Terry’s Team Talk – When Cheap isn’t Very Cheerful

Hello and welcome back to my blog.

I went on a valuation recently to see a lovely family in Burgess Hill with a very nice home to sell.

We chatted about all manner of things and then the conversation got onto the subject of estate agents’ commission fees.

They can vary wildly depending on where in the country you are. In many parts of London 2.5 per cent is a standard fee. However, I’ve seen agents advertising fees as low as 0.25 % or even a flat rate £500.

I explained to the couple that there is often a big problem where small fees are offered. For example there is no way that any agent doing their job properly can charge £500 and make money. They would have to cut corners in several key areas just to break even or reduce their losses.

For a property to achieve its best price in the shortest possible period of time it needs to be well marketed, online portals aren’t cheap, neither is professionally designed marketing materials. The area where the vendor can get really short changed by a ‘cheap’ fee is the level of personal service they receive.

When an agency bases its business on charging rock bottom fees there’s no way they can attract the best level of service providers because good people won’t work for low wages.

At Carnabys we’re flexible on our commission fees to a point. We’re not a ‘pile them high, sell them cheap’ agency but we do understand it’s a competitive market and we always aim to compete.

Thankfully, the couple I was chatting with understood the difference between cost and value. What something costs doesn’t necessarily reflect its value. The cheap option can work out more expensive in the end.

I’ve seen dozens of people come to us after having put their home on the market with an agent offering lower fees. Usually due to the low fee the property hasn’t been well marketed, meaning less viewings, this means little interest and ultimately no offers. Three months wasted and the vendor is back to square one but with hopefully with a valuable lesson learned.

Each and every instruction we take on really matters to me and the team. Our reputation and service is our best asset and I’m confident that people who have used Carnabys would support that.

So if you have any property related questions give us a call and let us show you the true difference between cost and value.

Thanks for reading.

Terry

Terry’s Top Tip: First impressions of your property count. People will make snap judgements on your home based on how it looks from the outside. You may have heard of the phrase ‘kerb appeal’, it’s the way your property looks to others when walking or driving past and it needs to have exactly that – an appealing look. Make sure your front garden is neat and tidy, your front door is clean and that your windows and sills have been maintained well.