Home Buyers: do online EA put you off buying?

silvercar

Round where I live, every agent uses rightmove, so online agents are on a par with established local agents as anyone searching for a property would soon realise that you need to look on rightmove - so online agents get a look in.

Where my sister lives only some of the smaller agents use rightmove, so anyone buying in her area trawls down the street to look at agents (or finger walks through their websites), so being online only means your risk getting missed.

Loonytunes

I'm just about to buy my first house and to be honest avoided seeing houses that were on with online agents as I thought, rightly or wrongly, that it would be difficult to deal with them/arrange a viewing...

nubbins

Loonytunes wrote: »

I'm just about to buy my first house and to be honest avoided seeing houses that were on with online agents as I thought, rightly or wrongly, that it would be difficult to deal with them/arrange a viewing...

You must have so many houses to choose from in your area to be able to dismiss a house on the basis of who they are advertised with. As someone said a lot of viewings are done by the seller even if they are on with a "normal" estate agent.

Loopy28

It wouldn't put me off at all.

However if I phoned them and they had high pressure sales tactics to try and sell me a mortgage or conveyancing, that would put me off even viewing. But you get that with high street agents too.

I sold with an agent who was part of a network where they all worked from home so no offices or high street presence. Didn't stop me selling mine and saved lots on fees.

Kynthia

I've seen a few houses through online agents and booking a viewing went okay. Often when I've booked a viewing through an agent the owner has done the viewing so having contacting a high street agent wasn't all that different at this stage. However one online agent said that the client had paid the most basic package that just involved putting the advert on rightmove and handing out their mobile number to callers, so I had to call the owner to arrange a viewing. I really really didn't like this, and once I did call they were abrupt and unhelpful. So I didn't get to see the place and it was still for sale months later.

kinger101

I guess a few people will still prefer a bricks and mortar estate agents, but I'd say this is becoming rarer these days. As far as I'm concerned (from a buyer's perspective), not having to interact with an actual estate agent is a bonus.

Just make sure they'll be post on Rightmove and Zoopla, and you'll effectively get the same coverage.

buglawton

Noticed that MSE has just started an online EA survey thread
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5102579

googler

Newbie2014 wrote: »

Good Morning

I work for an online Estate Agent and would be more than happy to assist if anyone has any queries that I can help with.

Read the forum rules, and apply to the mods to post as a Company Representative, then.

Loopy28

Some high street agents have actually put me off viewing with them. High pressure sales tactics, forcing you to see their mortgage broker, lying about other offers and not passing on offers etc. There is one in particular who is part of a large chain and I point blank refuse to view any properties with them.

inatdeepend

I've had a couple of viewings recently that were both put on through online agents.

In terms of dealing with the agents, they've been pretty ok, but it's mostly just been in terms of arranging viewings.

I quite liked having the vendors show me around and tell me a bit more about the area, neighbours etc. I had one with an EA who was totally clueless about the things that were important to me (yes, I can see it's a 3 bed house thanks! but what's the traffic like on a monday morning?)

So no, I've actually found them more useful and less hassling than a traditional EA.