Assess Your Agents Website

If you are about to become a home seller, it's worth assessing your agent's website as well as their street presence before signing on the dotted line. More and more purchasers are making their first contact with properties for sale on the internet and even inexperienced web users soon work out how to differentiate user-friendly websites from time-wasters.

Websites that get repeat visits get users to the information they want fast. Time is relative and in the Information Technology universe, seconds can seem like a long time; several unproductive clicks might only amount to half a minute but could spell disaster for the site being visited.

Potential purchasers should be able to get full details about every listing on an agent's website. Avoid making them experience the frustration of thinking they have to make a phone call because they don't know which of the properties for auction are in their price range or which ones are walking distance to town. After all, the internet is known for a plethora of information on subjects most people never dreamed existed and users have high expectations of what it can do for them. Auction properties should carry a price guide – a range is best as it doesn't short sell the vendor. If recent comparable sales are listed, buyers can do a lot of their research before making a single phone call or inspection. The more infomed buyers are before they make an appointment to inspect, the fewer inspections they need before they are ready to buy. That means less wear and tear on carpets and above all less time spent presenting your house in the sort of pristine condition that makes your mother ask if you're feeling ill.

At the same time watch out for information overload; 70% of the content of websites doesn't get read. Make sure your potential buyers don't have to wade through lots of irrelevant website padding which is little more than agents' self-promotion.

Above all, make sure your purchasers can stay anonymous until they choose to reveal themselves. There's nothing more likely to annoy purchasers into clicking away from a website than being required to give contact details or email addresses in exchange for information. Purchasers may decide to give their email address if it means they will get updated information more quickly in the future, but they resent the implication that they are trading their anonymity for information that should be there on the website for all to access.