Estate Agency Fees - What are they for?

googler

Why not deal with the point that you've quoted, rather than diverting the conversation to another line of complaint?

The previous poster asked essentially if you think EAs should work merely to cover their expenses and draw a minimum wage above this level. Do you have a response to this?

You work for a company and get paid a salary. You, I assume, don't have to carry a share of any of that company's expenses.

Do you think it's reasonable that a typical EA draws an income, after their expenses, equivalent to your salary?

confused31_2

googler wrote: »

Why not deal with the point that you've quoted, rather than diverting the conversation to another line of complaint?

The previous poster asked essentially if you think EAs should work merely to cover their expenses and draw a minimum wage above this level. Do you have a response to this?

You work for a company and get paid a salary. You, I assume, don't have to carry a share of any of that company's expenses.

Do you think it's reasonable that a typical EA draws an income, after their expenses, equivalent to your salary?

You should read what the other person said, they made the statement, why shouldnt estate agents have a larger cuts if the sellers have got more equity,

Simple fact the seller took the risk of buying the house if the house price goes up or down they stand to lose or gain.

The estate agent has not took any risk in buying or selling they are just picking up their cut, amd if houses where the same prices as they was 10 years ago and they were still charging 1.5% commission they still wouldnt be on the minimum wage now.

So as the first post asked how can estate agent justify their charges is beyond me.

My salary is different to everyone elses, but i think a esate agents fee is way over the top.

A car saleperson as a set amount the dealership pays for the car tha they are selling, whatever they sell on top of the bottom price is commission, im sure estate agents wouldnt want to work this way.

Infact a estate agent is in a win win situation, because whatever price they sell a property at they still take their commission.

confused31_2

I dont think anyone should be on the minimum wage and yes estate agents do deserve to be paid a reasonable wage, but they need to get in the real world with real wages, how a estate agent can justify 2 percent of a house sale for doing a valuation, taking a few photos, description advertising and answering the phone a few times is completely wrong.

Whether you agree with me or not, i think its a rip off , thats why i wont be using a traditional estate agent ever, unless i am the buyer.

I personally think as house prices boomed, estate agents should have lowered there commission rates, but what they have done is become greedy and thought hey why not keep the commission rates the same, we could make a killing here.

A lot of people dont like estate agents and im one of them, i think they are sneaky and slimy, even 10 years ago when i bought my first house i had the same thoughts, especially when they tried to railroad me into using their mortgage adiviser, and then he offered me a load high priced products.

Most estate agents are blaggers, and there aint no way they are going to blag 2 percent from the sale of my house.

Cissi

confused31 wrote: »

Most estate agents are blaggers, and there aint no way they are going to blag 2 percent from the sale of my house.

What sale http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1540811

You don't like EAs, fine - a lot of us aren't impressed with most of them either, and it's your right to refuse to use their services. But I think with your general attitude you need to get used to the idea of living in your current house for a very long time - you're deluding yourself if you think you'll ever be able to sell it yourself. Granted, the EAs you tried didn't manage it either - but you may need to ask yourself if your position with regards to price etc had something to do with that? Plenty of other houses DO sell, even in the current climate. If you don't want to sell at current market value, fine, don't - but stop blaming other people for everything!

Personally I'd rather pay an EA 1-2% for successfully selling my house than not sell it at all, but that's your choice

MissMotivation

Has anyone else noticed the huge contradictions in Confuseds posts??

Cissi

MissMotivation wrote: »

Has anyone else noticed the huge contradictions in Confuseds posts??

Yes, I think he may be a tad, um Confused

MissMotivation

confused31 wrote: »

estate agents should not go inline with what price the houses are selling for, i work for a massive car company when they put the prices of their cars up my wages dont go up, so why should estate agents??

10 years ago a house worth 70,000 a estate agent charging 1.5% would get 1050 pound for selling the house which is not that bad, the same house now is worth 150,000 and they would get 2250 pound now tell me who? and in what history as someones wage more than doubled in 10 years??

In 10 years as the job of estate agent got harder?? if it as how?

How can a estate agent justify being paid double to what they did 10 years ago, house prices may have gone up, but im sure estate agents jobs have not become harder, so how can they justify charging large fees.

And dont give me overheads and advertising they havent doubled in 10 years.

Cissi wrote: »

Yes, I think he may be a tad, um Confused

Once again he is backing himself into a corner, I seem to remember another long and protracted thread where he was, once again, in the minority.

He needs to know when to give in!

samroo

There is a very simple answer to this question. An estate agency is a business. They offer a service for a price which you agree to when you sign an agreement with them. They do not come into homes and force people to sign their contracts. If you don't want to pay for the service, then don't sign.

zappahey

confused31 wrote: »

The estate agent has not took any risk in buying or selling they are just picking up their cut,

They are taking the risk that, if the house does not sell, they have paid out in time, money and effort and got nothing in return.

As has been pointed out repeatedly, the fees from successful sales also cover the expenses incurred in support of contracts where the house doesn't sell.

Jowo_2

My point is not that there should be a correspondance between estate agents income and equity in property (though obviously most EAs charge a % of gross sale price) but that their sale of services and the sale of goods by vendors are premised on similar principles and are subject to the same market forces - namely, what buyers are prepared to pay.

At the end of the day, an estate agent and property seller don't charge the net cost of their services, they charge the maximum that they can get away with - whatever the market is prepared to pay.

They are both subject to similar risks around demand and supply - lots of estate agents in the area can lead to pressure on their profit margins in the same way that lots of houses up for sale in the area impacts the vendor.

The estate agent doesn't need to figure out the time and expense it takes to shift the property in the same way that the vendor doesn't think 'the land is worth £20k and the rebuild price is £100k so I'll just sell the property for £120k even though similar houses in the street are selling for £250k'.

Remember that estate agents spend a lot of time and money showing properties to tenants and buyers which don't result in any sales for them - in other words they have to write off expenses. And, no, I'm not an EA, nor actually particularly fond of them.