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.

To add

Online agency- pay extra for marketing, pay extra for viewings, price deals usually on a caveat you use their solicitors. The house doesn't sell, you still have to pay. Post sales chasing, non existent, gbos is where a decent agent comes into their own.

And no. I don't work in the industry.

How do you know which agent to go with? They all have similar fee models and likely same book of buyers and all promise the world on a plate?

Try to negotiate them down to 1%, which for you is a huge saving.

I wouldn’t touch Purple Bricks or any onlkne estate agent with a barge pole for your value property. You need an EA to match you to the right potential buyers and screen to see if they can afford it. You need them to suggest your property to people interested in a similar property, book appointments in a sensible way so they aren’t dotted all over the place, and you only have to present things perfectly on a few days, just generally drum up interest with the right people.

Don’t experiment with Purple Bricks first. It won’t sell and then it will be obvious from RightMove etc that it hasn’t sold, and people will expect a reduction.

The house doesn't sell, you still have to pay.

How could I forget this? You pay a fee up front so there’s literally no incentive to sell your property.

Whereas with a property like yours, an actual EA has a massive incentive to sell.