Why to use an estate agent?

Selling a home brings with it a whole host of additional costs - Stamp Duty, legal fees, and HIP requirements - and that's before you even get to removal firms and carpet-fitters. With this in mind, it is always tempting to consider where money can be saved. One of the most obvious ways of doing this is, to try and sell your property privately rather than using an estate agent. However, this may not be as cost-effective as it may first seem.

Estate agents charge an average commission rate of around 3,5-4%, so on a standard property worth 100,000€ there's the potential to save 3,500€. So why use an estate agent?
Research has shown that it may cost you far more to try and perform the roles of an agent, both in the lost value that they may be able to get for your home as well as the time and effort spent in marketing and liaising with all of the parties concerned.

Broadly, estate agents have skills in 10 specific areas: