Why is it that estate agents are allowed to charge a percentage of the sale price as a fee for their services?Most agents keep a list of people interested in buying property in a particular street or location. Someone may be interested in buying in my street. If I put my property on the market with an estate agent, they would then telephone that person and arrange a viewing. If they like my property and make an acceptable offer, the agent pockets up to 2% of the sale price. A few thousand pounds for what was essentially a telephone call. What a rip-off!
Even if it takes a bit longer and the agent has to insert a few adverts in the local paper, etc, the process cannot possibly cost thousands of pounds.
2 comments:
There should be proper regulation. Anyone can set up as an estate agent and that can't be right. You only need to look at their attempts to write descriptive prose to know that entry requirements and qualifications can't be of a high order.
Really, it's up to us, the customers. You don't have to use an estate agent, and the web has given us alternatives. But I've used them in the past and may well do so again. It's a commercial decision.
Hi Baralbion
I have just recently moved and it was that which really brought the matter into focus. It was only the second time I had sold property and, had I more time, I would have tried to do it without an agent.
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