EA wants a fixed fee not a percentage

Premier_2

EA fees vary with area, but about 1% is the average for a sole agent agreement.

Around here, where competition between agents is fierce, there are some who offer a fixed price deal around £1200. If you think your property might fetch £200k, a fixed price like that is not to be sniffed at.
...but a person around here who thinks they might get £150k for their property might be wise not to take the offer of £1200. Some agents are offering about 0.8% sole agency and if the market dips, it might well end up costing less with the percentage method.

There's also some agents who offer a sale service for £395 paid up-front. Personally I'd avoid these as one wonders just how the property would be marketed, meaning you may not get a very good price if it does sell or worse still it doesn't sell at all as there is no immediate incentive for the agent to try.

RHemmings

Neillgb wrote: »

By fixed fee do u mean the fee is payable only on sale of property or are they trying to scam you with the new 'administration fee' lark?

What is this "administration fee lark"?

brightonman123

RHemmings wrote: »

What is this "administration fee lark"?

- probably a fee they try and charge for listing your house, vetting(?) buyers etc, regardless of any sale that may or may not happen.

Neillgb

RHemmings wrote: »

What is this "administration fee lark"?

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=920281

Needless to say this leaves sellers extremely vulnerable to 'buyers' EA's might have 'found' in the event of them having to pull out of a sale.

frible

having just read through the thread linked above, I will be sure to take a copy of the contract away and read all the way through before signing.

Will be going in to negotiate a fee this week will let you know how it goes.

googler

frible wrote: »

another thing I have just realised is that everything with EA's is +vat now I wonder why that is?????

If you're implying that any trader, whether EA or not, charges VAT to increase their profit, then think again.

Or if you're implying that EAs are charging VAT 'now' as opposed to 'then', could you point to a time when they didn't? When was 'then'?

googler

After a number of posters waffling about admin fees, and upfront fees, I don't get the impression from the OP that it's anything other than a flat amount, payable at settlement/date of entry from the proceeds of sale, as opposed to a %age based on the sale price.

We know your asking price, what's the fixed fee going to be?

The OFT concluded recently that average fees in England were 1.6% of sale price, in Scotland 1.1%. These will of course vary depending on where the OP is in the country. If you're in England, and you get a 1% fee, that would seem to be well below average.

A fixed fee lets you budget better, I would imagine. The %age will vary, and how this affects your budget, up or down, only you can decide.

There's threads here where folks complain about EA %ages and the fact that they vary with price, and those folks want a fixed fee - here, an EA WANTS to charge a fixed fee, and the first response to the OP is "Tell them to stuff it"

Where's the 'puzzled, scratching my head' emoticon when I need it....?

Welsh_Totster

Our EA charged a fixed fee with no VAT, it worked well for us as it was £1000, all in, nothing extra. The original EA we were with wanted 1.5% +VAT (over £2200) whereas the fixed fee EA worked out as 0.8%. You have to work it out as others have said, what are you willing to let the house go for and would the fixed fee be cheaper for you?

timmyt

use a local non-national/chain estate agent, as they have a name and reputation to protect as it is just them and if their office fails so does their business. No other offices to fall back on.

Try not to pay more than £300 all in for a HIP, as most local lawyers charge that.

Don't go cheap on your lawyer as you will get no service.

EAs charging a fixed fee is fine depending on the amount. work it out as a percentage and if 1.5% or less, then that is fine in the current climate.

It is a sellers market at the moment with so few properties coming on, so chances are that the Agent will get the price they suggest.

Good luck OP

Milliewilly

I agreed a fixed fee on mine.

House then sold 6 days later so I was quids in.

House then fell through and I have since reduced my asking price by £35K. The fixed deal doesn't look so good anymore, but it was my choice so can't complain.