Maninblack4612
Tour Winner
Looking to sell our house soon. Any advice re online agencies v the traditional Estate Agent. Negative /positive experiences anyone?
Purple Bricks / Strike - Any good? Are they really free?
- Thread starter Maninblack4612
- Start date
fundy
Ryder Cup Winner
Weve used Purple Bricks twice. Theyre not free you pay an upfront fee, then there are other bits you can pay extra for (ie them doing your viewings for you)
First time a new build estate house (5yrs or so old), easy to describe/photo, buoyant market, the regional agent we had was excellent. Had 15+ viewings in a week, multiple offers and sold at a decent price quickly. The only negative was their call centre approach to the post sale part
Second time was a one off architect designed house, hard to photo, market was ok, the regional agent we had was awful (previous one was now regional manager but in a new geography). Limited number of viewings, only offer was derisory and we pulled the marketing from them and went to a higher end "traditional" agent who brought in a professional photographer and the difference was night and day. Had 3 or 4 viewings and it sold at a decent price (less their hefty fee).
Personally wouldnt rush to use them again, would find the local agent I felt best placed to sell the house and then negotiate on their fee which is what we did the last property we sold. If I did use them again Id engage a professional photographer and supply them with the pictures. The main negatives for us with PB the quality of the photos, the pot luck nature of whether you got a decent agent and poor post sales albeit these are from 5yrs ago+ now
First time a new build estate house (5yrs or so old), easy to describe/photo, buoyant market, the regional agent we had was excellent. Had 15+ viewings in a week, multiple offers and sold at a decent price quickly. The only negative was their call centre approach to the post sale part
Second time was a one off architect designed house, hard to photo, market was ok, the regional agent we had was awful (previous one was now regional manager but in a new geography). Limited number of viewings, only offer was derisory and we pulled the marketing from them and went to a higher end "traditional" agent who brought in a professional photographer and the difference was night and day. Had 3 or 4 viewings and it sold at a decent price (less their hefty fee).
Personally wouldnt rush to use them again, would find the local agent I felt best placed to sell the house and then negotiate on their fee which is what we did the last property we sold. If I did use them again Id engage a professional photographer and supply them with the pictures. The main negatives for us with PB the quality of the photos, the pot luck nature of whether you got a decent agent and poor post sales albeit these are from 5yrs ago+ now
Maninblack4612
Tour Winner
Thank you for such a detailed reply. I'm a retired pro photographer so could cover that side of it. Will deffo be reluctant to pay anything like 2%
fundy
Ryder Cup Winner
Assuming a competitive market locally for estate agents you should be able to get 1% + vat
PhilTheFragger
Provider of Entertainment for the Golfing Gods 🙄
I’ve used them twice
You get what you pay for, if you have a house in good nick, in a decent area, it will sell itself, all you are paying for is access to Rightmove etc.
But if your house needs a bit more work to get it sold, then a traditional estate agent might get better results.
Their legal people are not the quickest
You get what you pay for, if you have a house in good nick, in a decent area, it will sell itself, all you are paying for is access to Rightmove etc.
But if your house needs a bit more work to get it sold, then a traditional estate agent might get better results.
Their legal people are not the quickest
MiurasFan
Blackballed
Maninblack4612
Tour Winner
Interesting, thanks.
PhilTheFragger
Provider of Entertainment for the Golfing Gods 🙄
In that case
Avoid
Avoid
timd77
Assistant Pro
Only just seen this, I worked for Purplebricks for a number of years, no longer there. Left a couple of years ago when they were still decent, but I personally wouldn’t touch them with a barge poll. Same with strike, who are even worse. Nothing’s really free in this game.
We’re looking to sell soon and we’ll use a local estate agent. Definitely a case of you get what you pay for.
Feel free to dm me if you have any specific questions.
Edit- for the avoidance of doubt, I’m no longer in estate agency and so I’m not touting for business!
Piece
Tour Winner
Resurrecting this thread as I'm in a position to sell my late Mum's house imminently. I see that Purple Bricks are still going (with average reviews). Yopa have much better reviews though. What others are around?
The house 'should' be an easy sell (famous last words), but of course, I want to sell at the right price and to the right people ideally. There's a marked difference in fees between online and a local agent, hence tempted to go on-line if I can't negotiate the local agent's fee down (currently 1.25%, inc VAT).
Based on what I've read above on this thread, are there any others on the forum with recent direct experience of using online estate agents?
The house 'should' be an easy sell (famous last words), but of course, I want to sell at the right price and to the right people ideally. There's a marked difference in fees between online and a local agent, hence tempted to go on-line if I can't negotiate the local agent's fee down (currently 1.25%, inc VAT).
Based on what I've read above on this thread, are there any others on the forum with recent direct experience of using online estate agents?
