[Tengocity]

Knowing that the forum is full of great consumer advice, interested in hearing folks advice on choosing estate agents and selling homes generally?
I havent sold a house in England before and not at all for a long time at all.
In my head if the fees are all similar and the expected selling prices between them similar then it comes down to the one I like the most personally?
They all seem to be on Rightmove, and other than that I do prefer ones that do floor plans, and that's about it in my thinking!

[MarkG_M5Comp]

Originally Posted by Tengocity

Knowing that the forum is full of great consumer advice, interested in hearing folks advice on choosing estate agents and selling homes generally?
I havent sold a house in England before and not at all for a long time at all.
In my head if the fees are all similar and the expected selling prices between them similar then it comes down to the one I like the most personally?
They all seem to be on Rightmove, and other than that I do prefer ones that do floor plans, and that's about it in my thinking!

I've dealt with good and bad - the good was an old school friend fortunately.

If you can stand it, get a few round to the house and rather than be swayed by what they say about your house, listen to what they say about looking after you. It's relatively easy to spot the wide boys who come across as c0ck$ - kick them out. (You're in Sales now Terry, you know what to look for )

Finally, make sure they give you a dedicated contact - like an 'Account Manager' so you don't end up chasing them around later - meet this Account Manager and insist everything comes through him/her (unless on holiday of course). It's far less stressful that way.

Finally finally, don't use R0man$ to buy or sell - pushy annoying jerks - they will destroy your will to live!

GLWTS!

EDIT: One more tip actually... the last time we moved was unplanned (happened to see a nice house in the papers when we got back from holiday) - a week later we were on the market and sold!:

I had recently changed jobs taking on a senior role = no time for personal stress. I literally told my agent how much cash I could put into the deal (i.e. extra money available) and told him to 'do the deal'. He then negotiated sales and purchase prices around that. Later in the deal one of the sellers tried to strong arm people; I just stood my ground with him (one conversation) and made it his problem. It was the least stressful house move I've ever known. On move day we went out for lunch and let the paid help do the move!!

[Watsey]

The way I look at it, there are three options :
- Self-sell websites : I've not used them, but they are getting some traction.
- Cheap agents, but watch out for arses. As Mark says, they're easy to spot.
- Higher priced but much more professional and capable. Whether they are worth the extra is subjective.

Getting valuations and pricing from a range of agents, including a mx of national chains and local specialists, will provide good heights.

I had my house valued recently and was pleasantly surprised by one of the (premium price) agents. They came fully prepared with a market assessment of similar houses and examples of their recent completed sales (again, similar properties) and an overview of how they achieved or exceeded the asking price.

If you appoint an agent on an exclusive basis, negotiate terms that permit you to walk away if the agent is not successful in generating asking price offers within X weeks and if a sale hasn't been agreed within Y weeks. Agents will usually want exclusivity for a healthy period of time - you want to achieve an asking price sale reasonably quickly. The flip side is of course you don't want your house under-valued just so the agent can achieve its commission quickly and easily.

[Rbrown]

Set the commission rate with the estate agent up front. I agreed increased percentages got the higher the price they got for my houses. I found it really motivated them!

Good luck!

[....,,,,..,,..]

I assume it's not an option to keep and rent?

[Yani Aristides]

Never sell to a man offering to part ex camels....

[dubdemand]

Just get ready for every man and his dog to try dipping their hands in your pockets. The total cost of fee's, removal vans etc etc etc came to £18k for us back in May!

As others have said it really does boil down to the individual rather than the company you use to a certain extent. Yes you want a good company with a good reputation but people buy from people... We found our agent to be less than great between doing the deal and completion but our sellers agents were great and helped the chain along when it looked like it could stall a couple of times. They even contacted our potential buyers to try and negotiate a deal - trying to pass a saving to us on to our buyer!

Personally I'd look at the local companies before the chains as I think you will get a better more personal service if you find a good one. Make sure you shop around and don't get your heart set on anything until YOU have a buyer!

[Tengocity]

Originally Posted by Brigand

I assume it's not an option to keep and rent?

I've mulled it over but decided against it. It compromises our purchase more than I'd like and it's an added layer of complexity in our lives that I can't be arsed with.

[teaston]

Purple Bricks! They charge just £798 inc VAT!

I do their EPC's round here and I keep hearing such good things from people, quite often that they've already sold by the time I get round to do their EPC!

[MarkG_M5Comp]

Originally Posted by teaston

Purple Bricks! They charge just £798 inc VAT!

I do their EPC's round here and I keep hearing such good things from people, quite often that they've already sold by the time I get round to do their EPC!

Talk to me about these EPCs - do you leave your chair to make them up, I mean, calculate the losses?

[teaston]

Originally Posted by MarkG335

Talk to me about these EPCs - do you leave your chair to make them up, I mean, calculate the losses?

Lol, yes we get audited on random 5% of jobs and have to provide photo evidence for everything recorded.

Not to mention if the vendor hasn't seen me come round their property they would be unlikely to pay me!

[Tengocity]

Originally Posted by teaston

Lol, yes we get audited on random 5% of jobs and have to provide photo evidence for everything recorded.

Not to mention if the vendor hasn't seen me come round their property they would be unlikely to pay me!

How much do you charge for them out of interest? I've just had an estate event round and they said the EPC is £95 and includes the photos and the floor plan and measurements. Does that sound reasonable?

[MarkG_M5Comp]

Originally Posted by teaston

Lol, yes we get audited on random 5% of jobs and have to provide photo evidence for everything recorded.

Not to mention if the vendor hasn't seen me come round their property they would be unlikely to pay me!

Glad to hear it - you're a good guy then!

The fella that did my house insisted we had insulated walls (Kingspan solid type) due to the era it was built - that's what he told me on the phone and thats how he calculated the EPC. All this despite the fact I have SEEN inside my walls with an industrial borescope and know for a fact there is nothing there! He seemed more concerned that he'd be highlighted as inaccurate.

Ho hum.

[teaston]

Originally Posted by Tengocity

How much do you charge for them out of interest? I've just had an estate event round and they said the EPC is £95 and includes the photos and the floor plan and measurements. Does that sound reasonable?

For EPC & floor plan i charge £55-£65

I thought photos were included in the agents fees tbh!

[Tengocity]

Originally Posted by teaston

Purple Bricks! They charge just £798 inc VAT!

I do their EPC's round here and I keep hearing such good things from people, quite often that they've already sold by the time I get round to do their EPC!

So what's the crack with these? I'm being offered 0.75% + VAT from a local independent. My thinking is that the local knowledge and experience and that they'll manage the viewings and all that stuff is worth the extra...

[Yani Aristides]

Originally Posted by Tengocity

Knowing that the forum is full of great consumer advice, interested in hearing folks advice on choosing estate agents and selling homes generally?
I havent sold a house in England before and not at all for a long time at all.
In my head if the fees are all similar and the expected selling prices between them similar then it comes down to the one I like the most personally?
They all seem to be on Rightmove, and other than that I do prefer ones that do floor plans, and that's about it in my thinking!

Would today at 4.0 pm be a convenient time for me to view?

[Tengocity]

Originally Posted by teaston

For EPC & floor plan i charge £55-£65

I thought photos were included in the agents fees tbh!

Perhaps, but I'm sure she said the person that does the EPC does pics and floor plan. I guess the difference is the premium of being so bloody near London.

Actually shouldn't complain, as that's why they're talking 400k+ for my 2 bed place!

[teaston]

Originally Posted by MarkG335

Glad to hear it - you're a good guy then!

The fella that did my house insisted we had insulated walls (Kingspan solid type) due to the era it was built - that's what he told me on the phone and thats how he calculated the EPC. All this despite the fact I have SEEN inside my walls with an industrial borescope and know for a fact there is nothing there! He seemed more concerned that he'd be highlighted as inaccurate.

Ho hum.

When was the property built? And i guess it's cavity walled?

[MarkG_M5Comp]

Originally Posted by Yani Aristides

Would today at 4.0 pm be a convenient time for me to view?

Better get on that 'plane then....

[teaston]

Originally Posted by Tengocity

Perhaps, but I'm sure she said the person that does the EPC does pics and floor plan. I guess the difference is the premium of being so bloody near London.

Maybe they do it differently round there, but certainly round here the agents always do the pics unless it's on posh houses sold by the likes of Savills who do get a proper photographer to do the photos.

[Tengocity]

Originally Posted by teaston

When was the property built? And i guess it's cavity walled?

It's complicated! Lower half was originally part of a stable block, then a garage block! So it's solid brick, but then upper half is cavity from when it was converted. I had the cavities in the upper half done a few years back.
And the loft space done when I had it floored.

[Tengocity]

Originally Posted by Yani Aristides

Would today at 4.0 pm be a convenient time for me to view?

No, sorry, I don't take camels I'm afraid!

And I only deal with folk of reputable character and longstanding members of the forum...