Estate agent fees - advice for first time seller

Helen36

Dear all,

I'm about to put my property on the market. It is going on at £230,000 and I have been offered a sole agency fee of £3,750 + VAT, which makes a total of £4,500. I was shown a higher rate initially (sorry, can't remember what it was), which was closer to 2%, and I said that was too high so he dropped it down to this fgure (with an 11 week contract, which I got reduced down from 20 weeks). There is also an addition online marketting fee of £200 + VAT.

Does this all sound reasonable or should I be pushing for a lower fee? This is definitely the estate agent that I want to use as their office is right opposite my property, their ads look really good on RightMove and they will also market my property in their city central branch.

Thanks for any advice,

Helen

Del_Astra

I think it depends where you are, we paid closer to 0.75% overall, rising to 1.5% (on the over 150K mark) if above a certain amount we we last sold in 2010. This was in Edinburgh and prices hadn't really dropped by then, more stagnated.

catzooo

I just had agent round. They charge 1.5%. Includes Internet ads but charges for extra advertising such as £52 per week to go in local paper

googler

Much will depend on where the OP is, as fees vary regionally.

GAH

OP, fees will vary regionally, the best thing is to research what agents in your area charge.

But based on the info, you have given, if you sold at £230,000 with a fixed fee at £3750, that works out to approx 1.65%.

If the agent are worth it, then its your choice to decide.

What I would do though is make the fee a %of sale and not fixed fee, as fixing the fee does not give the agent the extra incentive needed to get you the best price (even though they are duty bound to).

Also, if you only end up getting offers around £210,000, the agent would still get their full fixed fee, where as if you % it, you would save a few hundred quid.

Helen36

Thanks so much for the advice. The property is in Brighton, so I'm sure that increases the fees. I'll certainly have a go at negotiating a % of the selling cost - can but try!

Helen

furley

Why is the agent charging you extra for marketing the property ?? That's why you hire them in the first place. What you're paying now is a bit more than 1.5% which isn't too bad. Many agents around here (Canterbury) charge 2% but then they dont' charge extra for marketing. Have you tried an independent agent? The one we are using has been brilliant: 1.2% fee + they have done all the viewings themselves, even on Saturdays. And we do now have a cash buyer and are just about to complete. It pays to shop around for an agent. You need someone who isn't pushy cause if you get some offers, they might try to push you into accepting ones you are not keen on. Rapport is worth something.

nomoneytoday

Are the agent a good one?
I'd rather pay 2% to an agent that sold my house, vs 1.5% for the house to sit on the market for ages..

cattie

Wow, sounds really expensive. I've just signed up for 1% and could have got them to go lower, but didn't push it further as I don't want a For Sale board and didn't want to have any pressure put on me about it. It's a 12week contract & I don't pay any of the advertising fees or anything else that they incur in the process of trying to sell my house. This is in a London suburb.

googler

timmyt wrote: »

NEVER pay anything up front, or walk away. Full stop.

Oh, go on.... why not?

Rudess

Tell this agency that you have an offer from one of their competitors of 1%, and you expect them to match it if they want you to sell through them.