How much are EA's charging for selling a home?

i am going to be putting my house up for sale shortly and was wondering what was the going rate for selling a house in relation to the EA fees,i would think around 1.25-1.75% plus vat?could anybody who has sold a house recently let me know how much they paid.I am based in county Cork,thanks

I think it will vary from EA to EA.

I remember a leaflet coming in through the door early last year with a 0.75% rate. And that included all advertising such as daft, myhome and viewing the home to people. It was a special rate offer.

I'd look on their websites or call them and as for their current rates. EA have loads of properties on their books at the moment. You might find one that has really good rates but it will take forever to sell your property. You need to find an EA that you are happy to deal with, tell you the truth about the asking price and weather your likely to get much interest.

Have read a few threads on here about people having no luck with certain EA and being given huge differences in asking prices. Some people have thought that the EA has under valued the house just to get rid of it so they can get their fee.

If you need a quick sale then you may have to drop the price compared to what other similar houses are priced at the moment.

My OH was quoted 2% + VAT when he enquired last September. Property looks like it could be sold in the next month or so as an offer is finally on it.

I'm in Cork and our house is up for sale. We've agreed a rate of 1.25% or 1.5% if he gets over 300k. I'd say we'll be paying 1.25%!

Do people not think it's scandalous €3.5K approx on a house of 300K ? I've been looking to buy over the past few months and the most of the EAs never got back to me on questions I had about properties I viewed. The customer service is appalling ! If I was a vendor and I found out that the EA that was charging me €3K to sell my house didn't even respond to a potential buyers questions I'd sack them a.s.a.p. It's about time people stopped getting ripped off !

We recently paid 1%...I would certainly negotiate on this...

Teknon said:

Do people not think it's scandalous €3.5K approx on a house of 300K ? I've been looking to buy over the past few months and the most of the EAs never got back to me on questions I had about properties I viewed. The customer service is appalling ! If I was a vendor and I found out that the EA that was charging me €3K to sell my house didn't even respond to a potential buyers questions I'd sack them a.s.a.p. It's about time people stopped getting ripped off !

Click to expand...

It really is an insane amount of money for the work involved.

I hate the thought of an EA not treating potential buyers with respect. The problem is it's such a trust-based relationship (between the seller and EA) - it's unlikely the seller will ever hear first-hand how the EA interacts with potential buyers. All we can do is sift through the b.s. and choose someone who is respectful.

Another problem in this climate is the potential for laziness from EAs - everyone knows it's really hard to sell a house these days so no-one's gonna question a lack of viewings but a real salesman should see this as a challenge and do all in his power to sell.

We were treated badly by an EA in the past (when we were buying a property) - he was a pompous, patronising git. I dropped a note in the seller's door just telling him he could ignore my comments if he wanted but he might like to know that his EA was impossible to deal with and treated us very badly. The seller was shocked. I'd highly recommend you do something similar.

Is there also a fee of €600 approx for just taking your house on in the first place, ie, to cover the For Sale Sign etc.

Some agents will try and charge money up front - personally I would not go with them. The vast majority of UK agents charge on a no sale no fee basis. If you can find one that offers that here (very few it seems) - go for it. (Preferably a member of the IAVI or the IPAV - )
Or- try and sell it yourself - there are a few irish websites that charge a couple of hundred euro to advertise your house.

we rang a few places yesterday,1st place was 1.5-2% plus vat but he would have to see the house first,2nd place was looking for 1.5% plus vat and the money for advertising up front, and 3rd EA was looking for 1.75% plus vat,i did think about selling the house myself but is there many people here that have had luck that way ?

glic83 said:

we rang a few places yesterday,1st place was 1.5-2% plus vat but he would have to see the house first,2nd place was looking for 1.5% plus vat and the money for advertising up front, and 3rd EA was looking for 1.75% plus vat,i did think about selling the house myself but is there many people here that have had luck that way ?

Click to expand...

What difference would it make him seeing the house?

I you have nice furniture they think you have a few pennies so they will charge you the 2% instead of the 1.5%?

How much did the 2nd EA say he wanted for advertising? Is this a once off fee or will there be a monthly charge?

I thought, incorrect it looks like, that the days of a percentage fee was long gone. I assume onewould negotiate a fixed sum plus outlay

the 2nd EA was looking for 300 euro for advertising, i will have to ring back again and see if i can get them down on the comission,dint like the sound of 1st ea as hes charge varied depending on seeing the house,2nd ea seems ok and 3rd ea seems to be shifting a few houses recently but is looking for 1.75% if i could get him down to 1.5% id probably go with him

Charging for advertising up front is a sensible approach for any EA tyring to stay in business as it does start to mount up when people do not pay their advertising costs later and there is also the issue of cash flow.
As regards the commission charged, the rates are low on an international scale but there is always room for manouvere. The end justifies the means and you are putting the sale of your most valuable asset into the hands of someone who should have a good reputation and history of making successful sales.

It makes me laugh when people advise you to use an Estate Agent who is IAI or IPAV. These are self regulated bodies and very rarely do memebrs get expelled. Most members have to pay hefty fees to join these bodies so it is in their best interest not to expel anyone. Also, anyone can become an auctioneer. It is an easyprocess and all you need is a €12,000 bond and a few Garda signatures and a trip to the district court. EA had it so easy in the boom times and now they dont know what real "sales negotiation" is like. They give their clients false information when they are valuing a clients house and whenquestioned by the potential purchaser why the price is so high they just say "oh we suggested a lower value to the client but he wants us to value it at this price". It is the same situation with BER certs. Why are EA's offering huses for sale after 1st January 2009 with no Cert. I mentioned this to one EA and he said the client told him to advertise it anyway. In the current market and with the advent of the internet I cannot see the need for an EA. Granted some vendors sales expectations are still way too high but it is the job of an EA to bring them back down to earth. I am so tempted to set up an EA in Dublin and only deal with clients who bought the houses 10 years ago and advise them to sell their house at 14 times the potential rent plus a certain amount depending on the area, condition of house, Energy rating etc. e.g 3 bed semi in Rathfarnham will achieve €16,000/annum rent x 14 = €224,000. Add maybe 100k and you have a AMV of €324,000. Charge .5% on the sale and an upfront fee if the vendor wants the property on daft or myhome.

Well, there are some very good points in that post but, equally, some not so good.

I deal with EA's the whole time - some are poor but the vast majority I deal with are very good at what they do. I, personally, would not attempt to sell my own house but there is nothing to stop anyone trying it. Equally, there is nothing to stop anyone negotiating the fee an EA charges.

" I am so tempted to set up an EA in Dublin and only deal with clients who bought the houses 10 years ago and advise them to sell their house at 14 times the potential rent plus a certain amount depending on the area, condition of house, Energy rating etc. "

I wish you luck dealing with some of the naive or silly or downright malicious tyrekickers that still hang around houses they have no intention of buying or could never afford anyway.

mf

Well I work for one of the largest property developers in the country and before you say it, we are actually in good shape and did not buy much land in the last 5 years like the others. Anyway we deal with the top 5 EA's for both our residential and Commercial developments. I wont name and shame but out of the 5 agents we use I have to say only 1 company is any good. I agree that there is a skill in selling a house and I would not be a big fan of putting my house for sale on one of those direct selling websites. That may work for an item with a small value but not with a property worth over €200k. I do think there are opportunities for someone to set up an EA business and highlight they are excedding the requirements ofthe IAVI, IPAV etc and not just meeting the minimum standards. Maybe join the RICS as they are a worldwide organisation but at the end of the day they are all the same. If an EA could use the same business models that are used in the US and Holland then I reckon they would prosper through these tough times. I havent done the research on t but there must be a better way of selling houses in Ireland.

I would not dream of employing an estate agent - I would put it up on one of the websites & do it myself. As long as the price is right it will probably sell. In my experience although EA's are supposed to act on the sellers behalf it is themselves they are thinking of - 4 of 5 thousand off the asking price means a lot to the seller, but very little to the EA in commission - give it a go & try selling direct. Best of luck

i had actually considered it it would save most people thousands!!!but what happens then in relation to stamp duty is that looked after by the solicitor?

What do you mean with reference to stamp duty? EA's are not involved with stamp duty. Its purchasers who pay stamp duty and they have a solicitor.

mf