Ways to look for estate agents

Ask for recommendations - this may seem an obvious place to start, but ask friends, family and colleagues who have recently moved which estate agents they used and what they thought of them. Also look in your local area at the "for sale" and "sold" signs; it's a useful indicator of the agents that work well in your area. Also get a feel as to how long you see signs up for and get a feel as to how well a estate agent markets what they do.

Estate agents now have to be members of The Property Ombudsman or The Surveyors Ombudsman Scheme.

Many estate agents will also be members of trade bodies. Membership means that they have to comply with a code of conduct, which may indicate a higher level of professionalism and diligence. Trade bodies to look out for are:

• Guild of Professional Estate Agents (GPEA)
• National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA)
• Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)

You should be able to research this without having to set foot in an estate agent's branch. Members of these schemes will be shouting about it on their websites. If in any case you may be a little unsure of all of this, also go on these websites and look up the estate agent in question to see if they are 100% fully accredited.

Shortlist your agents, but don't shorten too much. Try to get at least three to come and value your property. When your property is valued it's important not to be too impressed by the agent that values your property the highest – this could be a ploy to win your business. Ideally, you need an agent who is going to be honest and fair, not one who is going to overvalue your property and then fail to get a buyer at that price.