Putting a property on the market

[sallyann16]

What is the best method of approaching an estate agent when selling your property?
Is it best to ask several to put it on their books, or just one?
Do they charge upfront for advertising, or are fees paid only upon sale?

[MASS1961]

Ask 2 or 3 to come and value your property, say how much they charge etc. And make your choice, you only pay when the property sells.

[ladybirder]

Get several valuations but only appoint one EA. You usually pay on sale of property.

[MASS1961]

Also, I dont think you can use joint/multi agencies for the first 3 or 6 months but I would be corrected on that.

[ladybirder]

Yes you can Mass as long as you haven't signed an exclusive agreement.

[MASS1961]

Thanks, like I said, I would be corrected!

[LoftyLottie]

You can have as many estate agents as you want, but unless there is a sole agency agreement you will be charged higher commission.

[sallyann16]

Brilliant - thanks so much for your help everyone xx

[ladybirder]

Sally if you initially put it on with more than one agent it smells of desperation which gives people the idea they can offer you a silly price.

[sherrardk]

When we were selling ours some official body (can't remember who) would only let us have one For Sale sign up. Also check that your chosen estate agent is linked up with the big Internet sites like Right Move (around here, some aren't).

[LoftyLottie]

Or you can get agents rounds to assess the price for your property and then try and sell it yourself. If you are in an area where there are lots of similar properties and you are fairly sure of the price then this shouldn't be too difficult. There are also websites where you can advertise your house privately.

[Buenchico]

The usual contract with an estate agent binds you to pay them when the property is sold (within a designated period of time) irrespective of how that property is sold. So if you enter into three contracts you'll have to pay three lots of commission (even if the purchaser approached you directly and not one of the estate agents was actually involved in the sale.

The first question you really need to ask yourself is whether you actually need an estate agent. There are plenty of people on this site (including me) who've sold a house without using an estate agent (saving thousands of pounds).

If you do decide that you need to use some form of sale service, you still need to ask yourself whether you need a High Street estate agent or whether an online service will do the job for you.

High Street estate agents might charge around 1.5% commission, plus VAT. So a £150,000 house will cost you £2700 to sell (possibly plus some additional fees). An online agency will cost about £300 + VAT = £360.

You ONLY need a High Street estate agent if you can't handle the viewings yourself. If you can, either sell it yourself or use an online service.

Chris

[buildersmate]

Here's a useful tip if you are using a High Street agent and you want to make sure they work for their money.
Once they've valued the property at say £200k and if you are happy with that, and once they have offered to sell for say 1.5% commission, do the following:
Propose that they receive 1% for any sale value up to £180k, then 6% of any sale price above that.
At £200k, that works out at the same commission (1% of 180k = £1800, plus 6% of 20k = £1200, total £3k commission), but it forces the agent to put his money where his mouth is and negotiate the very best price for you.
The difference that an agent makes on a sale at £180k versus £200k is very little, but it is £20k to the seller.
Note that if the agent sells at greater than £200k, he will start racking up bigger commission earned - £4200 on a sale price of £220k. But you wouldn't mind that?

[sallyann16]

Thank you Builders Mate - v v useful tip!