Purplebricks vs local estate agent

Herzlos

Have a search on here for Purple Bricks, it's mostly negative and if I recall correctly lots of buyers were having problems even getting a viewing via PB so tended to just ignore listing. I can't remember if it's because PB were trying to charge them something or just never managed to arrange anything.

The big advantages for an estate agent is that a good one knows the area and has contacts. Our EA gave us early access to the house we eventually bought, with our offer being made before it went live. He also had a few potential buyers lined up in advance who failed to get a similar property, and our eventual buyer was a client of his who showed them ours as a wild card. They also handled the photos, viewings and the same EA was involved in all 3 transactions in the chain so pretty useful there.

Purple Bricks always gave me the impression that the seller was too cheap to do it properly, so whilst it wouldn't have put me off, it was a pretty signifcant negative.

babyblade41

I won't entertain properties that are under PB, the business of buying and selling  is stressful enough without making it even worse

Albermarle

Have a search on here for Purple Bricks, it's mostly negative and if I recall correctly lots of buyers were having problems even getting a viewing via PB so tended to just ignore listing. I can't remember if it's because PB were trying to charge them something or just never managed to arrange anything.

PB were struggling financially as the online model was not as successful as first hoped, and then in 2023 they hit serious financial difficulties 

Their share price dropped from 470p in 2018 to less than 2p in 2023. They were then sold for £1.

So I can imagine they would not be the best company to deal with during that period. Maybe they have improved under the new owners. I have no idea.

Bigphil1474

When we moved last year, we looked at 1 purple bricks property and the whole creating an account and messing around process was such a pain that we avoided them after that. A local EA with a shop has 2 main advantages for me - they have a shop window for local people to look in, and they are available to do viewings if you don't want to or if you can't always do them. Not to mention there's somewhere to go to complain. 

Maybe speak to a different local EA and see what they can offer on price. 

weezie7

Hi, had some experience trying to buy properties (south of England) over the last few years. In my experience, Purplebricks do not employ people who know the local area or who live in it!
Had a few viewings with them, one hadn't a clue about the property, just tried to keep telling us it had been recently decorated, which was blatantly obvious. Another one didn't have all the keys to the locked areas of the property, no idea about the loft, and turned up late with no apology!!! If I was a seller I would not be happy. Also, I found it really difficult to get a viewing.........they were busy elsewhere......said that viewings for the property was all full.....late found out that we were the first viewing!!! Not good!
We are fortunate enough to have two estate agents locally who, we think, are good. 

silvercar

My son bought through purple bricks in 2022. It was the PB agent that suggested he look at the particular flat, even though it wasn’t in his target location. So PB made the sale happen in that respect. He did exchange phone numbers with the seller, which did help sort the various hitches along the purchase journey. 

Skiddaw1

I honestly wouldn't touch them with a barge pole.

We looked at one PB listed property. As I've mentioned previously, the PB EA was late, had obviously just got out of bed, was clearly nursing a hangover, knew nothing about the property and spent the whole of the viewing on a personal call on his mobile. We tried repeatedly to view another PB property but they kept cancelling at the last minute so we gave up on it.

dinosaur66

why would you not view a property you were interested in simply because it was being advertised on rightmove/zoopla by purple bricks as opposed to a local EA  in an area where there are only limited number of propertys coming to the market ?

just like in any proffesion

all expierenced buyers will have met estate agents who were good /average and poor

i much prefer viewings by owners where i can ask questions

any sewage drains on the property that might behind gravel etc-i do not like them inside boundry of any property i own

has the property or road ever been flooded-i actually take my dog for a walk to the road and walk round  until i can ask a resident casually to verify and have a look at the area in general.

when did you install the boiler

what are the neighbours like

etc etc

Herzlos

dinosaur66 said:

why would you not view a property you were interested in simply because it was being advertised on rightmove/zoopla by purple bricks as opposed to a local EA  in an area where there are only limited number of propertys coming to the market ?

People are fickle and can work with whoever they want.

I think in this case it's because they know there's a high risk they'll waste a lot of time and not even get a viewing. As mentioned some may even try to bypass PB entirely and try to make contact with the seller directly.

They may endure the extra hassle if the house is otherwise perfect, but if they've got a few houses in a shortlist they may decide to just focus on the ones with the smoother process.

incus432

When we looked at PB they were charging buyers who wanted to make an offer. We decided to avoid like the plague