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Purple Bricks an option?

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steve_jones
steve_jones Posts: 37 Forumite
in House buying, renting & selling
Hi,

I'm currently selling my property, it has been on the market for 6 weeks, in that time it had a offer within 6 days near asking price which I accepted but fell through as the buyer couldn't get a mortgage :( since then it has had two more viewings lined up that got cancelled at the last minute. This is becoming a very frustrated process. More so as I have found the place I want. (yes I know I shouldn't have done this)

I have my property priced the lowest for a two bedroom apartment, the area is nice and inside is in perfect condition. It is also being left with all the kitchen appliances. The photos on the EA brochure seem fine along with floor plans. I am struggling to understand why there has been little interest.

Does anyone think Purple Bricks will be able to drum up more interest? I know they have their doubters and limitations but I am wondering if some buyers prefer the ease of doing it online and get put off by speaking to an EA?
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  • Surrey_EA
    Surrey_EA Posts: 2,042 Forumite
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    steve_jones wrote: »
    Does anyone think Purple Bricks will be able to drum up more interest? I know they have their doubters and limitations but I am wondering if some buyers prefer the ease of doing it online and get put off by speaking to an EA?
    At the risk of being accused of sounding biased, I think it's unlikely.

    The number of buyers who will be looking for a property such as yours, but choose not to contact your chosen EA as they would prefer to reach out to you direct via the Purple Bricks website is likely to be slim to non-existent.

    The standard response to a property receiving little interest is that the price is too high. It may well be the lowest priced 2 bed appt, but perhaps not low enough?
  • kinger101
    kinger101 Posts: 6,284 Forumite
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    If you are expecting the agent from purple bricks to handle the viewings, the answer is almost certainly no. I've attempted to view 6 properties where they (rather than the vendor) is handling the viewings, and I've only managed to do so for one of them. Viewings on the other five were all cancelled by the agent, and they were most inflexible when trying to reschedule.

    Even when you are doing the viewings yourself, there are much better options than purple bricks.
    "Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance" - Confucius
  • Natbag
    Natbag Posts: 1,563 Forumite
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    If the property is listed on Right Move, and your agent has the option for buyers to request details and book a viewing through that then I don't think it would make much difference. If the house ticks their boxes they will view it. That's just me though.
    I considered Purple Bricks, but the reviews for the agents local to me weren't great and I've had an excellent service so far through a local agent who isn't charging much more in commission than their fee is to be fair.
    Also, sympathies, as I'm in exactly the same boat; accepted an offer within two days at the end of July, the buyer couldn't get the mortgage they wanted. Went back on the market 10 days ago and we've had little interest too this time. :(
    Property buying/selling timeline - currently into week 21
    04/12/20: Both properties listed for sale
    11/01/21: Offers accepted on both sales & on our joint purchase
     25/01/21: Identity checks completed, solicitors instructed
     27/01/21: Purchase survey & valuation complete, mortgage offer received 
     05/02/21: Reduction agreed on partner's sale (under-valuation) & on purchase. Mortgage offer amended
     08/02/21: Buyers pack returned to solicitor - sellers packs already returned
    26/02/21: Partner's sale contract signed
    10/03/21: Purchase searches all back
    16/03/21: My sale contract signed
    28/03/21: Purchase enquiries satisfied, Title Report & contracts issued, contracts signed & returned
    11/05/21: Still waiting on final enquiry in the adjoining chain to be resolved. Consent to break the chain granted, instruction to move to exchange given.
    17/05/21: All parties agreed to June 3rd for completion
    27/05/21: Exchanged on my sale only
    28/05/21: ALL EXCHANGED!
    03/06/21: Completion
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 12,492 Forumite
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    I won`t be bothering to look at any purple bricks properties, I want the full escorted visit and not by the owner
  • steve_jones
    steve_jones Posts: 37 Forumite
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    Surrey_EA wrote: »
    At the risk of being accused of sounding biased, I think it's unlikely.

    The number of buyers who will be looking for a property such as yours, but choose not to contact your chosen EA as they would prefer to reach out to you direct via the Purple Bricks website is likely to be slim to non-existent.

    The standard response to a property receiving little interest is that the price is too high. It may well be the lowest priced 2 bed appt, but perhaps not low enough?

    I have spoken to the EA about this and they have advised me to not lower the price as it is already so well priced, the property is on RightMove. If I got viewings I would be happy to do the viewings myself.
  • kinger101
    kinger101 Posts: 6,284 Forumite
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    kittie wrote: »
    I won`t be bothering to look at any purple bricks properties, I want the full escorted visit and not by the owner

    An odd response, given many of the PB viewings are done by agents. Not sure why you want someone with pointy shoes and a cheap nylon suit to explain something about a house they've never lived in. I'm always preferred the vendor showing me around.
    "Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance" - Confucius
  • theartfullodger
    theartfullodger Posts: 14,605 Forumite
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    Flogging it to the highest bidder at the "Dog & Duck" tonight in the public bar is an option.

    But may be unwise....
  • kinger101
    kinger101 Posts: 6,284 Forumite
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    steve_jones wrote: »
    I have spoken to the EA about this and they have advised me to not lower the price as it is already so well priced, the property is on RightMove. If I got viewings I would be happy to do the viewings myself.

    I used emoov, and was happy with them. But I can't see you getting any more viewings than you're already doing. The only upside with changing agents (whether it's high street or internet) is your listing will come up as new, and therefore appear in peoples automated alerts. You'd need to carefully check terms for exiting your current agreement.

    If you're willing to post your current listing on here (just list postcode and someone can do it for you), I'm sure people will comment. But usually, it does come down to price I'm afraid.
    "Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance" - Confucius
  • kinger101
    kinger101 Posts: 6,284 Forumite
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    theartfullodger wrote: »
    Flogging it to the highest bidder at the "Dog & Duck" tonight in the public bar is an option.

    But may be unwise....

    I dunno, supply them with enough vodka.......
    "Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance" - Confucius
  • Fiesto88
    Fiesto88 Posts: 137 Forumite
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    kittie wrote: »
    I won`t be bothering to look at any purple bricks properties, I want the full escorted visit and not by the owner

    We're buying through Purplebricks and had the initial viewing with one of their agents. He was perfectly nice but knew nothing about the property so we ended up dealing direct with the vendor for any queries.

    To the OP I don't think Purplebricks would get you any further if it's already listed on Rightmove. By the sounds of things, our vendor hadn't had much interest in a house that I would have expected to have sold in days. We were fortunate in that the front end of things ran fine, it's still a question to be answered as to whether their linked online conveyancing service that the vendor is using will deliver.
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