Negotiate estate agent fees?

**FiveTimes** · 8 June 2016, 14:23

Originally posted by d000hg View Post

I've never sold a house, only bought them; when agents say "we charge 1% + VAT" is this typically negotiable or a take-it-or-leave-it deal, some unwritten price-fixing agreement between companies?

I was quoted 2%+VAT by one agent... quite apart from charging VAT on a percentage deal seeming a bit cheeky, that's just obscene IMO. How negotiable are these things and does it depend on the value of the house, since to an extent the work they do isn't commensurate with the house price?

They are negotiable. I drove mine down from 1% to .75
Be prepared to quote other agencies that you are getting in and their figures.

**northernladuk** · 8 June 2016, 14:24

2% seems an awful lot. I am sure last time I sold a house they wanted 0.75%. I guess it depends on the value, area and so on. Stuff goes round where I am in a matter of days in many cases so very little effort from the estate agents so certainly wouldn't be paying top whack to them.

**Chuck** · 8 June 2016, 14:24

By all means, try and negotiate them down. They either will, or they won't. It depends on how easy you make them believe it will be to sell your property.

Be careful what you sign up to. You need to make sure that you can dump the agent, without any possible come-back, if they are crap. There's no point going for the cheapest, if they do sod all to sell your place.

**d000hg** · 8 June 2016, 14:34

Originally posted by northernladuk View Post

2% seems an awful lot.

I thought so too, I thought 1% was more the standard. They do position themselves as a 'premium' one - advertise in national magazines etc - but that can't cost more than a few hundred more so I'm not happy to pay an extra few grand!

**northernladuk** · 8 June 2016, 14:36

Sadly I don't live in the types of houses that appear in Cheshire Life etc so an add on Rightmove is more than enough for me.

**bobspud** · 8 June 2016, 14:39

Why not suggest a sliding scale that says get full asking price I will pay 1% then for every 10k off of that I want .10% reduction in your fees?

Personally I would find the agent that is not full of teenagers and pay them...

**AtW** · 8 June 2016, 14:41

Send in somebody experienced to negotiate...

**CompulsiveArsonist** · 8 June 2016, 14:43

Another thing to look at is what their exclusivity / sole agency period is.

**GB9** · 8 June 2016, 14:54

Depends what price the property is and if they are selling or not. Some places moving quickly, others not at all.

They will need a basic income to keep themselves running g, never mind profit so if your property is low value then the %age is higher.

There's not much they can do about VAT.

Negotiate estate agent fees?