What do estate agents charge
Discussion
...on average to sell your house?
I have heard numbers up to 1.5% of your property value :eek: On a £150k house that is £2250 :yikes:
For this you appear to get the house shown on the internet, a board outside and a little, (invariably) badly printed ad in the paper. And a bit of admin work.
Boy am I in the wrong job!
Can anyone tell me different? Are there good ones out there who don't fleece you sideways? No one seems to have their prices on their sites you see, immediately gets me going :scratchchin: 'hmm'...
Ace-T :)
I have heard numbers up to 1.5% of your property value :eek: On a £150k house that is £2250 :yikes:
For this you appear to get the house shown on the internet, a board outside and a little, (invariably) badly printed ad in the paper. And a bit of admin work.
Boy am I in the wrong job!
Can anyone tell me different? Are there good ones out there who don't fleece you sideways? No one seems to have their prices on their sites you see, immediately gets me going :scratchchin: 'hmm'...
Ace-T :)
We looked at 4 - 3 of them would do it at 1% (on a 250k asking price). The last wouldn't come down below 1.5%
I guess you'll find they're inclined to charge a higher percentage on lower priced properties to maintain their margins.
Just don't forget that their quoted commission is ex vat - ie you actually pay price * 1.5% * 1.175 !!
I guess you'll find they're inclined to charge a higher percentage on lower priced properties to maintain their margins.
Just don't forget that their quoted commission is ex vat - ie you actually pay price * 1.5% * 1.175 !!
Yes, 1.5% is typical in this neck of the woods. Shop around with the independents, you should be able to get 1%. The most important thing is that they market it properly. Look for one that is both popular in yours and neighbouring areas and ask what marketing they do. For a wider audience check they advertise on the internet (vebra or rightmove). I picked a national one in February based on their marketing. They charged 1.5%, but they got the sale at the right price in less than two weeks!
Ha, ha, ha! We paid £10,000.00 on the house we just bought. In fact it should have been £20,000 but due to a masively delayed sale (long story) they dropped the charge to half.
And you reckon £2000 quid is "
"
(edited to say that here the buyer pays the charge)
>> Edited by driller on Monday 8th August 20:41
And you reckon £2000 quid is "
" (edited to say that here the buyer pays the charge)
>> Edited by driller on Monday 8th August 20:41
Not having sold a house yet (FTB only so far) - why don't the websites that do it for far less succeed then?
<a href="www.fivepoundahouse.com">www.fivepoundahouse.com</a> does it for a fiver (not affiliated with them in any way - I just guessed at a URL!... which wasn't that one but lead me to it).
Is it a case of "too good to be true" when really it's not. I know we've had this on here before where estate agents have defended their charges - dealing with time-wasters etc.
Maybe EA's should go the way of solicitors and charge when "used" as it were. Though a cursory contemplation of this leads to any number of "yeah, but imagine"'s!
>> Edited by chim_knee on Monday 8th August 21:34
<a href="www.fivepoundahouse.com">www.fivepoundahouse.com</a> does it for a fiver (not affiliated with them in any way - I just guessed at a URL!... which wasn't that one but lead me to it).
Is it a case of "too good to be true" when really it's not. I know we've had this on here before where estate agents have defended their charges - dealing with time-wasters etc.
Maybe EA's should go the way of solicitors and charge when "used" as it were. Though a cursory contemplation of this leads to any number of "yeah, but imagine"'s!
>> Edited by chim_knee on Monday 8th August 21:34
driller said:
How do you spell "shisters"?
Shysters
Thanks for the replies folks. I still cannot see how they can possibly earn that kind of money.
And Driller, IMHO £200 is a lot of dough never mind £2000. If you have got £10k kicking around to pay these shysters, well congrats, you have done well for yourself and I wish you all the best!
Ace-T
Ace-T said:
And Driller, IMHO £200 is a lot of dough never mind £2000. If you have got £10k kicking around to pay these shysters, well congrats, you have done well for yourself and I wish you all the best!
Ace-T
Dunno about "kicking around"
Ace-T but that's the going rate over here ie 10%. I'll say that again 10%. That means on a house costing £200,000.00 you pay £20,000.00 Thank you for the spelling, now I can say it properly: a-hem, Shysters!
PS good luck with the sale, hope you don't get fleeced too much.
Driller
>> Edited by driller on Monday 8th August 22:08
I used to be an Estate Agent and hated it. 1.5% is about the average but if they want your house on the market that badly (and they do) they can drop as low as 0.75% (maybe not on a 1 bed) so 1-1.25% is perfectly reasonable, if they won't drop that low then there will be plenty of others who will.
Another tactic is to try to tie you in to overly long contracts which allow them to be the sole agents for a long time (not ideal if they struggle to get any viewings in the first few weeks and then give up trying) Try not to sign up for more than 12 sole agency if possible. They will most likely tell you that they will be able to sell it fast, hold them to this, say that you will give them 8 weeks sole agency and then start looking to put it on with other agents.
It's worth driving around and seeing who has the most sold boards up in your area, as not only will these likely be the agents trying their hardest, but these will be the agents anyone who has been looking for a house in the area will likely call first.
Also try to get at least 3 valuations, preferably more and price the house at the average of these valuations, if a price is too low they will likely have a cash buyer waiting, willing to slip the agent a fat wadge of cash on the side for getting them a bargain house, which they will then put straight up for sale again at 10k over what you sold it for. Too high a valuation likely means that the agent wants to get you on their books badly and is willing to lure you with the promise of a great sale price, when in reality your house will sit there for months unsold, with no viewings.
Sorry if i'm stating the obvious here, but i'm just imparting my years worth of insider knowledge.
Another tactic is to try to tie you in to overly long contracts which allow them to be the sole agents for a long time (not ideal if they struggle to get any viewings in the first few weeks and then give up trying) Try not to sign up for more than 12 sole agency if possible. They will most likely tell you that they will be able to sell it fast, hold them to this, say that you will give them 8 weeks sole agency and then start looking to put it on with other agents.
It's worth driving around and seeing who has the most sold boards up in your area, as not only will these likely be the agents trying their hardest, but these will be the agents anyone who has been looking for a house in the area will likely call first.
Also try to get at least 3 valuations, preferably more and price the house at the average of these valuations, if a price is too low they will likely have a cash buyer waiting, willing to slip the agent a fat wadge of cash on the side for getting them a bargain house, which they will then put straight up for sale again at 10k over what you sold it for. Too high a valuation likely means that the agent wants to get you on their books badly and is willing to lure you with the promise of a great sale price, when in reality your house will sit there for months unsold, with no viewings.
Sorry if i'm stating the obvious here, but i'm just imparting my years worth of insider knowledge.
driller said:
And Driller, IMHO £200 is a lot of dough never mind £2000. If you have got £10k kicking around to pay these shysters, well congrats, you have done well for yourself and I wish you all the best!
Ace-T
Dunno about "kicking around"
Thank you for the spelling, now I can say it properly: a-hem, Shysters!
PS good luck with the sale, hope you don't get fleeced too much.
Driller
>> Edited by driller on Monday 8th August 22:08
20 grand! Holy shit. Surely that must go down in history as the easiest 20k you'll ever make.
1) Copy and paste other house details and change the address
2) Print a few copies
3) Answer phone a few times
4) Meet couple of purchasers at house, walk around, talk shite
5) Relay offer to seller
6) Relay back to buyer "the vendors were hoping for a little more" which translates to "I'm hoping to buy a Boxster this year, make a higher offer, you cheapskate bastards"
7) Sit back and wait for the cheque
Motherfockers....
For gods sake, people have to make a living, im not an estate agent, but at the end of the day the option is always there for you to advertise the property yourself and deal with the enquiries ( both good and bad), arrange viewings and negotiate the sale and then worst of all, manage the chain.
Ive dealt with very bad ones, and very good ones, and I dont mind paying for the service providing I feel that things are being done.
If youre not happy with them, then why not try selling it yourself direct.
No doubt any increased equity will pay for the Estate Agent anyway.
Ive dealt with very bad ones, and very good ones, and I dont mind paying for the service providing I feel that things are being done.
If youre not happy with them, then why not try selling it yourself direct.
No doubt any increased equity will pay for the Estate Agent anyway.
neil.b said:
driller said:
Ace-T said:
And Driller, IMHO £200 is a lot of dough never mind £2000. If you have got £10k kicking around to pay these shysters, well congrats, you have done well for yourself and I wish you all the best!
Ace-T
Dunno about "kicking around"
Thank you for the spelling, now I can say it properly: a-hem, Shysters!
PS good luck with the sale, hope you don't get fleeced too much.
Driller
>> Edited by driller on Monday 8th August 22:08
20 grand! Holy shit. Surely that must go down in history as the easiest 20k you'll ever make.
1) Copy and paste other house details and change the address
2) Print a few copies
3) Answer phone a few times
4) Meet couple of purchasers at house, walk around, talk shite
5) Relay offer to seller
6) Relay back to buyer "the vendors were hoping for a little more" which translates to "I'm hoping to buy a Boxster this year, make a higher offer, you cheapskate bastards"
7) Sit back and wait for the cheque
Motherfockers....
If it were that easy, even a tw** like you could do it!
Actualy it is not, but as with anything else you get what you pay for, personaly I would not get out of bed for less than 2% and I only go that low on properties over £1,000,000.
>> Edited by Bat21 on Tuesday 9th August 09:13
I'm currently selling (scotland) and it is easy in this market to get 0.75%, but IMHO that is still a massive amount of money for a poor telephone answering service. You have to be realistic and understand that estate agents are simply market makers - there is no skill or talent involved in what they do (regardless of what they would have you believe) - you are simply paying for them to act as a meeting place between buyers and sellers. The over-paid estate agents themselves are glorified used-car salesmen and the second you sign on the dotted line you will NEVER hear from them again, and all your contact will be with some bitter middle-aged menopausal part-time secretary with a chip on her shoulder about her minimum-wage situation. If you want a realistic valuation on your property, pay a couple of hundred quid for a survey yourself - means there will be no surprises down the line when the offers come in £50K less than the estate agent led you to believe.
It is a necessary evil - you are paying for access to the market, not much else. Sorry if this offends anyone, but is my opinion which has been gained from bitter experience of the poor service received when selling houses.
It is a necessary evil - you are paying for access to the market, not much else. Sorry if this offends anyone, but is my opinion which has been gained from bitter experience of the poor service received when selling houses.
Why do people assume that just because an agent charges a fee that they do nothing to earn it? People all assume that car dealers earn huge wedges for doing not a lot - the reality is somewhat different.
There are a lot of people on here who work in IT - a generally well paid profession that a lot of the time is not hard work and is overpriced. Naturally, there are exceptions to the rule in all professions.
I'd suggest trying to sell your property yourself, paying for advertising, taking time out of your day to show buyers around and chasing through the sale when and if you eventually do get a buyer and it'll cost you a load more than you first think and if you get a good agent, it'll save you a huge amount of time too.
There are a lot of people on here who work in IT - a generally well paid profession that a lot of the time is not hard work and is overpriced. Naturally, there are exceptions to the rule in all professions.
I'd suggest trying to sell your property yourself, paying for advertising, taking time out of your day to show buyers around and chasing through the sale when and if you eventually do get a buyer and it'll cost you a load more than you first think and if you get a good agent, it'll save you a huge amount of time too.
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