Estate agents - all the same?

Estate agents - all the same?

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crankedup

Original Poster:

25,764 posts

242 months

Tuesday 19th August 2014
quotequote all
Have had two estate agents around to our humble little shed for valuations prior to marketing.
1. Multi branch National chain charges 1.5% and absolutely no negotiation on fees. Usual sales pitch about how good 'we' are and the advantages of being big.

2. Independent with about eight offices spread over our patch. 1.5% fees but will negotiate. Usual pitch on where and how they will market our little shed. This agent is well versed and known for marketing landed country estates, large landed farmhouses and the like, which sadly does not apply to our place. But they are keen to enter into the 'average' type house market. (not selling enough top end maybe?)

3. Small independent well established with just one local office outer town location. Fees are .75% they have not yet visited but I do know they are on the rightmove/zoopla sites and use local newspapers for marketing.

I'm not interested in being baited by some daft OTT valuation I simply require a sale at a best reasonable price (don't we all). So is it really just down to gut feeling or something slightly more meaningful?

cinque

833 posts

281 months

Tuesday 19th August 2014
quotequote all
3.

If they've got the major websites covered, save yourself the money and go with them.

If you're buying another place, might be worth considering the agents that are selling your new house as well. It's amazing how motivated people become with a little bit of double bubble!

crankedup

Original Poster:

25,764 posts

242 months

Tuesday 19th August 2014
quotequote all
cinque said:
3.

If they've got the major websites covered, save yourself the money and go with them.

If you're buying another place, might be worth considering the agents that are selling your new house as well. It's amazing how motivated people become with a little bit of double bubble!
Yes good points and my initial gut feeling. Most buyers are looking at the big web-sites I would imagine therefore that is the first point of contact I suppose. Is a small independent agent any less motivated to achieve a sale than the big Corporate on sales targets?

hornetrider

63,161 posts

204 months

Tuesday 19th August 2014
quotequote all
4. If you only care about RM/Zoopla etc then forego the bricks and mortar and go online.

DeltaTango

381 posts

122 months

Tuesday 19th August 2014
quotequote all
No. 2.

As an agent working for a similar sort of establishment it's the way forward. You'll be treated like a human and there will be enough competition within the office to generate a strong price.

I don't see the benefits of trying to sell online. I'm sure there will be hordes of individuals along to say how they've broken all known price records and reached exchange within seventeen minutes, but I can only see it being a hassle which won't actually save you any money in reality.

hornetrider

63,161 posts

204 months

Tuesday 19th August 2014
quotequote all
DeltaTango said:
which won't actually save you any money in reality.
Apart from not having a huge fee going to someone like yourself.

ikarl

3,730 posts

198 months

Tuesday 19th August 2014
quotequote all
There was a piece on Radio 2 about this yesterday, round about 4.45 if you can listen again (it's worth it)

Some woman on talking about how we shouldn't bother using Estate Agents anymore if we don't want to.
Take your own photo's, write your own description and do you own floor plan etc and do it through one of these £99 places that will add your property onto RightMove and Zoopla etc. (that's where everyone looks nowadays anyway!)

Fair enough, you need to field the calls yourself, but I think I would quite like doing that.

Vocal Minority

8,582 posts

151 months

Tuesday 19th August 2014
quotequote all
In my experience of buying - and admittedly it is only my experience - I would say the estate agents sole contribution was putting it on rightmove and letting us in for a look round. I honestly don't know what else they did.

Anything which made a difference to the sale and how it proceeded was our solicitor (who was excellent) really pushing on, and to a lesser extent their solicitor.

Pistom

4,914 posts

158 months

Tuesday 19th August 2014
quotequote all
Surely most go house hunting of Right Move these days. The last house I bought was found through RM. Not sure what value an agent brings to the equation.

JQ

5,691 posts

178 months

Tuesday 19th August 2014
quotequote all
None of the above.

I've always gone on recommendations. You can have a good EA working at any type of practice, it's finding them that's the issue. They don't even have to be good recommendations - I've had friends who were buyers telling me how the EA ramped them up on the purchase price and they thought he was inventing bids. Well, that's the kind of guy I want selling my house. So far, when selling, we've not had a bad EA, but that's involved asking lots of friends and contacts about their experiences of the local ones. Of course there might not be a good one in your local area, in which case go with the cheapest.

JimM169

392 posts

121 months

Tuesday 19th August 2014
quotequote all
Sold our place earlier in the year, was very tempted to go down the online root but in the end went with local independant on the recommendation of a friend. The place was sold in 4 days to somebody they had on their lists. Still think £4k+ (1% on £360k property + VAT)is a lot for what they do, but have to say sale was hassle free, they kept in touch with all parties involved and gave us a regular weekly update without fail. Not sure a large chain would have been so proactive though!


DeltaTango

381 posts

122 months

Tuesday 19th August 2014
quotequote all
I wouldn't describe 1.5% (or less after negotiations) as a huge fee given what goes into selling a property, but I appreciate not everyone will agree, nor will they appreciate the benefits a sound agent, who works for you as his or her client, will bring. I'm not here to convince, just to contribute.

Again, this 'huge' sum (no idea on property value but guessing we're talking £3-5k here) would be more than made up for by the price achieved over and above a private sale.

fido

16,752 posts

254 months

Tuesday 19th August 2014
quotequote all
^Ditto - previous but one post. After using a chain (30+ viewings), then a large local agent (20+ viewings), went to a small independent (who wasn't even in the immediate area) and got an offer within a few days. He also agreed to about half the commission of the most expensive agent! Having said that I would have happily pay 2% if I got a super price, but that didn't materialise with the 'prime' agent. I guess it's whatever works for your locale/property.

DeltaTango

381 posts

122 months

Tuesday 19th August 2014
quotequote all
Have had two calls already this week from people asking me to help where an online agent has yielded zilch.

crankedup

Original Poster:

25,764 posts

242 months

Tuesday 19th August 2014
quotequote all
Thanks for contributors experiences and comments, its a minefield of agents tripping over themselves to secure an instruction. Other half said we should list it ourselves but I just don't want the agro' that could entail. I'm erring toward the single local office indie for a six week sole agency deal.

The other comments I have heard from one of the agents were 'best to hold back until next Spring' I do have a little finishing off from the refurb' to complete but that's only a months work tops.

hornetrider

63,161 posts

204 months

Tuesday 19th August 2014
quotequote all
DeltaTango said:
Have had two calls already this week from people asking me to help where an online agent has yielded zilch.
And it's only Tuesday eh. Fancy that.

oddball1973

1,178 posts

122 months

Tuesday 19th August 2014
quotequote all
Avoid the small local agents - tried that route twice and total failure both times in shifting the property (doesn't help these small agents use Daphne and Fiona the bosses wife's friends to run the show because they're cheap) soon as I went to the big boys the sold sign was up in two weeks. Don't fall for the personnel touch bullst, you want the guys who shift houses to sell your house and to be hungry for the commission.

Pit Pony

8,265 posts

120 months

Tuesday 19th August 2014
quotequote all
cinque said:
3.

If they've got the major websites covered, save yourself the money and go with them.

If you're buying another place, might be worth considering the agents that are selling your new house as well. It's amazing how motivated people become with a little bit of double bubble!
You'd think? Didn't work out like that for me. By pure chance the national agent we were using to sell our house, was the same agent 200 miles north, for the house we wanted to buy. Neither had any ambition.

Now I have an idea. It's about motivation. How about.

I'll agree to your 0.75% if you sell the house for the asking price within 16 weeks. but if you sell it for more, within 16 weeks I'll split the EXTRA 50/50 with you. If you can't get a buyer within 16 weeks I reserve the right to go elsewhere and pay you nothing as you are a clear bull stter.

So my house is worth £200K, you tell me it's worth £200K and you sell it for £200K you get erm £1500.
But if you sell it for £210K you'll get £6500.

Any agent that really believes the st they spout, would go for it right ?

Pistom

4,914 posts

158 months

Tuesday 19th August 2014
quotequote all
Pit Pony said:
You'd think? Didn't work out like that for me. By pure chance the national agent we were using to sell our house, was the same agent 200 miles north, for the house we wanted to buy. Neither had any ambition.

Now I have an idea. It's about motivation. How about.

I'll agree to your 0.75% if you sell the house for the asking price within 16 weeks. but if you sell it for more, within 16 weeks I'll split the EXTRA 50/50 with you. If you can't get a buyer within 16 weeks I reserve the right to go elsewhere and pay you nothing as you are a clear bull stter.

So my house is worth £200K, you tell me it's worth £200K and you sell it for £200K you get erm £1500.
But if you sell it for £210K you'll get £6500.

Any agent that really believes the st they spout, would go for it right ?
An estate agent willing to earn their fee?

That sounds like a good idea.