housenetwork - a review

Hoof_Hearted

Patr100 wrote: »

Looking at the HN website , of those who have used it, did you opt for Basic, Esssential or contract?
If you went for the Basic, did the absence of a single person to deal with , an "account manager" seem to affect the quality of service you got?

I would go with the basic package. I wouldn't even bother with the board unless you have a lot of passing traffic. The main thing is to get the property well presented on Rightmove etc. If priced right, a London property will sell itself.

Patr100

Hoof_Hearted wrote: »

I would go with the basic package. I wouldn't even bother with the board unless you have a lot of passing traffic. The main thing is to get the property well presented on Rightmove etc. If priced right, a London property will sell itself.

I would never have a board anyway, let alone pay extra for one on HN. It's more a free advert for an EA than for your house or invites unwanted interest from those flogging related "services". It looks ugly, says nothing about the asking price, layout, the condition, or other factors, and if it stays up , everyone, including the nosy neighbours can see you are having trouble selling. Maybe it works for those seeking with lots of money, and specialized properties or prime locations. Not my modest 2 bed terrace. Specially with the online searches these days.

Davesnave

Patr100 wrote: »

I would never have a board anyway

Local by law and agent agreement meant they were never used where I used to live.

Too posh, we were! :rotfl:

Windsorcastle

I completed my sale today through HN and found them fantastic. Would recommend without hesitation. I went for the Star Buy package because it includes all the premium listings on the main portals as well as the FS sign, etc. I did want a sign as my property was on a busy road with lots of passing traffic. My package came to about £750 all in with no commission on completion, so that saved me well over £3000 as the local agents were asking a 2% flat fee (£4k)

If anyone wants to PM me for more details about my experience with HN, I am happy to reply in more detail about the whole process and offer my affiliate code so you can get a 5% discount on any package you choose.

aniahill

Does anyone think that the premium listings make any difference? I'm looking for a property at the moment (doing the groundwork before speaking to a mortgage advisor and getting my place ready to sell) and when I look at the premium ones I end up getting a bit b*tchy about them, thinking "they're no more premium than any of the others!" rather than drawing my eye. My reasoning is stupid I know but I just don't know that it'll make any difference

BroncoBill

aniahill wrote: »

Does anyone think that the premium listings make any difference? I'm looking for a property at the moment (doing the groundwork before speaking to a mortgage advisor and getting my place ready to sell) and when I look at the premium ones I end up getting a bit b*tchy about them, thinking "they're no more premium than any of the others!" rather than drawing my eye. My reasoning is stupid I know but I just don't know that it'll make any difference

I think you will find that the "premium" listings are associated with Rightmove etc and not with HouseNetwork therefore you might get more responses if you posted this on the main forum rather than this (old) HouseNetwork thread.
I do agree with you though, the listing does not stand out to me either however I think it includes photo rotation on some sites and on some plans which may help but probably not IMHO.

Davesnave

BroncoBill wrote: »

I think you will find that the "premium" listings are associated with Rightmove etc and not with HouseNetwork therefore you might get more responses if you posted this on the main forum rather than this (old) HouseNetwork thread.
I do agree with you though, the listing does not stand out to me either however I think it includes photo rotation on some sites and on some plans which may help but probably not IMHO.

The price structure of House Network has an option to pay for premium listings on Rightmove.

However apart from reactions similar to those of the above poster, many of us also regard such tactics as a possible sign of desperation, so it's questionable whether the extra payment is worthwhile.

Patr100

Surely people use the search for their requirements and review the results. If seen in a general sense, why would anyone seeking only say a modest 2 bedroom house, click on a more expensive four bedroom house just because it is more prominent? it's not like buying fashion where you might impulse buy and yes, it implies the property can't sell itself for what it is, at the price it is, or it's been stuck on the market for too long. Of course sites will be only too glad to sell these "extras".

aniahill

Davesnave wrote: »

The price structure of House Network has an option to pay for premium listings on Rightmove.

However apart from reactions similar to those of the above poster, many of us also regard such tactics as a possible sign of desperation, so it's questionable whether the extra payment is worthwhile.

Sorry, BroncoBill I didn't make it clear Davesnave is right - I could be looking to sell my property through HN when we get to that point, so while window shopping at the moment, I struggle to see why anyone would pay extra for that feature. I would understand it if it sorted those first, but as Patr100 says, it's really not an impulse buy that you're getting because it's on the end of the aisle, rather than the bottom shelf in plain packaging

Hoof_Hearted

It's a marketing ploy. You could pay for any old dump to be premium listed. I don't think there is any point, as potential buyers will consider everything in their price range and area.