Zoopla , what a load of rubbish
Discussion
Tony427 said:
Was chatting with an old school friend who has been a Chartered Surveyor for nigh on 40 years and his advise, if we are looking to sell our place, was to go with Purple Bricks.To illustrate his point he gave us the example of one of his clients who sold his £1m plus home for a fixed fee and saved over £20k against EA fees.
As he said, everyone just looks on the web these days anyway.
Cheers
Tony
How good / useful are they are a competitive bidding situationAs he said, everyone just looks on the web these days anyway.
Cheers
Tony
£20k is nothing on a £1m sale if you can get 2 parties bidding up
We sold a flat for £428k 5 years ago, first offer was £380k. All due to the EA managing bidders well.
Well worth the 1.2% fee!
There should be people on the EA's books. Our agent had 9 people lined up to view before it hit Rightmove, all filtered to be either cash buyers or with mortgages lined up. Went to best and final offers a few days later and got £10k above the asking price and £20k above where we thought the value of the house lay.
This meant we were able to find a place much better than we had expected.
Don't forget the online guys charge upfront, charge for viewings and don't do anything once solicitors instructed. It's after this that an EA should be earning their crust to ensure it all runs smoothly.
What happens with an online EA if you have a sale agreed and it falls through? Do you have to pay again to relist it?
This meant we were able to find a place much better than we had expected.
Don't forget the online guys charge upfront, charge for viewings and don't do anything once solicitors instructed. It's after this that an EA should be earning their crust to ensure it all runs smoothly.
What happens with an online EA if you have a sale agreed and it falls through? Do you have to pay again to relist it?
I personally think rightmove gets people through the door in h first place then the EA play a role in the negotiations .
I also think a potential buyer is more comfortable being shown round by a neutral party and therefore is more likely to take more time looking around if genuine
The real problem is trying to weed out the tyre kickers before you spent a few hours preparing your house .
That bit sucks
I also think a potential buyer is more comfortable being shown round by a neutral party and therefore is more likely to take more time looking around if genuine
The real problem is trying to weed out the tyre kickers before you spent a few hours preparing your house .
That bit sucks
Yipper said:
Amazed anyone uses estate agents. They are massively overpriced.
As above, just use Purple Bricks and save a fortune, especially if you live in London or posh parts of Southeast.
All depends on the type of property. Especially if you live in London or posh parts of Southeast. As above, just use Purple Bricks and save a fortune, especially if you live in London or posh parts of Southeast.
It would appear from your post that you are implying that high end properties are better sold through purple bricks? Slightly baffling considering this is obviously the easiest area to find high quality EAs, negotiate rates and make them pay for themselves.
I'd say the online model works best when selling the more uniform properties in more uniform areas where the deals are more uniform.
FocusRS3 said:
I personally think rightmove gets people through the door in h first place then the EA play a role in the negotiations .
I also think a potential buyer is more comfortable being shown round by a neutral party and therefore is more likely to take more time looking around if genuine
The real problem is trying to weed out the tyre kickers before you spent a few hours preparing your house .
That bit sucks
My view is that one of the essential roles of the EA is to weed out the tyre kickers. It's part of their skill set. What you don't want is for an agent to take the approach of slinging a load of pointless viewings at the property so as to give the impression of activity to appease the vendor. I also think a potential buyer is more comfortable being shown round by a neutral party and therefore is more likely to take more time looking around if genuine
The real problem is trying to weed out the tyre kickers before you spent a few hours preparing your house .
That bit sucks
Personally, I've always expected to discuss with the EA the target buyer and to focus 100% on that and run the tiny risk of missing out on the legendary 'scruffy millionaire with a Tesco bag full of cash' appearing from the long odds and to agree that I won't have viewings where the supposed buyer doesn't fit the chosen remit.
On our most recent sale we focussed entirely on two types, over 60s proven cash buyers and overseas buyers who have previously bought in the same price range. We also arranged a tiered commission scale to try and incentivise the agent as best as possible and the highest tier was above their standard rate. He managed to get a sale for us at a very tough time in London where stamp duty and Brexit had slowed this end of the market right down and most people were having to offer discounts and deals were taking a long time. He managed to get £1250 a sqft where the asking norm was. £1200 and most deals were happening below that and he managed to find a buyer inside of three months.
In the past we've also always chosen agents who are willing to give their opinion as to who is buying our particular type of property at the moment and to back their opinion up by focussing purely on that target.
My suspicion is that with the new type of online broker it becomes much more difficult to filter out tyre kickers or the weaker buyers as typical humans find it hard to filter them out and also have a propensity to pitch to anyone they can. And I also suspect that as the average human isn't exactly all that good at negotiation or holding their nerve that closing prices could be softer as a result.
There are certainly BTL operators who are loving the removal of the EA and treat private viewings as a means to establish whether the vendor is going to be easy to knock.
DonkeyApple said:
quite a lot
On tiered commissions I've often thought that it would be fairer to agree an average price and set the % a little below that. Say you think that £300K is an average price then instead of 1% commision give the EA 5% on anything above £250K.As for purple bricks et al it depends hwo much time you've got, your personality, your poker playing abilty etc. It'll suit some but for 1% or wahtever a good EA should be worth his salt.
TA14 said:
On tiered commissions I've often thought that it would be fairer to agree an average price and set the % a little below that. Say you think that £300K is an average price then instead of 1% commision give the EA 5% on anything above £250K.
As for purple bricks et al it depends hwo much time you've got, your personality, your poker playing abilty etc. It'll suit some but for 1% or wahtever a good EA should be worth his salt.
Yup. I think the arrival of flat fee deals is great for the market but as I think we both agree, having both is the sweet spot as certain types of deal and people suit both models. People just need to be honest about what type of person they are and what type of property they are selling to ascertain which is best. It's definitely the case that paying £5k away to an EA can still result in a greater profit than paying a fixed £500 for example. The flat fee model will always promote that you are saving money but obviously the smarter person recognises that this simply isn't the case. As for purple bricks et al it depends hwo much time you've got, your personality, your poker playing abilty etc. It'll suit some but for 1% or wahtever a good EA should be worth his salt.
Re the fee side, my feeling is that if you load the 'bonus' too much then you risk tipping the EA into blowing perfectly good deals at just below asking as they are too incentivised to try and get a deal at asking or over at your expense. I think it's a case of balancing it so that there is a Brucie bonus if they manage it but they are still willing to find you a deal at a lower level. I think that if you get it right then it stops them taking up your time with time wasters but doesn't lose you other potential deals that you might have taken. If that makes sense?
DonkeyApple said:
TA14 said:
On tiered commissions I've often thought that it would be fairer to agree an average price and set the % a little below that. Say you think that £300K is an average price then instead of 1% commision give the EA 5% on anything above £250K.
As for purple bricks et al it depends hwo much time you've got, your personality, your poker playing abilty etc. It'll suit some but for 1% or wahtever a good EA should be worth his salt.
...As for purple bricks et al it depends hwo much time you've got, your personality, your poker playing abilty etc. It'll suit some but for 1% or wahtever a good EA should be worth his salt.
Re the fee side, my feeling is that if you load the 'bonus' too much then you risk tipping the EA into blowing perfectly good deals at just below asking as they are too incentivised to try and get a deal at asking or over at your expense. I think it's a case of balancing it so that there is a Brucie bonus if they manage it but they are still willing to find you a deal at a lower level. I think that if you get it right then it stops them taking up your time with time wasters but doesn't lose you other potential deals that you might have taken. If that makes sense?
DonkeyApple said:
......
I also suspect that as the average human isn't exactly all that good at negotiation or holding their nerve that closing prices could be softer as a result.
This times 1 millionI also suspect that as the average human isn't exactly all that good at negotiation or holding their nerve that closing prices could be softer as a result.
If you are in a high priced area and a bit of a dullard who would have a price in mind and sell to the first person who offers it, go ahead & save 1% online. Seeing how crap most people are at negotiating makes me question it though.
I've sold 2 properties in London with and for me, I was happy to pay for someone with the ability to read people, tell a compelling story when there is potentially more money on the table, play buyers off against eachother, have the experience, skill and expertise to engineer the demand that maximises sale price etc. They can advise on state of the market locally, other properties coming on / just sold loclly that aren't on land reg yet.
Both properties I sold went for over my expectations & asking price thanks to the agents.
High end properties, you're not going get many NHW individuals taking calls from randoms and showing them around. Ain't going to happen
Maybe if you're selling in a depressed part of the country where the agents are incompetent it makes more sense. Wife's friend selling a £90k place in a crap part of Norfolk was tearing her hair out, viewings not being booked, having to do them herself, description on website was crap etc. In that case an online one might have been better
[quote=DonkeyApple]
My view is that one of the essential roles of the EA is to weed out the tyre kickers. It's part of their skill set. What you don't want is for an agent to take the approach of slinging a load of pointless viewings at the property so as to give the impression of activity to appease the vendor.
We have had time wasters which has angered us as you can imagine and in fairness to the EA its tricky when a potential buyer says all the right things.
Tricky right now selling a house although hopefully the chancellors budget y'day may help at least in the short term
My view is that one of the essential roles of the EA is to weed out the tyre kickers. It's part of their skill set. What you don't want is for an agent to take the approach of slinging a load of pointless viewings at the property so as to give the impression of activity to appease the vendor.
We have had time wasters which has angered us as you can imagine and in fairness to the EA its tricky when a potential buyer says all the right things.
Tricky right now selling a house although hopefully the chancellors budget y'day may help at least in the short term
It seems sensible to remove stamp for the typical first time buyer. In hindsight it probably should have been done when they loaded stamp up for second property buyers as it would have had a better political impact back then.
It is only fair that in an economy where new buyers are so easily and heavily outcompeted by cash rich second buyers that the govt take appropriate steps to significantly favour young, new entrants over those already in. It's just common sense for longer term stability.
And from a pure political vantage point, people who own a home are significantly less likely to be as Corbyn friendly as the enormous army of young renters that has been built up due to unfettered property speculation on the back of deregulated lending.
It is only fair that in an economy where new buyers are so easily and heavily outcompeted by cash rich second buyers that the govt take appropriate steps to significantly favour young, new entrants over those already in. It's just common sense for longer term stability.
And from a pure political vantage point, people who own a home are significantly less likely to be as Corbyn friendly as the enormous army of young renters that has been built up due to unfettered property speculation on the back of deregulated lending.
Edited by DonkeyApple on Thursday 23 November 10:17
FocusRS3 said:
Just got the monthly Zoopla news letter that says how the index in your postcode has changed over the last 12 months.
Says average prices have risen by 18k, ive reduced my house twice by many tens of thousands so FOOOOOK knows how that works!
If you just sit it out eventually prices will catch up with expectations. Says average prices have risen by 18k, ive reduced my house twice by many tens of thousands so FOOOOOK knows how that works!
Monty Python said:
Anyone tried PurpleBricks?
I've just bought through one of these online agents (not the purple one). They reached peak ridiculousness at the point I called them up to get something chased further up the chain, only to be told, "we don't actually have someone who can talk to a solicitor". Their entire business model is taking £800 off gullible punters, sticking a house on Rightmove at a ridiculously inflated price and doing as little work as possible past that point.Timberwolf said:
I've just bought through one of these online agents (not the purple one). They reached peak ridiculousness at the point I called them up to get something chased further up the chain, only to be told, "we don't actually have someone who can talk to a solicitor". Their entire business model is taking £800 off gullible punters, sticking a house on Rightmove at a ridiculously inflated price and doing as little work as possible past that point.There will be winners and loser who use either PB or a high street EA. all down to personal preference. Myself, i am happy to be using a local EA
In contrast to some of those posting in this thread, we used an online EA and it's been very fluid with minimal fuss.
We went from instruction to sale in eight days and paid £995 for the privilege (saving ~£3600).
Sure there are others with similar (success) stories and a load with bad experiences. With regards to the latter, my sister-in-law and her husband have their house for sale with a local agent and are having little success. They are essentially paying for some photos and an add on Rightmove but sacrificing 1% of their sale fee for the privilege. I also have my suspicions that, upon instructing them (they moved from another provider), they are getting people through the door just to box tick (i.e. these viewers are not seriously interested). That being said, perhaps just lowering the asking price by a few £k and/or it being after Christmas and they'd probably sell it.
We went from instruction to sale in eight days and paid £995 for the privilege (saving ~£3600).
Sure there are others with similar (success) stories and a load with bad experiences. With regards to the latter, my sister-in-law and her husband have their house for sale with a local agent and are having little success. They are essentially paying for some photos and an add on Rightmove but sacrificing 1% of their sale fee for the privilege. I also have my suspicions that, upon instructing them (they moved from another provider), they are getting people through the door just to box tick (i.e. these viewers are not seriously interested). That being said, perhaps just lowering the asking price by a few £k and/or it being after Christmas and they'd probably sell it.
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