Fish Need Water, SE22

Understandably, some people have a pretty dim view of estate agents, and it seems many have a horror story or two to share – us included. But our mission is to change the profession by example…and hopefully end up being a bit less lonely at dinner parties and the school gates. “Fairness” and “honesty” don’t often appear in the same sentence as “estate agent”, but we’re staking everything on it – which also involves being honest about what you actually need from an estate agent these days. We charge a fee how it should be charged – and this motivates to achieve great results, because if we don't, we earn less. It’s that simple. Most agents charge a fixed percentage fee, for example 1.75% however this doesn’t really motivate you to get the best result. This is because if they sell your property for £20,000 less than the price they valued it for it actually makes very little difference to their commission. This justifies why some agents value your property too high in the first instance – just to win your instruction! In fact, often they'll convince you into accepting a reasonable offer quickly, as then they can move onto their next property - and not spend more time on yours that might yield you a better result. We won't try to achieve a sale after just one open day, especially if we still have a list of buyers who haven't yet even seen your property. We can even offer great discounts if you want to show your own buyers around - because sometimes the owner can do a great job of showing buyers your property – provided they listen to our great guidance on how to give the perfect property tour. We also do property management the right way. It’s really not that hard. In theory, having your property fully managed is pretty amazing – the rent drops into your bank account on the same day every month, and you don’t have to do anything in return.