Aberdeen Solicitors Property Centre restrictions

Nebulous2

ASPC is owned by a consortium of solicitors. You need to go through one of them to advertise on ASPC is my recollection. Some smaller solicitors further out in the Shire don't advertise on ASPC. Some seem to do half-and-half with some properties on ASPC where people are willing to pay for that and some only advertised through the solicitors local office.

The conflict may be that solicitors in Scotland usually do the selling and the conveyancing. Letting an estate agency do the selling is probably something they are reluctant to do.They are short of business though. I'm sure you could approach them with a proposal to do the legal stuff, register the house on ASPC and let you use an estate agent to sell. They may be prepared to quote for that on the basis that half the business is better than none.

As a buyer I found ASPC better all round. You register and get access to all the home reports. Pricing is transparent.

Houses with online estate agents are reluctant to give home reports without lots of personal info to try and cross sell, did some ducking and diving on price, and were just plain misleading at times. As a buyer last year I gave up even going to see anything which wasn't on ASPC.

Some solicitors do list on online portals. Here is a house near Banff for instance.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-51529101.html

Interestingly that solicitor although Aberdeen based, doesn't seem to be a member of ASPC.

Here's a solicitor which is a member of ASPC, advertising on zoopla.

https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/branch/grant-smith-law-practice-turriff-37737/

Those properties aren't on ASPC though.

There definitely appears to be some barriers to doing both - but I don't think banning it altogether would be legal. Mind you, being solicitors I'm sure they would know how far they could push it!

Aiberdeen

eilidhcatriona wrote: »

Yes - I’m Aberdonian, we bought our flat here a couple of years ago. ASPC was the main site to look at, but we kept an eye on RightMove and Zoopla as well, precisely for this reason. Just as well too - the flat we bought was only on RM as it was marketed by McEwen Fraser, who despite having an Aberdeen phone number don’t have a physical presence here (or they didn’t in 2016), I think they’re a southern bunch based in Edinburgh.

Recently they were offering to pay your legal fees a seller "The Buyer’s Premium is an innovative and popular way McEwan Fraser Legal use to sell a small selection of our advertised properties. Our objective is to save our vendors from having to pay any Estate Agency commissions and/or incur any of the upfront outlays involved in putting a property on the market such as Home Reports, ESPC, Professional photography and schedule costs. This is a very similar way to how ‘off-market’ and ‘auction properties’ are commonly sold in the UK and in other countries. The Buyer’s Premium is a very attractive proposition for banks and institutional investors to dispose of distressed assets and indeed private sellers to allow them to test the market without incurring any upfront selling costs or sales commissions. The Buyer’s Premium also greatly helps sellers who might be in negative equity or have little equity in their property. The Buyers Premium initiative helps bring more properties to market."
I think this would just p*** off the buyers as they are the ones who have to pay for it at the end by adjusting the price.

googler

Aiberdeen wrote: »

McEwen Fraser Legal are just an estate agent I think.

You think wrong, as confirmed by your own quote;

"...any of the upfront outlays involved in putting a property on the market such as Home Reports, ESPC, Professional photography and schedule costs."

davidmcn

Aiberdeen wrote: »

McEwen Fraser Legal are just an estate agent I think.

See their website:

googler

Still seen nothing in writing to show ASPC forbidding advertising elsewhere, only a digression to another agency's service offering ...

eilidhcatriona

McEwen Fraser are solicitors, but not very good - they annoyed the bejesus out of me and our solicitor when we were buying. There were a couple of points came up during the process which needed sorting, including an error in the deeds - the flat was marked in the wrong place on the plan. The sellers (who were lovely) agreed this needed fixed and got it done, but MF basically told our solicitor that it was my fussiness holding up the sale when he called for updates! Pardon me for wanting correct deeds. Fortunately the flat was worth it.

Aiberdeen

googler wrote: »

Still seen nothing in writing to show ASPC forbidding advertising elsewhere, only a digression to another agency's service offering ...

Well do you have or have you ever had a property for sale in Aberdeen or Aberdeenshire Googler? If so what is your experinece of having it on ASPC + Rightmove and Zoopla?
Why dont you try giving the ASPC as ring tomorrow when they are open just to clarify things? Here is the number 01224 632949
I cannot get the reason from them that they do this- except that it is the rules- maybe you can. Please let us know in the Aberdeen / Aberdeenshire area ASAP.

Aiberdeen

googler wrote: »

You think wrong, as confirmed by your own quote;

"...any of the upfront outlays involved in putting a property on the market such as Home Reports, ESPC, Professional photography and schedule costs."

Well who do you think pays for all that? A chartered surveyor does the home report which is paid for by the seller, but with McEwan Fraser "Buyers Premium" it is the buyer having to pay for it all. Photography and schedules are done by both estate agents and solicitors, the cost of which is met by the buyer with McEwan Fraser. I think it would put buyers off.

Aiberdeen

googler wrote: »

So, given the example provided above, which clearly does not correspond to the scenario you outline, it would appear that someone with the will to do so CAN get on other sites as well as ASPC, as long as they hire a non-solicitor firm as well as the ASPC firm.

Is there anywhere you can point to the restriction in writing? Is it on the ASPC website somewhere?

Here is a local solicitor Aberdein Considine quoting this on their website
"Book a valuation
To book a free, no obligation appraisal of your property, click here.

* Use of rightmove.co.uk / Zoopla.co.uk and onthemarket.com are subject to regional restrictions."

Aiberdeen

googler wrote: »

Still seen nothing in writing to show ASPC forbidding advertising elsewhere, only a digression to another agency's service offering ...

Here is a local solicitor Aberdein Considine quoting this on their website
"Book a valuation
To book a free, no obligation appraisal of your property, click here.

* Use of rightmove.co.uk / Zoopla.co.uk and onthemarket.com are subject to regional restrictions."