Selling property - one agent or two?

[FakeFlamingo]

We are about to put up our property for sale. Hoping to sell before stamp duty holiday ends. The house will be vacant so running cost of mortgage, council tax etc.

We are wondering if we should go with one estate agent or two? The rate doubles if we don't go sole agent, so much more expensive by around 10k. Does it really improve my chances of selling by 31st March or should I save it incase I have to hold on to the house until summer and hence longer running costs?

If we go some agent then we are locked in for 8 weeks.

Any experiences/advise?

• sole

Never known anybody to go with two agents. Why would you? Unless your first was rubbish?

I also don’t understand why you would do this?

I tend to assume people have 2 EAs because the property is not getting any viewings. If the photos are good and it's on Rightmove, 2 seems totally unnecessary.

Just one, make sure they get good photos and a clear floor plan!

I have bought 2 houses so far. Both were listed with 2 agents. Both had a lot of interest & viewings.

Choose a good agent and go with one.
With places like right move, your house will be seen by many people anyway.

You might think a smaller estate agent could give you more dedicated service, but that's not always the case. Large estate agencies will have agents competing for a commission and may actually be keener to provide a good service.

@FakeFlamingo

I have bought 2 houses so far. Both were listed with 2 agents. Both had a lot of interest & viewings.

Where are you? That’s highly unusual. Have a look at right move and you’ll see the overwhelming majority of folks only have one.

People usually decide what to view by trawling right move.

See which local agent with a high street presence is selling the most houses in your area. It's not just valuing and marketing they need to do well, it's how they deal with potential buyers, whether they conduct viewings and how good they are at progressing sales. You need to know the person actively selling your house (most of it is achieved by the Rightmove listing these days tbh) is going to be able to build a rapport with potential buyers.

I'm thinking next time we sell we won't use an EA at all. I don't know what they do to deserve their fees. They cost more than the lawyer last time and all they did was annoy me.

The problem is that unless you are somewhere really sought after where word of mouth and a card in the post office window or a post on a local Facebook page are all you need, you cannot access Rightmove without using an estate agent.

@Bluntness100 - one was west London and the other was south London, so not even the same area. I assumed any seller who wants to have agents compete for a higher % commission would employ 2 agents but also be prepared to pay a higher fee fir the advantage.

Perhaps the situations I've seen are more unusual than I imagined.

I've already narrowed down my preferred agent. Once I sign with them I can't do anything for the next 2 months + 4 week notice. That's 3 out of 5 months gone. Hence I was considering more options. I don't have a second agent in mind. Now I wonder if it's worth the hassle of two based on what everyone here is saying.

We used two agents. They both agreed to go at the same rate of commission as if we just used one, possibly because there weren't many properties going onto the market at the time. We did it because we wanted a quick sale and thought this would be a good way to do that.

I'm thinking of going with 2x agents too. I recently put a lower value house on the market, in a high value area and I don't think there was any incentive for the agent to put any effort into selling the house. I felt they were happy to put it on at at high price to gain the listing and then let it sit there quietly dropping in price by £x until a buyer came along. I know they've been V busy with £1m+ houses and was very disillusioned with their service. I thought by having 2x agents one of them would actively market it?

at a high

I got involved with a property that had two agents.

The sellers used it to manipulate the price by accepting my offer and taking it offer the market with agent 1 but still allowing viewings etc. via agent 2.

This is not in breach of the estate agent code of conduct. Agent 2 knew that the vendors had accepted an offer and agreed to take it off the market but said that they didn't have to abide by those terms and conditions as it was not their client who had had an offer accepted.

The same agent was agent 2 in exactly the same scenario for a colleague elsewhere. So it seems to be one of their sales tactics.

As a result I would never consider a property in future that is on with two agents and tell all my friends the same thing. I think it is a marker of dodgy practice tbh.

@ExchangedCat - did that work? Did having 2 agents expedite your sale?

We sold within 2 weeks so I think it did help. Agent 1 was brilliant while Agent 2 was far less bothered. I don't know if that's how they are normally, but if we'd only chosen Agent 2 (we nearly did) I think I'd have been very disappointed.

Whenever I see a house on the market with 2 estate agents it immediately puts me off. Strikes me as either a house that is struggling to sell, or the vendor will want to play games and keep it on the market after an accepted offer.

Go with a sole agent....just make sure they're the best agent you can afford. There's a house near me that was on with one agent, then two, and now three! It pops up 3 times on rightmove,all in a row! It's too expensive with a strange layout....a million agents isn't going to fix that!

Personally I always think a house in on with two agents as it isn't getting viewings, hard to sell, problems etc.

I've been watching the market in my area closely in the past 18 months (very protracted house move) and I've noticed the houses that haven't sold quick employ a 2nd agent down the line.

Again, it's my personal opinion but I don't think I'm alone.

@ExchangedCat thank you, encouraging.

Thank you everyone, I think it will come down to numbers (cost) which will help us decide.

I completely avoid houses that are being marketed by multiple agents,even if they look perfect for us. To me it's asking for trouble; game playing and gazumping. I once took a day off to view a house in another part of the country as we were relocating, when I got there the new owners were moving in... The other agents were actively marketing it until completion day!!

When I see something on with two agents it always makes me think that the price is too high but the seller isn't willing to see reason.

You pay the agent who sells the house. Not the ones who try.

Chose one and build a relationship with them. It is difficult at the moment and dealing with two opposing dealers is madness.

Check with your Council for any waver or discount on the Council tax. They all vary and some don't charge.