Which estate agent?

[manateeandcake]

We want to put our house (period terrace in east London) on the market soon and have had valuations from two estate agents so far. We have one more coming later today, but that is more for balance and I don't think we will want to go with them as they are not as established in our area. The two that I've had round already are definitely the main competitors locally, and I'm struggling to choose between them.

EA 1: Smaller firm with only 3 branches total, been in the area for donkeys. Highly recommended by local friends for their good advice and commitment throughout the whole process, including one who was stuck in the chain from hell and said the agent pushing at the right time saved the day. He gave £950K as a "realistic appraisal" but said they would advertise at £975K, which I was a bit confused by. He seemed very very eager to get the listing and indicated they would beat the competition's commission down to as low as 1% +VAT.

EA 2: Much bigger firm with lots of branches across London including one in the area we want to move to. A couple of months ago they sold a house almost identical to ours a few doors down -- went on at £985K and accepted offer at asking price 10 days later. They have now exchanged but not completed. His valuation was £985K. Offered 1.5% commission as a "deal" because this is what our neighbours got.

Both seemed serious and nice enough for estate agents, EA 2 maybe pushier but not obnoxious. On one hand I think I should go with the personal recommendations from friends, on the other I think we'd be mad not to go with the agent that just sold a v similar house. WWYD?

Was it EA2 that sold the house or Rightmove?

If EA2 does get you an extra £10k then the extra half-percent + VAT will cost you nearly £6k of that £10k. If EA1 and Rightmove can get you the same result for only 1% +VAT then it's a no-brainer.

Ask both Agents for the logic behind their valuations so you can assess if they are reasonable. Get EA2's first so you can discuss it with EA1.

I'm not sure that having the same agent for selling and buying (if that happens) is a good thing. It's true that they have twice the incentive to get the deal over the line but you are no longer their primary concern.

If you agree with EA2's valuation, thengo with EA1 and tell them you want to advertise at £985.

Once, I picked an EA I liked, (or disliked the least...) their valuation was £250k but I knew it was worth more. I told them to list at £300k which they did, and we accepted £325k. It was a tricky one to price and they were surprised but sometimes you know better!

Thanks very much for your thoughts, both - v useful. We are going to sleep on it but minded to go with EA1. I feel like we will get more attention and better communication with the same point of contact throughout rather than being passed on to "team members" who don't know the first thing about the place.

I would go with EA1 - your house will reach what it’s worth whether it’s on at 975 or 985. I don’t understand what is confusing about EA1 saying 950k is realistic but they suggest advertising it at 975k though? It’s common for estate agents to suggest a price on the high side that vendors won’t necessarily achieve. For one thing they want your business so it pays for them to be optimistic