BUYING or selling a home can be fraught with difficulties. Finding a property that fits all your requirements or trying to decide how much your own home is worth and finding the right buyer can be a tall order.

To help people to the buying and seeing maze, the magazine for homeowners, Your Mortgage, has joined forces with one of the UK’s largest estate agency networks, Bradford & Bingley, to produce the ultimate guide to finding the best estate agent who, hopefully, will make the whole process as straightforward and stress-free as possible.

The impartial guide aims to inform customers on how to pick the right property expert. It covers a number of issues such as the estate agent’s duties, the charges you should expect to pay and the services you should receive for your fee and the benefits of local knowledge and experience.

Paula John, editor of Your Mortgage, said: “Estate agents are one of the professions we love to hate, but it’s important to remember that they do have an significant role to play and that a good agent is worth their weight in gold.

“Our guide explains what your agent should be doing to provide you with a good service and thus hopefully help you find an agent who is an expert in their field and make the whole home buying and selling process a lot easier.”

The guide also provides advice on how the Internet is changing the home buying process. Property websites are now a major source of information, both for researching prices and available properties. Being able to search for a home at your leisure and then contacting the agents once you’ve found a property you’re interested in, can save time and disappointment.

Explaining why Bradford & Bingley Estate Agents had teamed up with Your Mortgage to produce the guide, spokesman, Deryck Highet, said: “We feel it’s important to ensure customers receive the best possible advice and service from an agent. We hope both buyers and sellers will find this guide practical and useful.”

The Guide to Good Estate Agents is available in the September issue of Your Mortgage, from all Bradford & Bingley Estate Agency branches or by calling free on 0800 113333 quoting YMG1.