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Which agent and asking price to choose
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student100
Posts: 1,059 Forumite
A long time since I last posted on MSE!
We're trying to sell our house, 3 bed semi in the Headingley area of Leeds.
We've had 3 agents to visit this week (and a fourth tomorrow). All are local/regional agents not national chains.
They have given us a bit of a range of valuations and offers:
Agent 1. £200,000 - £210,000. 0.85%+VAT fee. No lock in period.
Agent 2. £180,000 - £190,000. 1%+VAT fee. 12 week lock in period.
Agent 3. £194,950. £1650+VAT fixed fee. 2 week notice period.
Agent 1 generally seemed to be the friendliest and spoke most enthusiastically about how they would market the property, get professional photos, get all their staff to come and visit before arranging viewings etc.
On the face of it Agent 1 is a no-brainer, but I wonder if they are being too optimistic with the price and would look to drop it later. Or are the other agents just trying to sell quickly at what might not be the best price so they can move on to other houses? All reckon they'd be able to sell fairly quickly as the house is in pretty good condition compared to others in the area.
We have seen a house we like, but we're not in a crazy desperate rush to sell - it's an old stone property in a different area and has been on the market for 4 years and we feel it's a bit overpriced, so we don't want to seem too keen.
Also, how much of a psychological barrier is the £200,000 mark - would we risk losing interest/rightmove searches if we went on slightly over?
All thoughts welcome!
We're trying to sell our house, 3 bed semi in the Headingley area of Leeds.
We've had 3 agents to visit this week (and a fourth tomorrow). All are local/regional agents not national chains.
They have given us a bit of a range of valuations and offers:
Agent 1. £200,000 - £210,000. 0.85%+VAT fee. No lock in period.
Agent 2. £180,000 - £190,000. 1%+VAT fee. 12 week lock in period.
Agent 3. £194,950. £1650+VAT fixed fee. 2 week notice period.
Agent 1 generally seemed to be the friendliest and spoke most enthusiastically about how they would market the property, get professional photos, get all their staff to come and visit before arranging viewings etc.
On the face of it Agent 1 is a no-brainer, but I wonder if they are being too optimistic with the price and would look to drop it later. Or are the other agents just trying to sell quickly at what might not be the best price so they can move on to other houses? All reckon they'd be able to sell fairly quickly as the house is in pretty good condition compared to others in the area.
We have seen a house we like, but we're not in a crazy desperate rush to sell - it's an old stone property in a different area and has been on the market for 4 years and we feel it's a bit overpriced, so we don't want to seem too keen.
Also, how much of a psychological barrier is the £200,000 mark - would we risk losing interest/rightmove searches if we went on slightly over?
All thoughts welcome!
student100 hasn't been a student since 2007...
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Comments
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Agent 1. Let them prove the substance of their speil...0
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You can always check the agents ads to see if they're any good. Particularly with reference to the photos. Then negotiate with who you think is best. The price it's marketed at is your call."Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance" - Confucius0
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If agent one is who you feel comfortable with go with them but I'd say have a few other agents in your books as you know things can sometimes turn in a different direction.
Have you checked out what other houses on your street or close by have sold for? You can check on rightmove and land registry. Rightmove will give room numbers so you can do better comparisons to see if the prices the agents are giving adequate valuations.0 -
If there is no lock in period (check the contract very carefully for hidden clauses) I'd go for the first agent as well. But I'd also be looking for how quickly they do sell houses, and perhaps do a viewing on a one of the houses they have for sale with an agent working there you don't know to see if that agent is as familiar with this other property as they have promised you will happen with your property.
Do you know anyone who has sold through them?0 -
What's the actual value of your house?0
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You could go on a few viewings with each agent, as a "mystery shopper", and see how they perform off paper.
Are they late, do they double-book you, do they talk down about the house you're seeing, are they knowledgeable, do they bathe in aftershave?
This can help you get a feel of what it will be like for your potential buyers.
Choose the one that will give best service for both you and buyers, then if they're not the cheapest/shortest you can haggle.
We did this. The guys that double-booked us and failed to turn up for our viewings were stuck off.0 -
There's plenty of information on time to sell and asking to selling price, such as here. Your area is reasonably active, so a sensibly-priced property should be selling quite quickly.
Go with agent 1, see how it goes. If you don't see offers in a month, and get acceptable offers in a couple more weeks, switch to another agent. Make sure, nonethelss, you are matching property to agency: no point selling a 2 bed council wreck with Saviles, nor sticking a mansion on with Your Move ...
But also look at the data here and see how each of the agents pans out.
Do remember, it's quite easy to fiddle data like this. Not many agents bother, but some do...0 -
Agent 1, and tell them they're marketing it at £199,950. You're the customer, they work for you.0
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