Estate agent's selling fees in England

sevenhills · 5 October 2017 at 6:32PM

Purple Bricks = £849

Other estate agents seem to want much more. I am trying to help a 90 year relative sell his house, but the one estate agent that I just had a online chat with, didn't want to tell me the fees they charge. That seems rather bizarre to me.
I will keep trying.
We will be selling in the next month or so, in LS27

Is there a compare site, I found this

http://cucompare.co.uk/get-instant-quotes/

Google says they charge 0.75% and 3.0%+VAT

G_M · 5 October 2017 at 6:43PM

No.

Invite 3 local agents round.

* get each to provide a vlaue at which they suggest marketing the property
* get each to provide a vlaue at which they reealistically expect to sell
* negotiate a % fee (1%? 1.5 max) for sole agency contract
* Do not agree to a sole selling contract
* negotiate a miimum contract term ( 6 weeks? 8 weeks max)
* discuss how they will market including list of websites
* how many colour phots? Floor plan? etc

Choose 1.

eddddy · 5 October 2017 at 7:03PM

Who will be 'in charge' of selling the property - you or your 90 year old relative?

Given that the vendor is 90 years old - I might prioritise EAs in a slightly different way from usual.

I might look for a more of an 'old school' EA, who might be better able to engage with the vendor, rather than a flash smooth-talking salesman in a shiny suit.

Also, if the property is more suited to 'older' buyers, prospective buyers might engage better with an 'old school' EA as well.

I believe that buyers and vendors manage viewings etc via an online portal with Purple bricks. That might put off 'older' buyers - as well as your relative.

ceh209 · 5 October 2017 at 8:06PM

I'm selling with Purple Bricks, but in this case I agree, go with a 'traditional' agent.

If you want Purple Bricks to do the viewings, it will be £300 more anyway.

If you can negotiate a 1% fee, some basic research tells me in your postcode area then there may not be much difference in fees anyway. Obviously depends on the individual house so excuse me if I'm wrong.

However, an agent who won't tell you what their fees are? Definitely bizarre, just move on and find some who will.

csgohan4 · 5 October 2017 at 8:12PM

ceh209 wrote: »

I'm selling with Purple Bricks, but in this case I agree, go with a 'traditional' agent.

If you want Purple Bricks to do the viewings, it will be £300 more anyway.

If you can negotiate a 1% fee, some basic research tells me in your postcode area then there may not be much difference in fees anyway. Obviously depends on the individual house so excuse me if I'm wrong.

However, an agent who won't tell you what their fees are? Definitely bizarre, just move on and find some who will.

If their not bothered, why should you in terms of being transparent with their fees

Natbag · 5 October 2017 at 8:24PM

You’re near me

Highly recommend Dacre Son & Hartley. The service wev received has been absolutely excellent, they are so lovely, really pro active, answer the phone and reply to you daytime, evenings and weekends and they are not charging us much more than Purple Bricks state (also read PB t&cs carefully as there are catches). I didn’t like the fact that everything Purple Bricks do is online as while it’s convenient sometimes, with something as expensive, complicated and important as buying/selling a house phone conversations with a a human are essential. The experience, knowledge and support we have received given that our purchase and sale has not been straight forward has been worth paying that bit extra for.

Natbag · 5 October 2017 at 8:27PM

Also, check out reviews on the allagents website. PB in my area were rated ok for selling but not great for the process after.

sevenhills · 5 October 2017 at 8:31PM

eddddy wrote: »

Who will be 'in charge' of selling the property - you or your 90 year old relative?

Given that the vendor is 90 years old - I might prioritise EAs in a slightly different way from usual.

I am thinking he will do things himself, I am just trying to help; he does have closer family that help a little.
Even with my help Purple Bricks might be the wrong choice, but my relative will decide.

Invite 3 local agents round

I will try to suggest 3 good ones to him.

Next door sold for £220k a short time ago, an online valuation put his house at £195k

Mutton_Geoff · 5 October 2017 at 8:33PM

As much as I generally dislike estate agents, you need to ask yourself if they could improve upon the selling price by 1.2% (less the cost of Purple Bricks). Even the big names (Knight Frank, Savills etc) will sell for 1% plus VAT these days.

I must admit when I see Purple Bricks properties on Rightmove, I think "cheapskate". If I see Foxtons, I think "overpriced", if I see Knight Frank/Savills, I think "top end" etc. See what agents are being used to sell comparable properties and get them in to quote.

Can you wait til spring? This is always a bad time of year to be selling.

Natbag · 5 October 2017 at 8:42PM

Have a look at some Rightmove listings in your area. Has the agent used professional photos and have they given a floor plan? What are you getting for the fee? If you want to fetch a good price for your property it’s worth considering.

kinger101 · 5 October 2017 at 9:36PM

An online EA is totally inappropriate in this case. I know PB can provide a service where agents do the viewings, but in my experience, it's extremely difficult to book a viewing as a buyer this way. You make a booking online (it shows all times as available), only for their agent to cancel the viewing and suggest some other time you cannot do.

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Estate agent's selling fees in England

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