Multi agency vs Sole Agency

atharc7

Hi,

Quick introduction to my situation, I'm looking to sell my property and have had valuations by multiple agents and narrowed down to two that are both ideal options.

-Both are offering 0.7% + VAT after some negotiation and offer similar costs in conveyancing. Multi-agency fees are the same as sole agency fees fortunately!

-Both are part of a larger network of estate agents.

-Both have come up with a similar valuation, agency (lets call it agency A) being 2.5% lower than the other (agency .

My property is anticipated to expect some difficulty in selling due to the need of modernising the kitchen and the area being located near to a sensitive location. (Prison). Other than these minor issues, the property itself is in good order with benefits in other factors such as schools, transport connections etc

I'm pretty flexible in terms of timescale for moving however ideally I'd like to get it all wrapped up by the first quarter of next year.

I've looked at a few properties I'm interested in and one is under the same network of estate agents as Agency B. Therefore I've been told I'll get priority as a buyer since they're essentially under the same roof. It may even help with smoother negotiations leading to faster sale.

However I'm not sure whether to go just with Agency B or Agency A as they have the largest agency website in the UK outside of Rightmove Zoopla etc also.

As this is my first time selling a property, I've never had experience in either options and unsure whether it'd be more logical to begin with a sole agency approach or multiagency.

Any advice will be much appreciated!

hazyjo

You can market for whatever you choose (within reason!).


'Priority as a buyer'? BS. Will make no difference, they are just trying to get your business. I doubt it will speed anything up. If someone else beats you to it, it's theirs.


If their office is in a decent location and they are on RM, there's really not much else that would swing it for me other than who I felt most comfortable with and what reputation they had locally and how many of their boards said sold rather than for sale.


I only ever use one EA. By all means try 2 (I would expect the commission to be higher), but no more or it smacks of desperation/hard to sell.


Good luck.

Margot123

From a buyer's perspective, I have been put offer viewing houses listed by more than one EA.

It makes me think the seller is desperate, or there's something wrong with the house and they want it gone quickly.

eddddy

atharc7 wrote: »

Both are offering 0.7% + VAT after some negotiation and offer similar costs in conveyancing.

It's often not a good idea to use the EA's recommended conveyancers - they tend to 'recommend' based on the size of referral fee they get, rather than on the quality of job they do.

ThePants999

...and the conveyancer will be more concerned about their relationship with the EA, and hence future referrals, than their one-off transaction with you.

mrginge

What is the supposed benefit of using multiple agents?

Davesnave

mrginge wrote: »

What is the supposed benefit of using multiple agents?

It's the earworm theory of advertising: a belief that multiple exposures on major portals will trigger an effect similar to the way simple ditties repeat themselves in people's consciousness.

This ignores the fact that many earworms are very annoying. For example, those people walking around this morning humming Cliff's "Mistletoe and Wine," are probably those least likely to download it in their lunch break.