Using Strike for house sell - is it OK they're free?

Galaxymoo

Hi there, we want to put our house on the market and have had valuations from Strike and a local estate agent. Strike are free and the estate agent are 1‰. We wondered if we pay the 1% for the local agents will they will work harder? Thinking we may end up with another e.g £10k more than if we go with Strike who are free. Or - do estate agents not do much in the way of negotiating, and we may as well go with the free agent? We're happy to do viewings ourselves, so don't need to pay for that.
Thanks for any insight you can give! 

Alter_ego

You get what you pay for!

JGB1955

I haven't heard of Strike but if they are anything like Purple Bricks I wouldn't even book a viewing.  Estate agents can be worth more than their weight in gold.  I sold my father's house via an agent who ended up having to do more than 50 viewings (5 miles away from their office) before we got a sale.  Their fee (something less than £4K) was, in retrospect, a bargain.  I don't think there was a premium for them doing the viewings....although, being 200+ miles away, there would have been no alternative.

They kept the sale on track - even when we were down to exchange and completion with 48 hours apart.

Domaco16

I agree you get what you pay for - many houses I saw for sale with strike I didn’t bother looking at as it was a faff to get an appointment and i gave up with a few. 

An estate agent is so much more personal - they can work with you and I honestly think (if you get a good one) they are the best thing to help you sell quickly- Again mine were amazing- not such a well known but excellent recommendations x

matthew91822

I did a viewing with a property listed by strike. It was one of the best viewings, I liked being shown around by the owner, the house wasn't really for me so didn't get past viewing.
1% fee for a EA seems quite competitive to me - I had quotes of mostly 1.5-3%

Marky4040

Galaxymoo said:

Hi there, we want to put our house on the market and have had valuations from Strike and a local estate agent. Strike are free and the estate agent are 1‰. We wondered if we pay the 1% for the local agents will they will work harder? Thinking we may end up with another e.g £10k more than if we go with Strike who are free. Or - do estate agents not do much in the way of negotiating, and we may as well go with the free agent? We're happy to do viewings ourselves, so don't need to pay for that.
Thanks for any insight you can give! 

So...Strike make their money by starting off free then offering add ons, accompanied viewings etc they are kind of similar to YOPA and Purple bricks in what they can offer.

It's 2022, there is no need to be ripped off by a high street estate agents, the online offerings are just as good if not better than what you get on the high street. Of course there are good and bad agents and that is across the board, online or high street.

Strike are a new company with very good reviews, they need to do things right, go with Strike and discuss what you require. Most (not all) high street agents are living in the past and refusing to move on because there's plenty of mugs still willing to pay their extortionate fees, for what exactly?

I sold through YOPA, they did the viewings, chased up solicitors / agents and handed over the keys, they were fantastic, all for a fixed fee which was 2k less than the dinosour agents i spoke to.

donutandbeer

We sold through YOPA as well. Their regional team for our area is really good. We actually chose them because we liked their agents a lot more than the four other high street estate agents (and not because YOPA were cheaper). Before we made the decision I looked up YOPA’s review on Trustpilot or something and specifically searched for reviews for the regional team for our area. They did everything a normal estate agent do - we didn’t have to nor want to do viewings ourselves. YOPA is probably the most “traditional” online estate agent compared to Purple Bricks and Strike.
 
I would say though I don’t like houses that are listed with “buyer’s commission may be required” or whatever they say for those “free” estate agent. Just find it dodgy, personally I think whatever money you save is just going to reflect on the offers you get (as a buyer if I know I have to pay extra fees then my offer will be lower). 

Katief12

I’ve just sold my house through them and I found them really good. You have an online account as can see what is happening, can chat with viewers directly if you want to, can see straight away when someone makes an offer. I honestly didn’t see any difference in service from the high street estates agent a family member used. Some of the viewers comments that booking a viewing ect was easy (I did ask in fairness).

movilogo

Yes, Strike is indeed free. If your house is sought after it will sell irrespective of whatever Estate Agent you use. So Strike is a good way to save money. Note that if you need to create floor plans, EPC, professional photos etc. you need to pay money for them but still overall lot cheaper than traditional EAs.

kdot1983

I'm in the process of selling through YOPA and generally it has been a positive experience. I don't see any reason to use an EA with a high street presence, but I did opt for YOPA's "no sale, no fee" option. Online agents are cheaper, but I don't like the idea of paying them upfront because there is then little incentive on their part to sell your home. 

Skiddaw1

Each to his own, but personally, I'd go for a 'traditional' EA every time. It's not just finding a proceedable buyer it's what happens afterwards. A good sales progression team is worth their weight in gold and that's something I just don't think you can rely upon with one of Strike/PB style agencies.