Thanks for all this and clare we took your advice and went with the first agent because mainly he was very charming but not estate agency if you know what i mean. we had a lot in common with the valuer and we are not locked into any contract, rather than on a trust basis so i feel that if it is all hot air we can go on with a more branded name and just pay the higher fee. The photos are being done on thursday and the agent is http://www.charlesjames.co.uk if you want to look at my house so i'll let you know how we get on. Thanks again for all your help on this.

With the benefit of hindsight - I would advise you to choose an agent that you like and trust. That may sound woolly, but it'll make the whole process a lot less stressful if you can communicate well with them. So I actually had a very good experience with Jacksons in Balham, but I think that was very much down to the individual.

When it comes to commission, perhaps consider a sliding scale? Last time I moved, I structured the commission so that if they achieved the asking price, they got the commission they'd requested, which I think was 2%. I then had it going on a sliding scale down to 0.5% for the price I would not be happy to sell at. That way, it was in their interests to encourage the buyer to pay more (whereas I suspect sometimes they go for the easier option which is to convince you to accept less...). The estate agent was happy with this approach too.

Try Martine Mansurian - an independent agent she does sales as well as lettings and I have heard good things about her service
CONTACT: Martine Mansurian -
Telephone: 0208 879 7783
Mobile: 07788 444184
website: www.southbanklettings.co.uk
Good luck

The last two properties I have sold through agents but the buyers weren't registered with the agents but saw the for sale sign outside. I showed them round and really resented paying the agents fees

I know at the moment there are more buyers than sellers. If i was selling right now I would do it online and put my own for sale sign outside. If you know what you are expecting to get it will save you a lot of cash.

with out sounding rude what is the correct commission for an agent to charge????

Thanks for all this constructive info and we got the new agent around again this afternoon. they have a house on henderson road which has just had two offers on it so they have the buyers. as you say after four weeks we can bin them if they don't deliver so i don't see what the harm is and we can make a huge saving in the mean time. i wouldn't usually go down this route but to be honest they seemed a lot more professional and knowledgeable about the market than the other agents. The agents name is charles james so if you have anyone that has used them in the past it would really helpful before we go on board with them this monday. i don't see the harm since its a four week contract but four weeks i guess can be a very long time if they cant deliver.

Always negotiate their commission. The agent is right, houses between the commons practically sell themselves, they won't have much work to do - even more reason for hammering down the amount you have to pay them.

Are you in a particular hurry to sell? Why not give the new, cheaper agent a crack, say to them that if, as they have suggested, houses in your location are not difficult to sell, they'll only need 4weeks sole agent to do so. I can't decide if I think them having lots of other similar properties on their books is a good or bad thing; it gives more choice for their clients, meaning more competition for you. If agent doesn't live up to expectations, bin them and go elsewhere. One thing to be said for this neck of the woods, there are an awful lot of agents to chose from!

I can't recommend one, but can tell you that Jacksons seem to be universally panned.

I have found Douglas and Gordon very good and have bought and sold through them. Don't be scared to try to knock down the fee. We asked and they agreed to a good % drop in their commission (can't remember how much but saved us a few thousand)

Thanks for all your feedback on my query and i did go away and get Rampton and Baseley, Douglas & Gordon and James Pendletons through the door. we are now ready to instruct but only this evening we got a fairly new agent through the door this evening and now we are very much undecided on who to go with. it comes down to fee again and we can make a saving of 10k which is a decent amount of money and why should we pay over the odds. The agent tonight has a lot on the books in our price range and clearly pointed out its not difficult to sell a house in between the commons. is this true or should i just pay the extra money and be done with it.........

We found D&G to be really good in the past and have sold property with them before. I like their feedback and you can track everything on line as sellers with your own login, such as how many viewings they're doing, the viewers feedback and so on, which we found helpful.

KFH recently valued our property and my husband was really impressed with them on Northcote Rd, punctual, knowledgeable and great feedback so when we eventually sell our current property, I imagine we'll use them.

We bought our flat when it was for sale with Rampton Baseley (who are located on Northcote Rd). We registered with a LOT of estate agents, and I have to say Rampton Baseley were by far the best. Helpful, honest (as much as estate agents can be ) and always responded to queries very quickly.

When we come to sell, we'll be putting our flat on with them for sure.

Hope that helps.

Hi
I need a reputable estate agent.

We're selling on Gorst road and although I don't think we will have trouble selling the house i don't see how some agents can charge such high fees?

Does anyone have any recommendations? i have spoken to a few friends and when they came to sell there house it went in a week so is there a need to get an agent when the job seems fairly straight forward.

we have not sold in years so any advice would be appreciated.