Estate agents - how many should you use

When you sell your home, you have to decide how many estate agents you want to use. In particular, should you get one, two or more to work for you? What you decide will affect how much you pay in fees – and how much you get for your home

The basics

You can have one, two or more agents working for you. They can be:

• sole agent
• joint sole agents
• multiple agents

Generally, the more estate agents you get working for you, the more potential buyers you will reach, and potentially the higher the offers you will get – but you will pay higher fees. The best approach depends on what type of property you have, and the state of the market:

• if there is a glut of properties on the market, with few buyers, it can make more sense to have multiple agents.
• if there are few properties on the market, but lots of eager buyers, then a sole agent is probably best.

Switching tactics

A good strategy is to hire an estate agent as the sole agent for six to eight weeks, before opening business up to other agents on a multiple estate agency basis. This will give the agent you choose an incentive to sell as soon as possible

Can I change estate agents?

This will depend on your terms and conditions; you may not be able to change at all during the period of your agreement, or you may be liable to pay some fees. It is important that your agreement with the agent is only for a limited period – the normal period is a 12 week contract, with each side being able to give two weeks’ notice (but you may have to pay a penalty). But you should aim for a lower period such as six weeks, so you can change reasonably quickly if you are not happy with them.