Should I use the same real estate agent to buy and sell?

I hope to move in the next 6 - 12 months. If I find the house I want to buy is it usual to use the same agent to sell my own house? Also, I am in a position to pay off the remainder of the mortgage (<30k) on my current house, would there be any advantage to doing this or is it a bad idea? Any advice really appreciated as this is the first time doing this on my own, don't want to make any stupid mistakes. Thanks. P

on the negative side, he might know too much about you, in that he will know how much you have to spend on the other house. It might be similar to using the sales agents mortgage advisor to get a mortgage, then they knwo exactly how much you can borrow and the mystery bids that keep edging you out can increase. trust no one only yourself!

You should choose the estate agent to sell your house before the frenzy starts. If you buy and then ask the same estate agent to sell, you wont be able to compare their price or quality of their people you wil be in a hurry. What if you end up buying a house where you think the estate agent is rubbish. (It sometimes happens)

Ask a few estate agents to come to see the house and quote a price. Its not
an exact science, but you can make some sort of assesment of how sleazy/ competent them seem. You can then use the other quotes to ask for a discount from the company you choose.
Also ask for a personal recommendation.

If you can pay off your mortgage, you should strongly consider it, unless you may need the cash to put down a deposit on the new house.

Thank you both for your input, I had a feeling it would be better to get valuations for my own house first and put it on the market with whoever I felt was the best for me, then find the house I want to buy. I know a few people I can get recommendations from but if any of you can recommend an agent in Galway I would appreciate hearing from you. Thanks, P

Definitely get a few Estate Agents out to value your house first. I would then ask to see one or two houses that they have on their books at the moment in whatever price region. You will know when they show you houses that they currently have for sale, how professional they are at showing houses because in the end of the day, you want this Estate Agent to show your house and get you the best possible price. Your gut will tell you whether you trust them or not. Friends of mine used a nice EA in Athenry. Are you in Galway City or surrounds?

I'm in Galway City on the east side moving to Knocknacarra area hopefully. I have a list of all improvements I've made to the house, is there any other information I should have available to give the Agent that would help the sale?

You're probably better off using a different Estate Agent given your location.

Something that can improve the price of your house apart from home improvements is location and amenities. Point out how near you are to national & secondary schools, if there is a swimming pool or cinema nearby, neighbourhood watch and of course you'll have the nicest of neighbours that are there for you when you need them! You want your brochure to state how far you are from the train station, how near you are to whatever shopping centre is nearest to you. Highlight your proximity to the sea and know how far you are from the likes of Salthill, Barna or whatever tourist areas on your side of town.

I know the name Knocknacarra but can't picture it in my head. Is in the Renmore direction? It's been a while since I was an avid Galway goer but I absolutely adore it. My sister actually lives near Taylors Hill.

Best of luck

You could use no estate agents at all and save yourself a lot of money!

You will maximise the money you make on the sale when you go the private route; plenty of examples posted by other AAM users about how easy they did it (e.g. this discussion here); alternatively read up on it to maximise your results (e.g. free resource [broken link removed])

On your purchase, you will reduce the purchase price if you and the seller don't have to pay any agent a commission. I can't find the related posts, but in a discussion here, different members reported that leafleting an area of interest brought very good results.

The main difficulty in your situation is that you will be 'in a chain' and neither having one, two or zero agents to represent you will make any difference.

IMHO inexpensive, faster and well worth a try!

Good luck

Thanks all.

Ribena, Knocknacarra is past Taylor's Hill, nice area.

D2x2, I know what you're saying but I wouldn't feel comfortable showing the house on my own and also wouldn't have the time to do so.

There's a Remax near me, anyone know anything about them?