Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Opinions about online estate agents
We are thinking about selling our house and are worrying about the high cost of a high street estate agent. We were wondering if anyone had any experiences of any of the online agents such as Purple Bricks that can save so much money. We've found all the negative reviews online about them but wonder whether the negative issues apply to an area as small as the ladder.
We understand that we would be best placed to handle all contact with potential buyers and do all viewings ourselves and also not use their recommended conveyancing. What do people think?
Tags for Forum Posts: estate agents
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Laura on
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We are in a similar situation, and have had valuations from two estate agents and purplebricks. Although a little sceptical at first, we got a very good vibe from Tami, who is the north London agent. She had only had positive reviews, and really does seem to know her stuff, having worked in the industry for 20 years.
I know one person who has sold using purplebricks in Walthamstow and they were happy with the service, and I also know another person who has just put their property near Manor House on with them. I also know a third person who has just bought a house In sidcup through them. All positive experiences so far.
My partner and I have decided to give them a go- at the end of the day I really don't think we will struggle to sell in this area, and so what harm is there to spend £1200 on purplebricks to see if they can sell it for you- it seems to be a large saving! You can pay extra (£300?) to have them show your property to buyers, or you can do it yourself. Also they promote their associated solicitor but you are not obliged to use them.
Finally, our valuations from the estate agents were lower than from purplebricks- now while we are not fully convinced that the price will be obtained, Tami seems to be more in the habit of trying high, then lowering the price if needed. Whereas the estate agents we spoke to seem to be more cautious, maybe because they would rather sell faster and get their commission with less legwork? I'm not sure, but as we are not in a huge rush to sell we think we will try this tactic. However this may not suit your needs or interests.
I hope this helps you a little!
Laura
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Hi, we used Hatched which are online and were really pleased with them. They helped organise the viewings to suit our availability and we showed people round. They also gave us advice on the pricing which was helpful. You mostly need to be there anyway so you can answer people's questions so estate agent seems superfluous. We had a separate conveyancer so that was fine. Hope this helps!
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Permalink Reply by Sarah on
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When I bought my flat I saw a few flats that were advertised through online agents. The sellers used very good pictures, and wrote much better descriptions than agents usually do (it seems a few of the local agents barely speak English, not useful in this kind of work!). They did the "40 people through in an hour" type high pressure viewings and sold for well over the asking price.
Meanwhile I bought a property returned to the market after a sale fell through. The agent wrote shorts, lied about upcoming major works (later claimed the owner had no idea) and I paid under asking price at the peak of the boom two years ago.
So having seen it from the buyer's side I have to reluctantly agree the online agents work. But make sure you get good photos.
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