A couple of years ago we used an online estate agent recommended on here (House Network, they were very good!), now we need to sell my dad’s house but House Network has gone tits up.

What’s the STW online agent of choice in 2020?

We used Doorsteps and were very cheap. seeing as you do all the work yourselves anyway it seemed best for us

We’ve used purplebricks, the sale stuff is pretty much the same unless you’ve that sort of property that needs special contacts, but the post-sales support was *terrible*. The agents either side of us just ignored the official contacts at Purplebricks and went directly though us, or directly to the agents on the other side.

We used purple bricks and had a good experience. Sold within a week and v helpful agent who did a fair amount of work in viewings and vetting purchasers.

About to put our house on the market with purplebricks too. Agent seeemed quite nice and came with a lot recommendations from friends.

Nit picking – Is purple bricks really an online seller or just an estate agent without a bricks and mortar local HQ and just a sweaty man working in a car instead?

We had them for a quote – guy seemed much like any other estate agent. Used to work in a local one apparently – now just works from home and the back of his car. We’d have saved about £500 in fees using them but…..he wanted to put it on the market for £20K less than the ‘real’ estate agents who sold it for the asking price within 4 days. He wasn’t Dickson’s real deal this time.

Maybe the experience feels more online in comparison once you get past the sale part of the process.

Thanks all, went with Doorsteps in the end. Jury is out, I’ll update with the verdict when it’s all done.

^^ exactly – no point saving £1k if you lose £20k.

My biggest issue is that local agents won’t let someone through your door unless they have vetted / they have funds or mortgage.

DIY or online only seemed to turn my house into a theme park for time wasters without any vetting.

Worth a try if no upfront fees and you are aware of / can deal with cons but make sure any terms you sign let you pull out without upfront fees if they don’t perform.

Really glad we decided against going with PB, went with a local estate agent instead.

Tried booking a viewing for a house which was on the market with PB, couldn’t phone the agent as all bookings had to be made online via their app. There appeared to be lots of “available” slots for to view the house. Tried booking one for a few days notice, accepted and then changed at the last minute. This happened several times before i thought f*** it, its not worth the hassle. Seen several houses in the mean time with zero hassle just by phoning the agents. PB wouldnt even take my call.

As a buyer I have not enjoyed the experience with Purplebricks, especially where the seller shows me round

We ended up avoiding any of these, in preference for agent only showings

We got Purplebricks plus a local ‘standard’ agent in for valuation.

Standard agent valuation was £50k over the PB one.

Spoke to PB bloke: “You’d be mad to expect that, no way will it achieve that price – they’re just leading you on.”

We sold at £45k over the ‘absolute maximum you’ll get” PB valuation a week later.

I don’t don’t doubt PB works but I’d be wary of them employing valuers who cover a very large area and don’t understand local markets.

thanks to everyone who responded to this – very helpful.