Selling a house -choosing an estate agent etc.

Hi my husband wants to sell a house he has owned for over 20 years. Up until now it was occupied by a dependent relative (no rent paid). The relative has passed away and husband wants to sell the house. We have a few questions about estate agents - how do we go about choosing an EA? Some houses have more that 1 EA selling the house -how does this work re. costs and is it a good idea to have more than one EA? Do we need to have a solicitor? There is a small mortgage on the house but the house is not in negative equity. It is in a small town in the Midlands. I have tried doing a search but haven't found any threads on this matter already. Thank you for any help.

I think the best way to find an estate agent is by recommendations from friends/family who have used one.

Other than that:
Check the property websites and see who has professional-looking brochures up.
Monitor a few properties from each agent for a period of time and see whether prices look realistic and how long they are taking to sell (this may take a long time in the present market).
Ring agents pretending to be a buyer and see how they treat potential buyers.

Regarding a solicitor, again, recommendation from family/friend would be the best way to find one.

It would be no harm to call a few and get quotes at this stage but there is not a lot they need to do until you find a buyer. That said, it can take time to get the deeds from the bank to issue contracts and if you think it's going to sell fast then you could get that started too.

Well if you can't get a personal recommendation you should call to a few of them, that way you know if you feel comfortable with them and that they will do the job competently. Be realistic on price and sale time, I'd say at least 6 months to a year currently but if your price is right you'll sell quicker. Be sure you know the agent's fees, plus costs (advertising etc)

Yes you need a solicitor, again a personal recommendation is the way to go.

I advise that the house be in a saleable condition, no clutter, throw out 20 year old furniture and curtains etc, muted paint tones (magnolia !) and a fresh lick of paint does wonders and a neat and tidy garden.

Does anyone know if ea always charge a fee for set up or is this just my local ea trying to rip me off, they looking for 450 euro to put house on market

These days there is an upfront cost to cover the cost of advertising, signs, etc... Ask them exactly what the €450 is used for & is it included as part of their selling commission or an extra on top of it...

How much % do EA normally take. if a house is only going to sell for 100K will they put much effort into selling it if they get €450 upfront?

clownie said:

How much % do EA normally take. if a house is only going to sell for 100K will they put much effort into selling it if they get €450 upfront?

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As was said before, you need to ask what the 450 is for.

If the EA can show that they are spending it up front on advertising / daft.ie / signage then they are making no money on until they sell.