OT - Selling houses and choosing estate agents. Has anyone used Purple Bricks?

[Billy the Fish]

I've decided to move house so need to choose an agent to sell mine with. I'm having a few valuations done this week and in terms of agent fees Purple Bricks will save me between £2-4000 depending on what I can negotiate.

Does anyone have any experience with them? I'm wondering what the catch is, if it's too good to be true or if it will be a case of getting what you pay for.

 

[mr sheen]

I've just sold a house using an internet only estate agent. Was completely without a hitch or catch, and saved me £2k.

Emoov was the one we used.

 

[Stumpy Tim]

[MENTION=6625]Badger[/MENTION] used them, and wasn't impressed I believe

 

[Albion Dan]

I've only got experience of looking at properties as a potential buyer and they were awful. Difficult to get appointments, agent didn't show up. We then actively refused to see any houses they were selling. That was in London though.


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[Cheeky Monkey]

Agree with Albion Dan, as a potential buyer they were awful, although that was mainly due to the fact that the woman selling was an absolute nutcase and with Purple Bricks you're stuck dealing directly with the seller without any intermediary, or at least I was in this case.

 

[Gazwag]

Don't you have to show people around yourself so not so practical if nobody is home in work times

 

[Springal]

Yeah agreed when I was buying/selling I preferred high street agent. I used a local one with 1 office so got a lot of attention and help.

When buying I found the purple bricks agents to be pretty scruffy, late and difficult to deal with

 

[mikeyjh]

The catch is that they don't do anything to actually sell your house! As said above, they're terrible for buyers, and if they're terrible for buyers then they're terrible for sellers.

 

[Billy the Fish]

Thanks for the comments. Viewings aren't a problem as the girlfriend and I both work from home a lot, but the fact that you're reliant on Rightmove and Zoopla for viewings and also the whole process being dealt with remotely worries me and I guess the general feeling on this thread confirms that!
Personally I'm leaning towards picking a smaller local agent who will come in cheaper than the big boys, but they will still be over double the price.

 

[mikeyjh]

Thanks for the comments. Viewings aren't a problem as the girlfriend and I both work from home a lot, but the fact that you're reliant on Rightmove and Zoopla for viewings and also the whole process being dealt with remotely worries me and I guess the general feeling on this thread confirms that!
Personally I'm leaning towards picking a smaller local agent who will come in cheaper than the big boys, but they will still be over double the price.

I think you're making the right call - I've got way more experience as a buyer than a seller and you do get put off by these online agents. Timings of viewings can be problematic as agents tend to offer more flexibility and if I'm being shown round your house by you, I'm much less likely to go poking around in cupboards etc which I actually really want to do. Also, some people are not comfortable with the negotiating side of things and how that sometimes works....

All that said, good luck have a realistic timescale and price that you are comfortable working with and don't be bullied by and agent in to accepting a silly offer because he/she wants their commission nice and quickly.....

 

[Prince Monolulu]

Use fixed fee internet based agent if viewings aren't an issue. Will save you ££££££££££££s and if it's a decent enough place at a fair price it will sell.

Get a good idea of price by getting a couple of agents (local and national) to give you a valuation.

 

[mikeyjh]

PS - Negotiate with the agent, get yourself < 1%

 

[HantsSeagull]

dont do it

 

[Notters]

There's one round the corner from me for sale with Purple Bricks and it looks to be overvalued by about £150k (bearing in mind this is Newhaven!) but then I'm no property expert.

The smaller local agents seem the best bet round our way, honest, professional and knowledgeable.

 

[Diablo]

I've just sold a house using an internet only estate agent. Was completely without a hitch or catch, and saved me £2k.

Emoov was the one we used.

You saved £2000 on fees....Perhaps the buyer got a bargain so eased sale through..you`ll never know how much you would have sold for with established Estate Agency !!!!

 

[mr sheen]

You saved £2000 on fees....Perhaps the buyer got a bargain so eased sale through..you`ll never know how much you would sold for with established Estate Agency !!!!

After 10 months failing to, I have a fair idea.

 

[PoG]

I'm currently in the process of buying and selling and originally considered going with Purple Bricks, going by the houses I viewed that are with Purple Bricks I'm glad I didn't. The agents don't seem to care, its basically open the door and look around. No talk about the property whatsoever.

We also sold our place in 6 days after only two viewings with a local estate agent at the cost of 1%. Might I add, the estate agent was able to raise the buyers original offer by 10k. Can't really argue with that.

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

I have a very good local estate agent who will charge 0.9% plus vat. Pm me if interested. IMO that is good value for what they do, in the USA " real estate agents " charge around 6% and in a lot of Europe

 

[Diablo]

Stick with established local agency..probably not the one that values your house highest to get business...Generally you get what you pay for !!

 

[Arthritic Toe]

I bought through an online EA and had no problems whatsoever. It's all about the service you want from them. If you are happy to show potential buyers around yourself and there is likely to be someone home to conduct the viewings, then go for it and save yourself a fortune. You can't though expect to get the same service for a fraction of the price, which is what many people seem to be expecting from the above posts. The online agent will advertise on Rightmove etc in just the same way as conventional estate agents, so in that respect they are equivalent. They will also convey offers to the client and interact with them in just the same way. All you won't get is that 'personal' service and the ability to conduct viewings when you're out. If that is important to you, then pay the extra (thousands) for the conventional agent.