Ask the Editor

Q: I want to sell my house now while the market is stable but I don’t want to pay huge estate agents fees. How else do I sell it?

A: Buying and selling online is becoming more enticing to consumers wanting to save on their costs. There’s been a definite upswing in the number of online estate agents in the past two years and they are efficient in terms of service and costs.

What I would say though, is that you must differentiate between a high street estate agent with a website and a proper online estate agent. For example, Andrews Estate Agents have a website but, when selling your property you still pay them a high street estate agents fee.

We’ve had a good look around and suggest you compare, but eMoove look good and say this:

“For too long you have had to pay through the nose to sell your home. Now, thanks to the dominance and convenience of the Internet there is another powerful way.

We are real people, in a real office but with vastly lower overheads than ‘traditional’ agents. We pass those savings on to you in order to provide a full on estate agency offering with fee options ranging from just £249.00 plus vat. Conversely, the average agency fee in the UK is 1.6% of sale price. In monetary terms that’s about £2700.00, based on the average property value, plus a lot of vat.”

Thanks Russell Quirk! www.emoov.co.uk/blog

Sarah Beeny, property television presenter and founder of www.tepilo.com, says “Times are moving on – we don’t need to pay for estate agents shop fronts, mini bars, telephone systems and branded cars – if you would rather keep the money and spend it on a holiday in Seychelles or a new kitchen when you move into your new home, then pop your house online.

“Now in 2009 most people wanting to buy a house will go online, pop into Google ‘houses to buy near Northampton’ and come up with a modern equivalent of those high streets. One click away and you are on an online portal and you can check out what is available, for how much and download the details.”

In a report by Which Money in 2009 it was found that “Selling online means home owners can avoid using traditional high street estate agents that typically charge between 1 per cent and 3 per cent of the sale price.

The study by consumer group “Which?” said fees charged by online agents tend to be much lower – from as little as 0.5 per cent. However, it warned to watch out for additional costs, such as for sale signs, which can add £30 onto your bill.

The study compared three different online agents marketing a home with an asking price of £200,000 and the potential savings made versus an average high-street agent charging a commission fee of 1.5 per cent.

But while some home owners may decide to bypass the middle man and sell independently, Which? Money warned that this option can cost time and money to market the property.

There is another way!  Why not negotiate with your high street estate agent on their fee?  Personally, I’d go with online selling and spend the savings on new furnishings!