Estate Agents Fees

[tntcoder]

Hi,

I've had two estate agents quote me 1.5%+VAT i'm guessing the third one won't be much different either. Having never done this before, what are the chances of getting the rates down, or are they usually quite hard lines? Worth asking for 1.3/1.4?

Thanks!

 

[peterwalkley]

Couple of neighbours have had no problem selling via purplebricks. Provided you can be available for viewings I can't see what value an estate agent can add to justify their fees.

 

[Scottland]

I think it depends on the area and type of property. For us there was only a few hundred quid difference between our agent and Purple Bricks, but ours is towards the bottom end of the market. To be fair our agent was very good, pro active ringing people on their books and getting viewings.

We got 1% in the end, we had another agent come down from 2% to 1.2%, but I think this will be very much down to the market in your area, ours is very active at the moment so they're quite competitive to get your listing.

 

[Rotty]

1% + VAT is usually easily negotiable

 

[Paul11]

defo go lower than 1.3/1.4 when starting to negotiate.

as Rotty says, should get 1% quite easily

 

[Adam]

Go via an online estate agent, I used emoov. The service you receive from an estate agent is no way worth the premium. You essentially just need your house listed on rightmove.

 

[CrimsonAvenger]

Alternatively try using one of the online 'Estate Agents' such as Purple Bricks - you pay a fixed fee. Friend of mine saved over 50% in fees.

 

[booyaka]

Alternatively try using one of the online 'Estate Agents' such as Purple Bricks - you pay a fixed fee. Friend of mine saved over 50% in fees.

Like this -my dad was getting quoted around 1.2% plus VAT on a £220k sale. Went with purplebricks and got it for a fixed £695. Saved himself around £2k. House sold inside 3 weeks.

 

[Skillmister]

I see no reason to use a high street agent over online. I still can't get my head around the number of my clients paying 1-1.5% plus VAT. Yet they quibble our legal fees which are a fraction of that

 

[tntcoder]

Thanks guys, that's really helpful I hand't really considered using an online one but purplebricks looks around £800 which seems reasonable and I assume 90% of what's needed is just a right move listing.

 

[fastwunz]

Thanks guys, that's really helpful I hand't really considered using an online one but purplebricks looks around £800 which seems reasonable and I assume 90% of what's needed is just a right move listing.

Finding a buyer is the easy bit - getting it over the line is another matter entirely and frankly many many people would rather pay someone to manage that for them than have to do it all themselves. Hence a good agent is worth a decent fee.

Online agents get paid whether it sells or it doesn't. They don't care. An agent doesn't get paid unless you exchange hence they are much more heavily vested in your interests than an online company that simply sends you a bill for the 'privilege' of advertising your place on rightmove. When you think about it, £800 + VAT is actually a truly terrible deal if it all doesn't work out. Companies like E-Moov etc literally don't have to do anything. At all. You do it all. Literally. Its actually a very cleaver business model and gets hundreds and hundreds of £££'s out of people for doing next to nothing.

But people like bashing agents - hell who doesn't!

 

[tom_nieto]

You can definitely negotiate fees. Even make it so that if you achieve over a certain price they get a bonus.

Sold a flat with purple bricks. They were just as useless as every other estate agency so why not go with a cheaper option?

 

[Skillmister]

Finding a buyer is the easy bit - getting it over the line is another matter entirely and frankly many many people would rather pay someone to manage that for them than have to do it all themselves. Hence a good agent is worth a decent fee.

But people like bashing agents - hell who doesn't!

Agents do very little to help "get a sale over the line", high street or online.

Regular phone calls to solicitors, spreading misinformation about the process and agreeing impossible arrangements directly between buyer and seller is not helpful.

 

[lookitsjonno]

Sold mine last year with a local agent, was £999 inc. VAT so may be worth shopping around. They are in lettings mainly but were branching into sales so maybe I got lucky.

 

[LeeUK]

Round here properties go for so cheap that it can actually be cheaper to use a local estate agent at 1-1.5% rather than an online pay upfront agent. But it depends if you know your property will sell easily or not, some local agents that have been in business a long time will have built up a database of possible interested parties, especially property investors etc. More than just a Rightmove listing.

 

[Jimmeh]

Some high street agents to indeed get too involved in order to get their cut, to the detriment of the process.

To the OP, if you go for a high street agent, 1% + VAT is definitely what you should aim for. Tell them you're speaking to multiple agents to aid with the negotiations. Also, if you go with a sole agent, you're more likely to get a good rate from that one agent.

 

[HangTime]

Provided you can be available for viewings

I've seen this mentioned a few times - in theory we will sell our house at some point but I work a good couple of hours away and have a young child so co-ordinating viewings ourselves would be difficult on weekdays (most of the time my son will be asleep, or if he is awake only one parent is home, making it difficult to do viewings while herding a toddler!). Given the fact most sensibly priced properties sell quite quickly here (next door neighbour sold to first viewers on day 1) I don't really feel like we need an agent to drive demand, but I can see viewings being awkward without someone to take care of them.

 

[tom_nieto]

Purple bricks can arrange and conduct viewings at an extra cost.