How can estate agents charge so much for so little? Yet we are happy to get ripped off!!?

Answer 1

This has always amazed me & I wonder why there are so few DIY sales, especially in these internet times.

I guess people use them out of fear of the unknown

Answer 2

The real estate agents in UK are absolutely useless. They just sit in their offices waiting for people to go in, they are not "ou there" getting off their backsides- they should approach people looking in the windows to see if there is anything in particular they are looking for, they are not pro-active. The whole real estate system in UK is rubbish - the fact that you yourselves can show the people around your home is ridiculous, here in Australia that is not allowed, the agent advised you theres a viewing and if convenient to yourself you pop out whilst the agent shows them around so the possible sale doesnt get jepoardised. GAZUMPING just doesnt happen here either, how pathetic that someone can pull out at the last minute of either buying or selling, someone else can put in a better offer at the last minute and then the other person has no chance. You cant even organise a removal of contents till last minute - how can you plan anything with the way it is - the government doesnt care they are just making so much money out of it why should they. Scotland has a better system now at least.

Answer 3

Sorry Dennis but you have answered your own question.

They charge so much for their services simply because there are always people willing to pay it. It's called the Free Market. Nobody is forced to use them.

Unless you want to have a totalitarian Communist State there's nothing you can do about it except to find a cheaper agent.

Considering that it costs them a similar amount to advertise an expensive house as it does a cheap one the % fee is definatley a rip-off.

Many people don't use estate agents to sell their houses. You can buy cheap guide books on how to sell it yourself from most decent bookshops.

Answer 4

We recently moved,and paid a hefty whack to the estate agent.On the other hand,they had the overheads of having a branch office and staff,phones,rates,advertising,etc,etc,and the cost of showing approx. 30 visitors round before we sold.They also helped get us the asking price.How would we have found the people who eventually bought it? All in all,we weren't too miffed. If they find someone to buy straight away,we think they haven't earned their money,but if it takes a long time,we feel that they are useless.We found that having the agents showing buyers round was far better than us doing it.The buyers felt less inhibited,and the agents had an answer to everything!

Answer 5

Actually, most agents work very hard. They don't get paid til the deal is finished. (I'm not an agent by the way). I doubt you'd know all about the disclosures and paperwork neccessary to protect you from a future lawsuit. So, if you get sued for something not disclosed for your homesale, that minor fee will starting to look real good as opposed to hiring a lawyer and possibly paying for repairs and other compensation.

Answer 6

there are many web sites which will help you sell your home without having to pay an estate agent a percentage of the selling price. the one i used last year was www.mykeys.co.uk. the best part of the service was the for sale board which i had my own phone number on. that was how i found the buyer.

Answer 7

Guess it is a free market.

I think there are some web based Estate Agents who charge lower commission, and I guess if you're really not happy with that, you could stick your house on ebay.

Answer 8

they usually get 10 percent

Answer 9

Happy, well I for one am not happy.