Using an online estate agent - disadvantaged when buying?

Cazh77

Hi all, new here and need some advice!

We want to put our house on the market in a couple of weeks so have been getting valuations from estate agents.

We have pretty much decided to use an online estate agent (a reputable one that's been around for 10 years) to save money as we don't mind doing a lot of the legwork.

One of the high street agents told us that selling the house will be easy as there's so much demand at the moment, but if we use an online agent we'll be at a real disadvantage when buying in the current climate. We'll always be bottom of the priority list if there are multiple offers on a house we've offered on, as estate agents will always favour buyers from high street agents.

We have no idea if that's just sales speak to try and get us to sign up with them, or if there is any truth in it. I'm wondering if anyone who has used an online estate agent in the last few months could comment on whether they've found this to be the case?

jbainbridge

I can't think why it would be a problem. The EA doesn't take part in 'buying'.

eddddy

It's probably not to do with them being online - it's probably more to do with their fee structure.... Is the online agent looking for a fee paid up-front, as opposed to a fee paid on completion?

There's a risk that the sale process will take longer if you use an 'up-front fee' EA, and perhaps there's also a greater risk of the sale falling through.

- An 'up-front fee' EA's primary goal will be to get properties on their books
- A 'completion fee' EA's primary goal will be to complete sales

The big difference is after accepting an offer. A 'completion fee' EA will be chasing your buyer...

"Have you instructed a solicitor?"
"Have you got the mortgage application form in yet?"
"Have you booked the survey?"
"Those aren't major problems, a builder can fix those in a day."
"Do you need help with getting quotes for the problems mentioned in the survey?"
etc etc

That might be particularly useful if your buyer is an inexperienced FTB.

An 'up-front EA' probably wont do this chasing, so the process may take longer, or even fall apart - which impacts those higher up the chain.

stator

I can't think why an online estate agent would be at a disadvantage, unless it's just 'sour grapes' and the sellers EA will try to put a bad spin on things. There's no practical reason as once the offer is accepted it's pretty much all down to the conveyencers anyway.

martin1959

stator wrote: »

I can't think why an online estate agent would be at a disadvantage

I would have said this prior to using a High St EA, and having seen all the 'behind the scenes' work they do to get you to exchange.


Ours has a relationship with our local solicitor that the online bunch can only dream of. Trying to get a solicitor to return a call is never easy, but if they know the person in the EA, it does help.


High St EA will speak to each other which is important when you are chain chasing. Our EA is always on the phone to Haart who our purchasers are selling through finding out details of the FTB's, agreeing dates, and general chasing.


Not only will the EA not get paid if the sale does not complete, but the staff within the EA's are also incentivised, so they return my numerous calls and chase solicitors when asked.


If our sale does (hopefully not) not reach exchange and we have to place back on the market, I would probably not entertain an offer from someone selling through an online agent.

Surrey_EA

stator wrote: »

I can't think why an online estate agent would be at a disadvantage, unless it's just 'sour grapes' and the sellers EA will try to put a bad spin on things. There's no practical reason as once the offer is accepted it's pretty much all down to the conveyencers anyway.

I would say that is a not quite the case. A decent EA will smooth the process between accepting an offer and exchanging contracts.

I consider finding a buyer the easy part, navigating path through to exchange can take a lot of work, and won't always be straightforward if solely left to the solicitors/conveyancers.

fed_up_and_stressed

stator wrote: »

I can't think why an online estate agent would be at a disadvantage, unless it's just 'sour grapes' and the sellers EA will try to put a bad spin on things. There's no practical reason as once the offer is accepted it's pretty much all down to the conveyencers anyway.

Not necessarily.... We were recently purchasing an additional property and were eager to progress ..vendor was eager to progress as property was empty.

The delays were all down to our pathetic conveyancer. The estate agent (local fee on completion types) were awesome in finally getting the OUR solicitor to pull their finger out as they (solicitor) seemed to have an unhealthy disregard for us their fee payers !!!

I currently have a property on the market (aimed at FTB) and even though its double the price of an online estate agent and I have happily used one of the local estate agents because I feel it is worth it rather than lose the sale / it take longer than needs be.

I completely agreewith martin1959's post. Loads of the properties with the online estate agents seem to be hanging about on the market compared to local EA's even though all seem competitively priced.
Lots of local 2 bed starter homes.

ellie27

We have used a local online agent (in glasgow) to sell our house, set to sign missives next week and our buyers will be in within 12 days.

We paid £475 all in, including VAT and that got our photos taken and our ad/pics/floorplan on rightmove and various other sites. My neighbour (identical house) sold using a high street agent some months before and paid £1900 agent fees. We got a higher selling price too, all in we are £4000 better off!
We are in Scotland so did also have to pay for the home report, but that would be payable whether using a high street or online agent.

We knew there was demand for a house like ours and knew what price we could get for it, if that was not the case and we didnt think we could sell quickly then we perhaps would have used a high street agent.

Our online agent has been telling us of each viewers position, if they have sold, if they have an AIP etc so they have asked these questions as a viewer has made an appt.

Dont know how using an online agent to sell could affect you in your purchase??? As soon as you have accepted an offer its all down to your solicitor from that point.

I would recommend it and not sure how high street stores are surviving. Lots of folk where I am are using online agents to sell.

Good luck!

Hoof_Hearted

It's simple. A high street agent may be better, although not always, but an online agent is far, far cheaper. Most people save thousands and there is never any jiggery-pokery with them.

martin1959

Hoof_Hearted wrote: »

It's simple. A high street agent may be better, although not always, but an online agent is far, far cheaper. Most people save thousands and there is never any jiggery-pokery with them.

If all goes smoothly, maybe so. But many do not go smoothly. Logic says that if an online EA gets their fee up front, why do they care whether things proceed to exchange. If there is no incentive for them to chase, cajole, pressurise etc then there are many chains that would never complete.


IF my house has to go back on the market, and I have two buyers offering FAP, one selling through a High St EA and one online, all else being equal, I would take the one selling through the High St EA any day.


I cannot for one minute think that High St EA's like dealing with online agents, and the less possible issues I have between me and exchange, the better!


Also, if they are 'scrimping' by using an online EA (or as my old dad used to say, 'tight as a ducks ar*e underwater') they may well be the type who will try and renegotiate prior to exchange.

20400keith

Whether a High Street agent is not keen to work with an online agent I don't know, but the following reviews for House Network do not suggest any problem. They also don't support the suggestions on this thread of delays and broken chains.

http://www.reviewcentre.com/reviews117081.html

House Network visited to take photos of my house last Tuesday morning, they had an online listing for me to review Tuesday afternoon and it was live on all major portals on Wednesday. I've had 8 viewings so far - all have gone smoothly and House Network have obtained feedback for me from every viewer. All of my viewers said they saw my house on Rightmove.

I have guaranteed weekly contact from a named qualified estate agent from now until the completed sale of my house (and my money back if there isn't weekly contact), and it's her role to complete all the estate agency chasing to ensure things run smoothly until completion.

Clearly opinions differ and maybe people seek different things from Estate Agents. However, so far the service I have received from House Network easily surpasses my two previous experiences of selling via a High Street agent, and if I sell I'll make a saving of several thousand pounds.