to think that estate agents are grossly overpaid for the little work they actually do?

[wannaBe]

so let's see what they actually do:

come out and give a valuation.
take a few pictures
write up a description.
put it up on a website
maybe mailshot a few people.
take a few phone calls to arrange viewings.
sometimes accompany viewings.

And all for between 1.5 and 3% of the value of the house.

In the US the estate agent is also licensed by the state in which they practice.

What do they have to do for the license expat?

but it's not just the getting the sale is it?

My house went under offer on the first viewing, a viewing which happened off the back of him getting a daily update email from rightmove so nothing to do with the agent.

buyer pulled out and then came back with lower offer which I had no choice but to accept because I am moving further away and need to get ds into school for next academic year etc.

since then I am calling them daily to try and find out the state of play on my purchase ie what kind of chain is above us, and nobody seems to be able to give me an answer.

And this is a national company.

And frankly I don't give a toss whether they're badly paid or not. Being badly paid isn't an excuse for a shite service.

OTTMummA - in the US (and most other countries), estate agents are professionals operating under licence, like any other professionals such as solicitors, doctors, chartered engineers etc. They have to study, pass a set of exams, and keep up to date on changes in the law and current practices. They can have their licence revoked for misconduct and have strict rules on conflict of interest, so they will act for a seller or buyer but not both at the same time as is the custom here. So if you are buying, you will retain an agent who will search for a house for you, not off his own books but off the books of every selling agent in the area.

Whereas here any chancer can buy a Mini Cooper, put on a cheap suit and call themselves an estate agent.

YANBU

I appreciate that sometimes a sale takes a lot of work by the estate agent.

But often it doesn't.

And the amount of work bears no relation to the value of the house. So why is the fee a %?

I think estate agents should be paid by the hour - same as many other "professional" advisers.

That's how conveyancers are paid, minipie - or they charge a flat fee for a standard service with a hourly fee if it gets complicated. That makes far more sense to me.

The other thing that REA do over here, though, is prepare the contracts and the vendor disclosure forms, which is a considerable amount of paperwork.

YABU.

Obviously people want to pay as little as possible to get their house sold, but that doesn't mean estate agents don't work hard behind the scenes.

So this morning one of the agencies I'm registered with emails me "a new property matching your requirements". I've asked for 3+ bedrooms, must have garden, in a specific area.

This property is a 2 bedroom flat, 2 miles away from the specific area. If what they mean is "we will email you every single property we get, relevant to your needs or not" why not just say this when I signed up? It's a waste of everyone's time, just so they can tell the vendors x number of people have got the details.

I went through about 7 agencies while selling. The worst one sent a family of 6 to view my 2 bedroom flat! They looked round (like playing people chess) and then said "Is this a flat?" I was speechless.