Estate agent want to charge £30k

[ThinkAboutItTomorrow]

I get that estate agents are on commission to incentivise them to get the best price but surely there's a better way?

We live in London and are very lucky to have a lovely home. estate agents want 1.5% + VAT commission which would be £30,000 if we get the asking price.

But they don't do any more work for the £30k from me Vs the £7.5k they'd get selling a small flat. Do they? With Rightmove etc the benefit of the flashy high street office must be negligible.

IABU - there's more to it and the service and experience justifies the cost
YANBU - just use an online seller and pay £1,500 there's no way a local office can add £28.5k of value.

@Ileflottante

I always wonder if threads like these are an attempt to get people to work out what the ‘lovely house’ in London is worth.

I said upthread it's been valued at £1.65m. Not stealth boasting or whatever at all.

I know it's a lot but it's normal round here. Streets and streets of 4/5 bed terrace houses with tiny gardens selling for £1.5-2m.

Rationally I think London / SE house prices are bonkers but seem likely to stay that way, for houses with gardens at least.

@Pinotpleasure

Ha! We lived in the USA and when we sold our house we had to pay 5% commission to the realtor.

It’s like a cartel there and almost impossible to get on the MLS (multiple listing service) without using a realtor,

Generally property is much cheaper in us, so you probably still pay less relatively.

there is generally a slight tendency for estate agents' commissions to only go up slowly in £ terms, and therefore down in % terms, as properties get more expensive, but you need quite big variations in value to really see it.

I thought the same thing when my sister and I made the decision to put out flat in central London on with Savills. At 1.5% commission they will be making over 30k when we complete. BUT the price was the same as many other agents were charging in the area and we could not do viewings ourselves as we don’t live there most of the time.
Several months down the line I feel differently. They have to pay for an office in central London and salaries for experienced and professional estate agents. Our main contact has been brilliant and has managed our difficult sale with integrity. They have conducted over 30 viewings and have got us the best price I feel.

I spoke to Strike once about a house I was interested in viewing (turned out of course that the random call centre person I connected to had no idea the house was already under offer) and she tried to sell their services to me for our sale. She immediately told me three completely wrong things about our area. I wasn’t tempted.

I did mean to say though that we have in our bit of SE London a local online agent, which is two agents who have set up working remotely without an office. So they have many of the advantages of a high street agent without many of the overheads: they are offering a much lower fixed rate fee. Worth checking whether you have any similar set ups near you?

They all say 1.5%, but no one actually pays that.

Pay the 1% for their expertise, they will vet viewers and offers in a way you can’t.

I'd happily pay say £10k for their experience. That's 5 x the online only cost and 6-7 times what we'll pay the solicitor who is professionally qualified & legally liable for things being right.

I just feel the business model is ripe for being undone. It may be too early to risk it for a higher value sale but I'd be amazed if Estate Agents don't end up being hit like black cabs have been by Uber.

We just paid 0.75% when we sold out house (value 0.5 million). 1.5 seems a bit steep. Maybe shop around?

I'd be amazed if Estate Agents don't end up being hit like black cabs have been by Uber

I’m not sure that’ll happen too soon, we viewed a house a few weeks ago and it was through purple bricks. They had chosen bare minimum so son in law showed us around whilst his elderly MIL sat on the sofa wanting to be introduced to and get to know each viewer. I wasn’t really allowed to look in cupboards (boiler/check for visual signs of damp etc) but I attempted anyway since I’m not spending over quarter of a million without having a good look… kept talking about the view, again, not relevant to the structure/house/grounds which is what I’m there to see.

Compare that with viewing with an estate agent and they’ll allow you most places providing they’re keeping an eye. When viewing it’s not just about wondering what orientation your furniture will fit after all..

If you are using a decent estate agent and talkinkg about those sort of prices, just get them to throw an extra 20K on to get back some of the commission. If you are selling a place for 2-3 mil then an extra 20K is nothing. The estate agent will always try and get you the best price too. Fair enough saving money but in that price range you don't want to be using purple bricks etc, you want a smart professional estate agent who is going to get you the best price.

I love that you started this thread OP

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/a2069287-The-poorest-half-of-the-Uk-own-3-of-the-wealth?msgid=46788384&postsby=ThinkAboutItTomorrow&fromid=46788171

Given the value of your property!

Having sold high value houses in London, my view is that if a top end agent gets you £200k more than the High Street and also conducts extensive due diligence on prospective buyers they are worth every penny. As well as people's ability to pay that also extends to sophisticated criminals who may be casing the joint for artwork/jewellery etc.

I would highly recommend the top tier agents and pay their slightly higher commission every time.

The reason estate agents imo get a bad rap is that they use a pile it high and sell it cheap mentality.

Having pulled out of a house purchase on part because the estate agents (on a £1m plus house) were abysmal, as a buyer I would say it’s definitely worth paying for a good one. A rubbish estate agent can list you your buyer, check location reputation very carefully.

I used to work for an estate agent (non-sales thank god). I learned a lot about the industry and also the mind set of the people who work there.

There is always a deal to be done, it's just about price
They don't represent you, or the buyer. Only themselves.
They will overvalue you property to sign you up and then push you to sell under its true value to get it over the line.

I'd contact the owner or as high up as you can get for the branch of the EA you decide to use, and negotiate.

I'd ask for a contract with a fixed price of 0.8% if they take more than 6 months to get an offer of within £10k of asking price that you then accept
But agree 1.8% if they get you the same offer within 14 days, 1.5% within 28 days and 1% 1-5months.

This will force a realistic asking price from the outset and push them for quick turnaround. But you should also make sure that if there have been no offers after 3 months you are free to engage with a multiple agents after that.

If the quality of photos is of a concern, I'd pay the £300 odd to a freelance and get them done myself, if everything else about the agent is right. There's no reason why an EA can't use your photos, but they can't use each others.

@Toanewstart22

I love that you started this thread OP

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/a2069287-The-poorest-half-of-the-Uk-own-3-of-the-wealth?msgid=46788384&postsby=ThinkAboutItTomorrow&fromid=46788171

Given the value of your property!

Why?

As I said upthread I don't think it's right that prices are so high, but they are.

Note I'm not complaining about the £120,000 in stamp duty I'll pay on my next home, I think that's right (though painful!).

I don't think it's right I get paid what I do when a care assistant gets so little. We value and reward the wrong things in this world.

Maybe that's partly why I resent the status quo with EState agents.

@Toanewstart22

I love that you started this thread OP

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/a2069287-The-poorest-half-of-the-Uk-own-3-of-the-wealth?msgid=46788384&postsby=ThinkAboutItTomorrow&fromid=46788171

Given the value of your property!

Ha ha ha! I love a sneaky check up on posters. A lot has changed in seven years, eh OP? I bet you don’t mind being in the top 3% now. 😂

@ThinkAboutItTomorrow

There's 18 estate agents near me, in hugely expensive rental offices. It's money for old rope.

But the point downthread is well made that they only need to be 2% better and n price to earn their fee.

Money for old rope?

Then do it yourself. But remember you have to do all the legal legwork yourself - and that includes working out what that legal legwork actually is. The stuff a solicitor won't do, or would charge a fortune for if they did!

@Onairjunkie
nothing's changed in my finances since I wrote that (more wrinkles maybe).

Not that it matters but I don't think I'm in the top 3% though. You need to be sitting on £2.5m of wealth (eg not mortgage).

I still fundamentally think things should be much more fairly divided.

I vote against my economic self interest because I would like to see things change.

It's possible to have money and still wish things were more fair!

As soon as they quote you price, that is the time to negotiate a lower percentage.

In the property market in Edinburgh, no one goes with an online estate agent (unless it’s a very inexpensive property ime). Properties marketed with the big solicitors tend to get the best price.

@Kite22

I think YANBU.

When you are talking the sort of prices some properties go for now, the amount the EAs are taking as a fee is phenomenal.

It's also worth making sure that you pay the % of the selling price and not the initial asking price. Our EA tried to charge on the initial price but as the contract referred to the selling price first, then contradicted itself we were able to force the issue.

I've never understood estate agent fees tbh and find it utterly bizarre that they often make far more than solicitors who are much more highly qualified do all the important work of the sale. Its nonsensical.

A captive market thankfully now open to challenge from online agents.

@Willyoujustbequiet - viewings - need to pay staff to do these, could take 30 to get an offer. Marketing, costs money for someone to create this. Post offer sales chasing, again staff, need to pay them, rightmove costs in excess of £1k a month(for a small one man band) rent on premises, admin, got to pay someone to create the paperwork required for a sale. The staff are often minimum basic and rely on sales commission for their income so they get a small percentage of the sales price.

30 % of all sales fall through, you have to start the process again.