Home seller secretly films 11 estate agent valuation appointments
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.พ. 2025
- Everything you think you know about choosing an agent to sell your home is wrong!
Filmed from November 2021 to February 2022, this documentary uncovers:
Agent dirty tricks
Most valuations are actually too low
3 month lock-in contracts are dead
Also, it:
Shows all agents are not equal (but most will lose you money)
Shows what to look out for in the agents who come round
Shows what can happen when you get it right
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This documentary by Charlie Lamdin (film maker, TH-camr, home-schooling parent, seaplane pilot and founder of bestagent.co.uk ) was filmed when his colleague, Samantha, was thinking of selling her home, a 3 bedroom semi-detached house near Taunton in Somerset.
Charlie jumped at the chance to perform an experiment to prove that although most estate agents will lose you money when selling your home (just look at the valuations provided, compared with the price that was achieved) there are always a few who are better than the rest.
The problem is there is no reliable way to identify them, without meeting them all in person, (at least all the ones who accept the condition that no lock in contract will be signed).
In this film, Samantha telephones all 18 of her local agents, 11 of whom accept her invitation to attend the property to meet her, give their opinion of what the property is worth (they’re almost all wrong, one agent even says that she’ll never get the price she did get) and pitch their services.
She whittles the shortlist down from 11 to 3 based on the 2 days of meetings, and finally picks one.
The film goes on to show the whole story of the sale, and eventually reveals the successful agent, who was from an estate agency brand that Sam said she would “never have called”.
“We made this film to demonstrate that picking 3 agents at random is always a bad idea, and is the main reason why most people have such a terrible experience selling their home” explains Charlie Lamdin.
He continued “The end result of this experiment is that Sam now has life-changing opportunities. It also shows that most agents, even the nice ones, don’t fully understand that their job is not just to sell a home, but to achieve the highest possible price for it, in a short period of time. Only 3 of the 11 agents who attended actually demonstrated an understanding of their job and had a credible proposal on how to achieve the highest price. The other 8, while (almost) all very nice people, had nothing to differentiate their approach. Unfortunately this is the reason why agents have a reputation for ‘just chucking it on the internet and waiting for enquiries’. Many agents do nothing more than exactly that, and somehow scrape a living doing it, while underselling their client’s properties, if they sell them at all.
Sam, the owner of the property, said: “It just goes to show that the whole debate on what kind of agent to use, corporate v independent, online v high street, one-man band v team, is irrelevant and a red-herring. None of these are considerations, it just boils down to finding the individual person, the human being, who knows how to deliver.”
She continued “It also shows that taking local For Sale boards and online reviews into account is a distraction. You just need to find that person you click with, who demonstrates a real understanding of what you want, why you want it, and knows how to get it for you.”
“I found all the brochures, presentations and marketing materials deadly dull and unhelpful. Charlie told me to only focus on the person, are they listening to me, do they understand what I want and do I trust them to get it. He said just disregard everything else.”
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SELLERS! Please watch this 2024 follow up to this video: th-cam.com/users/liveW-KyDxorAL8
BUYERS! Watch this and make sure you learn from the sucker who overpaid.
@@parttimephilosopher7097 Let's hope the buyer who paid £300k never gets to watch this video 🙂
I cant see this industry surviving for much longer. Id love to see the breakdown involved in what the agent is actually doing (without any BS) vs the commission they are making.
See the diagram of what they do here. Remember, they do all of it unpaid until the last step, and if it falls through, they've done all the work for zero.
Hello Charlie, there is no link in your text, can you share that, please?
Couldn’t disagree more, how many start ups have failed trying to replace estate agencies?
It won't stop - why would it - everyone is making money - pure greed and capitalism
As an ex agent of 20+ years, any agent can sell a property in a strong rising market where new stock is in high demand, this experiment should be conducted in the current downturn as it will be the true reflection of good agency, as having worked in the 2008 housing crash, It was tough just to try and survive without having to shut up shop unlike quite a few agencies did at that time, mostly the larger corporates who only win biz on over valuing, then bombard the vendor for price reductions.
The most interesting point of the video was not one mention of any of the agents fees, which often is at the forefront of most sellers decision making process, after all we’ve all been there and had the call of I really like your valuation, but not your fee!!!
I'd love to do another documentary like this in the falling market - but I need someone in my close circle of friends who's selling now who's happy to have it filmed! It took 6 months to make this video.
@@MovingHomewithCharlie I can imagine it was a difficult job indeed.
Even in a strong market, a good agent will get a better price but its not just about price. Its also about closing the deal. Thats a combination of matching the vendors needs with the right buyer. Im not an agent but am experienced. 100% agree with the OP. Like any payment for service, cheapest isnt always best.
Agents are liars same as hungry dogs....
I’ve bought 2 properties in the last 15 years and on both occasions as soon as I made an offer the estate agent said…you won’t believe this but someone else has just offered us exactly the same amount so could you up your offer. Thing is they knew that I knew they were lying.
@@jackkruese4258 Estate agents work for the seller not for the buyer. It’s their job to get as much as they can for the buyer. So what if they lie to you it’s part of there job.
@@jackkruese4258 they are scumbags
They don't all do this, but unfortunately most do
@@jackkruese4258 This happened to me so I backed out of my offer even though I loved the home. Once I found another home, I checked on how much the home sold for and it was $10,000 less than my offer. It was very disappointing for me to lose my first preference and end up in something I didn’t like as well.
Oh of course you bought 2 properties when hundreds of thousands transact each year but you just made the huge leap that ALL agents are making up false offers all the time!
They get paid when it sells. Its easier to sell it at a lower price. On a 1% commission every 10k theybsell ur house less for (easier to sell) They lose 100. Try 300k and get 3k commission or easily sell at 280k at 2.8k commission. Its easier to sell 8 houses out of 10 at 10 or 20k less, than to try to sell for 10 to 20k more but only sell 4.
They don't work for ur best interests.
They work for their best interests.
@@kevinleesmith bingo!
Their motivation (money) is to get the seller to sell, get the house off their books and get their commission. As you say every £10k is c£100 to them but is £10,000 to the seller. “Just focus on the first two numbers” is their stock line. Estate Agents have no scruples.
That's a very sweeping statement
@@Itsafunnyoldworld1904 which of the correct statements are you referring to?
@paulspittel1924 Refering to specific statements as sweeping statements, shows u have an emotional response that is not based on reality. Emotion is important, but facts don't care about your emotions.
A house is worth what someone person is emotionally prepared to pay, and what another is prepared to hold out for.
Hope, she sold before Charlie's predicted 30% to 40% property crash in 2022/23/24 maybe this expert will get his massive yearly predicted property crash in 2025
@@alangaughran That's deep ,did it take you long to think that one up .
Not true. A house will be sold for what someone is talked into believing it should be necessary to pay for it and what another person is prepared to squeeze out someone just for their own benefit (and understandably because he/she is equally talked into a similar inflated view). The market value of my house is well over twice the price it would cost me to build the place. Just because real estate agents consistently pump up transaction prices. For a big part because their fee depends on the transaction price. It is not in their interest to keep prices at a normal level.
@DiederikAms Why don't people just build their own houses them if they are half the price
@@sarahann530 Because the con men called real estate agents occupy all the good spots to build on.
Watching this after the recent interview and I'm so glad the algorithm pointed me this way!
If there is one thing I've learned since being a property developer, it's that 1/10 agents actually know what they are doing when valuing property and land.
This is simple to overcome. Get three agents to value your property and tell them all firmly you will choose the agent whose value is in the middle. They’ll all be within 5-10k.
Having bought, sold and renovated in the UK and here in Australia, this was all very predictable. Always remember they are working for themselves, not you!
They are working for the seller and their goal is to get the best deal for their client . No matter what the agent values the the property at the buyer ultimately sets the price .
100percent
and who do you work for?
@@sarahann530 they are working for the buyer. The buyer generates the money for the agency fees paid by the seller.
Hope this was not scripted because it was absolutely brilliant to watch ❤
Estate agent describing 1900s house as having Georgian features, in their defence they could have been referring to George our local friendly builder.
@priestland1 Depends on your interpretation of the term "features".
1930s London suburban streets comprised houses built with external woodwork imitating Tudor (Elizabethan) timber-framed houses. This might reasonably be described as Elizabethan features. Georgean-style lattice windows were popular in the 1980s. In other words, it's a description of an architectural style, not a statement of its age.
Properly, a genuine description of a Georgian property would say, "With original Georgian details" and the 1900 property, "Features in the Georgian style".
The inability to communicate directly and accurately is not a modern problem, but stems from a lack of exact knowledge and verbal skills, assuming there is not a real intent to deceive. The ability to distinguish the latter depends on the individual to inform themselves by a process of continuous learning.
@@judewarner1536 No. It should read, Elizabethan 'style' features. Otherwise it's misleading.
Hi Charlie, overall getting more money for your house when the market was crazy wasn't that hard lets face it as money was cheaper than water to borrow. An experiment in 2024 like this one will be more interesting too see and more relevant IMO. This will really show who really are the better agents out there...
Sam sold during a fast moving market. I’d be willing to bet that in the current slower market, the outcome would be somewhat different.
I’d also point out that it would be ill advised to underestimate how important the sales progression is. From personal experience a good solicitor can also make a huge difference.
Totally agree on both points. Sam used a conveyancer I recommended. And in a tougher market it’s even more important to choose the agent with exceedingly great care
I've always felt that the commission structure is wrong. For example 1% (just to make the maths easy) on this property. If it sold at £250k then the commission would have been £2.5k, £275k...£2.75k and £300k... £3k commission. The problem is that a donkey could sell the property at £250k, but selling at £300k requires a lot more work yet only gets an extra £500 commission. If the commission was 10% of the sale price in excess of £250k, then if the agent sells for £300k they get £5k commission (instead of £3k),they will much more motivated to strive for the best possible price, maybe even £305k. Twice now I have managed to convince the selling agent that I was poor and they hinted that my offer was too high (pretty blatant hint at that) . Both times I purchased at a reduced offer. They don't care about the sale price, they just want to shift the home. The 1. 5% + vat does little to incentivise them to push for the best price.
What you’re describing is how many mediocre agents operate. The best ones, who know how to get the maximum value, usually charge higher fees because it is much more work.
@@MovingHomewithCharlie How much do they charge typically?
@@MovingHomewithCharlie it seems to me that I did not do a good job of explaining my point because you did not address it at all. I believe that a flat percentage of the sale price does not incentivise the agent to get the best price.
@@d716agqHe didn't get it.
Always thought the same, if the house is high value, in the 500k plus then yes, but the fees earnt on lower priced homes wouldn't warrant pushing that bit extra.
Would be very interested to see an updated one of these.
That was 6 months work!
@@MovingHomewithCharlie but more relevant in this current market where houses are not selling due to poor agents. Any man and his dog sold houses back in 2021 for higher than asking lets face it. 😅
We've been conned with the agent saying there is a lower offer but it's cash. We took it. They changed their minds near exchange and decided they wanted a mortgage so we had the pain of this delay. If we dropped out we would have had to market it again.
If you accept a stupidly high offer, you can come a cropper with the surveyor who may value it down.
there are no rules in this game I have 3 times sold properties well above valuation ,if it is in good location they will pay through the nose ,any valuation is just an opinion
Lots of buyers lie saying they are cash buyers
Every agent sticks the property on right move. And that’s where buyers go to search.
Lula: or REALTOR if in America.
Absolutely. And surprisingly the commission is negotiable. Don't have a For Sale sign, that makes the serious buyers arrange a viewing. I have had a buyer engage in the longest conveyance ever, and then pull out on the last day, and lost the dream house I was lined up to buy.
@@VisorView most decent agents have ‘sales progressors’ whose job is to keep things on as short a time scale as possible once an offer has been accepted. Specifically, their job is to spot foot dragging as a sign of problems with a buyer. My job as a seller is to check out the buyer before accepting their offer via due diligence by the estate agent AND engaging a solicitor with a good rep for conveyancing- you’ll be amazed what they can find out from the buyer’s solicitor. The clincher is the buyer arranging THEIR OWN survey ( as opposed to a Lenders’ survey), because this is the point they have to commit to putting their own money into the deal.
We need to go back to the sensible days when lenders were only allowed to lend 3.5 times one wage.
@@VisorView There are lots of perspectives in you comment. Yes, commission is negotiable. But the 'For Sale' sign as an issue? It helps viewers to locate the property easily; and don't forget they _should_ be excited to go and look over your beautiful property which is 'For Sale' from the hard work you've put in prior to the photographer arriving and then the pictures going live on Rightmove. You are (or should be) inviting them in with a welcome mat. 'For Sale' shouts 'I'm HERE.'
Estate agents are corrupt . My daughter and my wife and i have sold several homes over the last 40 years . Every time we got a valuation they said the last home that sold in your road sold for x amount . So we will put 5000 on that price . So over the last 30 years house prices have gone astronomical . My first home was £10500 in 1985 . Now worth about £160000 . Earnings haven't gone up 15 times . my endowment mortgage then was £75 per month and £15 endowment . With earning of £400 per month . Which equated to about 24% of my earnings . A damn site higher percentage today . The kids today are screwed .
how does that make estate agents corrupt?
@@alexbolt3688 Because they are manipulating the market by doing it . If you have an area that sells a lot of homes in a 12 month period , then the prices will rocket . That is controlling the market . The seller makes more money , but the buyer is getting screwed . But then the buyer has to buy another property . Estate agent is win win win .
I heartily agree. Im looking at getting a caravan!!! With five cats a dog, chooks and a kid....
The estate agents job is to get the best price and that seems to be what you are objecting to, they dont buy the property.
@@Finderskeepers. In principle you are right . But they have a responsibility to the buyer also . The building society is representing both . they are getting the fees off both the buyer and seller . The seller isn't going to argue , but the buyer is getting screwed . The French have the best system , you buy a home to live in , not as a massive investment .
Awesome video! Thanks for sharing your experience Sam; it’s amazing to see such a fantastic result and some of the comments from the “beauty parade” are utterly cringeworthy! 🤦♂️
Don't I know it, my husband was going to sell our flat for £50,000. based on the agents suggestion. I said no way, said a prayer and made a brochure and sold for over £70,000. this was quite a number of years ago, but the agent was so discouraging.
So god got you 20 thousand more for your flat . How much did he charge in commission?
@@sergeisergei4700 how did you make a brochure please?
This was fascinating. Thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Why does everybody involved in property come across as so smug? One buyer got over-excited and massively overpaid and suddenly everybody involved is a genius and celebrating while knowing the unfortunate person buying the house will almost certainly be in negative equity day one after exchanging.
In this business everyone wins except the buyer. It’s a sad game.
Estate agents are of my least favourite people to deal with.
If they go into negative equity immediately there is a problem with the Banks Valuers or if they are cash buyers then they haven't done their own due diligence. Several times I have been a "Cash buyer" but I have always made the contract subject to both a building inspection and a licensed valuation to ensure I am not paying more than it is worth..
That’s not correct though is it ? Those buying the home now have a home , that’s what they needed and that’s what they have got .
@@pmbpmb5416 I agree, you pay what you can for the home you want, and that's what the buyer did. XXX
The paradox of choice raised doubt when she chose Amy.
I've subbed; thank you for the informative video. It took time, was personable and ended with a result that benefitted everyone.
Welcome!
Thanks
Thank you!
A property will sell for what someone is prepared to pay. Location is key in terms of time line, and a premium if its a desirable location. Agents will over value to get your business but they are not fighting your corner, its a 1% fee, any variation in price hardly affects what the agent gets.
This video is a success story for the seller but a failure for the buyer: in the zero-sum game of pricing, what is a life-changing positive for one party is often a life-changing negative for the other.
It's not a zero sum game. The buyer got what they wanted, and was prepared to pay a premium - an emotional value - the same as a premium for a particular view to cost to get that. Not all properties are equal in facility or emotional vale.
@@martinhow121 if the price of something no one needs, like modern art, went up by 20% overnight, you could say it is not zero sum and everyone who is still transacting is better off by transacting.
If the price of water in the desert went up by 20% overnight, maybe you could make the same argument. Or maybe you would conclude this is price-gouging of a necessity.
I think raising the price of food and housing is basically a bad thing, lowers quality of life for most people. Maybe not for all people. But as a society it tends to be zero sum: higher house prices transfer wealth from the young and homeless and into the hands of the old and the property-owning.
Something is worth what someone is willing to pay for it.
@@PozitiveVibezzz that is certainly true. But if I meet you in the Sahara Desert, and I see you are dying of thirst, I might get you to sell your house in exchange for a bottle of water.
You might later accuse me of many things. But being ethical is probably not one of them.
Essentially the same problem is playing out in America: wealth is being stolen from the working class and given to non-workers. Sometimes via unfair divorce laws, sometimes through the welfare state, sometimes through money-printing, sometimes via taxation.
Food, rent and land price rises now reflect deliberate government policies rather than just population increase or economic productivity. [Actually, productivity should be lowering the price of food and construction material.]
Even without understanding economics, people know they are being scammed. They can feel it.
What was the commissions? What was the ‘in the pocket’ post advertising costs etc!
Remember folks this is only prevalent to England and wales , in Scotland, the system is different as its actually conveyancing solicitors attached to estate agents (so under one roof) also
in England its an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) us required. In Scotland, however, the seller must provide a Home Report before they can put their property on the market - unless the property is a new-build home
Correct
Which totally slows the market down
This is the perfect video of what a 'BIG F*ing JOKE' UK housing market is.
She bought it for 198k inJul 2018 and sold it for 300k in Feb 2022. +51% in 4 years.
I think its time to short the UK housing market.
Fair assessment, but it’s worth noting that she got £25k more than asking price due to the agent she chose, otherwise it would have been only (!) 39% in 4 years, which is less than 10% a year.
The point I’m trying to illustrate with this documentary is it doesn’t matter what you think a property is worth, it only matters what an agent can get for it, and the best ones will find you a lot more money, if it’s worth it.
That's how the market was moving at that time. Property prices were rising and doubling your investment in a few years was seen as normal. Yes estate agents are only interested in getting their percentage of the sales figure but Property prices are ridiculously high now
@MovingHomewithCharlie 10% per year on ANY investment is absolutely insane. No one expects an investment to gain 10% per year and houses are not investments they are a finite necessity which should hold its value steadily not gain monumental increases in value in extremely short spaces of time. If the cost of anything else in your life doubled in the space of 4 years you would be crying out for blood ut because its a house its suddenly good???? Crazy thinking.
@@MovingHomewithCharlie These days though where you can see all available potential properties in whichever area via National websites, it's the buyer who contacts whichever agent has signed up the seller. That BUYER would have found that agent and still made their offer of +25k. Other than the 'selling' function, which the previous sentence negates, everything an agent does could be done within a solicitors office. High End, Unusual or One Off properties, sure an agent has a place as a BUYING agent but your average dwelling gets sold when seller $'s and buyer $'s agree. Estate agencies as we've known them should be worried, most are superfluous to requirements or current function. IMHO.
It is the same here in Aus.
Putting a property on the market this week had four local agents round all wanted a 3 month lock-in if sole agent, biggest difference was their commission ranging from 1.25% to 2.5%
Don’t do a 3 month lock in!
Best of luck with it. Id be very nervous of the 1.25%. Like any service, pay peanuts get monkeys. Now the market has softened, marketing is key. Who ever can get the most people through the door will get the best price. This is why the pictures of the property are critical.
@@Finderskeepers. must have had 20 people viewing it in the first week of going on the market plus people coming back for second viewings with their partners
Excellent video, such useful viewing for sellers. I've already sent the link to one of my out of area sellers.
Glad it was helpful!
Thats a great vlog. Well done. Honest and extremely helpful.
The most interesting thing I've watched for quite a while! Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it!
This was just before the mortgage interest rates soaring... she got a great deal (very lucky timing)
When selling my home, Elliots had a house we wanted, they said sign up with us and it becomes an easier transaction and incentives us to sell yours....
Complete garbage soon as we signed up a couple of weeks later the house we wanted was sold and they never even came informed us.
Did you expect the sellers of the house you wanted to not sell theirs until you were ready to put in an offer ? Why didn't you do a deal contingent on selling yours ?
@@sarahann530 Sorry didn't make myself clear, we put in an offer on the house we liked, Agents said OK we will put that forward, why not also advertise your place with us, they said that would incentivise them, and make for an easier process,about 10 days went by and when we checked Eliots website the house was sold.
So did they even put forward our offer, or was the sale to far down the road when we expressed an interest for them to go back to the sellers, maybe they already had a good offer were not turning over many, so required a quick sale...who knows.
incentivizes
@@sarahann530 No I would have expected the estate agents to put forward our interest to the seller.
I have recently sold my current house. After getting 3 valuations, all the same value. I went with a local agent that I had a tenuous connection with, possibly a mistake? Things I noticed about agents, they are lousy sales people, they would not survive if they were selling cars! their patter is awful, such as this is the kitchen, of course it is, the cooker and fridge are a clue. After a small number of viewings, they start, you need to reduce the price and one the same as yours close by sold for less (that was true) The good news is it sold, albeit for a bit less than I wanted, which was not too bad, as over the 28 years I have lived in the property, its value has increased by £250k and I am mortgage free. Buying and selling homes is so archaic in the UK, its time it was overhauled.
Why didn't you sell it yourself ? Why didn't you hold out for the price you wanted ? Why did you choose the agent that was a lousy sales person ?
What less archaic system would you prefer ?
So you had three valuations and decided to go with the worst salesman; that was your decision.
@@Itsafunnyoldworld1904 Its not that simple. You don't know how good a house salesman performs until they bring people to look at the house and you see how he or she operates. estate agents often have multiple sales agents. I got mine changed and the house sold.
Excellent video ✅ even tho anyone could sell a house in a bull market but this really demonstrates that having a good agent can go far
People dont realise it's the currency that is breaking...
Lot of sense in that. Black Rock and similar crooks control the market (most of their money is actually OUR money). Wages and prosperity certainly ARE NOT rising. Yet property prices are eg with v weak Sterling. A VERY bad outlook for most Brits.
you are correct stated in 1964 when Harold Wilson said we are devaluing the currency but of course this does not devalue the money in your pocket lol
This is a great experiment and very instructional. Houses around us have agreements in 24 hours currently, so unless it's a multi-million pound home, there aren't many available and it's impossible for a first time buyer in terms of cost and availability... the London effect.
Yeah its all nice and lovely until they can't sell the property at their inflated valuation and they move to stage 2 which is to bombard you with negative supposed "feedback" to browbeat you into lowering the price. Not all agents are so annoying but I have dealt with ones who literally don't care about insulting you or your property to get the price down.
This happens a lot, which is why it’s so important to find the good ones.
The thing about house valuations is that they don’t matter as much as you think. A lot of sellers will go with the agent that values their house the highest but most buyers are pretty savvy about what they are prepared to pay. So, if your house is under-valued by the agent, you’ll probably get more offers which turns into a bidding war. An over-valued house will get fewer offers, including some cheeky lower offers which will disappoint. Also, if your house is over-valued, you get a bite but while the house sale is going trough, you get a call from the estate agent to say the buyer’s mortgage provider has valued the house at 10k less so you haven’t benefitted at all. It’s a minefield.
One of the most sensible comments so far!
Thank you 😊 The winning agent had That something you cannot bottle plus it's her business, other larger agents have individuals as good but depends on their career trajectory within the firm at that time and the quality of the team supporting them.
It's really made me think twice about going for the agents with a shop on the high street. I think since Right Move has been around it doesn't matter if the agent has a shop or not. Who doesn't look at Right Move these days!!
Amy we don’t know you but you are amazing. You should get your name out there more and hopefully bring so much joy to others. Look at Sam’s face
I wouldn’t have any of them selling my house I would self sell. And then pass that along to the solicitors to deal with the legalities
You knew Sam so perhaps hard to repeat but the experiment now would probably show even more estate agent disparity. Integrity or otherwise would really shine through!
Being delighted with an offer of £300k simply because you had - over a few days - convinced yourself the “value” was £260-£275k is exactly the problem…and the ‘guru’ in this video perpetuates it ! The REAL lesson should be that an offer of that amount indicates how - shockingly - low the valuations were. The Seller in such circumstances should shift their baseline accordingly and remarket the property….not treat it as a wild stroke of good fortune to be snapped up. As a secondary point, choosing an Agent because you get on with them is as hit and miss as anything, and not ideal when talking about hundreds of thousands of pounds.
I assume you're an agent?!
No, just my opinions 👍. Although I did regulate them for many years as a Trading Standards Officer, which perhaps exposed me to the best and the worst ! A good Agent is worth their weight in gold, but as implied in the video they are not easy to find. I liked the idea of assessing multiple Agents….it’s absolutely what folk should, and never, do.
As an experienced property guy and not an agent, I would put that down to how strong the market is and how well the property presents. Its reflect the local supply and demand. The fact so many agents came in at £275 supports this, undervaluing is not in any of their interests to secure an instruction. Reality is it can be a stroke of good luck by having 2 or more buyers competing that also have the means. Neither does it help to close the sale as the mortgage valuation may become an issue for this deal.
Regarding any professional advice be it medical, legal or property, having confidence in the advisor is paramount otherwise you will always be questioning the advise. The sale of ones home is known to be one of the most stressful events in life and that effects decision making. Good communication and a good relationship does help to foster confidence but not critical if there is already confidence.
@@terencebunn8318 I didn't realize Trading Standards Officers regulated house prices .
Amy is a legend and a professional like that deserves and should if not already, have their own estate agent,
Fascinating, but important to point out this was filmed during an extraordinary boom period in the housing market, during the post-Covid period when demand for property (especially in a nice part of Somerset) was going through the roof. Would be interesting to repeat this experiment in more normal market times, when overvaluations by agents often lead to properties failing to sell for months before having to be sharply reduced.
Given the underlying parlous state of the UK economy, and the fact that successive politicians have done everything they can to stop the housing bubble from collapsing, I do not think that anyone is able to say definitely what a British house is worth. It is both subjective and dependent on artificial props.
You can advertise your house with any estate agent for whatever value you wish however if you have overcooked it expect little to no interest. I have no affiliation to any estate agents but I think the ball parks are to tempt and bait interest to a quick sale but if interest is peaked (like an auction) you can sell above list price if the buyers really want it. It is like most things only worth what someone is a)willing to pay or b) can afford
Why no mention of fees in a 30 minute video??
Probably around 1.5%, I'm sure if they were over the market average they wouldn't have picked her.
Precisely.
@@hearmenow909 It really depends how much you value the work of an Estate Agent. The Internet and the market does most of the work. Its "nice" to have someone help you but most people are perfectly capable of advertising agreeing a sales by themselves. The problem is that they are prevented from advertising in the main channels due to some sort of industry protection.
Taken for granted as the percentage is set and it’s for the buyer to determine if it’s fair
@@cg9616 Set by whom?
At the end of the day the price is the price they will all put it on right move , what you want is an agent that will stringently have a decent sales progression to ensure the sale moves forward to completion .
What was the best agent methodology?
Had a 4 bed detached to sell.
Agents £210k - £225.
We said £245.
Sold in 2hrs after going live with agent.
Selling price £245.
When and where was that?
@@MovingHomewithCharlie County Durham February 2022.
Same here estate agents pitched 425 to 440. We. Said 475. It went first day. 10 viewers , and 1 wanted it. Had that person not turned up that day. Then the estate agent could say told you so. But u just need that 1
@@anthonypatchett974 Clearly the agents didn't have a clue
Fascinating. I learned so much. Thank you.
I sold my flat and got my local estate agent as he lived down my road..he was very nice but...i showed the people round..he was a sole agent like most of them near me..all he did was put my flat in his window and find the buyers..well he didnt...they found me..took a few pictures..thats it.
He got the solicitor they use all the time so no doubt got a commission for that.
My solicitor cost around £2,000 and they did all the work.
The estate agent charged me..£6,000 on £285,000..how is that right when the solicitor did all the work?
Also, I think agents will slightly undervalue a house to move it quickly. If there is a lot of homes, they are doing more showing and less selling. Which is less money for them.
Undervaluing loses business. It doesn’t work.
@@MovingHomewithCharlie Well it loses business if they are caught redhanded. But often they aren't caught. You haven't addressed the issue I mentioned.
Also this woman was undervaluing in a type of way. Fortunately for the owner, the closing price was above that.
Plenty of people won't bid above the "in excess of" price.
How long do you think they would last with that reputation?
@@RS-xx9ve So her agent had it wrong!
Great eye opening perspective on this video. Thanks
In Costa Rica, there are no legal real estate agents.
A person goes to the homeowner and says I will give you this much money. If they agree, they go together to the lawyer, and pay the lawyer for the land transfer.
Done.
Why increase costs with payments to a third party?
@auroradelaguacate4153 Ditto in my country. You don't have to use an agent. I have sold 2 homes by agreement then used our lawyers to arrange. Easy and cheaper.
The fact is the market dictates the price. You need an estate agent to advertise your property properly and as many perspective serious buyers to be exposed to your property via their network etc. There need to be sufficient interest in the property to get the best possible price. Best scenario when selling is your property enters a bidding war
The problem is that you "have" to use an agent, this leads to weakness in the industry, because its guaranteed money. I am a seasoned negotiator and quite capable of selling my own house, however I am prevented from doing this because the main advertising routes are not open to me privately. Allowing this would up the requirements for agents adding value.
There is also the question of whether Amy did add any value atall. Certainly she smoothed out the process and provided sensible support to the seller, however it cannot be proven that she added any value to the sale price.
Of course she did. She spoke to buyers off market first, had pre market viewings timed with a public launch created the (accurate) impression that there was a lot of competition for the home. Ordinary agents just list and wait.
You don’t need rightmove to sell a home.
@@MovingHomewithCharlie there is no "of course" she might have added value to the client by reassuring her and helping her know when to wait and how long to wait, but many people are perfectly capable of doing it themselves. In a rising market, the longer you wait the more money you make, you just have to decide how long you want to wait. Sales agents are not needed other than to write adverts and take photos, show people around, supply and demand works by itself which is precisely why so many do it. Its money for nothing with the Internet. Personally I find zero value in sales agents, they mostly only exit because its a closed shop and you don't have a choice. They are certainly not worth a percentage of the sale. Its good to have an incentive, but the market does most of the work. Agents might be more useful in a declining market but many of them then have their heads in the sand and think they can talk the market up, and watch while their clients chase the market down.
The biggest problem people who work in closed shops like this (includes banks) and earn good money for doing very little is that they think they are adding value because they are good at their job. This is why people like Amy are rare. It should be a requirement to be good at your job to make good money, the big problem I see in the world is that many are not, yet get well rewarded anyway.
@@MovingHomewithCharlie sitting and waiting would have worked to, were is the evidence that being a good sales person helps increase the value in this situation? Houses sell themselves when supply is tight.
@@tonystanley5337
I agree. You don’t need an agent in a rising market, property sells itself. If prices are threatened then a good agent can make the difference between a reasonable sale and no offers.
@@MovingHomewithCharlie you're more likely to get the price you want by having it advertised on one of the larger portals. more prospective buyers means more offers if the agent is any good.
Really great video. When we sell I will definately follow this approach, interview a load of agents and ask that killer question "how will you maximise the amount we will get". I'd like to know how you found the agent that won. Was it just a Google search?
We contacted ALL local agents. 18 of them. 11 accepted the invitation to meet.
Beware. I had an experience with an local estate agent, who failed to find a buyer, listed inaccurate details of the property, did minimal marketing and in the end, we withdrew from the market, but, they billed us for all sorts of things and even took us to court to get that money, despite the vague small print in their so called contract. I remain totally disgusted with that 'outfit' who listed properties just to get fees imo.
Love this video! I'll deffo be soing this technique when we sell one day!
Just one thing, it is all, exploiting the buyer, and ramping prices upwards, the main problem in life. Perhaps it all needs reversing. Estate agents working for the buyers. The good ones get you the house for the lowest price.
Exactly. It should be the norm.
Don’t you have buyers agents in the UK?
@@krugmeup2162 Not really or usually. Perhaps a few super rich do.
Would it be in a buyers interest to work in the opposite way, i.e shadow the weaker agents? If so, I think you're on to a winning concept, as (I hope) eventually this should make the agents themselves more competitive when rankings become the norm
In theory, perhaps yes. In reality it’s hard to find the home you really want that’s within budget, meaning you often have no choice in the agent you’re dealing with.
@@MovingHomewithCharlie I can only hope multi agent marketing becomes the norm then. It could be in the sellers interest to get extra marketing / hands on deck, though in the past I've judged sellers as struggling / open to lower offers if they are listed with more than one agent
@@IjtabaHussain multi agent marketing doesn't achieve any extra marketing (if your one agent is listing on the major property sites) and in fact it only serves to de-motivate the agents themselves. It's always best to put in the time and effort to identify the agent who demonstrates a clear strategy for getting the best price. Great agents get great prices, and turn down the opportunity to be one of several agents. Why work for a reduced chance of a fee? It's a very common misconception.
@@IjtabaHussain Look at the american model which is multi agent, agency fees of 8% are common.
US model is typically 1 seller's agent + 1 buyer's agent, is that what you're calling multi agent? In California 5% is the norm combined commission split between the 2 agents.
If you’re in the market to buy something, and the seller (or their agent) asks what your budget is, please don’t tell them. As soon as you tell them your budget, the chances are that you will be paying at least that amount, and probably more, because the vast majority of people state a figure lower than their true budget.
When I’m asked, I just give a wry chuckle and say, “As little as possible”.
For example, if you’re in the market for a house, ask the agent for details of properties ranging from the most and least expensive properties that meet your criteria (i.e. number of rooms, etc), otherwise you’re only going to be shown properties starting at your budget price and higher.
I enjoyed watching this video it was fantastic thank-you
Glad you enjoyed it
18:34 buyers out there, why you should never tell the Agent your maximum budget. The agent works for the seller, not the buyer, they're your opponent. The buyer overpaid here by about 20K, or nearly 7%, that's such a massive mistake it makes the Cash offer (which is low risk) worth ignoring.
They need get law out estate agents. Once agreed with price will seller don't sell to others..
Can you try that again in English?
There needs to be a law against posting under the influence
😂😂
@@sarahann530 You mean like a breathalyser attached to the computer, before gaining internet access ? 🤣Amazon and Ebay would have gone broke.
Its okay in principle "overpaying" but if the mortgage company downvalues it then its a waste of time
It must be similar no matter where you live. A neighbor had considered selling their home and got the same pressure tactic that someone wanted to buy it and they accepted it without talking to anyone else. The person buying it was likely a friend of the agent as it immediately put back on the market and sold for $100,000+ more than it was purchased for. Of course, there is no recourse and they also had to rush to buy another home that they hadn’t even been searching for prior to contacting the agent.
What about sellers cost? I didn’t hear that mentioned ??
I wonder which area this is the market is so heated up? A dozen viewings and numerous offers over the asking price?
It was Taunton in Somerset.
Exactly. It’s an individual human being you have to choose and not the brand.
I have dealt with the biggest brand and a couple estate agents 4-5and they all been terrible. Absolutely terrible.
Another brand estate agent told me not to buy that particular house I love, just because I wanted to extend the living room/kitchen area. Crazy.
How much is flood insurance on this property?
I've been to a few open days. Each time an agent contacted us to say, of couse, what "they were not to say" that the full asking price had already been offered. You know, they liked us enough and didn't want us to miss out on having the chance to get the properties... Great for the seller but crazy push for all viewers to go into a ridiculous binding war. Never do open days.
Time to make this video again, in a negative market where all agents are fire selling your properties agents don’t care about your price they care about the sale when they receive their commission. The price is irrelevant if they can’t pay the wages each month they are not in business. Never trust a real estate agent, I have bought and sold in 3 continents over decades and it doesn’t change. All agents rely on emotive purchases and have no idea where their buyers are going to come from, it’s all down to the internet being visible to the right person at the right time.
This is fascinating. I was an Independent Financial Adviser (John Charcol) many moons ago. I worked with local solicitors, accountants and Estate Agents and made/saved my clients a lot of money in both investments and mortgages advice. In fact, I often wonder if they appreciate my efforts. PIus, I met some amazing people in the process. I reluctantly left the business, understanding it's a younger mans game, moving sideways into financial research, publishing and technology which was an adventure in itself. I now live in Thailand. Great video, subscribed.
I worked for a small estate in South London (Cray and Norton) many eons ago now and I was absolutely shocked at just how corrupt and slimey they were in every aspect of business, needless to say, it totally ruined any notions I had of working in the property business.
there are plenty of shady practitioners in estate agency
There wasn't much discussion in the end about strategy, just advertised amount. Surely a strategy involves much more than that?
Great advertising. Well done all.
oh boy. buying property without fair valuation. looks like the correct value was 285000. as a buyer i wouldn't go with this agent, as a seller i would choose her. happy for seller, buyer will recover in 6 months. your house was well presented so made the difference
Buyers don't get to choose the agent here.
Such an interesting video! Well done Amy!! I would be interested to know if you would have called Amy out in the beginning if you hadn’t planned to ask all 11 agents out? Or would you have discounted Ewe move from the initial valuation appointments because the branding is not great?
At the end of the video, just after the completion Sam answers that question! She’d never have called that brand. And she’d have missed Amy.
The buyer might be in trouble in a few years time, looks like they have paid way over the asking price at a time when Prices may be about to fall dramatically (late 2022 recession, inflation and rising interest rates)... Hope they got a long term fixed rate.
Winners and Losers in the Housing Market, the bigger the winner, the bigger the loser.
They did buy at the top but they had a healthy deposit, not overextended. Long term they’ll be fine but short term maybe they might find it hard to sell if they need to
Nobody can predict the peak of a market but people want to own a home and have to make a gamble to achieve that. Over the long run it typically appreciates.
When selling (and I have sold many Houses) I always!! tell them what I want, not them telling me. It's the commission you have to take into account as to whether they are worth that commission or not! As my property is a one off, it is up to me to value it myself, which I have done. I do not want such a headache dealing with Agents!!
Far too many valuations 😮. Too confusion. 3 or 4 only needed in the area . 😊would have liked to know what percentage she charged to sell it, but well done female agent 🎉
3 never enough. You need to talk to as many as possible. Why do you think moving house is so hard when everyone always does 3 or 4? Because it’s not enough
it would have been even more interesting to have included the fees structure not just max price
Very interesting video.
Certainly the words ‘I don’t mean to put you under and pressure’ mean quite the opposite.
What struck me is that the second day valuations were clearly higher than those from the first day. Would that be a coincidence?
Do agents bring "fake" buyers just to give the seller the impression they are working?
Not fake ones, but they will take “no hopers” around, as in buyers who they know won’t like it, and won’t offer, so they can give the seller feedback to make them drop the price.
Absolutely
Lucky you for finding her ! We had a heartbreaking experience with a Taunton estate agent . Liars , con artists and deceivers
I have seen many agents as such from very known big names agencies.
Using an estate agents seems to be the norm in the Uk whereas in a lot of countries people sell and buy homes without any middle man. Im genuinely curious what is the benefit of using an agent, unless the home being sold is in an area where sales are really slow ?
Branding is more than a logo. You definitely chose based on brand values. Open honest communication being the key one.
The agents sign is awesome. Very clever
@@MrMRW14 a ‘ewephamism’
All before Interest rates when through the roof
I actually caught out our estate agent offering our house to a developer advising us to sell to him gazumping a better offer, after a phone conversation with the senior partner he was taken off the sale they took over and we wasn't charged anything for their services along with a grovelling apology.
That's gazundering! and the agent was probably offered a backhander by the developer
That shitbox cardboard box selling for 300k shows what is wrong in our society!
lol get on a plane and come to Sydney.
My estate agent and I had agreed a fixed price to cover all costs if my house sold at home report price. The estate agent then decided on an 80/20 split on anything above the home report price which I agreed to. I get a copy of the contract emailed over a few days later and I notice the estate agent had awarded the 80% on anything above the home report price to themselves. I thought this must be an error as no estate agent could be that greedy. Their response was 'you signed the contract'. And it got worse. They were still to add the 20% vat on to the 80%. So if my house sold for £20,000 above the home report price the estate agent got their fixed fee and £19,200 - I would have got £800. I was fuming. I gave the house away at home report price.
Low IQ
Who has the time to interview 11 agents. I think this was overkill and if you know what price you want just stick to that and dont compromise.
If you’re moving home and want to make sure you avoid wasting months on an agent who fails to sell your home, or sells it too cheap, then the time is a good investment.
Totally agree, most sellers price the home. Everyone is greedy that is human nature. The market has noticeably changed in last few months, this feels VERY 2006/7.
Estate agents fees needs to be fixed, and not percent based. To prevent agents from pushing up prices to get a larger percentage