Short Term Use of a High Street EA?

not_loaded

I’m currently selling via HouseNetwork and the viewings are definitely dwindling as Christmas/New Year approaches.

I’ve had three High Street EAs pestering me on the phone that ‘they’d have sold it three times over, they’ve got a huge queue of buyers for my house’ etc etc. I’m not convinced, but I’m wondering how to (possibly) test them out.

HouseNetwork Ts & Cs do not clash with using another agent.

I was wondering whether to give the High Street a go, along the lines of: they can have it till January 31st, it will be at 1% etc etc.

What would you do, and what terms would you dictate to them?

My feeling is that the ‘dead cert sales’ on offer would rapidly vanish if I signed up with them on sole agency and strictly on their Ts & Cs.

Fire_Fox

Have you researched land registry sold prices to make sure your current valuation is realistic? Are you willing to post up the Rightmove link so we can critique the photos and particulars?

princessamy86

You can't really test them out to see who actually has buyers, that's info they will keep tightly under wraps. They might well have waiting buyers; if it's in a desirable area, is a property type that doesn't come up often, if it is priced realistically, all sorts of reasons. Then again, they may not and you just won't know unless you try it out. A word to the wise- I wouldn't try and "dictate" anything to them. Negotiate by all means, but if you put their back up before you even start then I doubt you will get anywhere.

We have one on the market at the moment and the vendor has agreed a stepped fee with us:
If we sell within 6 weeks for over a certain amount: 1.75%
12 weeks: 1.5%
Over 12: 1.25%

1.25% is low for this area, so you could try something like that based on percentages for your area?

I don't think setting a deadline is such a bad idea, if they know they will lose your business after that date then I would expect them to push it.

Doozergirl

I'd they are so confident then I'd say 1% + VAT and they have the contract until the end of the year. Plus they get no fee if you sell with House Network. You need to have a list of who has already viewed (it's been a while, but you must still get this online with HN?)

I've had an agent agree to a four week contract and he was the highest valuation - he was that confident. He pulled it off as well; twice over.

You've got it though, if they aren't as sure as they sound they will back down pretty quickly and start dictating more ownerous terms. 1% of something they are confident on is much better that 1% of nothing.

maninthestreet

not_loaded wrote: »

I’m currently selling via HouseNetwork and the viewings are definitely dwindling as Christmas/New Year approaches.

I’ve had three High Street EAs pestering me on the phone that ‘they’d have sold it three times over, they’ve got a huge queue of buyers for my house’ etc etc. I’m not convinced, but I’m wondering how to (possibly) test them out.

HouseNetwork Ts & Cs do not clash with using another agent.

I was wondering whether to give the High Street a go, along the lines of: they can have it till January 31st, it will be at 1% etc etc.

What would you do, and what terms would you dictate to them?

My feeling is that the ‘dead cert sales’ on offer would rapidly vanish if I signed up with them on sole agency and strictly on their Ts & Cs.

Do any of these EAs have a similar house to yours up for sale? If so, ask them why they havent managed to sell it.

pie81

If instructing EAs for a short time only, watch out for clauses in the Ts and Cs that allow them to claim a fee if you sell within X months of disinstructing them.

Sometimes these clauses say the EA gets a fee even after disinstructing if you sell to someone they introduced - this is fair enough really as otherwise you could just find a buyer through the EA but hold off selling to them till after you've sacked the EA, to avoid the fee.

But sometimes the clause says that the EA gets paid if you sell to anyone within X months of disinstruction - you'll need to strike this kind of clause out.

not_loaded

Thanks Fire Fox. Going by what’s happening locally, the valuations appear realistic. We came to the market rather late this year which didn’t help. We’ve had three v. close to asking price offers, two of which have died for financial reasons (lenders). The other one is still in the air at the moment.

Obviously we’d give any new agent the opportunity to value again.

princessamy86 wrote: »

You can't really test them out to see who actually has buyers, that's info they will keep tightly under wraps. They might well have waiting buyers; if it's in a desirable area, is a property type that doesn't come up often, if it is priced realistically, all sorts of reasons. Then again, they may not and you just won't know unless you try it out. A word to the wise- I wouldn't try and "dictate" anything to them. Negotiate by all means, but if you put their back up before you even start then I doubt you will get anywhere.

I wasn’t really wanting to ‘test them out’ before making a commitment to them. I just tend to think that waiting buyers will almost certainly have the drive to simply check out RightMove rather than just sign on with agents hoping they’ll have something.

princessamy86 wrote: »

We have one on the market at the moment and the vendor has agreed a stepped fee with us:
If we sell within 6 weeks for over a certain amount: 1.75%
12 weeks: 1.5%
Over 12: 1.25%
1.25% is low for this area, so you could try something like that based on percentages for your area?
I don't think setting a deadline is such a bad idea, if they know they will lose your business after that date then I would expect them to push it.

Thanks for your input on this. That’s an interesting way to do business, and I’ll certainly think about that concept. How do you define ‘sell’ for the purposes of the agreement?

Doozergirl wrote: »

I'd they are so confident then I'd say 1% + VAT and they have the contract until the end of the year. Plus they get no fee if you sell with House Network. You need to have a list of who has already viewed (it's been a while, but you must still get this online with HN?)
I've had an agent agree to a four week contract and he was the highest valuation - he was that confident. He pulled it off as well; twice over.
You've got it though, if they aren't as sure as they sound they will back down pretty quickly and start dictating more ownerous terms. 1% of something they are confident on is much better that 1% of nothing.

A previous viewer list is no problem, and 1% was what I was thinking. Your agent ‘confident in 4 weeks’ is great, but I need a BS detector really. I find it hard to believe that buyers ‘queue up’ at an agent without looking at Rightmove. What I’m being told is that a lot of buyers never look on the internet. Mmm…

maninthestreet wrote: »

Do any of these EAs have a similar house to yours up for sale? If so, ask them why they havent managed to sell it.

A very interesting piece of advice! I’ll work on that. Thanks!

pie81 wrote: »

If instructing EAs for a short time only, watch out for clauses in the Ts and Cs that allow them to claim a fee if you sell within X months of disinstructing them.
Sometimes these clauses say the EA gets a fee even after disinstructing if you sell to someone they introduced - this is fair enough really as otherwise you could just find a buyer through the EA but hold off selling to them till after you've sacked the EA, to avoid the fee.
But sometimes the clause says that the EA gets paid if you sell to anyone within X months of disinstruction - you'll need to strike this kind of clause out.

No way would I want to deprive them of rightfully earned commission, but that’s very useful advice thanks. I’ve heard of so many deceptions with EA Ts and Cs I will certainly be reading very carefully!

bmunky7

Also look for the total quantity of properties the EA have on sale, if it's low they could be looking simply to add properties, to then attract more attention and build up the business.

not_loaded

Yes, good point bmunky7.

I suppose they can’t be blamed though, for wanting a reasonable spread of properties showing. That is essentially what they’re there for.

My problem is believing their story of queues of buyers. One particular agent is getting right up my nose with regular calls going on and on and on…

muskoka

Heres a true scenario for you.

Agent 1 - House been up for sale since May 09. Had one cash offer (10% under asking) - offer was rejected

Agent 2 - (Pestered vendor advising they had tons of buyers). Vendor moved to Agent 2 September 09 - property still not sold - and had no offers

I know the above is true cos I'm the person who offered cash thru agent 1 - Vendor trying a different agent and so far getting no other offers.

If you go with a high street agent, do check their T & C's carefully and YOU dictate the terms as the vendor if they 'supposedly have loads of buyers'

marcg

I doubt if any agent has loads of buyers. More importantly, I doubt if any agent has loads of houses to sell - which is the real motivation for getting you to move to them. However, if they are that desperate, you can gain advantage in terms of fees and exposure.

1. Check the T&Cs as others have said to make sure you can make a clean break with the current EA.

2. Interview all these 'fantastic' high street EAs to find out
a) what they think your house is worth - if their expectations are different to yours then this will be reflected in the comments they make at viewings. Also will give you a general market rate (which you are free to ignore).
b) their fees
c) how much coverage they will guarantee your house in the local papers
d) how their company operates in terms of process to completion
e) what you think of them as people in terms of presentation and manner

When you decide on one, get it all in writing.

We did this on our last sale, got 4 weeks 1/4 page ads, our house on 4 A4 ads in their window, 0.5% fees all with the local high street office. Oh, and 6 weeks to sell it or we went to the slightly bigger company offering to match it.

This was in summer 2006, things have obviously changed but I would argue that EAs are desperate enough to be even more likely to cut their fees.