Choosing an estate agent

mcowan77

hi

looking to put my house on the marker asap.

had a couple of agents out with diff fees -house vakued about 80k scotland

allen and harries want £299+ vat (marketing fee) 7 £1080 on completion....that includes home report

goodfellow want about £150 more all in.

got countrywide coming tommorrow, there is also a small local agnecy that charges a flat fee of £450 included website rightmove

any tips in which one to choose?...should i try an online company?

mcowan77

Anyone please?

googler

So what's the question?

Is one worth £150 more than the other? We can't tell.

Are you selling in a rural area, or one of the major cities?

The £450 agency CAN'T be including the Home Report in the £450, so you're looking at nearer £800 for them....

zappahey

Look around your area and figure out who is actually making sales, then think about prices

GAH

Your talking about a few hundred pound difference in fees.

What agent was most professional when you met them? Which one offers the best service? Which one has the best advertising? Which one has the sort of buyers that are going to buy your home?

Those are questions you should be asking

MacMickster

You need to figure out who buys property in your area and how. If the houses sell mainly to locals who still drive around the area looking for "For Sale" boards and checking in the EA's window, then the local agent may be the best option as well as the cheapest.

If buyers are more likely to be retirees (unlikely to use the internet) moving from elsewhere in the UK then an agent with branches nationally is your best bet.

betmunch

This is only my humble opinion but;

Alan and Harris - run a mile

Countrywide - might be worth a look depending on which Brand they are, but handle with care

Goodfellow - assuming they are a local indy outfit I would sway towards them.

The important thing is the feeling you get from them, which one did you think wanted to actually sell your house as opposed to which one was just going through the motions.

I would ring them up as a buyer and see how they treat you, this will be how they treat the people that enquire about your house too so if they dont care on the phone, that is what your buyers are going to get too.

Dont do any deals to use their inhouse services to reduce your fee, if the service isnt good enough to sell itself you dont want it tied into your package! I'm looking at you Unnamed-Corporate-Conveyancers!

And lastly, I would not pay anything up front to the EA, or be tied to any deal that has withdrawal fees unless there were no other options. Please check what it says in the contract very carefully.

mcowan77

Thanks 4 the advice.ill let u know who i decide 2 go with

779

Search rightmove zoopla fish f homes etc etc, - search for properties with have sold.. - see which agents sold them

LandyAndy

betmunch wrote: »

And lastly, I would not pay anything up front to the EA, or be tied to any deal that has withdrawal fees unless there were no other options. Please check what it says in the contract very carefully.

Too true.

Last time I sold (6 years ago) I had the contract changed to give a 12 week contract period instead of the standard 26 weeks (was I glad I did that:cool:) and also the wording changed to read that their fees were payable 'on completion' instead of when they had 'introduced a ready, and willing buyer'.

betmunch

Perfect example, although I was thinking more of a Connells style Withdrawal fee for them failing to sell the house!!!