Why choose MAP to sell my home?

FAQ’s

What do you charge to sell our home?

We don’t have a fixed fee for selling homes. We wish to see what service and marketing is required and then discuss our fee structure with you. We would visit you for free and without obligation to conduct this.

We do not charge any fees upfront, unlike many agents, you will only pay a fee should you successfully move.

You say that you are different to other estate agents - how?

We have many significant differences to our competitors. We hope that some of the the following questions answer these. These are all questions we have been asked. We would also ask if you have any specific question that isn’t covered, please contact us and we will do our best to answer it.

How long is the MAP contract?

Most estate agents will want a period of exclusive time to market your home whereby you are contracted to them and cannot change regardless of the approach and service. This is often 3-4 months. We don’t believe in tying our clients to a period of agency. Therefore, we have a zero week contract. This is virtually unique for estate agents. We are very confident in our approach to selling homes and providing you with a quality service and this is reflected in our contract terms.

How do you conduct viewings?

This is again a key difference between MAP and other estate agents. With the way our business is structured means our Local Directors are dedicated to appraise properties and conduct viewings. They don’t have to run an office or manage staff which is often the case with more senior staff in other businesses. As this is taken care of at the hub office they have more time. As a result they will conduct all viewings* which means the same person who appraises your home also does this important appointment meaning relevant questions can be answered and a continuous approach to your marketing and feedback.

* apart from when our Local Director has a well earned day off in which case a neighbouring Local Director will conduct this viewing on their behalf.

Where is your office(s)?

Our sales hub office is based in Barncoose, Redruth. This is manned by at least three staff during the week. We employ Local Directors who are based in their area and work remotely to the office. This provides us with the ability to be much more flexible in our approach to our service. The benefits to this from the perspective of our clients and ourselves are easily explained.

Why don’t you have an office in the high street?

All of us have worked on the high street for many years. Whether we like it or not the way people search for homes has changed. We would ask you to think about your own search and whether you have spent time visiting the high street walking round every estate agent looking for your new home? We know that enquiries now significantly start online and it’s what happens when that enquiry comes into the office that matters – not where the office is.

We are not in a call centre with no knowledge of West Cornwall, all of the team are local to West Cornwall.

With our significant experience of selling homes in the area we know that a high street office has no benefit in this modern world and having easy parking, high speed internet and easy access is much better. We also don’t see people who want just directions, are popping in for a chat or considering moving to the South.

West in the next 10 years when they retire! All of these people take up valuable time which we save and can invest into selling your home.

Can we visit your office?

Of course! We have many visitors to our beautiful, modern office. We are located in the Gateway Business Centre a fabulous serviced building which has approximately 300 people working within it. We have a free car park, and access to the A30 is simple as well as to all of West Cornwall. We have high speed broadband connected to the building.

We also have a gym within the main building and a café where we can meet clients, if needed, outside the office environment.

You also have the chance to meet the famous MAP dog who meets and greets all of our visitors!

What does your office do?

Our office is manned by Andrew (the company owner), Jenni and Tracy as well as Lucy and Jack. See our team to learn more about us.

These staff very rarely do appointments outside the office and this means we don’t get disturbed from travelling, as appointments are covered by the Local Directors. Therefore, the office has a constant number of staff and you can speak to the office team without the ‘they are out on appointments’ complication.

The office team will liaise with buyers on a daily basis from internet enquiries, deal with phone calls, arrange viewings and speak to clients who have come to the office.

What happens when we find a buyer?

The property sale will be allocated to one of the team within the office, either Andrew, Jenni or Tracy.

The office will also then progress your sale for you, liaising regularly with all parties involved and keeping you and your buyer fully up to date. As the staff in the office don’t do appointments, they have more time to do this due to the way our business operates. The feedback from our previous clients demonstrates that this is another factor which sets us apart from other estate agents.

What is a virtual tour and why is this important?

Unless you have moved home recently regularly this will be a phrase that you may not have come across. It is one of the latest and most innovative things estate agents can now use and really has accelerated forwards with the COVID pandemic.

In 2019 invested in very high definition 360 degree cameras and were the first estate agent in Cornwall to do so. These allow us to create a high quality tour as part of our marketing campaign that’s controlled by the buyer and they can rotate and go wherever they like. They also allow us to take superb high definition photographs at the press of a button.

This is added to the internet sites we use and can also be sent to interested parties individually.

This allows a prospective purchaser to step inside the property and get a really good feel for the property before arranging a viewing. We were fortunate enough to have this technology pre COVID so our clients could showcase their homes throughout this period in the most modern and sophisticated way. These have received tremendous feedback from buyers, particularly those who are travelling longer distances and we have already sold several homes as a direct result of this happening.

For an example of these please click on any of our listings or for an example of a tour within a normal 3 bedroom cottage click HERE

Do I have to have a Virtual Tour?

Not at all, these are completely voluntary and if you don’t wish for this to be used we don’t have to. All personal photographs and information is blurred by the company we work with. Our sellers approve the virtual tour before these are used.

Do you do floorplans?

Yes, we do.

Like photography creating accurate floorplans is a skill and takes a considerable length of time to do accurately. The cameras we use for the tour also create a highly accurate floorplan taking hundreds of measurements and then sending this to use for use. These are then added to every property we are trusted to market.

We also don’t spend time drawing and creating a floorplan ourselves meaning we have more time. We are aware that properties marketed with a floorplan create more enquiries and interest from buyers online, in particular.

Are there any upfront charges?

No. We will place a property for sale without any upfront charge. An invoice is only raised by us should we find a buyer and you move home.

Is there anything else I need to do to sell my home?

With some exceptions (for example if your property is listed) every seller of a home will need an EPC (Energy Performance Certificate). These last for 10 years and are transferable. As long as your home has one of these then it can be placed for sale.

What if I don’t have an EPC?

Not a problem. There are several companies that offer to do this and we can also organise this if needs be. The company that create our floorplans also do our EPC’s and can conduct this at the same time. The cost of this is £60 + VAT (£66 in total). This would need to be paid by you direct to the company. We do not, unlike other estate agents, make any money from this.

We will need confirmation an EPC is ordered before any marketing can commence.

Why do you have so much positive feedback?

Hopefully the answer is obvious? However, we have been asked this before and understandably people are suspicious of estate agents claims.

To have won our Gold ESTA award our customers complete a short survey where they rate our services and are invited to leave comments, either anonymously or not. They also provide consent for us to use these. These form the majority of what you will read. We also have a large array of thank you cards and correspondence which we have been sent. We are set up to provide this level of service but are delighted each and every time we make one of our customers happy!

Is there anything you don’t sell?

We will market any residential property in West Cornwall.

Where do you advertise?

We advertise on Rightmove, Zoopla, Prime Location, Residential People and several other smaller property sites. We also have our own modern website (and thank you for checking us out) which has all sorts of features attached – have you tried our ‘property draw search’ feature when searching for a home?

We also use social media and our own distinctive for sale boards too, amongst many other things!