Stuck with Purplebricks

Za1n3

Hi everyone,

My property is currently on the market with PB as my so called "estate agents". I've had my property on the market since march and had a total of 4 viewings and one half hearted offer (60k below asking). Their excuse is the market is slow due to inflation and increased interest rate. I dont agree with their statement and believe that they're not proactive enough and havent even advertised put my property on Zoopla.

Their Ts and Cs state that I must pay them a fee even if I decide to remove my property off the market. I was wondering if anyone has experienced this and have been able to avoid paying purple bricks? I've seen a few threads out there but all seem to be very old and not matching my circumstances. 

Any help would be highly appreciated.

Themoneyshot

Is that £60k below the asking price set in March? Because it is an entirely different market to then. It's also true to say there has been downward pressure from high interest rates so I'm not sure what there is to disagree with. That being said, I wasn't aware of a fee payable under even removing the property from the market entirely and wouldn't use an agent with an unlimited fee such as that. 

eddddy

Za1n3 said:

Their Ts and Cs state that I must pay them a fee even if I decide to remove my property off the market. 

Unfortunately, those are the contract terms you agreed to - so realistically, you are stuck with them.


You probably realise this now, but if you decide to go with another estate agent, it's probably sensible to consider all possible outcomes when you read their contract - before you sign it.

For example, what fees are payable if...

• They sell your house
• They fail to sell your house, so you want to change agents
• You change your mind about selling your house - before you've accepted an offer
• You change your mind about selling your house - after you've accepted an offer
• You've accepted an offer - but the buyer changes their mind

Neil49

I thought Purple bricks charged a set fee regardless of whether you sold or not.

This is pretty clear in their sales and marketing blurb so you can't really complain about the situation. 

Personally I wouldn't touch them with a bargepole and certainly wouldn't use their online solicitors. 

silvercar

Have they advertised your property on Rightmove? That seems the main purpose of PB. 

JustinTime19

Unfortunately it sounds like it was a misunderstanding on your part on how PB works. 

What do other estate agents say in the area (keep in mind they are after your business after all) about the local market conditions. 

Is your property priced right for the current market and also relative to other properties of similar condition/location etc ? 

Is there anything that could be putting potential buyers off from wanting to view ? That can be seen in the advert, are you next to a busy main road/building site etc ?

You may find some of the content useful at the following link - How many viewings to sell a house? | Average in 2022 (getagent.co.uk)

The market isn't great at the moment due to the high interest rates, and is slowing down the market, some areas affected more by this than others. 

theartfullodger

Remember PB was sold (itself, the whole company) for £1.

You signed a contract.  Did you not realise the terms you were agreeing to?