Most lists of questions for a valuation appointment are about the house. The ones that decide what you actually pay are about the contract, and they are easier to ask before an agent has spent an hour flattering your kitchen. These are the seven worth writing down, with a note on what a poor answer looks like.
The four about money
Is the fee a percentage or a fixed amount, and is the figure you have just said inclusive or exclusive of VAT at 20 percent. What exactly triggers my liability to pay you, and is it completion or something earlier. What is included in that fee and what is charged separately, itemised. And what happens if I withdraw. An agent who cannot answer the second one crisply is an agent whose contract you should read twice, because the law requires them to have told you before you sign.
The two about being able to leave
How long is the contract and what notice do I have to give. And do you want sole selling rights, sole agency, or neither. These two together decide whether a disappointing three months costs you nothing or costs you a second fee, because instructing another agent while the first contract still runs is how sellers end up paying twice on one sale. A short contract at a slightly higher rate is often the better deal and almost nobody asks for it.
The one about accountability
Which redress scheme do you belong to. Every agent belongs to one, either The Property Ombudsman or the Property Redress Scheme, and an agent who has to look it up is telling you something. It is also a useful last question because it changes the register of the conversation: it signals that you have read something about how this works, which tends to improve the answers to the previous six.
Questions people ask about questions to ask estate agents when selling
When is the best moment to ask these?
At the valuation, before any paperwork appears. Afterwards you are asking about terms you have already agreed.
Is it reasonable to ask for the contract in advance?
Entirely. The fee terms have to be given to you before you enter the contract anyway, so asking to read them at home is asking for nothing unusual.
What if two agents give very different valuations?
Ask each what evidence the figure rests on. A valuation is a marketing position as much as a prediction, and the higher one is not automatically the better one.