Online estate agents - anyone tried?

Post by **scarletjim** » 18 Mar 2018, 09:28

Having had lots of hassles recently, I'm selling my rental flat. It should be pretty easy to sell, as I'm not greedy on price, and when flats in my complex go up for sale they tend to be sold within a couple of weeks if they're on at sensible prices. So, given that it should be fairly to generate interest via Rightmove, Zoopla etc, I was thinking of going with an online EA and avoiding costs of the high-street agents. In terms of viewings, I live about 30 mins away, so whilst my current tenants (who are leaving soon of their own volition) have said they would be happy to show people around, it would probably be easier to pay for an unlimited viewings package with any chosen estate agent.

My instinct last week was to ask Purple Bricks to do a valuation (along with a national high-street EA, and a local one). They all came to the exact same conclusion price-wise, and it was the exact price I'd assumed too. But then when I went online, I saw there is a huge range of happy and unhappy customers for Purple Bricks, as there are for most of the online EAs. I've seen people on Money Saving Expert speak well of House Network, but generally it's a mixed bag for all of them. On TrustPilot they all seem to score 4.6 upwards, but I've read in many places that TrustPilot (somewhat ironically) can' be entirely trusted as some companies force TP to pull bad reviews if the customer doesn't prove their, which I expect if challenged many customers simply wouldn't be bothered to do.

Can anyone offer their own experiences of any online EAs?

Post by **Striker** » 18 Mar 2018, 13:07

Obviously as my experience represents a sample of one, it may not be that reliable. However our experience of Purple Bricks was excellent. On my mother's death we used them to sell her house. The local representatives we dealt with were pleasant and efficient (here is a possible snag as their people in other areas may not match those we dealt with), and they did what they said they were going to do in dealing with showing potential buyers around etc. The house was sold within a couple of days for the price we wanted (the asking price, as we didn't try to inflate it), and our total cost including solicitors fees was just under 2k, compared with a total cost guesstimate of 7k for a house of its value if sold through estate agents.

As far as I remember the only downside is that your fee of £795 or whatever is lost if they fail to sell it, but I'm not totally certain of that. But if it's an easily sellable property I'd give them a try.

Post by **murf** » 18 Mar 2018, 14:45

I didn't dare trust an online agent but was very impressed with my proper agent. His tactics worked a dream. Stick it on at a lowish price with "offers over" at a price tailored to show us first on zoopla etc, get people through the door to fall in love with it (was a better house in the flesh than on paper), create a bidding war and get a big price. Worked a dream. Had a 2nd viewing within 24 hours and then a bidding war later sold for 9% over the asking price. Makes the 1 - 1.5% commission seem trivial.

We had tarted it up to sell. Compared to the one we bought which looked unloved and needed work so wasn't selling. We got that for iver 9% below asking price. All in all we 'made' nearly a fifth of a house in negotiated prices.

Tips-
1. Do a full 'house doctor'. You'll make far more than you spend and make it sellable.
2. Use an agent you trust to market it properly to your potential purchasers.

Post by **Brightwater** » 18 Mar 2018, 15:06

My experience last year selling my late parents bungalow similar to Murf. I lived 40 miles away, picked 1st local agent off the mat, he recommended 2 more for probate valuations. I would have used any of them, I chose the guy who ticked all the boxes to my questions. Got a price from 2nd choice 0.75% +VAT, 1st choice shaved it with a fixed price. Marketed with "Offers In Excess Of" what seemed a fair price, we settled for 110% after a bidding war. Our agent also recommended a good reasonably priced local conveyancer, and did a required home inspection certificate free.

Having said that, I wouldn't rule out the cheaper route, and may try it ourselves for selling, possibly next year.

Post by **scarletjim** » 18 Mar 2018, 19:14

Interesting... Well with my flat being the kind of property that should sell quickly round here, I'm probably going to go with an online EA - not sure yet whether that will be PurpleBricks, House Network or Emoov - maybe I'll update this thread throughout the process, then at least if it's not great then I'll be able to warn others...

Post by **scarletjim** » 08 Apr 2018, 09:31

Just to update on this as promised, I actually eventually went for the £199 package from a relatively new company called Doorsteps. I was pretty sceptical - what are you really gonna get for £199? - but the lady came round within a couple of days, took photos, discussed options, and now the advert is live on Rightmove. We'll see how the offer management through to completion works out, but so far I'm delighted - these Doorsteps people seem to work 24/7, I emailed her about something late Thursday night and about 8am this morning, and both times I had a response within the hour. God knows how they're making any money... If anyone is interested, I'll update this thread on my progress.

FISO