Estate Agent fees - what is normal?

[afishyweddingfairy]

We're just about to put our flat on the market and have found the perfect house for us so I'm sorting out my spreadsheets of costs and terrifying myself with the money side of things and am a bit baffled by EA costs and how variable they are, and also how much they lack transparency and aren't on the net (another rant for another day).

We have one coming this afternoon (which I'm hopeful about), but have already had a big agent over and they are asking for 2.5% commission as sole agent! I hadn't thought that the fees would be that high - are they taking the piss a bit or do I need a reality check? We're in London if that makes any difference.

Also, has anyone negotiated a lower fee? If you did, how did you go about it?

[ChristinedePizanne]

Taking the piss. I paid KFH 1.5% I think (can check) when I sold in London last year.

I would say 'I've been offered X%, can you match that? Otherwise I will have to go with agent Y' and then it's up to them. You may find the big agent drop their commission if they find out you've been offered lower with a different one

[SkinnyGirlBethany]

1.25%-1.5% here in Cheshire

[oldenoughtowearpurple]

Get at least three agents over. Look at details of other properties they are selling: do they take good photos/do floorplans/are they on more than one website? Check very carefully what is and isn't included in the fees. Listen very carefully to what they say about value and ease of selling your house. Then balance it all up and negotiate. Don't just go on the percentage, work out the actual fee including vat based on what they think they can get for the house.

[MoreBeta]

They are definitley trying it on at 2.5%

As they are selling so few houses at the moment they are trying to jack up fees to cover the shortfall.

[henstooth]

We were quoted 1.5% here in Surrey without even haggling, after that another agent then said they could do 1% as they are keen for the business and wanted us to switch. And those are all before VAT which adds a hefty whack on top...

[munstersmum]

Had 3 estate agents round recently. All said 1% comm in writing. Yorkshire.

[greentown]

Recently sold in SE London and was quoted 1-1.5% by a variety of agents. Also had one quote £2000 fixed fee - that was the cheapest and less than 1%.
All plus vat. All contracts were sole agency - no fixed term - walk away with 2 weeks notice.

[Primafacie]

The "big agent" must be Foxtons? They are also charging us 2.5%, which is higher than any other agent. On the other hand, they also valued our flat higher and delivered - we are selling it for a price other agents said we would not achieve. The difference is substantial, so even after paying the higher commission we are making a tidy additional profit. I don't know how they do it - I think their marketing is just better than other agents. And we sold in three weeks - quicker than I would have ever imagined.

[MrsZoidberg]

We were quoted 1.25% to 1.5% in Somerset. We chose to negotiate the higher one down to 1.35% becuase we felt they would be the better agent for us.

Definately check what they include - ask bluntly if there are any other fees to pay on top of this.

You will probably have to pay for the EPC up front.

[Primafacie]

On the EPC - you can arrange to have this done yourself. Cut the middle man (EA) and you will save about half IIRC.

[afishyweddingfairy]

Thanks, I thought that it was a bit high but as I'm new to this game I wondered whether I just needed to suck it up! I guess I'll need to put my haggling trousers on and see if I can save us some money - I wonder if that'll work with HMRC and stamp duty

Yes, the agent is Foxtons, and their valuation isn't any higher than anyone else's yet so we'll see where we go.

Thanks for the tip re the EPC - a friend recently trained to do them so I might cash in a favour on that one!

[pootlebug]

When I see a property advertised with Foxtons, I assume it is over-priced, and priced higher than it would be with another agent. The effect would be that I'd either not bother viewing, or set my offer comparatively lower. But I guess if they genuinely achieve higher prices not everyone is as cynical as me!

[Becaroooo]

I paid 1% in August but it was in Derbyshire

[myron]

1.25% haggled down from 1.5% but we chose the agent who had the best reputation in town (SW). We did try to get it down further but they wouldn't budge but we were satisfied with that.

[afishyweddingfairy]

We've managed to negotiate a much lower fee with our agent now - and put a sliding scale in, so the more we get for the flat, the more they get in commission.

It's all go now - I am having the whole sales team over to see our flat this afternoon and the photos/floorplans are being done tomorrow. Exciting times!

[MrsJAlfredPrufrock]

Most people these days look for their property via Rightmove. I would hire the cheapest agent and pay for my own photographs, brochure and floorplans, if what the agent offered wasn't of tip-top quality.

Anwyay, good luck with the sale.