But not Phil & Kirsty, and not on the tellybox.

The missus and I are looking to buy/rent a new property in the next 12 months, but trawling the property sites and ads is a) dull, b) time consuming, c) bears little fruit, and d) doesn’t catch everything on the market as we can’t dedicate our whole lives to searching…

Does a service like a bespoke property search like Phil & Kirsty exist for normal folk who don’t want to feature in a TV programme? If it doesn’t exist feel free to steal my idea and start a service like this, just make me your first customer.

Rightmove.co.uk

Edit :If you can’t be bothered searching for your home what can you be bothered with.
Home is where the heart is no?

Er, isn’t that what estate agents are supposed to do?

I know someone who runs just such a business; Phil.

Er, isn’t that what estate agents are supposed to do?

Only for properties on their books… plus there are privately marketed properties that don’t appear on those property sites.

Not being lazy, if a business excels at this sort of thing why not use them.

My brother used one (no idea who).

Seemed to work for him as they got a house they love.

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=property+search+service

And pay them commission on a sale that will already attract crazy fees to you when you buy?
Set your maximum price, location and number of beds into a few websites. Have a look what comes up. Call the agent and arrange a viewing on whatever you like.
£500 (or whatever) saved.

personally, I’d say a search service was a bit OTT for renting – just pick some agents in areas you like and visit them once a week to see what’s coming up that they can get you in on.

If you’re buying and don’t just want a bog standard Victorian terrace/3 bed semi and have a wide search area then I can see it makes a lot of sense.

I suspect the more you are spending the wider the choice you have and the more difficult it becomes to narrow your search down to a manageable size.

Why not get a clear idea in your head of what you want, commission an architect to make your vision a reality, buy some land, then set yourself a budget, double it, add another million, then add another half a million, import some windows from Germany that cost more then most peoples homes, then spend the next 3 years living in a caravan in a muddy field, finishing up with something that looks nothing like what you initially envisaged. Then get divorced.

Hope that helps

Kevin

Er, isn’t that what estate agents are supposed to do?

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

Yes these services exist, they generally charge similar fees to an estate agent 1%-2%. My ex wife used to do some relocation assistance, so a day ot 2 to do a search for you plus 1 or 2 days of viewings and a roundup that’s £1,000 (£200 of which is VAT, plus probably using their own vehicle etc)

Kirsty & Phil’s service works as it makes a tv programme, its not commercially viable otherwise.

Kirsty & Phil’s service works as it makes a tv programme, its not commercially viable otherwise.

Apart from the business Phil ran before he/they started on telly, and that he continues to run…

Admitedly, it’s only really worth doing if you’re spending a LOT of money.

Yes these services exist, they generally charge similar fees to an estate agent 1%-2%. My ex wife used to do some relocation assistance, so a day ot 2 to do a search for you plus 1 or 2 days of viewings and a roundup that’s £1,000 (£200 of which is VAT, plus probably using their own vehicle etc)

Interesting…

Admitedly, it’s only really worth doing if you’re spending a LOT of money.

Hence my question for normal folk.

Ok cheers guys, that’s been helpful.

So 4 days, £200/day.
Not bad really.
How many clients?
I’m sure she didn’t dedicate her day solely to one client so £400, possibly £600 per day.
Then the vat. Sounds awful.

I think wwwaswas is correct, if it’s temporary or bog standard then do it yourself. If you are very fussy, want unusual, very expensive or across a big search area, using a service to sift your options may be worthwhile.

That said, if agents actually gave you details of what you asked for and not just everything on their books, it may be less of a ball ache.

@iolo – No it was full time for each client. It was only corporates individuals won’t pay. The work dried up in the recession. That was what the company charged, she got a portion of that (half). It was OK whilst kids where at school.

@IHN, yes agreed it’s possible and I’ve friends who used such a service but as you say it’s top end properties and they paid multiple £1000’s