Estate Agency Fees

[STAH]

Guys:

Would someone please tell me what commission I would be expected to pay to an estate agency for the sale of my property. I own a one bedroomed flat on the south coast of England valued in the region of �110,000.

Ideally, I would like to go multi-agency as I do not like to be tied down to one company.

Many thanks!

Scott :)

[WoWo]

for a single agency you will in general pay around 1.5%, depending on how competative the market is locally (i.e. how many agents are around). This however will not include vat which will be added on top. So if it sold for �110,000 then you would pay in the region of �1940. You need to make sure the commision is based on selling price and not list price, this is especailly true in the current market which is on a downward trend.

As for multi agency they tend to charge a premium given there is the chance they could market the property and not get the sale. This is generally in the region of 3%.

However both are negotiable, if there are a lot of agents around play them off each other, but equally don't make the decision totally on who to go with based on 1. the commision rate and 2. the valuation they give. Go with somebody you feel comfortable with and do some research to make sure the valuation is fair (either up or down), you don't want to be in a situation where your house is priced too high and you forever chase the market down.

[STAH]

Thank you for your invaluable feedback!

[smurfchops]

Usually, the more your house is worth, the lower you can negotiate. Try offering them 1% or say you are going to a different agent - this should work. Dont forget you have to pay VAT on top. If you want to go multi agency you would probably have to pay around 2% or more. Don't sign any contracts, they will still try to sell for you and then if you don't like the agent, you aren't tied.

[buildersmate]

Finally, in addition to the above remember that the period of time for which your chosen Agent shall have exclusivity to market your house for is also negotiable. Agents will want as long a period as possible and may suggest 13 or more weeks. You may wish to negotiate this down (just in case you don't get on with them). A realistic minimum period (bearing in mind they do have fixed costs associated with getting your house advertised etc.) is probably 8 weeks.