Forgot to mention I am an estate agent on the side![]()
7.5% is on the high side but it's not unheard of or ridiculous. You've got to bargain with them. They probably would have settled for 5%.
Well for one thing houses are much more expensive in the UK. A basic and pretty small family house can easily cost £300,000. You could the same thing in South Africa for R900,000.Fine...but why the hell do they work with 7% here while in the UK they work on 1.5%? Is this just a case of we getting screwed blind and we are happy to bend over for it?
I think 4% is more than fair...maybe 5% if he is a hot hairy hunk and does my open house with his shirt off!![]()
Forgot to mention I am an estate agent on the side![]()
Also while I'm of the opinion that most agents are lazy and incompetent, if not outright dishonest, there are some that really do work hard to find buyers.
But that's how the pricing of everything works.I understand that their income is not set in stone every month, but that is not my problem. Added to that, the value of the house has no impact on their abilility to sell.
Other times they might spend months trying to sell a house.I only say this, because I bought m house last August, a day after it was on the market. So basically the agent did absolutely nothing apart from seeing me twice. First time was to see the place, second time was for OTP.
There is an estate agency in Somerset West called Monique Damseaux Properties, seeing their lavish way making a living, everybody wants be an estate agent…
As to my knowledge, Abzo is correct with his margins.
That women is a legend with her image and her fascination for pink.
Lately it's been becoming quite clear to me why every 2nd person on the planet wants to be an attorney and get in bed with an estate agent.
Self entitled pompous pricks.
But that's how the pricing of everything works.
Other times they might spend months trying to sell a house.
Using the "non big names" sometimes helps a lot. Sought of like specialists of the area. I know the lady who sold our house was the specialist in our area running her own agency, she charged us 3%. People we bought from where using a specialist (small agency) in that area, and they got charged 3.5%.
I think this is more reasonable. In the same breathe, the so called small specialist in lonehill will charge you 7.5% standard, and won't deviate from that.
Funny thing, our house was sold without a show day with just 2 people coming to look at it. In the same complex for the same price using a "big agency" our neighbours still haven't found a buyer 5 months later.
Fair enough, but again I don't think it is justified. Even IF they spend months, what do they really do? An open house for two hours every second week or once a month? I'm not saying they shouldnt get anything. But if I were selling a million rand property, I would give them 30k max. If it took months to sell, I would be willing to pay more
Do you understand marketing (and sales), especially being in Sales?
Security.
My dad was an estate agent in the '80s - nothing has changed.
There where more registered agents in the Strand than properties sold (900 sales, 950 agents) and you had a situation where the top 5% would sell 80% of the property. Everytime he sold a property, another agent went without a sale for another year. What kills the market are bored housewives and retired old men who think they can sell property.