Questions and answers

An agent comes to the property and walks through every room, noting condition, presentation and the measurements a listing would need, and then sets all of that against what comparable homes in the same streets have recently sold for. It takes 45 to 60 minutes. A written range follows afterwards, together with the sales it rests on, so the reasoning can be checked. There is no charge for it and no obligation to list the property at the end of it.

The fee is 2.4% of the price the property actually sells for, which is why it is quoted as a percentage rather than a figure: the figure is not known until a sale is agreed. It becomes payable on completion. Nothing is charged at the point of listing, and if no sale completes, no fee arises. Legal work, survey costs and any repairs are separate and are paid to the people who carry them out.

No, and it is worth saying plainly that nobody can. An appraisal range is what the recent evidence in the area supports, not a promise; what a property finally sells for depends on who is looking at the time, what else is available and what a lender will agree to. Harbourline Property says what it will do, which is market the property, show it, report every offer and chase the sale through. What the market does is not the agency's to guarantee.

The agency will not put a number on it, because the honest answer is that it varies more than any average would suggest. It depends on the property, the price it is listed at, whether the buyer is also selling, how quickly a lender and two sets of lawyers move, and the time of year. Instead of an estimate it cannot stand behind, the agency reports what is actually happening: enquiries, viewings, feedback and where the paperwork has reached.

An agent attends the property for a booked day of appointments and shows each buyer round, so the owner does not need to be there. Keys are collected beforehand and returned at the end of the day. Written feedback from every viewer follows within the week, including the unflattering kind. The fee is $220 for the viewing day however many appointments it holds, and it covers attendance only, not marketing or the listing itself.

The brief is written down first, covering area, budget and what the property must have, and the search then runs across open listings and the agency's own contacts. Properties are previewed before a viewing is arranged, and each viewing is written up afterwards. The retainer of $1,500 is charged once at the start, for the search period agreed in writing. It is not a success fee, it is not returned if the search is called off, and no property matching a brief can be promised to come to market.

Every applicant is referenced before a tenancy is offered, which covers employment, a previous landlord where there is one, and a credit check. The deposit and the first month's rent are collected before keys change hands, and the deposit is registered with a protection scheme with the paperwork sent to both sides. The letting fee of $900 is charged once, on the day the tenancy begins.

It covers collecting the rent each month and passing it on with a written statement, arranging repairs up to a limit the landlord sets and reporting them afterwards, inspecting the property periodically, and being the person the tenant contacts instead of the landlord. It does not cover the cost of the repairs themselves, and it is not a promise that rent will be paid: the fee is taken from rent actually collected, so a month with no rent carries no management fee.

No fee arises, because 2.4% is payable only on a completed sale. What the agency does instead is go back through what the marketing actually produced, how many enquiries came in, how many became viewings and what viewers said, and set out plainly whether price, presentation or timing looks like the obstacle. The owner is free to keep the property on, take it off, or take it to another agency; there is no charge for withdrawing.

By email to [email protected], which can be sent at any hour. Messages are read and answered during office hours, which are Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM, and Saturday, 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM; the office is closed on Sunday, so a message sent then is answered on Monday. Nothing sent through this website reserves a viewing or an appraisal time. An appointment is agreed afterwards, in the reply.