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Selling
As a leading High Street estate agent in Surrey, we valued more than £3.5bn worth of properties in the last year – on these 5000+ valuation appointments, we have spoken to hundreds of potential sellers who are considering using an online only estate agent.
We get asked time and time again, “As a seller can you really save thousands of pounds by using an online only estate agent?”
In truth competition in any marketplace is a good thing. Online only estate agents have forced the traditional High Street estate agent to take a fresh look at the service they offer their customers to make sure we are keeping up with current consumer trends and how customers prefer to communicate online. But does it really make good financial sense?
Here, we tell the story of two homeowners, who each chose a different route to selling, so in the end you can make your own mind up about the benefits of an online only estate agent vs a High Street estate agent.
The two sellers in our story live in identical 3 bedroom semi-detached houses on the same road. Our first sellers, Mr & Mrs DIY, decided to use an online only estate agent to sell their home. Here is their experience…
What Is An Online Only Estate Agent?
The definition of an online only estate agent as provided by the consumer website Which? is:
Online only estate agencies are run via websites and call centres, they tend to offer a more basic service than you would receive from a high-street agent… Online-only estate agents require the seller to do most of the work themselves, from taking photos and creating an advert to handling buyer enquiries, conducting viewings and negotiating offers.
The Valuation Appointment
Mr & Mrs DIY had seen the TV advertising and liked the idea that they could save thousands of pounds in estate agency fees with an online only estate agent. They went online and quickly booked a valuation of their home via the online only estate agent’s website.
The online only estate agent sent a valuer to Mr & Mrs DIY’s home, who explained the process and the costs involved.
Upfront Fee
Mr & Mrs DIY paid £899.00 up-front to place their home on the market with the online only estate agent, who then arranged for photographs to be taken, a floorplan drawn up and the property was placed on the UK’s leading property portals Rightmove, Zoopla and Prime Location.
Viewings
During the initial appointment, Mr & Mrs DIY were given the option of paying an additional £300 to have the online only estate agent conduct the viewings, but since Mrs DIY was on maternity leave and they didn’t want the extra expense, they decided that she would save a bit more money and conduct the viewings themselves. Mrs DIY was confident she could talk about the house, the local area and the neighbours to potential buyers.
Mr & Mrs DIY were given access to the online only estate agent’s website portal, where potential buyers could message Mr & Mrs DIY directly to arrange a convenient time to view.
Before meeting the potential buyers, Mr & Mrs DIY have no concrete information on who they have arranged to allow into their home.
Mr & Mrs DIY would show potential buyers around their home themselves and feedback from buyers about their home could be accessed by logging in to the online only estate agents website, provided the potential buyers choose to leave comments.
If any of the buyers were interested in purchasing the property, this was also done exclusively online with offers presented to Mr & Mrs DIY through the online portal for them to accept or decline.
