Minimum estate agent fees

My Mum's bungalow is costing £1200 on a valued £210,000 property no matter how many viewings or how long it takes.
They weren't the cheapest but the owner of the company came in and remembered selling it to my Mum & Dad in 1968 and even remembered what it used to look like.
(Yes he could have looked at an old file from 1968 but at least he did the homework).
 
I had an agent over yesterday to look at the flat. Young guy, full of sales pitch and suggested putting on the market at £350,000. He'll do sole agency and wants 12 weeks for 1%+ vat. They've been around for years and have several branches.

Spoke to another agent today who have also been there for years but only have the one branch. But they've sold a few in the same block of flats. He thinks £350,000 was too high which I tend to agree with and suggested max £320,000. He will also do sole agency for 1% + vat and only wants 6 weeks. He came across really knowledgeable, no sales pitch.

I'm not sure who to go with. Do I go with the agent that has more branches? Do I choose 6 or 12 weeks? The agent with more branches said if I come to them after 6 weeks they won't do sole agency for 1% anymore, though I think that's sales tactics BS.
 
Personally, I'd go with the agent who has the sense to tell you what's achievable not what you could dream of getting.

Nothing worse than listening to a lot of spin because you've agreed a price that's far too high, to get no one in, to then be talked down in the long exclusivity contract (as you'll be making the decisions)...
 
pingwing said:
Personally, I'd go with the agent who has the sense to tell you what's achievable not what you could dream of getting.

Nothing worse than listening to a lot of spin because you've agreed a price that's far too high, to get no one in, to then be talked down in the long exclusivity contract (as you'll be making the decisions)...
Click to expand...

These are my thoughts exactly. My brother and his wife want me to go with the agent that suggested the higher price, but I think we're probably better off, at least initially, with the other agent. Also, it's only 6 weeks so I'm not stuck with the agent for too long if I'm not happy.
 
I don’t really understand why you would want to list with more than one agent at the same time these days. Gone are the days visiting retail locations to register with estate agents and discussing your requirements, just look at the three big websites and everything is there. All the second agent is going to do is bung it on right move and hope any viewing come to them and not the other agent. Anyone who is seriously looking will have already seen it.

It doesn’t get you any extra exposure, if anything it’s a turn off. People will ask why the other agent couldn’t sell it. In normal times the only reason something doesn’t sell is because of price (which is typically because size/condition/location/expectations are out of step with what’s available locally).

The best thing you can do is check the sold prices for the other flats and comparable property in the local area and make your own mind up. If you think the second agent is more realistic then go with that.

The worst thing you can do is price the flat incorrectly from the start. Too high will put people off coming to view and the most impactful weeks are the first few it’s on the market. You’ll not entice those who didn’t view before if you later drop the price. Too low and you’ll do yourself out of cash.

When I was last selling I was doing searches a daily looking at the competition to make sure my pricing was set correctly, I wouldn’t rely on agents to do that on a regular basis. Many don’t review prices for weeks once they are listed.
 
Sold our house with a local agent whose main focus was rentals a couple of years ago. They offered £6XX for pay half now, pay the rest later or pay nothing upfront for £12XX.
Could list with other agents if you wanted.

We had to do the viewings but that was the only thing you didn't get. I guess that might not work in this instance though.

This is vs the "leading" regional large agent who wanted 1.X%, over valued it, contract not in your favour and kept on hassling us. Glad we didn't use them or buy a house they were marketing.

This 1% for listing on Rightmove for a standard house is just silly.
 
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