Questions to ask estate agents

davemorton

I have a few estate agents coming round tomorrow/Thursday to get a valuation, and obviously I need to decide which EA to use.
What questions should I be asking them please, apart from how much? TIA

zagubov

The obvious questions would be the fees/commission.
How long tied in for, and how much written notice to end it. Is there an exclusive period?
How long does that last?
Will you have a chance to see their photos before they’re posted online?
There’s also matters of price; you don’t want to lose money but if you price it too high (i.e. just over a round number) the website’s price filters may mean nobody sees it.

Hopefully somebody else will have more sensible suggestions for you.

davemorton

zagubov wrote: »

The obvious questions would be the fees/commission.
How long tied in for, and how much written notice to end it. Is there an exclusive period?
How long does that last?
Will you have a chance to see their photos before they’re posted online?
There’s also matters of price; you don’t want to lose money but if you price it too high (i.e. just over a round number) the website’s price filters may mean nobody sees it.

Hopefully somebody else will have more sensible suggestions for you.

:beer: Cheers Zag. Its been a long time since I last used an EA, and they were a friend so got all my advice from them.

melstar11

When they are telling you how much they think it should go on for, ask what realistically they think you will get. Ask what else they have sold in the area recently too. And ask if they have potential buyers registered with them who they think will be interested. Ideally you want an agent prepared to do some work to get the house sold, not just someone who sticks it on Rightmove and forgets about.

We wanted accompanied viewings so check whether they do that if that's important to you. Also, who does the viewings? Ime as a purchaser, part-time weekend viewings staff sometimes knew very little about the properties they were selling and never spent time with full time colleagues who did know more.

NaughtiusMaximus

Check they will include a floorplan and room measurements in the listing, both important for a potential buyer IMHO but something a surprisingly high proportion of EAs don't include.

hazyjo

Ask if their fee is negotiable. Most I've had round offer a discount without me even asking. It's always 1% or thereabouts for the main EAs in the area near me. I'd not pay more. Some will offer less. My current one was 1.25% I think, but he just said what it should be but he'd charge 1%.


Also, the tie-in period can vary with private sales and through another EA. My vendor tried to sell to me privately after 6 months of me viewing through her EA but has since found out it's 2 years for private sales. If she'd gone with another EA, it was 6 months' tie-in.


Jx
ReadingTim, you forgot 'which can swim faster, a dolphin or a shark...'

hazyjo

Oh, and also I clarify what hoops viewers have to jump through. We see time and time again on here people who have been told they have to see their financial adviser just to get a viewing - or if they want to make an offer. I didn't want any of that BS with my viewers.

saajan_12

Most important questions in bold:

Contract with EA:
* Fee (inc or excl vat?)
* Tie in period (ideally 8 weeks since they're oh-so confident in the sale)
* Notice to terminate

Advertising
* What portals is it listed on? Rightmove/Zoopla?
* Include floorplans?
* Can you check pictures / ad before for mistakes?
* What else similar they have sold to compare more realistic pricing point (and justification if they're suggesting a higher price to you than what has actually sold)

Buyer treatment
* What hoops do viewers have to jump through? in house mortgage/conveyancers which may turn buyers away?
* Do you find out about all offers above a certain level?
* Can they help with second viewings etc post offer?

ACG

I can think of a few questions I would ask estate agents. I am not sure they will help you though.

One thing I would ask is that they do not filter offers from people not using their recommended broker/solicitors. Some agents have a habit of trying to earn out of your buyers. There is nothing wrong with that, but it could be at the expense of other perfectly acceptable buyers who are not using their services.

davemorton

Many thanks for all the responses. I have had the first EA round, and their fee's include the use of their solicitor, so I dont have any solicitor fee's to pay on top of the quoted price when selling. Is this normal, do most do this? TIA

NaughtiusMaximus

davemorton wrote: »

Many thanks for all the responses. I have had the first EA round, and their fee's include the use of their solicitor, so I dont have any solicitor fee's to pay on top of the quoted price when selling. Is this normal, do most do this? TIA

None of the 3 EAs we had quotes from did that, they just quoted for their fees only with solicitor quotes arriving by email the next day.