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.

The Foxtons name puts me off viewing a house as I assume it’s overvalued. We’re currently selling in London and got three agents to quote - all offered 0.75%. Shop around!

That whole tired thing of pitting negotiators against each other just means you end up with a lot of totally pointless appointments- they are required to meet targets on appointments so there’s pressure simply to get bodies in the building. We noticeably had people who were looking for completely different properties or budgets - a colossal waste of lots of people’s time.

also - the lengths of their list is 100% irrelevant in the world of roghtmove

I'd be looking elsewhere - that commission rate is outrageous. I'm just selling a probate property not in London but London prices and we negotiated 1% inc VAT, so really 0.8%.

I don't know anyone near me currently with fees higher than 1%. I thought 1% was standard at the moment? I'm shocked at your 2.5% daylight robbery.

Foxton couldn't sell ours. 2 weeks with Wirksworth and it was gone for same price. Foxton at the time wanted 3pc. They said they would get more which more than covered higher feed....they were wrong!

You should be paying 1 to 1.5pc.

Winkworth!!

That's absolutely appalling! They were the subject of a channel 4 (I think) undercover expose some years ago. It showed very sharp practices indeed.

Thanks for all new replies today as well. 2.5% is unusual seems to be the consensus. Will crack on with appointments with other agents and see what they offer.

I'd expect to pay 1.5% no more. Negotiate or go with another agent

If you happen to be in E London I would really recommend Keaton's. We sold through them and they were great. Not an easy house to sell either.

We sold in London and negotiated 1% plus VAT, our EA was amazing, sold our flat super quick and really good to communicate with, and they were definitely not Foxtons!

Definitely shop around, it's not just about the fees but also how the estate agent comes across with you, how they talk about your property, how they would market it, what their local knowledge is of the area.

Also don't just go for the highest valuation, consider how quickly you want to sell. The EA we went with spoke to us in depth about how we could price at various points depending on how quickly we needed to sell, so we could go higher but had to accept that it would take longer. For us speed was the priority so we went with a price at the lower end of their valuation and they were very happy to go with the 1%, the longer it's on their list the more work they will have to do.

Going with the higher price doesn't necessarily mean that you will get that, it will take longer and you'll probably have to reduce the price. These days buyers can see how long something has been on the market, if it's been reduced etc, which then creates reluctance because they think there is something wrong with the property.

we sold with foxtons about 7 years ago. They got us over our offer but it was stressful and we had to upmanage them. It got to the point where I dreaded seeing their mini cars seemingly everywhere (like cockroaches).

they aren’t that fabulous.

It’s a sellers market. I’ve just sold at 1%. 2.5% is daylight robbery. There’s a reason Foxtons have this awful reputation and TBH as a buyer if I saw them advertising a property it would put me off viewing.

Avoid them- you'll be leaving money on the table with those fees. It's central London, it doesn't need a 'specialist' agent which I'd argue Foxtons aren't anyway

Yes - I only became aware of their awful reputation after the fact. The whole culture of (at least this one branch in South London) was ruthless. This was 2015.

Foxtons are absolute bastards

They screwed us over when we sold our flat in London

Total cunts

Thanks for the recommendations of other agents too, will try local ones, Keatons and Winkworth. Appreciate the advice about nuances of selling too, this will be our first sale and made so many mistakes as first-time buyers it’s good to have an idea of what to bear in mind now.

Winkworth are a franchise. Some offices are very good, others less so. It is worth asking around locally.

Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to reply. Will bear your advice in mind.

Foxtons in my area are con artists. They presented a 2 bedroom 2 reception bungalow with a tiny garden as a 3 bedroom property (the "third" bedroom had patio doors with the only route to the garden) and even then priced it high.

They changed the time of my agreed viewing half an hour beforehand saying they'd got stuck in traffic. When I got there, it was clear they'd moved my viewing to coincide with two others of their salespeople. My agent had a loud voice which got much louder any time one of the other viewers came near.

I wouldn't view another property with them.

If Foxtons was the agent on a property I wanted to view it would put me off. I’d have to really really like it.