With demand from buyers remaining strong at a time when there is a severe lack of available homes for sale, some vendors could find that there is room to negotiate when it comes to the fees they pay estate agents.
Despite the recent slowdown in house price growth, it remains a seller’s market owed in part to the supply-demand imbalance, which is creating a continuously competitive environment for house-hunters.
The inventory of homes for sale is typically low across most parts of the country, and sellers are being encouraged to haggle over agency fees as a result.
Estate agent comparison site, GetAgent.co.uk, which charges estate agents to list with their platform, issued their first monthly newsletter yesterday to users of their service – mainly members of the general public – which included advice on ‘how to negotiate estate agents’ fees’.
While there is nothing wrong with advising people on how to potentially save money, one disgruntled estate agent expressed their displeasure when it was noted that potential vendors are being encouraged to, it is claimed, ‘lie’ to estate agents.
The managing director of a large independent estate agency, which has a number of offices, and has in the past used the services of GetAgent, told EYE: “This type of aggregator service relies on agents to share a fee [the company typically charges around 0.25%].
“Articles with ‘advice’ on how to negotiate with agents are nothing new, good agents will always demonstrate their worth.
“I don’t mind competing hard for my fees but a company that I have done business with who subsequently encourages potential clients to lie to me is one I will never do business with again.”
The estate agent, who has asked not to be named, explained that they took offence at ‘point 3’ in GetAgent’s article, ‘Call their Bluff’, where they “advise the general public to lie to the agent about fictitious lower fee quotes”. See below:
3: Call their bluff
If you’ve gathered quotes from a few estate agents, you can start to negotiate by using these quotes to your benefit. If you’re brazen enough, you could bluff about receiving other ‘lower rates’, regardless of whether you’ve actually gotten any.
If your preferred estate agent doesn’t budge, let them know that competitors will go lower. Play the estate agents against each other by mentioning the lower rates that other companies have offered you. But tell your preferred firm that you prefer the services they’d be able to provide you with — ask them if they can match the lower rate because you want to give them the business.
Comments (13)
Good agents don’t need a middle man and especially a one that is working against them on fees! If your on their site then leave. Any agents left on their site get what they deserve!!!!
All That Glitters Is Not Gold (an acrostic)
Give your trust to us they say
Every lead will make it pay,
Trust US and we’ll do something
Assured to make your phones all ring!
Got a lead!…spoke to the seller,
Edward, quite a testy fella
Not only did he put me through it….
Turns out….THEY TOLD HIM HOW TO DO IT!!
Get Agents with an utterly depressing statement that demonstrates their utter lack of understanding and respect for the industry sector.
A good customer relationship between vendor and agent is built on quality of service, trust, transparency and communication, it is not built on deceit and lies. What a way to begin a business relationship!
I don’t know if they ever had any credibility before, but after that statement they have zero!
They need people with proper experience in agency to advise them or they will find themselves shooting themselves in the foot again and again.
I hear they tried to shoot themselves in the brain, but missed!
From the EYE archive in 2014, the founder of Get-A-Gent, Rayhan Rafiq Omar stated
“The idea for GetAgent came from conversations with good estate agents who were becoming frustrated with constantly being undercut on fees by estate agents with no experience…
This is where GetAgent comes in…
We want to stop the fee war as we feel that a vendor would be much better off paying 1.5% for a good estate agent than paying 1% for a poor one. If one sells the property for £15,000 more they should be entitled to charge a higher fee.”
Seems like that “idea” went well and truly by the wayside…
I have just sent GetAgent a ****** email. Unbelievable.
Well this is genuinely terrible advice…!
The best agents don’t bend over on fee. If they did, just imagine how hard they’d work to secure the best price for their vendors. That should be the message! The best agents are well worth their fee!
GetAgent need someone with agency experience advising on their marketing messages. This particular message is diabolically incorrect; whoever wrote this should be sacked.
I have to say i am shocked considering when speaking to them many years ago “there whole philosophy was based on transparency”
Bluffing does not seem to fit with what i was sold as the benefits to both agents and the public, I will be reviewing our relationship with them.
Anyone who uses this site is extremely short sighted and is helping to create yet another beast who could control your business. If we all used them what would happen, the public would go to them first for valuations and that 0.25% cut that they take will grow and grow. Anyone remember who created Rightmove, that’s right us.
What a horrible company to deal with. We used them for a couple of year, awful experience. Best thing we did was come off their site.
this company is shocking I ended up hai getting to pay a fee to them for my own clients referral. As they called the number thinking it was my direct line
they bullied me for four months and slammed court actions to my staff if I did sorting it
( Get Agent lol Get Billed )
GetAgent are parasites. Plain and simple.
They once told me that they wanted to help good agents do well and prosper – yet here they are letting their true colours shine.
Shame.