Estate agents hidden selling costs
When your comparing all your estate agents and reviewing their quotes. It is extremely important that you check for estate agents hidden selling fees. We are all counting our money closely just now, even more so when your trying to sell & buy a house, so be extra careful.
There are many estate agency costs which are not obvious at first or creep up when you least expect them. Hopefully with the following information about estate agents hidden selling fees you will not be caught out.
Watch for VAT when selling
Your agent may have quoted their final fee excluding VAT, which is currently 20%. This is a huge added cost.
For example. If you sell for £200,000 and the agreed fee is 1% your final fee would be £2,000. Then you add the VAT and it is another £400. So your final fee is now £2,400.
Not an estate agents hidden fee as such, but one to watch out for. VAT adds on a lot of extra money.
Sell for more & you will pay more costs
When your agent provides you with a quote, they have to provide their fee in numbers based on their recommended asking price. For example: They recommend offers over £200,000 and an example final fee for this sale price at 1% would be £2,000 plus VAT. However, if you go on to sell for £240,000, the agents commission will increase accordingly.
You will now be paying £2,400 plus VAT.
The higher the offer you accept, the more fee you will pay your estate agent. This estate agents hidden fee could catch you out.
Estate agents ads are pricey!
If your agent places an advert in a local or national newspaper they have to agree this fee with you before hand. They cannot place the advert and then charge you without your prior agreement.
Adverts in local press are extremely expensive and this form of advertising is very dated and brings little, or no, results.
Estate agents cheeky withdrawal fees. Watch this hidden fee.
In my view agents should not charge a withdrawal fee and this can easily become an estate agents hidden selling fee to watch out for. If you change your mind and decide to withdraw your property from the market with your chosen estate agent, you shouldn’t be charged a fee.
I would not go with an agent who charges this.
Viewing Costs could cost you a fortune
Are their viewing costs per viewing or per visit? One visit could include 2 individual viewings, one after the other. Ask for clarity on the viewing costs. These costs can really run away with you quickly, especially if there are lots of viewings.
The agent is also not obliged to keep you updated on these costs during the sale process. Keep a close eye on the amount of viewings and their cost. Ask the agent to inform you when you reach ten viewings. Then you can reassess the cost and maybe do your own viewings to keep costs lower. This is an estate agents selling cost which could creep up on you very quickly. Do not be caught out on this one.
Basic estate agency fees should be clearly outlined and very simple. Keep your beady eyes out for those estate agents hidden costs! If your going onto buy a property here in Scotland have you looked into the property taxs that you may have to pay? Here is a really useful post on all things Property Tax in Scotland.
8 important tips to prepare your house to sell