Estate agent fees: normal? Negotiate w Foxtons?

[barefootNpregnant]

We’re in inner London (two nearest, equidistant tube stations are respectively in Zones 1 and 2). Foxtons have quoted us 2.5% to sell. We’re first-time sellers and a quick Google and look on here seems like that’s a lot.

Will get quotes from two other agents but does that seem steep? Estate agent claimed they charge more because they have a long list of buyers.

Has anyone negotiated a lower fee with Foxtons? What would you suggest we ask for? Thanks for any advice.

Definitely negotiate, especially with Foxtons. Do they all still drive branded Minis? They don’t have a long list of buyers, your house will go on Rightmove etc. and people find it that way. Whoever you go with will probably want a sole agency fee for a fixed period so you don’t list with multiple agents, that should be fine as it’s in their interest to sell your house. Good luck!

Is there a particular reason why you are focussing on Foxtons? There are other estate agents out there. Even without considering fees, for which 2.5% sounds high, Foxtons would probably be towards the bottom of my list if I were doing any sort of property transaction in London, unless I had a really compelling reason to work with them.

Thanks, that’s what I suspected about Rightmove etc. No branded Mini but a Range Rover. Appreciate the advice.

They had my details, maybe because we bought through them, and have been hounding me for years. As I said, will get other quotes. Why would you not use them? Any others you would recommend instead? Thanks.

Foxtons are twats. That’s all I came to say. Those Minis they drive around in. 💯Twats.

I used foxtons to sell my London house. Their fees were steep but they valued the house 100k above anyone else and they got us 40k more on the sale than anyone else's highest sale price. So do the maths before you write them off. Despite the spendy fees we made with them than we would have with their competitors.

Wouldn't touch them with a barge pole. Massive fees, overinflated prices and pushy agents (potentially good if you are a seller though they will probably fail to manage your expectations). Lots of friends with very poor experiences of them

I’ve only let through Foxtons, not sold. They offer the rare incentive commission, but normally do not negotiate. It is take it or leave it. This is in stark contrast to other agents.

They also overvalue, and it is common for them to come back after a few weeks telling you to reduce. I speed things up a bit by asking them to put it on the market below their valuation. I suspect they like to have some overpriced properties to make others look cheap.

They also bring a lot of people around, plenty of whom won’t be viable purchasers. Not great if you value your privacy. But then you won’t sell without having people through the door.

You also need your wits about you. Foxtons work for Foxtons, not you. Individual sales agents might well pressure you to accept an offer because they want their commission. If you feel you can do better, be ready to say no.

But…their marketing is very good and their salespeople are hungry. This is what you are paying for. I use them because dozy/sleepy/lazy/dim agents are worse.

Look at their minimum fixed term and sign a contract for that. I assume that 2.5% is sole agency. How much more do they charge if you use a second agent? (With lettings sole agency is rare, so I usually use a couple.)

We paid 1.5% with Dexters and found them to be really good, go be fair I didn't speak with Foxtons as I'd heard so many bad things. Maybe check the agents google reviews and see who's sold similar properties to yours on the Rightmove searches when you inc STC

Avoid Foxtons. Use a local agent whose signs you see on the streets around you. That will get you a sale.

Yes yes to local agent and boards you see. Have you researched local sold prices on nethouseprices.com, zoopla or similar? It was 20 years ago but the Foxtons agent who valued our house in SW20 couldn’t explain why he was saying 100k more than our semi-detached neighbour who had sold 6 months earlier with another agent (not sure he even knew…)

It's not a choice between low selling price and going with a flashy high-priced agent. You don't have to accept the valuation the other agents give you.

When we last sold we chose the agents we wanted to sell with - based on them having a good reputation and a nice non-flashy image, as well as reasonable rates for their fees. However, we told them we had higher valuations from other agents which we thought made sense based on comparable properties for sale locally. They agreed to try marketing at the higher price initially, and lo and behold it ended up selling for another £10k over asking.

I’d avoid Foxtons. My parents had dementia and I had Lasting Power of Attorney for them. I had to step in and stop the sale of my parents’ house as they were both vulnerable but the branch manager refused to acknowledge my LPoA. It was extraordinary, ended up with solicitors involved. Then they went behind my back and recommended another conveyancing solicitor to my father to try to get the sale through. I have genuinely never met such unscrupulous practice.

Would also avoid Foxtons especially at 2.5%!

We’re outer London so a slightly different market, but we paid 0.9% on our last sale. And our selling price was above all our other valuations as a PP said in praise of Foxtons.

I had a not good experience with Winkworth's and a v good experience with Dexters. They quoted 1.5%. A friend of mine who is a v v v good business man agrees x% and then say 10% over a v good price for the property. So if you're selling for eg £100,000, they get 10% of everything over £110,000. He says it focuses their minds like nobody's business. I've only ever looked at stuff through Foxtons, and to be fair, once they got me in that sodding mini, they showed me stuff I would never have considered and I v nearly went with it. They are good sales people, but I was also aware when buying that they would be justifying their big fees by squeezing me!

As a buyer, I'd go out of my way to avoid Foxtons. They overprice and are basically twats. I would buy through them as a very last resort.

Estate agents I've spoken to (zone 2) are suggesting 1%.

I would not touch Foxtons either. They overprice, lock you into a sole trader agreement for 13 weeks or so and then get you to reduce your price. However there should be some other agents in the area which are good. I am assuming you have had 3 around at least.

If there's anything niche or quirky about your property Foxtons might be a better bet. They will probably get you the highest sale price so you'll have more profit. They're quick aswell and are really flexible about viewings which can make a real difference. If none of this matters then you might be best shopping around.

I'm not on commission but they sold my flat after months of headache with other agents and I was so pleased!

when selling in zone you 1 it’s usually 2% for sole. (You should be able to get dual agency for that as well)
Foxtons are 2.5% and won’t negotiate at least I never managed, and my experience isn’t that they are worth it. I don’t like the way they pit the negotiators against each other.

My daughter is currently buying through Foxtons and they have been shite. So bad that she has tracked down the vendors and they are dealing with each other by text now as Foxtons weren’t passing on messages in a timely fashion and endangered the sale progressing to completion.

We paid 2% plus VAT to Savills when selling a central London property in zone 1 but they were worth it - they gave us exceptionally good service to make sure the deal got to completion. I wouldn’t trust Foxtons to do the same. If you want to use them for some inexplicable reason, I would negotiate hard on fees.

Used foxtons to sell my daughter's flat they were fantastic. It was a really difficult and long drawn out sale and very stressful. They were first class.

Thanks everyone for sharing advice and experiences. Really appreciate you taking the time to do so. Just working through all the responses now.

I would not go with Foxtons. Other agents only charge around 1% and can get as much for you with a better service. I did view properties with Foxtons and did not find them efficient. I sold in zone 3.

Ime Foxtons value higher and ask fir higher fees

I’m pretty sure you could get lower

We’re in London and had 1%

Foxtons are bloody fucking awful. They massively over value. I refuse to look at houses on with foxtons. When we sold (in london) we negotiated to 1%. Especially if you have a easy to sell property.