Estate Agent - Who does best fee or who gets best price??

sequin123

Hi

OK so I thought I had it sussed but now I am not so sure, this is the first time I have sold a house!!. Have had two valuations Agent 1 for £215,000 and Agent 2 for range £210,000-230,000. Realistically and based on others sold recently expecting £210,000 - £215,000.

Both agents are reputable and well established, Agent 1 we bought our house from and received good service and Agent 2 very well known EA in the south east. I have re-negotiated with Agent 1 who originally offered 1% and are now offering £1750+VAT fixed fee (works out 0.80%ish) but they want to put up a board Agent 2 is offering 1.25% + VAT however claim even though they cannot match Agent 1's fee in the long run it works out better as they can achieve a higher price as they use the ranges with the view of getting 3/4 offers on the table and then getting them to bid each against each other. They have provided some examples of how this has worked for other properties recently

Obviously I would like the best price as need the money for next house but am worried it could get down valued at survey.

I really dont know what to do go with the lower fee (works out about 1k cheaper than Agent 2) or go with Agent 2 but get a better sale price and be better off in the long term. Am I being a sucker for the speel of Agent 2? Help!!

Thanks

MissMotivation

Short answer.....Yes!

Longer answer.........How is Agent 2 going to justify the higher selling price to a Surveyor? If the price of £210,000 is based on comparable properties that have sold recently then even IF Agent 2 manages to get a higher offer then it is likely it will be downvalued at survey.

I'm of the opinion that offering a property for sale in a price range does more harm than good! As for their claim of getting 3/4 people interested who will then bid against each other......I would say that is just talk. The market is improving but we are nowhere near back to those days. :rolleyes:

jamesperrett

sequin123 wrote: »

Agent 2 is offering 1.25% + VAT however claim even though they cannot match Agent 1's fee in the long run it works out better as they can achieve a higher price as they use the ranges with the view of getting 3/4 offers on the table and then getting them to bid each against each other.

There is a recent thread in this forum which suggests that this tactic actually deters buyers.

If you already have a good experience of the first agent as a buyer I would suggest going with them. Remember that agencies are only as good as the people running them so a particular branch of one agency may not be as good as another branch of the same agency.

Cheers

James.

John_Pierpoint

The only way to get a decent asking price for a property is to have 2, preferably 3 people who want it.
Is there something about the site or the property that makes it unique and desirable?
If the answer is yes the experienced agent may be able to get more than one buyer interested in it.
Not all offers are the same, see if you can find out the circumstances of the buyers and see if they are being realistic.
I had allsorts of offers for the place I was selling but the agent did a good job and was worth his fee, when we got the asking price.
House now appears in his own "houses we have sold" advert for more instructions:beer:

princeofpounds

Don't even think about selecting an agent based on price promises, despite the fact that is what most people seem to do.

None of them do anything particularly unique and broadly speaking a property will sell for similar prices as the marginal buyer will be the same people, as long as it is properly advertised.

Select on cost and service. Who will get you visibility on websites, papers, shop windows? Who will get buyers walking in their door? Who will turn up on time and do a good sales job that isn't offputting? Who will act in your interest rather than that of their inhouse mortgage advisor and lawyer?

I mean there is little to stop you putting any asking price on the thing no matter which agent you go with.

And the range idea just sounds stupid. I'm a potential buyer, it is annoying, and there is nothing about it that would especially attract more buyers.

pie81

Go for the cheaper agent.

Whatever Agent 2 can do, Agent 1 can do just as well (you already know they are competent and reputable).

LisaLou1982

Agree with some of the comments above

Take the fees out of it - who do you think will do the best job? Who is more likely to return all of your calls, advise you what needs to be done at which stage, contact your buyer and keep them in the loop, answer the phone and sell your home to any potential buyers rather than just wait for someone to ask about it?

Choose the agent who you think will do the best job for you. Not everything is about fees

googler

The use of price ranges won't, of itself, bring '3-4 people in' - I'd suggest that marketing, a large buyer base from previous business, and effective advertising will do that.

Bear in mind that the agent's 'promise' of acheiving a higher price than the other agent is anything but, and is by no means a guarantee of success.....