Even if you have never bought a property before, which is common with more and more people as the age of the first-time buyer is increasing, you will learn about the whole process when you study for your CeMAP exam.
An important part of this process is the role of the estate agents, who are generally involved in every sale.
Usually, estate agents do all the advertising free of charge on the condition that if they sell your house, they take a percentage of the sale price as their fee. That fee can range from 1% to 3% or more, and occasionally a little less if you are lucky to sell when they have a special offer on, which is usually introductory for new estate agencies.
However, one estate agency has launched this month, which aims to change the way estate agents charge. Wow Property is hoping to revolutionise the market, saving homeowners thousands of pounds in estate agency fees. They are offering to work on a fixed fee basis, which is fixed at £999 irrespective of the property price. The average house-seller pays around £2,600 for an estate agent, so this would represent a huge saving.
According to the FSA, around 40 percent of people are dissatisfied with their estate agency service, so this reduced fee could appeal to this section of the market.
Wow chief executive, Gareth Robinson, said:
“The current market downturn has accelerated consumer need for a value for money solution. We have developed our business around this exact demand allowing us to provide a high quality and personal service with the lowest fixed fee on the market.”
Who knows, if this catches on, the CeMAP syllabus may one day have to be re-written to show how estate agents market and sell properties in the future.
