Estate agent commission

Analog Revenant

Analog Revenant

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Hi,

We are thinking of selling our house. So just wondering what kind of commission estate agents asks/gets these days?

Thanks! :)
 
Some want 7%. :eek:

Entirely negotiable, of course. Half that is common, no matter what the agent's printed manage form says.

Interview a number of agents, see what their marketing plans are, and go with the one - or two or three - who do well in your area and who convince you they'll do the best for you.

Remember, all this is simply a matter of negotiation and agreement. Sometimes a seller sets the nett amount they want out, and let's the agent take whatever they can get over that.


Personally I avoid giving sole mandates unless there's a compelling reason, but they can make sense in some cases.
 
Tell them you're willing to do 3% cos you're a nice guy and they can eff off otherwise. Of course you get good estate agents but the majority are absolutely useless and are more of a burden than anything else.

EDIT: Just make sure you get a decent transfer attorney and you'll be ok. PM me if you want a recommendation on a transfer attorney (JHB area)
 
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My family owns and runs estate agencies in KZN.

You might think that the fee is high but remember that the agent is working to sell your house. That fee doesn't all go to the agent, a decent portion goes to the business owner. That agent is driving around with people, filtering out the time wasters and finding people who actually pass the credit check and qualify for a bond.

Remember that the contracts involved have been checked over by lawyers, the agents have gotten trained and now require qualifications to practice and they have fidelity certificates (insurance) that means if they stuff up in any manner their asses are covered when you sue them for losses or damages.

You have the right to negotiate comm, you also have the right to sell privately... but agents and the agencies that they work for have the right to ask you whether your boss tries to negotiate your salary every month when he pays you. Find a good agent and they will make the stressful time of selling your house far less stressful.
 
I bought a house earlier this year and the estate agent charged the previous owner 7,5%.
 
Just bear in mind that an agent who rolls over on their comm probably isn't a great negotiator. So they'll no doubt make a balls up of price negotiations too. False economy if you ask me.
 
Lurker01 said:
Just bear in mind that an agent who rolls over on their comm probably isn't a great negotiator. So they'll no doubt make a balls up of price negotiations too. False economy if you ask me.
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And on the flip side it also means they won't let a good deal fall through just to stick to their agreed commission.

Recently had mine go down from 5% to 4% after bringing a deal to the table I wouldn't accept.
 
However never rent from an estate agent. Not only do they charge commission (no problem with that) but they also influence the home owner to inflate the price and to place ALL overheads (including municipal fees, like garbage disposal) on you.

So if the advertised rental price is say R7000 ... make it R9000 that you will have to cough up.
 
Leonidas said:
However never rent from an estate agent. Not only do they charge commission (no problem with that) but they also influence the home owner to inflate the price and to place ALL overheads (including municipal fees, like garbage disposal) on you.

So if the advertised rental price is say R7000 ... make it R9000 that you will have to cough up.
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You cannot really generalize like that.

My experience with a rental agent was entirely professional, and he went out of his way to keep both parties happy.
 
killerbyte said:
Find a good agent and they will make the stressful time of selling your house far less stressful.
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That's very good advice but also EXTREMELY difficult. I've bought and sold a lot of properties in the past 20 years and 99.99% of agents are completely useless IMHO.

If an agent has a new buyer, they don't want to sell them your house! They want to sell them A house, they don't care as long as they get a commission from anywhere. I had also a few times agents as deal breakers because they didn't want to negotiate one the commission.
I try to avoid agents now and sell all my properties myself if possible.
If you really want to use an agent negotiate the commission right in the beginning to take the deal breaking leverage away.
 
adidas said:
Hi,

We are thinking of selling our house. So just wondering what kind of commission estate agents asks/gets these days?

Thanks! :)
Click to expand...

My wife and I recently sold (two months ago). We had signed a sole mandate at 4%, and when the offer that came in was slightly lower than expectations, we negotiated them down to 3.5%.

There are estate agents that work on 3% commission though, and in all cases you will be paying VAT on top of that.
 
Just had a meeting with one.

Mine gave a valuation and asked what I'd like to net after her costs. Whatever she makes over and above, she keeps. So it is a risk because I'll be pretty miffed if she makes R150,000 in the end ...
 
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