What are estate agent fees in Scotland?
What are estate agent fees in Scotland? This will be one of the first questions you should have for your potential estate agents. Cost is important and we will all have a budget.
What are estate agent fees in Scotland? The following information breaks it all down for you, so you can fully understand what you can expect to be charged.
Marketing Fee is a no brainer for selling costs.
Its highly likely you will be charged a general marketing fee. Normally it’s justified as this specific fee will scoop up lots of small incurred costs. For example social media posts, marketing on your agents own website, your for sale sign (they may charge extra for this, see below), window cards for the shop window etc. I would fully expect this estate agent fee in Scotland specifically.
Website Fee is a fee you want to pay
Expect to pay a cost for your estate agents marketing your property on the main property portals. The likes of Rightmove and onthemarket.com, and even a more localised property portal like the Edinburgh Solicitors Property Centre, do charge estate agents an annual or one off fee for listing properties. This is a very common estate agents selling cost.
Brochure Fee – make it pdf only
Your estate agent will write & create an attractive and enticing brochure for your property. More recently these have become very online focused and agents will mostly only create a PDF brochure. I always charge less for a PDF brochure, compared to professionally printed brochures.
Professionally printed brochures cost a fortune and very little get handed out. Buyers prefer to download them online. Most agents write your brochure and then outsource the design, therefore the cost for this service is again a very common estate agency cost. Another fee you can be expected to pay your estate agent in Scotland.
Photos & floor plans
The best area to spend your money on estate agents costs. Your agent should be instructing a professional photographer to take internal and external photos of your house. Expect a cost for this. Property photographers complete floor plans too, ensure they include this cost.
Costs of professional photographers will vary. If your thinking of taking your own photos check out my post Can you take your own estate agent photos?
Maps & Plans is a big NO NO for selling costs.
Some agents may charge you for creating these plans & maps. They are great to have in your marketing brochure and online. Especially if you have a rural property with land as a plan showing the boundary can be helpful to most.
Most estate agents include this cost in the ‘brochure fee’. Make sure the cost for this is not high as they are not expensive to create. Ask for this fee to be included in your brochure costs.
Final sale fee – the big estate agents selling cost
This is the big estate agent fee in Scotland and should always be on a ‘No sale No fee’ basis. Some agents may offer a fixed fee, others may offer a commission fee. Agents will charge this fee on every occasion so make sure you budget for it.
TheAdvisory reported that in England & Wales in 2018, the average estate agency fee for sole agency is 1.18% plus VAT. (This is 4 years old now. I will try and find more updated figures for you.) In my experience this will range from anywhere between 0.75% to 1.5%.
Estate Agents For sale board should be negotiatated
These big bright signs are essential. Some agents charge for them, and others don’t. This is a cost you could try and negotiate to have removed. The agents who do charge this fee will often have an external company do all their sign work. They are incurring costs and passing them onto you.
Agents who put up their own signs won’t likely charge. See my post Do I need a for sale board when selling my property?
General fees should NOT be a cost for you.
It’s very old school now but some estate agents in Scotland do charge for telephone calls, postage and other expenses. The days of these costs have long gone and it’s very old fashioned. Its worth trying to get this charge removed if they do include it.
Estate Agents viewing costs
Watch out for this cost. Charges for accompanied viewings can escalate very quickly if viewing levels are high. Agents should charge you for time and mileage. The closer you are to the agents office the less you should be charged. If you can get them included in your commission % then it would be amazing and a huge saving on your estate agents selling costs.
This advice is primarily for those considering a high street traditional estate agent or high end estate agent in Scotland. Not an online only agent and I plan to cover this in a separate blog.
What are estate agent fees in Scotland? Hopefully all this information helps you out!