Great Hunt: Have you sold your home using an online estate agent?

dell12

As a 'bricks and mortar' estate agent I'd like to add a bit of balance to this thread which seems to have been rather populated by new posters.

I think online agents certainly have their place. Alot of the services they offer are excellent - being able to book a viewing online 24/7 seems common sense in this day and age.

And yet ... and yet...

Claiming to have 'saved money' is tricky concept. A good agent should more than cover their fee in terms of maximising the sale price. An agent who really understands the local market is worth their weight in gold (there's plenty of rubbish ones out there too). There's plenty more to selling a house than just sticking it on Rightmove, infact 25%-33% of houses we sell never even make it onto a property portal.

buglawton

So if B&M estate agents cover a large fee by maximising price, BUYERS would do best to look online, as their house purchase will include a smaller fee margin and potentially a couple of percent lower price.

Hoof_Hearted

dell12 wrote: »

A good agent should more than cover their fee in terms of maximising the sale price. An agent who really understands the local market is worth their weight in gold (there's plenty of rubbish ones out there too). There's plenty more to selling a house than just sticking it on Rightmove, infact 25%-33% of houses we sell never even make it onto a property portal.

So you sell 25%-33% of your houses without fully testing the market? I don't think I'd like this at all.

Interestingly, we sold our house online above the prices local agents were suggesting we market it at. Some EAs just want a quick sale and quick commission. However, their free valuations are marvellous.

googler

Hoof_Hearted wrote: »

So you sell 25%-33% of your houses without fully testing the market? I don't think I'd like this at all.

Please define "fully testing the market".

googler

Hoof_Hearted wrote: »

Some EAs just want a quick sale and quick commission.

What do online EAs want? To nobly assist the public for no reward?

4$£&*(£$&*(!

I used Urban Sales and Lettings to sell my house last year http://www.urbansalesandlettings.co.uk/. My memory is a little fuzzy on cost but I think I paid just under £400.

For that price I got a sales board, photos, a premium Right Move listing and an 0800 number for interested people to call their office to arrange a viewing.

Pros: Cheap. Yes there were cheaper but these guys had a lot of experience and I wanted a good all-in package, not one with a cheap headline price and expensive extras. Fast - anytime I had a query they were quick and also available Sundays. They communicated how I wanted, if a buyer was interested I got an email with the details then I could make the home nice and time the viewing myself.

Cons: They've gone up in price a fair bit, and also now don't include a sales board as standard. I also had to show around any interested parties and also be in charge of viewings so, although it didn't happen to me, if someone started messing me about they're not as hands-on. You're also the negotiator so you need your finger on the pulse of the local property market, and personally I think it helps if you're of a more confident personality with this route too.

Nice touches included a local photographer (they must have a network of them) who had a really professional camera kit and he also touched up the sky to seem like a sunny day, the house looked far more appealing when in reality it was about to rain at the time. They also arranged for someone local to me to conduct the EPC survey.

I believe they'd help me write a description but I wanted to do my own.

The cheapest I found without them locally was around the £2,000 mark, but prices ranged right up to about £4,000 for other estate agents I asked to value my property. I had six agents value in total and took the average of all six in the asking price. Out of all six, I would have only wanted one of them to represent me as the other five were shocking. One of them turned up in a flash car wearing a designer suit and immediately started criticising the area. Another spent more time looking at my DVD's than the house. Yet another left his notes on the sofa whilst using the toilet so when I peaked he'd made a suggestion I would be good for increased commission fees judging by the appearance of my home. One who seemed reasonable then told me they'd take photos using a 'high quality cameraphone' then looking at their website all their properties had blurred images.

With the house I bought, when dealing with my purchase estate agents and tying it in with my online estate agency they seemed bemused but given the shoddiness of my local agents I do not regret using an online agent one bit. The important bit for me was RightMove as that's how everyone I know views property. I was warned by one agent I could be risking sales as they could get me in a local newspaper but their fee for doing this was £400.

I sold for about 95% of my asking price, which given the time I sold was good as some in the area had been advertised for months with no progress. I commissioned them in June, was live within two weeks with photos, my eventual buyer instructed solicitors by August, then due to delays with solicitors I eventually exchanged in the September and completed in October. Although some around me at the time said I was foolish and too hasty with prices and the market at the time, I got a great deal on my purchase and if I'd have waited I wouldn't have been able to afford where I live now.

Hoof_Hearted

googler wrote: »

Please define "fully testing the market".

What do online EAs want? To nobly assist the public for no reward?

I would not want my EA to sell to somebody on their books on the first day without advertising the property or putting it on the websites to see what other potential buyers there are. Great for the EA as he/she incurs no costs and gets a quick sale and quick commission.

I do believe that online EAs are trying to be a business and make a profit. The difference is that they provide a service for a fraction of the cost of traditional EAs who still expect a HUGE commission on each house sale. Judging by the reviews above, online agents are doing a very good job and and serious moneysavers should consider them.

In addition, online EAs do not force buyers to meet their mortgage adviser "for a chat" or use underhand methods to get their HUGE commission as quickly as possible.

However, traditonal EAs free valuation service is excellent.

googler

Hoof_Hearted wrote: »

I would not want my EA to sell to somebody on their books on the first day without advertising the property or putting it on the websites to see what other potential buyers there are.

Many sellers would, though.

googler

Hoof_Hearted wrote: »

The difference is that they provide a service for a fraction of the cost of traditional EAs who still expect a HUGE commission on each house sale.

In addition, online EAs do not force buyers to meet their mortgage adviser "for a chat" or use underhand methods to get their HUGE commission as quickly as possible.

The difference is that traditional EAs ONLY get paid on a completed sale, at conclusion, sometimes months after their work is done.

Online EAs, in the main, get paid (upfront) merely for listing and marketing properties, and keep the money regardless of the result, whether there's a sale or not. What was that about getting their money as quick as possible?

Slothy88

My house has been up for sale with Emoov for just over 1 year now. They have been very easy to deal with, and I don't for one second blame them for the fact that my house hasn't sold yet - someone else's house on my street was on the market for over two years with a highstreet estate agent before it sold.


It sold after four months, unfortunately the sale fell through as the buyers came into money issues. It is unfortunate that I had already moved out by this point and started renting in lieu of them moving in, before it all went sour.


I've had a fair number of viewings, none of which seemed disinterested and as though they'd been either led to my house under false pretences or 'hired' to pretend to be interested.


Fingers crossed it sells soon as I am now paying rent on my current house and half a mortgage on a house that is sat doing nothing, so the money is being peed up the proverbial. Also I am still tied to my ex after a year and a half which is severely annoying!


I'll keep you posted, hopefully with some good news soon!