purplebricks

borkid

Hi, a friend of mine asked me if I knew about purplebricks.com I don't but thought some of you guys might know. I've found their web site but some independant feedback would be good. Thanks.

Innys1

Anything's got to be better than a high st agent - or at least better value.

ShAnE

Only from a buyers perspective but it seems they just stick up an advert and then offer a platform for people to make bids on, if you're in an area where properties sell quickly and don't need estate agents to push and market them, then purple bricks seem like a good cheap alternative.

Daerve

We had a quote off them, seemed decent to be fair and a house very similar to ours sold very quickly round the corner.

We went with Hatched cos they were a hundred quid cheaper and didn't want all the money up front but purplebricks were a close second.

It really puts me off when they want all the money up front because if you don't sell it's bye bye all that dosh.

Innys1

Daerve wrote: »

We had a quote off them, seemed decent to be fair and a house very similar to ours sold very quickly round the corner.

We went with Hatched cos they were a hundred quid cheaper and didn't want all the money up front but purplebricks were a close second.

It really puts me off when they want all the money up front because if you don't sell it's bye bye all that dosh.

No one, in any business, should be asking for money up front.

If they are confident in their abilities, are financially secure and have a sound customer base, they shouldn't need paying in advance. Obviously, suppliers of delivered goods are the exception.

doryfish

Avoid. Have to pay upfront, and they will take a fee whether the property sells or not. Locally, they are not selling houses at all. Not sure if this is correct but you have to use their conveyancers who have inflated fees. The agent that comes to your house doesn't have specific local knowledge and will massively overvalue your house (ours was valued at £160000 when we had done our research of the local market and it wasn't worth anywhere near that). They also don't keep lists of preapproved buyers like a local agent does. Also, why pay an estate agent and then you do half their job?
From a buyer's perspective I found them very difficult to deal with when trying to view properties. You have to sign up to their website and once you do that you get spammed to get you to put your house on the market with them, more so than other agencies we've organised viewings with.

borkid

Hi all thanks for your replies, I think you've confirmed my friend's fears.

System

doryfish wrote: »

Avoid. Have to pay upfront, and they will take a fee whether the property sells or not.

We were going to give them a try until we read this in the T&C's.

DJ_Mike

We're marketing our house with them at the moment. I have no complaints and it has been a positive experience so far.

You have to bear in mind that they are just an advertising-only company who will give you the tools to list your home on RightMove/Zoopla/etc. like any online-only agent.

The upfront fee is a curious thing for people to highlight as a serious problem - you would pay to list anything else you advertise for sale, so why not a house? I think people are just too used to the idea that agents take commission on sale. Well, I say "on sale", but many will expect their fee once they find you a ready, willing and able buyer (regardless of whether you choose to proceed), so let's not give them too much credit here.

I was happy to give PB a try for their fee armed with the knowledge that, yes, my home would only be listed online and that I wouldn't get the benefit of a local EA 'pushing' my house. Whatever that means. Seriously, what is it you think an EA is doing for you besides advertising your property? I don't doubt that are a few golden firms out there that really go the extra mile, but you're just as likely to end up with one that has you sitting on their books for months waiting for the enquiries to come through RightMove. Like Purplebricks. Except the latter is charging you substantially less!

EDIT: Also, you only have to use their conveyancers if you choose the option to pay your fee later (after 10 months). If you pay up front you can use your own conveyancer. Since you have to pay the fee either way, you might as well pay up front.

kleapatra

Well I have literally just sold my house with Purplebricks and I cannot fault them in the slightest. My house was on the market for 5 months (I knew it would take a while, slow market and a quirky house) but my local property expert (LPE) didn't give up and I ended up accepting a price only just under asking. All the viewers said the booking process was easy and that it was much nicer viewing a property with the owner instead of a smarmy estate agent. The LPE negotiated the price with my buyer and he is now doing all the after sales stuff to ensure the sale completes as soon as possible. I paid £798 up front saving me at least £2k on other agents and I'm using conveyancers of my choice. I personally don't see the issue in paying in advance - all online agents seem to do this so not just purplebricks.
I can't think of a single reason to go with a 'traditional' estate agent - you're just paying for the office rent and the pointless glossy brochures. Incidentally my LPE has worked in estate agency in my area for decades so he knew the area better than me

DJ_Mike

Indeed my LPE worked at a major (national chain) EA in my area for 10 years so it's not as if they hire people with nil experience to act as advisers to you.