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Still worth using an EA?

burnleymik
Posts: 1,391 Forumite


Just curious as to whether it's worth involving an EA. We are hoping to put our house up for sale around March/April time, we have a few small jobs to do first to get it ready. A friend of a friend has already expressed a keen interest in our house and would like to see it soon as we have it ready.
We have been in the property for around 17 years and it was our first home, so no real experience/expertise of selling properties.
The fact we would have a buyer (if they were happy) already in place, would it still be worth using an estate agent to sell via?
Thanks in advance.
We have been in the property for around 17 years and it was our first home, so no real experience/expertise of selling properties.
The fact we would have a buyer (if they were happy) already in place, would it still be worth using an estate agent to sell via?
Thanks in advance.
A smile costs nothing, but gives a lot.
It enriches those who receive it without making poorer those who give it.
A smile takes only a moment, but the memory of it can last forever.
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Comments
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burnleymik wrote: »The fact we would have a buyer (if they were happy) already in place, would it still be worth using an estate agent to sell via?
It depends what your goal is.
For example, you could say to the EA something like "We've had an offer of £x from a friend of a friend - do you want to market the house for 2 weeks to see if you can get a better offer?"
Making sure that you would not be liable for any fees if you sell to the friend of a friend.0 -
Selling a house you have been in for 17 years is going to be emotional. I for one, wouldn't want to have a relationship with buyers you know.0
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What can an EA do for you?
1) help you decide what the house is worth. Get 3 EAs round and ask a) what price they would market at and b) what they realistically expect it to sell for. This is free.
2) find a buyer. If you already have a buyer, willing to pay the amount in 1) above, an EA is not needed. Though edddy's suggestion above is an option.
3) 'smoothing the way' during the buying process, between buyer, seller, and lawyers. Sometimes more trouble than they are worth.....!0 -
It depends what your goal is.
For example, you could say to the EA something like "We've had an offer of £x from a friend of a friend - do you want to market the house for 2 weeks to see if you can get a better offer?"
Making sure that you would not be liable for any fees if you sell to the friend of a friend.
Not sure how this arrangement could work or whether any estate agents would agree to it.0 -
I guess I just wondered if it was worth the money for them to be the middle-man, as such, if they didn't need to do the job of actually marketing your property.
Thankyou for the replies.A smile costs nothing, but gives a lot.It enriches those who receive it without making poorer those who give it.A smile takes only a moment, but the memory of it can last forever.0 -
Not sure how this arrangement could work or whether any estate agents would agree to it.
So long as the EA contract
a) was not a sole selling contract and
b) had a minimum or fixed contract period of 2 weeks (or 3 or whatever you agree)
then what's the difficulty?
EAs typically push for 12 or more weeks minimum contract, but there's no reason a seller should demand shorter, and if the agent thinks they have a good chance of finding a better buyer and hence earning their fee, they may well agree.0 -
Not sure how this arrangement could work or whether any estate agents would agree to it.
Why on earth wouldn't it work?
In fact, it would just be a completely standard "Sole Agency Agreement"...
... with the "friend of a friend" having been introduced, before the agreement starts.
And the minimum contract period could be 8 weeks / 12 weeks or whatever. (The seller isn't prevented from from accepting an offer after 2 weeks, just because they have a 12 week minimum contract period.)0 -
burnleymik wrote: »I guess I just wondered if it was worth the money for them to be the middle-man, as such, if they didn't need to do the job of actually marketing your property.
So you mean you want an EA to do things like qualify the buyer you've found, and progress the sale.
I guess you could ask a few EAs if they're prepared to do that (on a 'no-sale, no fee' basis), and see what they would charge you.
I think most EAs would try to persuade you to let them market the property as well, to try to get a better offer - so you might have to insist, if you don't want that.
Edit to add...
Or do you mean you want your "friend of a friend" to make their offer via the EA, and the EA negotiate?
If so, then that sounds like it would be a standard marketing agreement with the EA.0 -
The point of using an EA is to find a buyer - if you already have a buyer than you're just tossing money down the drain... they wouldn't "do anything" for you.
The role of the EA is predominantly to advertise a house, measure it, take the photos, answer the phone to potential viewers, do viewers, follow up past viewers to check if they're still interested. Once a buyer has been found the EA just makes a couple of phone calls, at most, if things are going a little slowly... nothing more.0 -
If you have a buyer you can avoid EA fees.
Using an EA to try and find a higher bidder would normally still include fees for covering EA's expenses, so while you may not need to pay them commission for a sale, you'd still be out of pocket for their work. Which is only worth it if they find a higher bidder.
Clearly, you're best getting valuations done by some EA's so you;
1. Have a better idea of the price (though if you're in Scotland you'd get a valuation price through your home report) - bearing in mind it is common for EA's to exaggerate what they think its worth to get your business.
2. Get a feel for the different EA's to help you decide which one you'd trust most to sell your place well.
Then find out if your potential buyer is really interested or not - if not then you're ready to go with your chosen EA0
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