AIBU to ask your advice on selling a house for the first time?

[ItsThatBeverleyMacca]

We're first time sellers, bought our current place in a cheap area of the north east in 2014 for £95k. We've done some work on it but the area isn't fashionable, and it's been valued at £100k. This is in line with what we expected. What I'd like some advice on is agents' selling fees - we've read 1% plus VAT is usual, but the agency we liked have said their 1.5% is good value and a couple of others on the phone wouldn't give us their fees over the phone, so I assume we'd have to speak with them all individually.

Is 1% usual or are we being tight? Has anyone used the online agents like Purple Bricks? Anything else to bear in mind? Any advice gratefully received!

Our current house doesn't even have an NE3 postcode, but EAs are determined to pretend it's gosforth. It's not.

"You can do a joint deal with agents where you only pay the one that finds you the buyer."

Personally I'd give it a few months with one agency first- you'll be a higher priority for them. Be very careful not to be tied in though, some contracts have a clause where you pay no matter who sells the place, others have stupid notice periods.

"Our sellers solicitors are like attack dogs, they phone every few days to check the progress of the sale and are also chivvying along the seller and her solicitor"

That's the solicitor you want. Unfortunately in my experience most are like elderly beagles and it you who has to do the chasing- do chase.

don elderly beagles When we bought this house it was from same agency that we like and saw yesterday (the ones quoting us the 1.5%). They were very keen and professional, me and DH got lots of emails and calls from them as the buyers to make sure our paperwork was getting done and sent to where it needed to be. So in every way they seem fab, we just totally stalled when we were quoted 1.5%, which didn't seem like it was negotiable - we would have signed up then and there otherwise, it was at that point that we thought we should maybe shop around a bit more. Hopefully by the end of next week we'll have a few more quotes and will be able to make a decision!

OP. They sound good- go with your gut; but I wouldn't pay 1.5%, agents make a limited difference. I really think tiered commision is the way to go. Stops them wanting to accept the first offer, and sharpens their negotiations a bit.

Definitely negotiate the 1.5% down to 1%. I'd also put it up for 105,000 so there was room for discounts/ negotiations.