Selling my London flat: which agent?

specialhat

Hello!

I have recently extended my lease :T so now I'm ready to put my one-bed flat back on the market. I've recently redecorated so it looks good/smart/uncluttered inside. It has great transport links, including tube, overland trains and Crossrail. The main objection people will have is the very busy road outside (not much I can do about that; it will be reflected in the price). I can be chain-free as I can stay with friends if there is any gap between selling/buying and I will be getting a new mortgage.

I am moving as I have lived here for 15 years and need a two-bedroom flat now as I work from home, plus I am going to a new area and can now afford to spend more on the next place. I am aware the market is slow, but I really do want to sell and start the next chapter of my life. I have been here too long.

Background: last year I had the flat on the market and it was massively overvalued by all the agents; I ended up having to knock more than 25% off the price to get offers!!! Accepted three offers, all fell through for various reasons - the main buyer took me really far down the road before pulling out and I lost a fair amount of money on surveys etc on my intended purchase. I was really worn out by the experience and took it off the market and decided to do some home improvements and extend the lease to make it appeal to a wider audience.

This time round I have done so much research my head is spinning and I can't decide who to go with.

My options:

• Purplebricks, £1,400 up front. I am not impressed by my local PB agent (very bad at contact) but if I went this route I would do all my own viewings and use my own trusted solicitor. Aware that with PB he will not have a database of buyers and it would be relying on Rightmove etc, and I know listing with PB put some buyers off.
  Valued flat at £325k.
  
• High street 1: 1.5% + VAT, eight-week contract. Liked the agent. He was very frank about the market/area and valued the flat at £310k.
  
• High street 2: 1.3% + VAT, 20 (!) week contract (apparently negotiable). I liked her a lot and she made good noises about the sales progression service etc which is very important to me after last time. Valuation: £325k.
  
• High street 3: 1.75% + VAT, 15-week contract. This agency had a very good track record for selling similar flats in my area recently. I was put off by the fees and the fact she told me if I don't sell in the next few months I will not sell for five years (?!). Valuation: £350k but expecting me to achieve £325-335k.
  
• High street 4: 2.5%+VAT :rotfl: You can probably guess who this is. Obviously not going with this one but they valued it at £325k.
  
• High street 5: This is a funny one. I had a bad experience with these guys last year - it was their agent who massively overvalued my flat (I asked to be listed for less than he said but it was still waaaay over), he was then sacked and his replacement was quite rude about the situation, so I ended the contract. They now have a new agent in who is super keen to make amends, offering me 1.25% +VAT and a zero week contract, and he says he will solely look after my sale himself. He's valuing it tomorrow.
  
• Nested: Looked into this as I was curious. Their rates are 1.75% INCLUDING VAT, which is the equivalent of about 1.45% plus VAT I think? Great online portal, nice agent, good sales progression service but I don't think they have a client database so basically it would just be an online listing. Valuation: £325k.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated please! I have also looked into sold prices in the area myself and I expect realistically I will achieve around £310-315k but I'm not sure I should list it as this and then get offers under £300k!

cattie

I definitely wouldn't go with an online only business & personally I tend to go for a high street independent ea as I've just found the whole experience & service excellent. I once had a property sell within hours of signing up to the ea as they had someone on their books who was looking in my area. They came to see the property that evening & then offered full asking price! Ok, that doesn't happen every time but having a list of potential buyers for the type of property does help achieve a quick sale.

Although I've always had 3 agents in to value, just to see if/how it might vary, the independent gets my business because they're also happy to be flexible on fees. When I last sold to downsize, I got commission agreed at 1%. If an ea really wants your custom & believes they can achieve a quick sale for you then they should be happy to negotiate on fees. As far as contract goes, I'd not be interested in a long one as I'd be expecting then to get me a good & firm offer within the first few weeks, especially in London.

I think you have a good idea of what price to market at to achieve the price you'd like for the property, so I'd be firm with the ea regarding the price you list at. A couple of the agents you've had in sound quite favourable, so I'd imagine you'd be giving them serious consideration. You've nothing to lose by trying to see if your favourite will come down a little on the selling fee.

Good luck & hope you get a speedy sale & do come back & let us know how you get on.

specialhat

Thanks so much for your reply, Cattie. Unfortunately the market in my part of London is extremely slow so I'm not really expecting a quick sale, but you never know.

The problem with the local independent agents near me is that their prices seem to be higher, bizarrely.

Slithery

Are these fees prices that you've already negotiated or are you just going on their standard rates?

You can quite often negotiate a discounted percentage with high-street agents.

specialhat

Slithery wrote: »

Are these fees prices that you've already negotiated or are you just going on their standard rates?

You can quite often negotiate a discounted percentage with high-street agents.

They are all negotiated. No4 won't budge and I'm obviously not using them. No3 has indicated there is more wiggle room, but that's one of the highest, and I'd have another go before I sign anything.

jonnygee2

If 'high street two' is cheapest and you like her, why wouldn't you just go with that after negotiating the contract length down a bit?

specialhat

jonnygee2 wrote: »

If 'high street two' is cheapest and you like her, why wouldn't you just go with that after negotiating the contract length down a bit?

That's the frontrunner if I can get 20 weeks significantly reduced.

No5 is tempting (and the cheapest HS one currently) but I'm cautious about using that agency again. The new manager seems determined to win me round.

specialhat

jonnygee2 wrote: »

If 'high street two' is cheapest and you like her, why wouldn't you just go with that after negotiating the contract length down a bit?

Ah. I just read their Trustpilot reviews. Appalling.

Bossypants

In your position, I would also consider the 'profile' of each prospective agent and see how it lines up with your flat. When I was selling my place last year, I initially made the mistake of going with the agent I liked best, without considering what else was on their books. They were a brightly coloured, family friendly agent, and my house was charming but very quirky, quite small and not really extendable. The result was that this agent kept bringing round happy young couples, who oo'ed and aah'ed over how charming and unusual the property was, then rejected it for being too small/badly laid out for starting a family. Which I already knew. In the end, I left them and went with an agent whose whole brand was quirky/unusual/odd-ball properties, much more geared towards the cosmopolitan/artsy scene, i.e. people who wanted bragging rights more than they wanted a third bedroom or toddler-friendly stairs and garden. This agent managed to sell the place a week before Christmas (i.e. one of the deadest times of the year), whereas the first agent had struggled all through September-November (traditionally quite lively months). This was in spite both agents listing on Rightmove at almost identical prices.

ethank

I would go with a high street agent all the time.
Look at what other 1 beds they have on the market.
Go with the one who has the least 1 bedrooms - they will be pushing your flat more.
I would not sign up to more than 1.5% and four weeks sole selling.
You want the option to go multi-agent after four weeks.

Andysandy

From experience selling flats east of Liverpool street - zones 1 and 2 I'd go with Foxtons eyes closed. They are set up extremely competitively so you have multiple EAs trying to get your property sold. Always worked well for me.

Their prices are a bit on the higher side but I daresay they would be willing to move a bit in the current climate.

Zone 3 would go with Foxtons IF they have a couple of offices within a 15 minute driving radius of the property.

I don't use online estate agents in the market we have at present. Unless you have buyers falling over each other to buy in your area, I can't recommend them.