Where did the name "Real Estate" come from?

Negotiating Estate Agent Fees... Advice Needed...?

• This is a question for the UK :) I am selling a house I have refurbished completely (rewired, new plumbing, new kitchen. bathroom, tiling, all walls replastered, carpets, etc...). Is is a semi-detached terraced house (all the houses in the street are also semi-detached in groups of 2, but are 1900s terrace style). I put it for sale at £99,950 in Sept 2010. Some tradesmen that saw it finished commented on how beautiful it was and they thought it should ask for £110,000... I was flattered but knew I could not ask more than £99,950 for the area it is in. I chose an estate agent that has a good name in the area (although never used that branch before, I used their other branch, but had to use the new branch based on location). The other 2 estate agents I could have used did not give me confidence as I dealt with them and they were a bit rude and slow to answer phones. However the estate agent I chose, I feel, ripped me off on the estate agency fees. When I used their agency before (the other branch) I was quoted a % commission fee, something like 1.5% + VAT of sale price and I had been happyish with their service. This other branch however wants £2,000 + VAT, regardless of the sale price. I agreed at first as thought they were a good agency and would sell my house for close to the asking price of £99,950. Now we are in January 2011, and I have already put the house through a "winter initiative" with discount which led to nothing and was then encouraged to reduce the price. So I agreed to "offers over £89.950"... knowing full well that would not bring offers over that price, but hoping for the best. I have now received an offer of £85,000, but I am not happy with it and have said so. I feel the agency is just trying to sell the house and not trying to get the best price for me. There was 2 viewings at the week-end and they just called me with the offer, without calling first the other viewer to find out what she thought of the house and letting her know there was an offer (i.e. try to raise interest and maybe get her to get a 2nd viewing or put an offer). I find it all a bit lazy. Also, everytime I spoke to the agency I felt like they were trying to put the house down and making me feel like my house is not worth what I wanted for it (basically preparing me to accept less...). Since they get a fixed commission it is in their interest to sell at low prices and quickly, and they seem to work for the buyer, not for the seller... that's how I feel right now. I have said no to that offer and suggested a middle ground sale price, but I still think that if I was to sell at £88,500 (which is the minimum I said I would accept), this still leaves the agency with a commission of 2.25% + VAT (=£2,000), whch I feel is much higher than most agencies in the UK for that house price range. If I get a counter-offer, but still less than that, and decided to accept (as I just do not know which other agency I could use!), does anyone know if I could negotiate the agency fee down at least? I would feel quite angry taking so little, and also having to pay the agency so much for so little work. I once knew someone who was not happy with the work her agency did (and they sold her house too), and she did not pay them AT ALL! She just told her solicitors not to pay the agency and the agency gave up. I would not do that, and am happy to pay my agency, but would like to come to an agreement with them that their work deserves less payment. Advice please on ways to do that!? Or any experiences? Thank you.

• Answer:

  You must understand that your home is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it, not what you feel is the "best" price for you. When you hired the estate agent that would have been the time to "negotiate" not after they have brought you several offers, all of which you rejected. The agent is doing their job by advertising your property, and bringing in the buyers. Now, as for the fact that you had two people round and only one made an offer and you are upset that the "agent" didn't follow up with the second looker and see if they wanted to make an offer, that just isn't done I'm afraid. It's not up to your agent to call people who come around with another agent and ask if they would like to put in an offer. If that person wanted to put in an offer they would have, however, they didn't which means they weren't interested in your place. That's not your agents fault and they shouldn't be "penalized" for it. If you think about it, Two Thousand Pounds is not a lot of money for six months worth of work, I think if you put yourself in their shoes, you'd be ticked off if someone decided that 2000.00 was too much to pay for all that work and wanted to negotiate it lower. You must have signed a contract with the agent which usually is only good for 3 months and can be renegotiated should you wish to continue with their services. If you are unhappy with their work then you hire another agent and you negotiate their rate then. If your "contract" is up and you want to keep them then renegotiate their fee unless that is their "set" rate. Remember, the agent only gets a small portion of that rate as the broker and the agency retain the rest. ADD: in this poor economy no one is willing to offer full price for anything. If you are getting offers in the 80's then your home is over priced and that is all anyone is willing to pay nowadays. With homes sitting for years on the market (my Grandmothers home took 2 years to sell) then it would be wise to accept an offer. Remember, if you aren't getting multiple offers then your home is over priced and I'm surprised your agent didn't recommend a price reduction of 5K. What have other similar homes in the area sold for? Also just because you did upgrades doesn't mean you'll get more for your home, nowadays people want the upgrades but aren't willing to shell out a lot of money for them. Good luck