Estate Agent Fees

[BoroB 10]

I'm looking at selling a property and am wondering if people know how much local estate agents charge?

[squeakyclean 11]

I have just put a property up for sale with Blundells. They are charging me a £399 marketing fee, plus I think around 1. 25% of the final price.

Edited August 13, 2011 by squeakyclean

[Paddy 10]

Someone needs to order an enquiry into what they exactly do for the money they charge.

 

1.5% of the final selling price is an absolute joke.

 

All they do is print a few brochures, put a few adverts in the paper and then arrange a few viewings. All this for a couple of thousand pound - not bad eh?

 

Estate agents are leeches!

Edited August 13, 2011 by Paddy

[arrodbo 10]

Make sure you negotiate a full and final price ie. no extras. The usual % is around 1.25% of the total agreed selling price.

Contrary to what you may think most agents will be flexible on price.

Also, because the market is flat and will be for some time the agents are putting lower valuations on houses to try and sell quicker and get their fees to cover their overheads during this quiet period..

[sharrovian 10]

Blundells charged me £600 + £100 vat up front. I later went with ELR who charged me on withdrawing £200 + £40 vat.

[mamasquirrel 10]

We weighed it up and decided to go with an online estate agency - apparently over 80% of people looking for houses look on sites like Rightmove etc and don't step foot in an estate agent's office (which I can identify with, as I only look on Rightmove!). We paid £250 upfront (to get it online on sites like Rightmove, photos, floorplan, EPC, photos, for sale board etc), and will pay £200 upon completion. We decided it was worth gambling £250 against the 2K + that estate agents would take!

 

The online estate agency so far has been brilliant - and people who've come to view have also said how impressed they were with the speed of service from them to arrange viewings. In contrast, I've contacted a couple of local estate agencies recently to try to arrange going to view houses and it was like pulling teeth! One didn't even get back to me at all! It has made me question what they do to earn their huge commissions!

[magz 10]

Mamasquirrel, can you pm me with the online agency you used, I'm selling my house and just can't afford estate agents' fees, but don't know where to start with online agencies as have never used them. Thanks

[foxwater 10]

Hi Mamasquirrel, can you let me know too who you used please? As we have had almost every single agent in Sheffield round offering various packages at various prices!! Thanks

[stonecircle 10]

We weighed it up and decided to go with an online estate agency - apparently over 80% of people looking for houses look on sites like Rightmove etc and don't step foot in an estate agent's office (which I can identify with, as I only look on Rightmove!). We paid £250 upfront (to get it online on sites like Rightmove, photos, floorplan, EPC, photos, for sale board etc), and will pay £200 upon completion. We decided it was worth gambling £250 against the 2K + that estate agents would take!

 

The online estate agency so far has been brilliant - and people who've come to view have also said how impressed they were with the speed of service from them to arrange viewings. In contrast, I've contacted a couple of local estate agencies recently to try to arrange going to view houses and it was like pulling teeth! One didn't even get back to me at all! It has made me question what they do to earn their huge commissions!

 

I too am interested who you are using as I am about to sign on the dotted line for Blundells.

[jomc2oo1uk 10]

im interested as well. ille keep an eye on this post

[stressconsul 10]

Definitely worth doing it online if you can get it on Rightmove. The last time I sold a house I felt the agents did very little for their money. I wrote the brochure, took viewers calls and showed them round. The agents printed the brochure, arranged an ad in the Property Guide, and took care of the bids, all of which I think I could have done myself - for nothing.

[grafikhaus74 10]

Before anybody makes the dire mistake of setting foot into an estate agents (you know, the ones with all the offices, adverts and flash cars driving round with their name on it - all of which you pay for) read this.