Im not very happy with my EA

Hiya

decided to put my property on the market 6 weeks ago. The EA Im using was recommended to me. Hes the longest standing EA in the area.

So, he meets me for the 1st time at same and values it. im ok with the price tbh. would have like another 20k but anyway... we talk money / fees / expenses. He says normally it would be 3.5% of sale. i told him flog off and he said best he could do was 2%. I verbally agreed. Few people said to me afterwards its still a bit steep (2%). I also told him not to go ahead with any advertising (via papers) without consulting me first as i work for the media. blah blah blah. House is on his website, daft.ie and obviously theres a sign outside.

Right, hes desparate at returning calls. I dont know if theres been any viewings. I asked his office staff do they have a policy of no sale no fee, im atill awaiting an answer on that. I have no written contract with this auctioneer. He has not called me either to discuss advertising etc. I would have thought EA`s would be a bit more keener than this to make a few bucks, no?

And this dude wants €6,000 off me if he sells my property

Am i wrong in how im thinking?

Drop him a letter, tell him you are not happy with the service and drop him.

Then put it up on daft yourself and see how you get on.

There is only so much an Estate Agent can do to sell a property e.g. advertise in their window, websites, papers, property magazines etc. At the end of the day they are totally dependant on someone walking into their office and enquiring about the property.
If your agent is the most established in the area then you would assume that a prospective purchaser would think likewise and look to see what properties he has on offer.
6 weeks isn't that long of a time for the property to be on the market with current trends. I think you might have to be more patient. Ideally your agent would give you regular updates, however, if he had a purchaser lined up there is no reason for him not to call you so i would take no news as nothing is happening at the moment.
2% seems to be quite average a fee but you are free to shop around just like with everything else.

Be careful with regards to the extent of advertising he does. I recently attended a court case in which the seller of a house was the subject of a claim by his estate agent for advertising fees. The seller said that he had not authorised such a huge amount of advertising (over 2,000 euro worth) but the judgement was against him because the judge ruled that the auctioneer was the professional and was acting in the best interests of his client despite the house never selling.
Be very careful with auctioneers. The minute you engage them, write everything down regarding the terms in which they are employed to sell your property. Even if you have to place an advertising budget on them, do so. And 2% is excessive because in the current climate, you should be dictating the percentage take they will receive

i think 2% is a bit steep also... As regards the advertising limits, thankfully i put this on an email so i think im ok on that score if there is any comeback. Also I was the one who took all the photos of the house and emailed them into his office. I had to ring them to get them to put them up on the net??? dissappointing all round tbh.

I didnt know i could advertise on daft myself. I assume im entitled to put a For Sale sign up outside my house with my contact number on it?

And this guy is the longest standing EA in the area !!!!!! 6k is an awful lot of he does sell my house.

just for the record - i have no problem with paying him for his current time spend on working on selling my house... I think maybe the letter is the way to go.. I couldnt stand a confrontation, im not into those. I dont think id have the guts to actually come out and say it to him i think he'd talk me out of it.

SS

Get rid of this guy. The fact that he is one of the longest establish means that he has grown complacent and smug. If you want rid of him, make sure that he removes all property signs from your house, then wait a discreet amount of time and then flog it if you can. There can be no comeback then. Some auctioneers adopt bully tactics if you try to dispense with them but don't be intimidated. All you owe him is advertising fees.

If you want to go down the route of selling it yourself, then try this link for some useful advice and information.

www.tribune.ie/property/article/ 2008/jun/22/beat-the-slump-be-your-own-agent/ - 25k -

DeclanP said:

Get rid of this guy. The fact that he is one of the longest establish means that he has grown complacent and smug. If you want rid of him, make sure that he removes all property signs from your house, then wait a discreet amount of time and then flog it if you can. There can be no comeback then. Some auctioneers adopt bully tactics if you try to dispense with them but don't be intimidated. All you owe him is advertising fees.

If you want to go down the route of selling it yourself, then try this link for some useful advice and information.

www.tribune.ie/property/article/ 2008/jun/22/beat-the-slump-be-your-own-agent/ - 25k -

Click to expand...

I think i only owe him for the first meeting at my home whereby he informed me of the value. also it is on his website and deft.ie. Hoping €500 will cover me.

Im definitely going to type a letter this weekend. Yep, my minds made up.

Thanks all...

SS

Good for you. And €500 would be the very outside in view of the fact that you supplied the photos of your own house for the website. Best of luck with the private sale.