Hi
We have the dreaded estate agent valuation tomorrow (and the rest of the week)...just wondering if anyone can give us any tips...
- what commission should we expect to pay?
- what questions should we ask?
Thanks in advance for any help as it will be really appreciated. We're a bit in the dark about it all and just can't wait to get out to Aus and have this all over with!
Susan

We've just put ours up. We'll pay 1¼% commision, which covers all the advertising (3 x web sites, 2 x local papers and 1 wider area paper, prime spot in the centre of the agents window in town as well as details in the 'out of town' section of other agents round about). Overall that seems pretty good to me.
Not sure about questions to ask really. Just make sure your house gets as much coverage as possible. I also asked ours to take a spare key so that they can show prospective buyers around as much as poss because I hate that.
Good luck.

I have heard of some people getting 1%. Ours was based in Essex and they would not go lower than 1.5%. Money for nothing I say

Susan
Get 3 quotes do not rely on one estate agents valuation.
Do not tell them you are emmigrating.
Tell all estate agents that you are shopping around for the best percentage. If they want the sale they will bargain.
Try not to tie your self into a long contract. They will try and get you to sign a contract for 3 months. Six weeks should be your max.
At least you can dispense with them quickly if they are not performing.

Good Luck.
:lecture:

We got an Australian one down from 3.3% to 2.9% including GST !! or

That's only $13,920 for doing very little !!

hi susan.

I had mine done by the halifax on saturday.

they charge 1% plus i then get 10% discount on that as i have the mortgage with them. There's no timelimits, they keep advertising until it's sold, and no charges if it doesn't sell either. They check all offers to make sure they have the cash or a mortgage offer before i accept anything (good idea i thought).

the value they gave was pretty good at the time, until i found a house round the corner selling for £12K more!! so i'm going to get a few more valuations before i decide to sell.

i was like you and hadn't a clue what to ask or what to tell them. In the end i just blurted out everything about me emmigrating and what i'd done to the house. I did tell them i wasn't in a rush to sell as i had a year to move once the visa had come through.

Apart from that nothing else really to tell or any more advice to give.

Hope it goes/went well!!

Ask if VAT is charged on top too.

Managed to get 1% with "your move"........ down side is we're on week 9 of a sole agency agreement dropped the price by 5K and only one offer from a couple who couldn't get the mortgage!!!

Have a viewing at 6.30pm but as usual they havn't even put their house on the market yet (thats the 3rd they've sent like that).

Will deffo be getting someone else in the minute we hit 12 weeks


Earlswood

I used to work in an Estate Agents (booooo!!! I know!! LOL)

1. Ask if all viewings will be accompanied.

2. Ask who will be doing the viewings (our boss was happy to send an admin clerk to do it - just as long as he didn't have to!!)

3. Ask what the lowest fee they will accept is - sounds obvious I know but if there is competition in your area you could get it for a really good price - sometimes they can make very little on the sale but are happy to take it from the competition and have their board up instead! They may even accept a bulk figure rather than a percentage - for example when I sold my house all I paid was £650 inc VAT.

4. Ask if VAT is included in price.

5. Ask when it will first be advertised - (what is the deadline for it to reach that weeks paper etc - ours was Monday for the Thursday paper) - this was something that a lot of people missed - if it was on the Market on the Tuesday wouldn't reach the paper until 9 days later - doesnt sound like a long time but when that board is up in your garden its a lifetime! LOL

6. Ask how long the contract is for - most as has previously been stated are for 12 weeks - this is a long time - try and get it for a shorter period. If they are not happy with a shorter contract ask them what their fees would be for 'dual' agency. This means that two Agencies advertise it and the fee goes to the one that sells it - the fees are usually higher though so beware of this. This only really occurs when you are stuck with an Estate Agent and the house isn't selling.

I think thats about it! If I think of any more I'll let you know. Good luck!

HTH

Rachelle

Good stuff Rachelle
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Susan

Have you tried a search on this forum for 'estate agents'?

There a quite a few threads with useful advice on

Good luck with the house sale

Thanks a lot to everyone for your replies. I haven't actually searched on here yet...about too though! Didn't have time to yesterday as I posted between feeding baby and tidying!!!!
I've had a lot of useful advice from a lot of people and I'm genuinely appreciative of this.
the estate agents won't know what hit them when we start asking questions tomorrow!!!
Can't wait to sell
Thanks again and good luck to all who are selling
Susan