Investigation into Estate Agents

Firstly, there is the typical double-sided brochure, which comprises of the rough location of the house, a picture, the asking price and current status of house (e.g. Freehold, leasehold, etc.), a general outline of the features of the house and then a specific outline of features of house. There are a few advantages and a few disadvantages of the brochure. Advantages Customer is able to see what the property looks like before going to view it
Customer is able to read about the features of the house Customer knows dimensions of house (Useful to check if house is big enough for customer or not) Gives general view of house, which saves time for the customer, by allowing them to scan the houses before making an appointment to view the house. Disadvantages Most of the time, since brochure is mass produced (by photocopy), the picture of house is not in colour.
Unable to see inside of the house, therefore also a little time-consuming, as customers have to go to house and view it. Potential buyers unable to see surrounding area, and may be displeased if they find, a noisy railway running near to their house. It is also possible that the picture may show different things to what is actually there. Window Brochure This consists of basically, a colour photo (sometimes) or a black and white photo, price of accomadation, freehold or leasehold and some very general facts about the house. There are also a few advantages and disadvantages about this output.

Advantages (If in colour) Picture of house is better, as customer can see what house really looks without having to go to house to see what it looks like. (Sometimes) This brochure doesn’t give the actual address of the house, forcing the customer to have to go into the estate agent to find out about information. This can then lead to the customer taking more than one brochure, increasing the chances of them buying a house.
Disadvantages (Sometimes) This brochure doesn’t give the actual address of the house, forcing the customer to have to go into the estate agent to find out about information. This is then time-consuming for the customer. Same problem (If picture is black and white) in that customer cannot see what the property actually looks like.
Customer does not know what features are like in house, since descriptions are very vague. Inputs: There are a lot of inputs in the current system. From the beginning, when the customer first comes into the estate agent for information, the estate agents have to collect information on the houses, buyers and sellers.