Estate agent round to value house tomorrow - what to expect?

gingin_2

We are having a valuation on our property tomorrow with a view to selling and in a bidding war for another property. I've been in such a rush/ panic that I've not really thought it through other than speak to them.

Does he give me the valuation on the spot, or do they send it formally? Will he poking his head in everything, or is it a scoot round looking at the rooms? Finally, if we want to get an mortgage offer in principal on the next place, will the agent forward the valuation on this house to the mortgage company?

We were first time buyers on this property so it's my first time selling and it's all new to me.

RedfordML

They will probably over value, tell you lots about the agency and current success levels etc.

Remember, negotiate the fee, we have never paid full asking % paying on average 1.2%...

Def worth getting at least 3 agencies around as well to give a balanced view and you make not like the agent coming first...

gl

Owain_Moneysaver

Estate agents don't do mortgage valuations; surveyors do.

cb1979

When i have sold in the past i have always had 3 agents round and took the average of the valuations, some will give a high valuation with a promise of a quick sale which rarely happens

Work out their commission and the knock a few hundred off and tell them that is what you are willing to pay

Ask them to tell you of any offers, quite often when a possible buyer phones the agent with an offer the agent will turn it down on the phone without even asking you as most of the time they are only interested in getting the maxium commission on the sale

jimbog

They will probably ask YOU what you think it's worth!
Just reply 'whatever the market value is'

Hermia

I sold at the end of last year. I got three agents round and each spent around half an hour in the house and then gave me their valuation. I was told by more experienced types not to go with the highest valuation as it's bound to be an over-valuation. I did go with the highest though as the other two agents made my skin crawl! Lucky I did as the house went for full asking price within two days. One estate agent valued the house at £30k less than that! Remember to have some questions to ask them.

kBHX

I recently had 3 appraisals on my flat. Each took no longer than 30 minutes including the walk around and discussions. One valued the property 15k less than the other two, who both came up with similar figures (in line with my own research of comparable properties). The one who quoted low was generally negative when I quizzed him about how he would proactively market the property and local market conditions etc. The kinds of questions I asked were whether they had sold similar properties etc, types of buyers who would be interested or already on their books, fees etc. I did a fair bit of research beforehand so had a good idea of what my property is worth and also a list of example properties which each EA had recently sold.

Having spoken to them I still wasn't sure how they justify their fees, on average fixed fees of £2000 + VAT.

jw2082

cb1979 wrote: »

Ask them to tell you of any offers, quite often when a possible buyer phones the agent with an offer the agent will turn it down on the phone without even asking you as most of the time they are only interested in getting the maxium commission on the sale

Dont listen to this for a start.

Agents have to inform you by law of any offers in writing also only being interested in the maxium commission surly them just doing their job ? as they are paid to get the highest price possible.

Rather than just talk about getting the fee down ect why not suggest a scale fee ?
i.e. if an agent says they can get you £150k and the other 2 say they can get £140k then suggest you will pay them 1% if they get anything under £145k and 1.5% if they get over.

so if you agreed a sale at £140k you would pay £1400 or a sale at £146k you would pay £2100 but will be £3900 better off after paying their fee.

Give the agent a real incentive to make the sale rather than getting it done on the cheap.

[Deleted User]

jw2082 wrote: »

Dont listen to this for a start.

Agents have to inform you by law of any offers in writing also only being interested in the maxium commission surly them just doing their job ? as they are paid to get the highest price possible.

Rather than just talk about getting the fee down ect why not suggest a scale fee ?
i.e. if an agent says they can get you £150k and the other 2 say they can get £140k then suggest you will pay them 1% if they get anything under £145k and 1.5% if they get over.

so if you agreed a sale at £140k you would pay £1400 or a sale at £146k you would pay £2100 but will be £3900 better off after paying their fee.

Give the agent a real incentive to make the sale rather than getting it done on the cheap.

Completely agree - we had such a mechanism in place after negotiating the rate down. Ultimately, you need to give them an intensive to get a few grand extra for you - since the effort it takes them often isn't worth the extra £20 in commission they might make

Also - make sure you really read their terms and conditions. Remember; they're not fixed. Discuss with them anything you don't like (e.g. how long you need to stay with them, whether you need 'SOLD' boards up afterwards). It's all negotiable.

fawny

jimbog wrote: »

They will probably ask YOU what you think it's worth!
Just reply 'whatever the market value is'

Yes, we have 3 agents coming on Sat to value our house, one of the agents asked me on the phone when I made the appointment how much we want for the house. What I want for the house may not be what we can get for it.

LandyAndy

Read their contract carefully.

Ours had a clause that said their commission was payable as soon as they found a buyer willing and able to proceed. I had it changed to 'on completion'.

The standard contract would have tied us in to a 26 week agency. I had it changed to 10 weeks and at the end of the ten weeks I was very glad I did.