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Online Estate Agents

SwiftBryant
SwiftBryant Posts: 3 Newbie
in House buying, renting & selling
Hey everyone. I am a citizen and resident of the United States and I've inherited a house in England. I would like to sell it as I am just finished college, need the money and I lack the appetite for turning it into a rental.

My main question is about online estate agents. What is the deal? If I use one, am I going to lose money overall from the sale that would outweigh the savings? That's my main concern. The fees for selling seem like it would cost £3500 / $4500, while online agents are about £1000/$1200. This is a huge difference for me. What is the catch?

I've been over it with my lawyer and I'm clear on what the deal is with estate / inheritance tax that is going to come from the UK side, but I am not 100% about the fees for selling over there, and he couldn't help me too much. Doing research, online estate agents are cheaper, but I don't know if I can trust their claims

Also, will I be able to use their services from out of the country? I know there are probably not many people in my situation, but any help would be much appreciated. :beer:
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Comments

  • Finchy2018
    Finchy2018 Posts: 508 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post Debt-free and Proud!
    You pay regardless of if you sell or not with most online agents. They have no incentive to actually sell or see it through to completion.

    They may save you money up front but will they work to get you the best price? That could cost you more.
  • Yalpsmol
    Yalpsmol Posts: 222 Forumite
    Who will do the viewings if the online estate agent wont and you're out of the country?
  • SwiftBryant
    SwiftBryant Posts: 3 Newbie
    Finchy2018 wrote: »
    You pay regardless of if you sell or not with most online agents. They have no incentive to actually sell or see it through to completion.

    They may save you money up front but will they work to get you the best price? That could cost you more.

    Does anyone have any experience with this? Like is it a known thing that you will get less. That is my concern.
    Yalpsmol wrote: »
    Who will do the viewings if the online estate agent wont and you're out of the country?
    A few of the online agents I found seem to do 'accompanied viewings'? I assume this is basically the same viewings service as a normal real estate agent would offer. I came across an online estate agent called 99home and saw that you could choose photos and viewings as extras. I wouldn't be able to do either, but I could get the keys to them.
  • MovingForwards
    MovingForwards Posts: 16,919 Forumite
    First Anniversary First Post Name Dropper Photogenic
    Look closely at the T&C's as there will probably be a charge for someone to do the viewings.

    Online estate agents do not tend to get good reviews over here by sellers.
    Mortgage started 2020, aiming to clear it in 2026.
  • claire111
    claire111 Posts: 285 Forumite
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker First Post
    Very, very, simply an agent that you pay upfront will put a board up, launch the property on to Rightmove, and pass messages on to you.

    An agent who will get paid .85-1% of the sale price only when your house completes, will value your property as best they can given current market conditions, will do everything in their power to get people through the door, extract offers from them, check out their financial situation, negotiate completion dates etc etc and quite probably earn you more than their fee compared to the other type.

    Its a known thing.

    HTH
  • Larac
    Larac Posts: 945 Forumite
    First Anniversary First Post
    You need to check that your chosen 'online' agent does viewings. We had one 'Express' who said they did viewings and when it came to it - did not. I lived some way from the property - it was empty as was a probate sale and lived some distance. We moved it to a High ST EA who charged 1% of the purchase price - dealt with all the viewings and when it came to completion held the keys for the new buyers to collect from them. Also Express charged alot more for their services. Personally, in your position, I would choose a High ST EA to handle the sale of the property
  • eddddy
    eddddy Posts: 16,438 Forumite
    First Anniversary First Post Name Dropper
    If you'll be living in the US whilst trying to sell a property in the UK, and/or you're not very familiar with how buying and selling property in the UK works...

    ... I would definitely go for a "traditional" estate agent who only gets paid on completion.

    They will be motivated to make the sale happen by sorting out problems along the way, encouraging the buyer to keep moving etc.


    But bear in mind that not all "traditional" estate agents are good estate agents. Take the time to find a good one.
  • ScroogeMcSwan
    ScroogeMcSwan Posts: 12 Forumite
    I recently used an online estate agent ( YOPA ) to sell my house, and it went well. We also received more than expected going by the home report, and more than nearby homes according to Zoopla, so I'm not convinced you'll get less if the area you're in has good demand. If you need an agent to drum up sales, then they should maybe be avoided. Remember that you get to set the asking price.

    I reckon I saved about £2,000 opting for an online agent. I possibly could have saved more if I'd went with a cheaper online agent too.

    There are several websites you can use to assess whether you want to go for an online estate agent. https://onlineagentpicker.com was one of the best sites I found for getting an overview and filtering your needs, such as viewings. https://www.which.co.uk/money/mortgages-and-property/home-movers/selling-a-house/online-estate-agents-ar2jr0g705uu is good as well, and you can see here that not many online agents reduce their prices (as you might fear).

    All that said, online estate agents can be a bit hands off, and maybe impersonal. It might be less stressful if you go with a traditional estate agent who might be more willing to guide you through the process a bit more.

    Hope this helps!
  • kinger101
    kinger101 Posts: 6,282 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post
    edited 20 July 2019 at 2:16PM
    If you need the agent to do viewings, then online agents are entirely unsuitable. They may offer a viewings service, but the reality is they cover much larger areas than traditional agents, and cannot offer the flexibility that potential buyers want.

    They have online portals showing 101 available slots. You book one to suit you own schedule. They cancel it and reschedule if for a day when you're at work. You give up viewing the property entirely.

    You should be able to negotiate a high-street agent down to around 1%.
    "Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance" - Confucius
  • GDB2222
    GDB2222 Posts: 24,661 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Post First Anniversary
    https://hoa.org.uk/advice/guides-for-homeowners/i-am-selling/compare-online-estate-agents/


    That's a guide to alternative online services.

    I recently let a property using an online service, and it saved me a lot of money. Plus, I got to vet the prospective tenants myself. It worked really well for me.

    BUT, I am very familiar with the requirements for letting a property. Also, I was local to the property and could do viewings myself.

    If I were out of the country, I would grit my teeth and pay a full service estate agent to do the whole job.
    No reliance should be placed on the above! Absolutely none, do you hear?
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