agent is working for. Our job is to do the best we can for the seller – we never forget that!
John Smedley, Director
The Valuation
Covering Teignbridge (rural and costal) and West of Exeter.
John Smedley carries out all of the valuations for both sales and rentals at Autograph and knows the local market very well. We like to be completely upfront from the start, we offer good value fees and operate on a no sale, no fee basis with no hidden charges or withdrawal fees.
Firstly, the starting point of any sale is establishing the value of the property and determining the best asking/guide price. We provide free market appraisals which also include:
- Advice on the best way to present your home
- Guidance on whether any renovation work would provide a worthwhile return on investment
- The best time to bring your specific property onto the market
- Best meathod of sale
The Marketing
Joely Smedley, Branch Manager & Photographer
Next, we look at the marketing which is Joely’s area of expertise. Joely has been in estate agency for 9 years and has been with Autograph since its creation. Joely is a professional photographer and marketing manager with bespoke photography equipment tailored for property.
It’s sometimes difficult to know where to start when getting your home ready to sell. Joely is more than happy to visit prior to the photographs being taken and give advice on how best to present the property. Getting the photographs right is imperitive and this means having the right amount of good quality images that show case the property in its best light.
If the photographs are booked and the weather takes a turn for the worst, Joely will arrange to re-visit to take the external images on a sunny day. We will then create a bespoke editorial-style write up of your property which we send to you in draft brochure format for approval and to give you the opportunity to add in anything further should you wish. We also create and print bespoke card brochures including helpful floorplans at no extra cost. For suitable properties we can also offer virtual tours & elevated photography.
Generating Viewings & Interest
Ruth Barber, Senior Negotiator
Once the marketing has been approved by yourself, we are ready to launch the property to the market. Upon receiving a new instruction, we value the traditional approach of actively phoning the property out to potential buyers on our database, the excitment and sales pitch of why we believe this property matches their search criteria leads to far more results than solely waiting for the phones to ring or only emailing. We have built up a large applicant database and understand our applicant’s wants, needs, position and budget. Behind the scenes Ruth will be busy property matching to prospective purchasers. Ruth’s enthusiasm and ability to engage an audience is admirable making her perfect for phoning out your property and capturing buyers’ attention.
We are here to help you find your next house too if you are also looking to buy in the local area, so please let Ruth know your search requirements and she will keep an ear to the ground for you!
The Viewings
Phil Jeffery, Senior Negotiator
Phil carries out most of the viewings for Autograph and has years of experience. He arrives prompt and well-prepared for his appointments with tailored viewing notes about the property and locality and really gets to know each property so that he can effectively answer any questions that may arise during a viewing (e.g. How old is the boiler? Who are the neighbours? What internet speed is available? etc.) assisting in faster decision making and the comfort of dealing with a professional agency.
Phil will also creatively problem solve to help provide ideas for how the property could work for a potential buyer and as a result generate a higher number of offers!
Phil will provide prompt feedback to our vendors verbally after the appointment along with giving access to our new Vendor Portal enabling our sellers to have a written schedule of who’s viewing, the date and time of appointments followed by a written feedback log. So, you are always in the know and not left wondering or chasing for news.
WHY DO WE BELIEVE WE CAN ACHIEVE YOU MORE?
With our team of solely experienced senior negotiators we work as one, ensuring we negotiate you the best price.
The negotiating skill of the person managing your sale can make a difference of thousands of pounds extra in your pocket at the end of the sale and that is something we aim to achieve. With our strategic approach, expertise in negotiating surveys, justifying the value with comparable sales and how we manage the offers all contribute to first class results. Striving to achieve our clients the best outcome and maintain the highest reputation for this family run local business as word-of-mouth recommendations are extremely valued by us.
The Sales Progression
Samantha Conway, Sales Coordinator
We thoroughly check a prospective buyer’s chain, speaking to every estate agent involved and request proof of finance from the buyer to ensure the chain and buyer are proceedable. We do our utmost to ensure that we know as much information as we can about the sales, we put together limiting the chances of fall throughs for our clients.
Once we have secured you the most suitable buyer at the best price, the transaction gets passed to Samantha who is our sales coordinator.
Samantha has over 17 years experience in the industry and knows the conveyancing process well and will monitor your sale from the initial stages until completion. By having a coordinator dedicated to this role your sale will proceed through to completion in a more efficient timescale with far less stress for you! You will also get to know exactly what is going on and which stage the transaction is at.
We have a very low fall through rate which we are delighted with. Samantha’s role is to keep a close eye on all stages of the transaction and ensure that not just your sale, but all others involved in the chain are progressing problem free. If there are any issues with any part of the chain Samantha will identify them and plan how to deal with it without it jeopardizing your sale. You will be safe in the knowledge that once a sale has been agreed you are very much on the road to moving.
Over the forthcoming weeks that the sale is progressing Samantha will build a relationship with you, offering guidance and regular updates so you are never in the dark over what stage the transaction is at. Any questions you have will be answered in a professional but friendly manner.
Samantha will update you on all the key milestones within the transaction including draft contracts being issued between the solicitors, searches being applied for, enquiries being raised, mortgage survey being booked, subsequent mortgage offer being issued and contracts being signed ready for exchange.