Dan Kirby at Nest in Essex

Dan Kirby at Nest in Essex Estate Agent
Property Expert
Negotiator
Changing the standards of Estate Agency

14/09/2026

The One Question That Separates a Good Agent From an Average One

Ask any agent this before you sign anything: what's your plan if my home doesn't sell within three or four weeks?

It sounds simple, but the answer reveals everything. A good agent talks about marketing, feedback, understanding the market and continuous improvement.

An average one jumps straight to 'we'll just reduce the price', or gives you something vague about going back to their database.

Most agents' selling times run somewhere between six and twenty weeks, so this isn't a hypothetical, it's a real question with a real answer worth hearing before you commit.

Want to hear my actual answer to this one? Send me a message and ask me directly.

Better Marketing Attracts Better TenantsWhen you put a house up to let, is your agent using the same standard of marketi...
14/09/2026

Better Marketing Attracts Better Tenants

When you put a house up to let, is your agent using the same standard of marketing they'd use for a sale? It matters more than it might seem, better presentation doesn't just fill a rental faster, it attracts a better calibre of tenant.

A rental listing deserves the same effort as a sale listing.

Want your rental marketed properly? Send me a message.

13/09/2026

3 Questions to Ask Any Agent Before You Sign

Three questions worth asking before you commit to any agent.

One: how long does it take you to sell a property, on average? You want to know they're actively engaged, not just hoping.

Two: what percentage of asking price do you actually achieve? This is what stops you compromising on price just to get a quick sale. Three: what happens if my property doesn't sell within two weeks? A good agent has a real plan, not a vague answer.

The right answers tell you they've got a genuine listing strategy and a backup plan, not just confidence.

Want honest answers to all three? Send me a message, I'll give you mine, no script.

What Actually Happens After OvervaluingThe last video on overvaluing got a lot of comments, and one buyer's story summed...
13/09/2026

What Actually Happens After Overvaluing

The last video on overvaluing got a lot of comments, and one buyer's story summed up the whole pattern. A home listed at £375,000, on a road where comparable properties were actually selling for £350,000 to £365,000. They offered £370,000. Declined. They went to £377,500, above the asking price itself. Still declined.

It isn't always the seller being greedy. Sometimes it starts at the valuation, the evidence says one number, then an agent walks in and says you should be aiming £25,000 higher. That's a hard figure to say no to, even when nothing behind it actually supports it.

Then the letters start. 'We've got buyers waiting.' False names, false urgency, the same tired prospecting trick dressed up as a genuine offer.

A good agent shows you the real evidence behind your price and never lets a serious buyer walk away without knowing exactly what you're aiming for. That's what actually protects sellers, and gets buyers a fair answer instead of silence.

Had a similar experience, or want an honest read on where your own price actually sits? Send me a message.

12/09/2026

Is There a Real Relationship Between You, Your Agent and Your Tenant?

It's easy to think of letting as a purely transactional arrangement, rent in, problems handled somewhere down the line. But a genuine three-way relationship between landlord, agent and tenant is what actually catches issues early, before they become expensive ones.

If anything arises during the tenancy, that relationship is what gets it dealt with quickly, not left to fester.

Why Your Agent Might Want You to Accept the First OfferSometimes the first offer genuinely is the best one you'll get. S...
12/09/2026

Why Your Agent Might Want You to Accept the First Offer

Sometimes the first offer genuinely is the best one you'll get.

Sometimes it just suits your agent's pipeline more than it suits you.

There are two real reasons this happens.

One, they're target-driven, getting you sold within a reasonable timeframe can matter more than getting you the best price or the best buyer.

Two, there's no real listing strategy behind the sale, a home goes live Tuesday, a couple of viewings happen by Thursday, and the first offer lands. In the moment it can feel like the only one you'll get.

A solid listing strategy lines up serious buyers first, so when offers come in, you get a genuine choice, not just whoever knocked first.

Not sure if your offer's the right one? Send me a message before you decide, a second opinion costs nothing.

11/09/2026

What Agents Don't Tell You About Overvaluing

It's genuinely rare to find an agent who achieves 100% of asking price. A good one should, because it means the valuation was accurate in the first place.

The more common pattern, especially across the South East, is closer to 96%, roughly 4% below the number you were told to expect, which on most properties is tens of thousands of pounds.

Watch for the phrases. 'We'll try for a bit more, you can always come down.' 'Let's see what the market says.' They sound harmless. They rarely are.

Sit above market value and you don't just lose time, you lose the buyers who were genuinely interested, they simply view other properties instead, and those budgets don't come back.

Rightmove's own research backs this up: homes that reduce later achieve far less than homes priced right from the very first day on the market.

Want an honest number, backed by real evidence rather than optimism? Send me a message.

The Subject No Agent Wants to Talk AboutContract length sounds boring, until you're stuck in one. Sign a 16-week agreeme...
11/09/2026

The Subject No Agent Wants to Talk About

Contract length sounds boring, until you're stuck in one. Sign a 16-week agreement and get two or three weeks in with barely any viewings, no fresh ideas, just a suggestion to drop the price, and you're trapped. No other agent, no new strategy, just the one you're locked into for months.

Negotiate it down, not up. Two to four weeks is enough time for a genuinely good agent to prove they're delivering.

If they're not, you should be free to walk, not watching four months of stagnation cost you the buyers who were interested at the start.

Already tied into a long contract and wondering if it's working? Send me a message.

10/09/2026

Who Actually Negotiates on Your Property?

In a lot of traditional agencies, the person who values your home isn't the person negotiating your offers. It gets passed to a negotiator who's never stepped inside it, never heard why it matters to you, never sat in your living room and understood what you're actually trying to achieve.

I do both myself, on purpose. I value your property and negotiate every offer on it personally, because I know its story and its selling points first-hand. Nothing gets lost in a handover, because there isn't one.

There's a second question worth asking too: when it comes to the crunch of negotiating, is your agent fighting for the best price for you, or just trying to get another sale over the line for their own numbers? That's the real test of who's actually on your side.

Who's actually negotiating on your behalf right now? Send me a message if you'd like a second opinion.

'We Sold 300 Properties' Means Nothing on Its OwnA big headline number sounds impressive, right up until you find out ho...
10/09/2026

'We Sold 300 Properties' Means Nothing on Its Own

A big headline number sounds impressive, right up until you find out how many listings it actually took to get there. Ask any agent this: how many properties do you list to how many do you sell? That ratio tells you far more than the number on its own, and it's not one they can hide behind.

The same goes for percentage of asking price achieved and average time to sell, both genuinely trackable, both a lot more honest than a big sold figure. If an agent tells you they could sell your home overnight but their own average is 14 weeks, that's worth noticing before you sign anything.

Want the real numbers before you choose your next agent? Send me a message, I'll show you mine.

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Unit 17 Lubbards Farm
Rayleigh
SS69QG

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