Estate agent fees - selling Post Reply

[B&BsMum]

Hi. Grateful to hear people's recent experiences of what you were quoted as the agent's fee for selling your house and what you were able to negotiate. I'm thinking that sole agency is the best way to go but would also appreciate advice on that. Finally, has anyone used Rampton Baseley recently as their agent and how was the experience? Many thanks.

[Shevsla]

Hello B&BsMum,

I would suggest getting 3 valuations of your property carried out. One from a large Estate Agents such as Foxtons, a medium size firm and a local firm. Get a quotation of selling fees from each Estate Agent and this will also give you three valuations to work off. You can then advise if you have been given a better offer elsewhere and can open up the field of negotiation.

If you need any advise on a mortgage for your next purchase, i am a fee free mortgage broker based in central London, able to access the whole of the mortgage market. Happy to give break down of costs and borrowing amounts!

[Hamptons_EandS]

Hello BandB's Mum

Further to the reply, I would get the three quotes and probably disregard the highest and lowest. The main thing to watch out for is over-valuing. when the market is quiet, I.e. December, Easter Hols and Summer Holiday's agents have a tendency to "buy-on" stock so that when the market gets busy again they have the properties to sell. In the mean time they work on reducing the price so that it becomes more "sellable" when the buyers are back. Whilst that in itself is not the worst thing I do think it is dishonest of agents and I wouldn't want to work with someone who plays games with me. The fees will probably range from 1.0% to 1.5% but like with anything else if you pay peanuts....... A good agent as to attract the best staff and will be one that gives good training, rewards them well, advertises on all the web portals etc. Even if the price they achieve is similar to one of the cheaper agents the level of service, feedback, knowledge etc should be worth that extra 0.25%/0.5%. I would also go with a good name, certain brands have reputations for a reason. If you would like any further advice please feel free to message me.

[tiredmom32]

Hello
I would trade off paying higher fees e.g. even 2% for securing a higher price so start with a high price and exclusively with high fees and after two months negotiate lower and add others.But tell them that at the beginning.
Good
luck

[firsttimerSW11]

I can only comment really on the area BTC but my experience is that the agencies based on Northcote (I include Rampton Baseley, as you mentioned them) price houses realistically (broadly speaking). If you see a property for sale and it's ridiculously overpriced, chances are it's one of the agents on Lavender Hill who have overvalued it to get the business. I've seen this time and time again.
I think most of the agents on Northcote charge around 1.25-1.5% for a sale on a family home between the commons. I baulked at paying it initially but our agent found us a buyer who had not actually been looking at rightmove/prime location etc, ie just someone who had registered a year or so ago at a completely different branch and then stopped looking. You're paying for their book of clients basically, which for us was worth it.
I like using the bigger agents (Hamptons, Savills etc) because they might have buyers registered in places like Fulham who might be tempted over the river, so essentially they have access to a huge pool of potential buyers, which is how we sold our house last year)

[Luilou]

My flat is currently STC. It is the first time I have sold a property. I initially went with one of the Lavender Hill Estate Agents and yes was partly attracted by their low fees and short contract. After two months I moved to one of the local Northcote Road based Estate Agents and they sold the flat within 2 weeks. I agree with another poster that with some of the agents, they might charge higher fees but they have a larger client base and yes my buyer was looking in Fulham and then was enticed across the river. Fingers crossed we get across the completion line.

Interestingly where we are looking at buying (slightly further out of London), there is one Estate Agent which only sells properties on the basis that the buyer pays the sellers fees of 1.7% + VAT, with one or two open days and sealed bids only.

Good luck with your house sale.

[Geegee007]

When making your calculations, it is worth remembering that the agent fee will then have VAT added.... Adding to your costs

[mandelenamacdoff]

There are many websites available for buyers and sellers on the internet which are very helpful in getting the best one, we can deal with. The agents fee and all other required information are available. So you can go through it or can take an expert's advice.

Conveyancing in NSW

[clare74]

In the past I've negotiated a sliding scale of commission. At the top is the commission they want which they get if they sell the property for what they say they can. It goes down to bottom end of what they'll accept for what you would consider the minimum you'd sell it for.
NB. The asking price isn't always the same as the one they expect to sell for, so make sure that you've asked them for both.
NB. The person you negotiate this with must communicate it to the person marketing your property!

Regarding price, take a look on RIghtmove and see what similar properties are being marketed for right now. (I'd take school catchment into consideration which can affect prices from one end of a street to another.) Dismiss any "outliers" as they're probably mis-priced. Look at the volume of property as well, as then you'll know if price will be a more or less important factor, based on the amount of choice a buyer has. But do also listen to the expertise of the agents - just try to separate their market knowledge from the sales patter!

In terms of agent, do choose someone that you both like and trust. They're going to be in your home, dealing with something that is both emotional and significant in financial terms for you. Unless you're totally able to take emotions out of the decisions, I'd say this is an important consideration! Ask the tough questions upfront and see how openly they deal with them and that should give you an idea.

Hope this helps. Best of luck!

[Manon35]

I have found that most agents will negotiate on their fees in this area. We found Savills great - they weren't the cheapest but they have such a reach with their network of offices that they attract all sorts of buyers. Also they didn't overvalue and were realistic which I think in the current market you have to be.

Best of luck!

[GEvenden]

Extremely professional. Mayo Short has been excellent.

[Motherslittlehelper]

We paid 1% a couple of years ago with a Bellevue Road estate agent - remember to add vat to all these figures, not sure why they don’t include vat in the % as we all have to pay it

[parsleysong]

It's suspicious that 2 people raving about Savills have just joined and it's their first post. I used Savills (Mayo, Caroline, boss whose name I can't recall was very pushy) to sell my house and wasn't impressed and 5 years later they are still making unsolicited calls to value my current house. Very smarmy.

[ClaphamParent154]

We've had two friends sell in the area lately and they both managed to get fees down to 0.5% +VAT from the start.

[CDSW11]

I have sold 2 flats and recently bought a house BTC after looking for almost a year.

My take away is:
- You need an agent you get along with. The process will be very emotional so you'd better have someone you get along with on your side.
- Internet very much sales houses nowadays, especially if they are in good state.
- However agents that have low staff turnover (Rampton Baseley, John Thorogood) as opposed to young "blondies" know what they're doing and will be able to shift a house that needs repair better. If they've survived for so long against big agencies there is a reason.
- Some will give you a high valuation to get the contract. It will only dis-serve you. Especially in this market where things have slowed down, anything that's not realistic does not even get an offer.

Finally
I bought from JT but was shown tons of house from Rampton Baseley (and Knight Frank too). I really liked RB no-nonsense, and as crazy as it sounds, I found RB staff to sound honest and saying things as they were. I know. Crazy huh?!
Oh and I really disliked Savills and Hamptons. They might be cheap but they're just opportunists, not good at their job. You can see this at the BS they put to try and sell you a house 150K above what it's worth. I sold with Marsh & Parsons but in another area of London too. I found them quite good. I can't speak for their Northcote agency though.

This opinion is only mine.