Which estate agents to contact if property is multi-agency?

[cannehelpit]

Looking for experience please.

I've seen a house on the market with three agents. One is a chain agent with big regional presence, one is Foxtons and one is a more local-ish agent with 6 or so branches that brands itself a luxury estate agent (property is not luxury but in an area where some other houses are!!!).

I believe it was on first with the chain agent. Now also taken on Foxtons and the local-ish one, so the first one didn't clinch a deal. I know people often say sell through Foxtons, but don't buy.

Who would you go to if you could realistically offer under asking only (I won't say how much!), which is my position! It hasn't sold, so i might as well ask. I'm guessing the original agent is the cheapest seller fee. Foxtons is 2.5% I believe. I imagine the lux branded one is about same as Foxtons....

It doesn't matter much to you as the potential buyer.

Except I would avoid Foxtons as they are quite aggressive in their approach so may not be the nicest to deal with.

It doesn’t matter which agent agrees the sale, the seller will have to pay a fee to both agents.So which agents fee is cheaper is irrelevant - it will cost the seller the same
whichever one sells it.

I would avoid Foxtons. As pp said, they are quite pushy. I had one who repeatedly tried to make me visit houses which did not meet my quite clear brief and got shirty with me when I wouldn’t go and see them.

Don’t go with Foxtons. I couldn’t get rid of the guy who came to value ours. Their marketing is aggressive and I doubt they’d be any better with prospective buyers.

Thank you,

I guess as I need to offer under the asking price, i wondered which would make our case the best!

No to Foxtons though, i agree. thanks

They all will probably tell you it's too low. It's their job to encourage buyers to offer the most they can.

They all will have to pass your offer onto the seller despite saying it's too low.

They all would be quite happy if the seller accepts it because they will still get their commission and it doesn't make a lot of difference to them if the offer is on the low side.

Chain one can't show me until Thursday.

Lux one is not answering the phone.

Just left with scary Foxtons....

Is Foxtons really that bad?!

Yes - what’s so bad about waiting until Thursday for a viewing?

Nothing, I just probably can't make it. What will be will be :)

I'd ask the seller. DH had his house on the market with 2 agents and their fees were different. The guy who eventually bought it came round and knocked and asked who we'd prefer he contact if he wanted to view!

I think it does, sometimes a good EA is brilliant at making sure a chain doesn't collapse etc.

But how is OP to know which of the EAs will be good at keeping a chain together?

For example, my daughter bought her flat through Foxtons. The EA who showed her round the flat was a bit pushy but ok, but as soon as her offer was accepted, he passed her onto their "sales progression team".

They guy she was then dealing with was useless. The deal almost fell through because of quite minor issues. It only stayed together because she had got the WhatsApp details of the seller (not through the Estate Agency) and when they started communicating directly, both sides realised that the "sales progression" guy was actually hindering the sale by being as useless as he was.

Isn't that why OP has posted the thread, to try and understand the best option?

Not knowing what the best option is, is not the same as it not mattering.

Specific, local advice is ideal but this thread might give OP things to consider or ask.

We have given OP things to consider which is that Foxtons have a bad reputation which several posters have said is justified in their experience.

But none of us can possibly know which of the 3 EAs (if any) will be skilled at making sure the chain doesn't collapse because all they doing at this stage is phoning the office to make an appointment to view.

Personally, I would have discounted Foxtons first.

Then the EA where they weren't answering the phone as that's not a good sign.

Agreed.

I did just that. Discounted Foxtons, then the lux one, as I called them on Tuesday in the morning and they still haven't heard anything back.

Three agents on one house usually means one thing, it didn't sell for a reason. The shiny branding does not change that 😅 I have been there and ended up looping in Curetons just to understand who had leverage and who did not. I would avoid the original chain agent and talk to whoever joined later, less ego, more flexibility.

That's actually what i did!