How do you choose a reliable estate agent?
On three checks, not on impression. First: they are properly registered with the chamber of commerce and insured — both verifiable in minutes. Second: how many transactions comparable to yours they have completed in the last two years, in your area and your price bracket. Third: what they bring concretely, meaning how many compatible people they can reach within thirty days, and who those people are. A serious professional answers all three without hesitating; anyone who takes offence at the question has already answered it.
The questions to ask at the first meeting
«How many houses like mine have you sold in the last two years, and how quickly?»
This separates those who work in your bracket from those who are trying it. Vague answers are an answer.
«What did they close at, against the asking price?»
The gap between asking and completion is the figure no owner knows and every serious agent has. In many prime markets it runs to double digits.
«Who would buy my house, in your view?»
If the answer is «anyone looking in the area», the analysis has not been done. If they describe two or three profiles with reasons, it has.
«How will you keep me informed, and how often?»
Most mandates are revoked over silence, not price. A specific commitment on frequency is worth more than any promise about outcome.
«What happens if it does not sell?»
The term, the exit conditions and what changes at expiry belong in the conversation before you sign, not once you are disappointed.
How to check they are genuine
Registration
In Italy estate agency work is reserved to those registered with the chamber of commerce. It is checked with a company search, and an unregistered agent has no right to a commission at all.
Professional insurance
Compulsory, and worth asking to see.
Actual transactions
Not the logos on the website: the properties genuinely handled. Ask for two references from past clients in your bracket, and call them.
The material they produce
Look at the listings they are running now — photographs, plans, descriptions. What they do for others is what they will do for you.
Sole agency or several agents
This is the decision that weighs most, and the answer depends on the property.
On a property with a wide market, using several agencies increases exposure and can work. The cost is that none of them will invest serious time, because none is certain of being paid.
On a property above a million, or an unusual one, sole agency is almost always right. The work that matters — analysis, targeted search, direct approaches — nobody does in competition with four others. And the same property offered from five directions reaches the same buyer repeatedly, who concludes the seller needs to sell and offers less.
If you grant exclusivity, ask for two things in return: a short renewable term, and a written commitment to report at a fixed frequency.
How Realux works
Realux selects the agents who join the network, and the selection is what gives it value: an agent shares what their client is looking for only when they know who is on the other side.
Sellers do not access the network directly: they are put in touch with the selected agent covering their area. And what that agent can report to you each week becomes a number — how many requirements in the network match your property, how many introductions have gone out, what came back.
Talk to us about your propertyFrequently asked questions
- How do I know if an estate agent is any good?
- Three objective checks: registration with the chamber of commerce, professional insurance, and transactions genuinely completed in your bracket and area over the last two years. Then one subjective check that matters as much: whether at the first meeting they ask questions about the house and about you, or only talk about their agency.
- Who should I go to in order to sell my house?
- It depends on the property. On a flat with many possible buyers, a local agency that works the area well is the natural choice. Above a million, or on an unusual property, you need someone who can search for the buyer rather than wait for one — and the decisive question becomes how many compatible people they can present it to, and who they are.
- How long does a sale mandate last?
- Usually three to twelve months. On a prime property six months renewable is a reasonable compromise: long enough to allow a targeted search, short enough not to stay tied to someone who is not producing. Read the automatic renewal clauses carefully, and those charging commission on sales you conclude yourself.