Moving house & estate agent fees.

[YorkshireGirl2016]

Hi everyone,

We are thinking of moving from England to Scotland - any advice/hints & tips?

I've also been quoted a flat fee of 3k for estate agents fees. Does that sound reasonable?

New to this so any help appreciated!

[WinterAndRoughWeather]

How much is your house going on sale for? 3k sounds a lot to me but I’ve only ever been in the lower end of the market.

[raspberrylimoncello]

3k doesn't sound too bad but it is usually calculated based on what the property is sold at. We are paying 1.5% so including vat it's over double of yours.

It seems steep particularly if your property doesn't take long to sell and only needs a few viewings! Though our estate agent has been great at helping us with other things and communicating with the estate agent dealing with our purchase property so that softens the blow a little bit. Good luck

[catwithflowers]

Seems expensive to me. We are selling and paying 0.5% agents fee plus vat

[YorkshireGirl2016]

Thank you for your replies. Hoping to sell for 250k

[UnconsideredTrifles]

We are hoping to sell at the same sort of price. We were quoted 1.5% plus VAT, so we're going to try to sell with Doorsteps first for £200 - the agent is coming round to do photos this week and then we'll have to do viewings ourselves.

[Mmsnet101]

3k sounds a lot, I'd renegotiate /find another agent. Especially as its a buyers market at the moment so unlikely to be a lot of work involved.

In terms of the sale, I'd recommend finding a good Scottish solicitor who has experience with the English system. Easier than finding an English solicitor who knows Scots law well ime.

[BobbyEgg]

Check out Strike if they are in your area. We've listed with them and they don't charge any fees. They make their money by recommendations of people like solicitors and removals but there is no obligation to go with them. 3k saving yes please!

[bumbleb33s]

I’ve just sold mine at that price, my EA fees were £1250 plus VAT, I don’t think they base their charges on the price of the house, they are usually flat fees, I think 3k is expensive, I’d price others up as when I looked around they varied in price

[Bol87]

3k seems a lot. We used an online agent for £900 (including really decent photos) & sold quickly. We had an offer in 24 hours but unfortunately they couldn’t proceed on the end. But we ended up with a bidding war & got cash over ask without any help from an agent! If the market is moving fairly quickly where you are, it’s def worth considering. Houses on our estate are flying off the shelf..

But agents round us were mostly charging 1% plus VAT & a couple offered us a flat £2000 once they realised we were considering using an online agent.

Estate agent fees seem to vary wildly! Shop around & in my experience do not use an online one! Find one with a good rep as you want them to be on the ball!

[Roowig2020]

Seems expensive to me. Do you think the house will be easy to sell? Did you try and negotiate? We are paying 0.75% but in a popular area and it sold in a few days.

[YorkshireGirl2016]

Thank you. Will look into these. I think it will be easy to sell. The estate agent even said they really needed more properties as only have 10 remaining on their books.

I didn't negotiate...but now I have some more facts I feel in a better position to do so.

I'm a little apprehensive with going it alone as haven't sold a property before.

I will call other agents tomorrow and ask for their prices.

Have others found it difficult to sell a property in England and move to Scotland?





In

[Finfintytint]

We’re in the process of moving from England to Scotland. Our England sale completed on Friday and we’ve yet to move in to the Scotland property. I suggest you have an England solicitor for your sale and a Scotland solicitor for your purchase. I know it will cost you twice but the property laws are so different.

[YorkshireGirl2016]

What are you finding the typical costs of moving are?

[YorkshireGirl2016]

Also, when they say 'offers over' what does this usually mean...say I'm looking at a house at 250k. Does this mean that we can offer 251k or is it more like 265k?

[Finfintytint]

The estate agent fees are 1%. Yet to see the invoice for the solicitors. We’ve wasted a grand a month since February on rental accommodation in Scotland. We hired vans and gradually moved ourselves so that saved a bit of money.

[Finfintytint]

Offers Over drove me nuts. Look at the home buyers report and also look at what similar properties are going for to make a judgement.

[MooshWoosh]

Depending on where you are buying in Scotland will determine how much more. It took so long to get our heads around this as we are both from England!

Essentially ignore the "offers over" price. You need to find out the Home Report Value. Then get EA and a local solicitor's opinions for how much above or below the Home Report Value in that specific area is standard. For example, the area that we are in the process of selling regularly gets 20% over HRV. We lost on a house that went to a closing date (sealed bids) when we bid 23% over HRV. The house that we have had an offer accepted for is only 5% over HRV.

It is worth remembering that the amount that you offer over the Home Report must be capital i.e. it is not mortgageable above that amount!