Page 22 - The Local Eye - Issue 128 - June 2016

22
Derek J.Rolls

ASK THE EXPERT

Q....Why do agents’ fees vary so much?

A.... This question really goes to the very heart of what estate agency is all about.
Many people believe that all agents do the same job – and when you ask them what
they think that job is, they will generally say something like: “estate agents sell
houses.”

Now, on one level, one could argue that this is tantamount to saying that all doctors
and nurses do the same job, which is “to make people better.” It might be true, after a
fashion, but it’s far from being the whole story.

But in any case, I would be inclined to go a lot further and argue that estate agents
don’t really sell houses at all! Given the right asking price, and sufficient market
exposure, houses more or less sell themselves.

Nor is this just playing with words. The simple fact is that neither I, nor any other
estate agent I have ever met, can “sell” a house to someone who doesn’t want to buy
it. In exactly the same way, no estate agent can guarantee to achieve a higher price for
your home than anyone else.

OK, so what do estate agents do? I would say that we sell a service – and not just
any service, but a complex, multi-layered service, demanding a whole range of skills,
knowledge and experience, which we utilise as facilitators to shepherd the highly
complicated process of property sales through to a successful conclusion, with the
minimum of stress to all parties.

Or at least, that’s what the best agents do. In this business, as in any other, you
generally get what you pay for. The fact is, all agents do not do the same job – and that
is why fees vary. Cheap agents will always cut corners on service – because they have
to in order to survive. And, when it comes to selling your most prized asset, why risk
spoiling such a valuable ship for a ha’porth of tar?

The final point I would make in answer to your question is simply this: just imagine the
outcry, and the accusations of price-fixing that would start flying around, if all estate
agents started charging the same!

Independent Estate Agents & Valuers

To advertise <> 08000 430485 <> email: info@thelocaleye.com <> www.thelocaleye.com

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