Traditionally we have used an Estate Agent to Buy, Sell or Let property with agents typically charging the home owner a percentage of the sell price or rental income.
The percentage charged can vary from agent to agent but can be as much as 3%. Currently, the UK average property price is estimated to be £190,000, therefore based upon a 3% agent fee, you’d pay £5,700+vat to sell via an estate agent.
As property prices continue to rise, so does the actual cost of using an estate agent due to the fee being a percentage of the selling/rental price.
Is this cost along with well publicised bad press regarding practices of unscrupulous estate agents has encouraging home owners to look for an alternate way of finding buyers and tenants?
In essence, an estate agent will put you and your buyer together then your solicitor takes care of all legal matters. An agent will negotiate price and relay/answer any questions regarding your property… But wouldn’t you like to take control and do this yourself?
I would ! and thats why I've put together the following site http://www.inspector-homes-ne.co.uk I've worked on the site as a part time project but believe I have actually come up with something the general public would be interesed in.
I'd like to know, would you sell your property privately? If not, why?
I also welcome any feedback on my web site... good and bad.
Estate Agents Fees... rip off OR value for money?
Moderator: andysfootball
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StephenGallagher
- Big Gob
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In NSW, there is such a scam where it is illegal to auction your own home without being registered under the Property, Business, Stock and Agency Act.
They MUST get their 2.5% of the sale price or the sky will fall.
Good effort. I hope you make millions and run these rent seekers into the ground.
They MUST get their 2.5% of the sale price or the sky will fall.
Good effort. I hope you make millions and run these rent seekers into the ground.
Insulus cruentam atque bella. Si pugnaverunt eleutheria toties vis bello itidem vel libertatibus conservare autem?
Ad liberandum aliis fieri liberior.
Ad liberandum aliis fieri liberior.
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Jim_in_France
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Before I left the UK. I put my house up for sale with an agent, at the same time, I placed free ads on the internet. I had more response from the free ads on the net, than I did from the agent. They did very litle at first regarding advertisement, until I complained. I did have two potential buyers from the egent and sold to the second person to look at it. They were a cash buyer, so I went with them. The agent got there money for next to nothing though!
"The world is a stage, but the play is badly cast."
"We are each our own devil, and we make this world our hell."
Oscar Wilde
"We are each our own devil, and we make this world our hell."
Oscar Wilde
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Babooshka
Value for money + estate agents..now there's a complete oxymoron.
Estate agents are among the biggest tosspots (along with car salesmen) to rip people off with their inflated charges. Most UK agents charge upwards of 1.25% of the final selling price of the property which can often equate to £1000+ and all this for simply making a few phone calls and planting a lousy stupid 'For Sale' board
Estate agents = Total tosspots
Estate agents are among the biggest tosspots (along with car salesmen) to rip people off with their inflated charges. Most UK agents charge upwards of 1.25% of the final selling price of the property which can often equate to £1000+ and all this for simply making a few phone calls and planting a lousy stupid 'For Sale' board
Estate agents = Total tosspots
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StephenGallagher
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Babooshka
But would you be prepared to sell your property privately via a site such as mine?
Paying just once to list a property for sale on the site, then taking all calls from interested parties yourself, arranging appointments and negotiating price?
Paying just once to list a property for sale on the site, then taking all calls from interested parties yourself, arranging appointments and negotiating price?
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Babooshka
Oh here we go..I did suspect you were a business of some type..yes I would consider this option, but would prefer to try my own advertising etc first before I went down the route of paying a third party, mind you it'll be a long time before I sell this place (just getting used to living in it again)
Good luck btw
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StephenGallagher
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Babooshka
I'm not a business... or at least not yet. My site came about after being forced to pay the crazy agent prices when I recently moved home. It really bugged me that these people could charge so much for seemilgly so little.
I decided to see what I could come up with myself and to see if it really could be an alternative way of buying and selling.
Now I've created a site, I'm unsure what to do with it. ie spend lots to market it and attempt to become self employed OR just leave it as it is and see what happens.
Part of the reason for posting this topic was to see what other people thought about the idea of selling privately. I think I'm too involved with the site and so thought I'd look for others opinions.
Thanks for your feedback!
I decided to see what I could come up with myself and to see if it really could be an alternative way of buying and selling.
Now I've created a site, I'm unsure what to do with it. ie spend lots to market it and attempt to become self employed OR just leave it as it is and see what happens.
Part of the reason for posting this topic was to see what other people thought about the idea of selling privately. I think I'm too involved with the site and so thought I'd look for others opinions.
Thanks for your feedback!
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captain beefheart
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there are a few of these internet house sale sites available which seem very similar, i would add what are you doing but providing a fairly restricted portal for customers.
Estate agents are value for money when they sell the property quick and get the contracts to exchange which is what they are responsible for, its not just advertising, also they are generally part of a big internet arrangement (rightmove etc) which pool together all associated agents houses for sale whic is useful when you are buying out of the area.If you are providing a portal for a few quid then OK but remember estate agents do a bit more for their money
And no i am not an estate agent
Estate agents are value for money when they sell the property quick and get the contracts to exchange which is what they are responsible for, its not just advertising, also they are generally part of a big internet arrangement (rightmove etc) which pool together all associated agents houses for sale whic is useful when you are buying out of the area.If you are providing a portal for a few quid then OK but remember estate agents do a bit more for their money
And no i am not an estate agent
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Ugly Betty
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Hello, Stephen. I checked out your site, and while not all the info came up (some sort of server error on the right pull down,) I think it's a clever idea. A lot of folks sell their homes privately here, either completely on their own or with the aid of a help-you-sell agency whose fees are substantially lower than a real estate agent would charge.
I suppose it depends on how much time and energy a seller is willing to devote to arranging appointments, getting legal papers drawn up, etc., as to whether or not they would be interested in this kind of service. It does seem to offer a good option to those who have the time and inclination.
I suppose it depends on how much time and energy a seller is willing to devote to arranging appointments, getting legal papers drawn up, etc., as to whether or not they would be interested in this kind of service. It does seem to offer a good option to those who have the time and inclination.
There is a trend in the UK now for estate agents to offer a fixed fee, ie £1000 to sell your property.....
sounds good on the face of it, but all it does is guarantee them the fee, even if they dont get the best price for your house...
best advice is...
advertise it privately in the local free press for four weeks (most prospective buyers will check out the local papers just to get a feel for the prices in an area, even someone moving into that area from another part of the country, they will do the same).
there are dozens of web-sites on the net where you can advertise the property for free.
contact the personel departments of the large employers in the area, they often have staff transfering in from out of area (particulary TV companies).
if that fails, negotiate with ONE major estate agent in the area, a fee of 1.5% as a sole agent should be acceptable to them (if they are as good as they claim to be, 1.5% (as opposed to a fixed fee) is plenty and it gives them the incentive to get the best price possible for you)
finally, I'm not a great fan of conveyancing shops, for something like this I prefer the protection of a qualified solicitor, backed by law society professional indemnity insurance.
sounds good on the face of it, but all it does is guarantee them the fee, even if they dont get the best price for your house...
best advice is...
advertise it privately in the local free press for four weeks (most prospective buyers will check out the local papers just to get a feel for the prices in an area, even someone moving into that area from another part of the country, they will do the same).
there are dozens of web-sites on the net where you can advertise the property for free.
contact the personel departments of the large employers in the area, they often have staff transfering in from out of area (particulary TV companies).
if that fails, negotiate with ONE major estate agent in the area, a fee of 1.5% as a sole agent should be acceptable to them (if they are as good as they claim to be, 1.5% (as opposed to a fixed fee) is plenty and it gives them the incentive to get the best price possible for you)
finally, I'm not a great fan of conveyancing shops, for something like this I prefer the protection of a qualified solicitor, backed by law society professional indemnity insurance.
When designing something completely foolproof, the designers seldom take account of the inginuity of complete fools !
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Cogito Ergo Doleo
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Cogito Ergo Doleo
Babs... Value for money + estate agents..now there's a complete oxymoron.
bit like saying.....
................army intelligence, or female logic
bit like saying.....
................army intelligence, or female logic
When designing something completely foolproof, the designers seldom take account of the inginuity of complete fools !
.......................................
Cogito Ergo Doleo
.......................................
Cogito Ergo Doleo
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Babooshka
I had an estate agent in last week who valuied my house, he told me how much he thought it was worth and i just laughed at him, then got another one in and they valued it at another 40 grand on top of his price He also told me to move it will cost me in the region of 9 grand with every thing i have to pay out. 
Life is to short to miss out,just go for it.
selling
Kia ora...I sold my house and property about 18 mths ago,an agent
said commission on the price I was asking,would be about $20,000 NZ
so I painted a sign on a piece of plywood and nailed it to the power pole
outside,I sold 10 days later,total cost of selling,$840nz,lawyers fee.
said commission on the price I was asking,would be about $20,000 NZ
so I painted a sign on a piece of plywood and nailed it to the power pole
outside,I sold 10 days later,total cost of selling,$840nz,lawyers fee.
Good on ya wakaman....that's what I like to hear....people's personal success story.....all because they 'tried' it out, and gave it a go....
I think real estate agents fees are a damned rip off IMO.
Here are some examples....a house in Queensland (Australia) we put on the market, sold on the very first day of 'open for inspection'.......they get their commission like this
5% on the first 18,000, and 2.5% on the rest, plus GST on top of that, plus whatever advertising they did.
And as the property sold for $225,000, they got over $6,682.50 for just a few hours work!
In the more expensive areas of Queensland such as the Gold Coast, where those houses on the canals are usually $1million or more, the agents state they will only charge 1%
In Victoria, the agents fees are usually about the 3% charge.
With the advent of the booms we have had, and properties doubling in just a few short years, I think their fee structure should have been changed to a lower amount, why should they get part of a home owners house profit, when they never took any risk at all, eg: look after it, mow the grass, clean the guttering, fix leaking taps, pay the rates, insurance, etc etc etc. so I ask, why should they get that 'boom' profit from a home owner, when the Agents were suriving well enough on the lower amounts they were getting.
And Babooshka, I tend to disagree that real estate agents and car salesmen are the same......I tend to have more respect for car salespeople, as they usually take risks, buy the cars or accept trade ins that would need work in their mechanics workshop, insure them, keep them washed and clean and road worthy and keep it registered and ready for sale, pay for advertising in the paper for sale, and in many cases, even do the paperwork to provide finance for people if they need it and can't get finance anywhere else.
So you can see the vast difference there, where one type of salesperson takes more risk and chances to make a living compared to another type of salesperson.
I am not saying all carsales people are honest, and definitely not all RE Agents either, but who does take more risk that should get more credit anyway.
I also despise RE Agents that put a high amount on your house so they get house to sell, then in a week they tell you the price has to be dropped if it is to be sold.
Of course they want you to drop the price, so they make a quick killing.
Then we have the agents that come to do an appraisal on the property, and give you the sales figures in the last 6-12 months of the area.
I say, yes, very nice 'past' prices, but we are not goin backwards here are we? This house has 3 bedrrooms, and 2 air cons, and a carport and garage, these other houses have only 2 bedrooms....and so I make the comparison back to them!
Needless to say, when I get that sort of caper to 'undervalue' the price of the house, they don't get the house to sell.
I think real estate agents fees are a damned rip off IMO.
Here are some examples....a house in Queensland (Australia) we put on the market, sold on the very first day of 'open for inspection'.......they get their commission like this
5% on the first 18,000, and 2.5% on the rest, plus GST on top of that, plus whatever advertising they did.
And as the property sold for $225,000, they got over $6,682.50 for just a few hours work!
In the more expensive areas of Queensland such as the Gold Coast, where those houses on the canals are usually $1million or more, the agents state they will only charge 1%
In Victoria, the agents fees are usually about the 3% charge.
With the advent of the booms we have had, and properties doubling in just a few short years, I think their fee structure should have been changed to a lower amount, why should they get part of a home owners house profit, when they never took any risk at all, eg: look after it, mow the grass, clean the guttering, fix leaking taps, pay the rates, insurance, etc etc etc. so I ask, why should they get that 'boom' profit from a home owner, when the Agents were suriving well enough on the lower amounts they were getting.
And Babooshka, I tend to disagree that real estate agents and car salesmen are the same......I tend to have more respect for car salespeople, as they usually take risks, buy the cars or accept trade ins that would need work in their mechanics workshop, insure them, keep them washed and clean and road worthy and keep it registered and ready for sale, pay for advertising in the paper for sale, and in many cases, even do the paperwork to provide finance for people if they need it and can't get finance anywhere else.
So you can see the vast difference there, where one type of salesperson takes more risk and chances to make a living compared to another type of salesperson.
I am not saying all carsales people are honest, and definitely not all RE Agents either, but who does take more risk that should get more credit anyway.
I also despise RE Agents that put a high amount on your house so they get house to sell, then in a week they tell you the price has to be dropped if it is to be sold.
Of course they want you to drop the price, so they make a quick killing.
Then we have the agents that come to do an appraisal on the property, and give you the sales figures in the last 6-12 months of the area.
I say, yes, very nice 'past' prices, but we are not goin backwards here are we? This house has 3 bedrrooms, and 2 air cons, and a carport and garage, these other houses have only 2 bedrooms....and so I make the comparison back to them!
Needless to say, when I get that sort of caper to 'undervalue' the price of the house, they don't get the house to sell.
Tweedlady......here is a web site for starters for owners to sell their own properties on the net. It doesn't have many listings, but I hope it soon grows, and gets more exposure and house listings, after all, it is up to us (the home owners) to do it. All we really need is a section 32 and a contract of sale drawn up from the conveyancers...it's as simple as that.
http://www.agentless.com
http://www.agentless.com