estate agency fees nearly 2grand

baron777red

hi were thinking of selling and have contacted some local estate agents to come rounds to value the house, we live in west midlands DY5

one of them has quoted me his fees on the phone before coming round, and they are

£125 + vat - payable upfront
£300 + vat - for a HIP
£1250 + vat - if it sells

which is nearly 2 grand, is this the going rate or is it expensive

i hav read on this forum that you should expect to pay about 1% of the price the house sells for, and i think the property will be valued at about £105,000 and probably sell for £100,000. we bought it 3.5 yrs ago for £100k

thanks

baron

Doozergirl

Your post will get more responses over on the House Buying board!

It's unusual for agents to quote over the phone, they normally want to get in the door first. You must treat all prices as negotiable anyway.

I haven't sold since last year so I'm not aware of how the recession has affected fees but at 1250 + VAT it's roughly 1.25% plus VAT which is what local agents quote round here (I'm relatively local to you) - if you tell them you want 1% then in the past they have given that up without even a fight - not sure about now. You need to take the HIP out of that equation though as you definitely won't get 1% with a HIP included.

The upfront fee is quite unusual for an EA - I've only experienced it with top-end agents and even then it's for specific items with specific costs - professional photography, floorplans, brochures, adverts.

The HIP is in addition to any commission - you will find it cheaper elsewhere and you are not obliged to buy from your agent - I saw an advert today for 249 with no VAT through Worcestershire Energy Assessors (something like that) - there will be cheaper than that too I bet.

ormus

around here you can get an estate agent 1% deal.
also a HIP can be had for 100 quid.
this is a great time to haggle with agents. they are all desperate.

baron777red

do you know any agents that can do it at 1%
and a hip for £100??? where?
the best i have seen is £250
and the agent has quoted me £350 for th hip