Which EA to choose ?

MadMonkey

Hi - I have had 4 agents come to value my house and this is what they said:

A : Valued at 155 but to market it at 149,995. Quite negative about a few aspects and made me feel like the house was not quite good enough but he would do me a favour by selling it on the cheap. 1.5% charge.

B : Valued at 150 but to market at OIEO 140,000. Again made a few negative comments. 2% charge.

C : Valued at 175,000 - pointed out some very good points about the house and also had a list of comparable properties off rightmove. Said that 175 was the max for the property but it is better to start high and then reduce than start low. £2900 charge.

D : Valued at 170,000 but to market at 175,000. Had 4 comparable properties that his agency have on the market currently. Pointed out some good points. 1.8% charge.

Now prior to them coming i had browsed on here and was aware of high valuations to lure me in but the higher 2 did seem to have the gift of the gab which if they have that to a seller surely they have it to a buyer ?

Personally i think 175 is a bit high but people can offer less - they won;t offer more will they !!

So which one ?

cattie

I personally don't see the point in marketing a property at a far higher price than it's likely to achieve. It can put potential viewers off. Market at the right price & you'll get viewers through the door, overprice yourself & there will be little interest.

There is a property in my area that was being marketed at about £27k more than it is logically worth. Although it may suit me I didn't make an appointment to view as the seller obviously has high expectations. Property has now been reduced by £9k, but still way ott for the price recent property sales in road have sold for. This property has been for sale for months in an area where houses tend to shift very speedily.

You'll always get agents that are willing to mark a property up & speak about it in glowing terms just to get you on their books. An agent who is honest up front about any negatives of the property is pointing out things that many prospective buyer's will pick up on.

Instead of showing you what comparables are on their books or are currently up for sale at Rightmove, they should be showing you what comparables have actually recently sold for, as sale price is completely different to asking price.

Curious_Moose

Check on http://www.nethouseprices.com/ and you'll find out what similar properties have actually sold for, as opposed to whatever figure was dancing about in the Estate Agents head when they were trying to figure out how best to hook you.

Get them down on those charges by saying that cost is your sole criteria.

Add a clause that if you find a buyer, they don't get a penny.

Oh, and the usual stuff about where they advertise, accompanied viewings etc.

IHateDida

Avoid any company with "countrywide" after the first bit for a start - just incase any of them have this! Look for "sold" boards in your area - who has the majority - might be your best bet. Get the commission down to 1% - say you have plenty of choice and have been offered this by others. I would choose the one that has sold most in your area, have a look at the other house prices they have on their books and see if you think they are about right, and you can always say to them what price you want your house to go on the market for anyway.

Our house was put on the market for £162,500 despite my reservations, and after a few weeks with no viewings I said to the estate agents (which I shouldn't have had to!) that I didn't think that it was the right price as people searching on Rightmove could only type in £160k or £170k and those opting for the latter wouldn't probably be in the market for a house like mine. They reduced the price on my instruction and a couple of weeks later I got an offer for the full asking price!

So make your own decisions on what you think is sensible, after doing some research on other similar properties in your area. Also visit the offices, and get a first impression from a buyers point of view - would you buy a house from them?

MadMonkey

I have checked the actual price on sales and tbh the 140k and 150k values are very low and the 140k is virtually giving it away !

The 175 has been achieved 1 or 2 times in the past 12 months with the average being 165.

So taking into account that people are going to want to knock me down do i put it on at 175 ?

It seems that all comparable property starts off at this price and then seem to reduce to 169 if no sale after a month.

However if it is one of the rare few that sell for 175 i am happy !

Or am i being mad ? Should i stick it on for 165 even though people will offer less ?

Doozergirl

People will pay asking price if they think the house is worth it. Just because you put it on at a price doesn't mean that people automatically think they have to pay X% less. If you hold out, you can acheive asking price if you know that asking price is realistic.

dwsjarcmcd

Trust your own gut, EA's will cost you money if you let them lead you. You have done your own research which shows that it is worth the higher end of the figures you were quoted circa £170k - £175k, that is where I would start. I would only ever use an agent using Rightmove and tell them what you expect as service i.e. phone calls weekly or whatever you feel is right.

Just by way of an example, we moved last December and the EA who is the 'Agent who sells our type of property' would have cost us almost £100k with his ill-researched valuation (and they even sold the property to us 4 years ago!)