Do you get what you pay for with estate agents? In previous answers you suggested to sellers to shop around when looking for an estate agent. We are in the process of doing just that but are stumped by the various charging practices.
The fees range from half a per cent to one and a half percent.
How are we supposed to judge when the financial cost to us could be so great?
There is no easy answer to this and, as you have found out, no industry-wide, established fee level. Half a per cent is not every common - somewhere between one and one and a half is more the norm in Dublin.
What is important is that you know what you are getting for your money and that you get in writing from the various agents what level of service they are offering, so you can compare like with like.
Will the same, experienced negotiator be showing your house every time? The last thing you need is a revolving band of agents showing your house. Readers have reported to this column examples of viewing houses with agents who themselves had never been inside the door.
Will the agent be available to show your house at any time? A small agency with a lot of houses on their books might be stretched in terms of viewings. You also need to be able to establish some sort of friendly rapport with the agent - you are going to have to talk to this person several times a week over the course of, at best, a month or, at worst, several months.
If you don't like them on some level and trust them from day one then it's not likely to end well. You should also ask how experienced the agent is in your area and pin them down on what sales they have made.
The agent should also be able to give you a good idea of other costs that would be involved such as advertising and so on.
Neighbour has removed traditional railings
A neighbouring house changed hands two years ago and its builder owner did a lot of work during the intervening period and he has only recently moved in.
We live in a (redbrick) terrace with no back entrance and he removed the railings and the small gate to the front during the construction which was reasonable. However he has now paved the front garden and told my wife that he intends leaving the drive-in as it is 'handy'. But it spoils the look of the street and his Jeep juts out onto the path.
We don't want to cause any bad feeling but can he do this?
Unlikely. Making a drive-in out of a railinged garden is not as simple as it appears and he almost certainly needs planning permission.
He may, however, have got planning permission because, as you say, he did a lot of work and may have had to get planning for that so he could have applied for a drive-in at the same time.
But the planners are unlikely to have given permission if the space was as tight as you say.
You don't say which local authority area you live in but drop a note to the Planning Enforcement Section of it stating your case and maybe including a couple of photos and let them take it from there.
Send your queries to Property Questions, The Irish Times, The Irish Times Building, 24-28 Tara Street, Dublin 2 or email propertyquestions@irish-times.ie. Unfortunately, it is not possible to respond to all questions. The above is a representative sample of queries received. This column is a readers' service and is not intended to replace professional advice. No individual correspondence will be entered into.
