Viewing 32 posts - 1 through 32 (of 32 total)
  • Selling with PurpleBricks
  • strike
    Free Member

    Looking to put my house on the market and a fixed rate of £849 is far more appealing than paying approx. £2K plus VAT.  The fact I will have to show people around is not an issue and I actually prefer it.

    Any pitfalls to using them?

    Also, what happens when it comes to handing over the keys on the day of completion – who does what?

    ***I’ve only ever bought a house (once) so excuse my ignorance.

    monkeychild
    Free Member

    I have sold my house through them and……………………….. I think it comes down to who you get as your agent.  Mine was effing useless.  I ended up retaking my photographs as the ones he did were too dark.  You also get “lots” of time wasters as they don’t vet the viewers properly (we had someone turn up who didn’t even realise our house was a 4 bed detached).  Yes they are cheap, but they are cheap for a reason.  Personally, I would want the viewers vetted better as we lost so much time through idiots.

    martinhutch
    Full Member

    It’s 849 whether you sell it or not, so if you’re in an area where houses are snapped up and you’re not being over optimistic with your pricing, then why not? If it will take a few attempts to sell, it could work out more expensive.

    I take it listing with purple bricks will mean it is on all the bigger property search websites?

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    beicmodur
    Free Member

    We sold this year with PB. It all went smoothly. Here is what I learned.

    1. We paid for the package where they do the photos, write the listing, show people around the house. However… I ended up doing the photos myself. The “estate agent” is stretched over such a big area he could never make it to the house to do viewings. He kept pushing for us to do an open day to save him time! Eventually I sold the house… buyers got fed up of being told to wait for an open day and started knocking on our door and cheekily asking to have a look around. We had 3 couples do this. I sold it within half an hour of showing one couple around for £5k over the asking price. Learning here – go for the cheapest package. You can sell your house better than the estate agent. All you need the online estate agent for is getting the house on Right Move.

    2. Selling the house – the buyer puts in an offer online, you accept the offer online. The estate has nothing to do with it. It’s literally a click of a button.

    3. Read the small print. They claim it’s payment on sale…. it’s really payment after 9 months even if the house hasn’t sold.

    4. We opted for their solicitor / conveyancer – who were a local firm who were great and cheap £600ish.

    5. Any sort of an issue with the sale, you’re on your own.. just you and the solicitor. PB’s essentially walk away once the sale is confirmed.

    6. Keys – you hand over the keys. It was a bit of pain as one of us had to travel to the new house to pick up the keys that end while the other stayed at the old house. It’s a tense affair on exchange day as it can go t*ts up at the last minute.

    So if you want hand holding then a local estate agent removes a large portion of stress, you can phone them to push things along (sorting out contracts, surveys etc is bloody nightmare). If you’re confident you can manage these tasks on your own then an online estate agent can save you thousands. I’d do it again on my own.

    njee20
    Free Member

    We’re on the market with Emoov at the moment – they got slightly better reviews than PB when I looked, and a friend had used them.

    They’ve been alright, the photos are excellent, was a contractor they use who also does Knight Frank and someone else I forget. Contact has been minimal, we’ve had very little interest as it seems the market has totally stagnated. Viewings have been fine, don’t mind doing them myself, like PB they can do them for you but it’ll be someone who doesn’t know the area/your house at all, just one of their “consultants” or whatever, I didn’t fancy that.

    I like having an online portal to manage the sale, change price, manage viewings etc, and I like that I’m not giving an estate agent thousands for doing very little.

    That said… it’s looking extremely likely that we won’t sell, and we’ll still have to pay £749 or whatever it was, which is a bit of a ball ache, but one of those things and was always the risk we took. I’d probably still use an online agent again, but not until the market buoys a bit. We’re already below the lowest valuation given by any agent (we had 4 done) and still not getting interest, nor are other similar properties, so I don’t believe it’s because we’re not using someone local. Will obviously depend on your situation locally.

    strike
    Free Member

    beicmodur – thanks! That’s exactly the sort of feedback I was looking for.
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    Rockhopper
    Free Member

    You pay upfront with Purple Bricks so no incentive for them to sell your property.

    njee20
    Free Member

    No you don’t, you pay down the line regardless of whether you sell. I imagine he knows that, not least because it’s been said several times above.

    paulneenan76
    Free Member

    It all depends on the local agent.  If you have a good one, so someone who worked as an agent locally for x amount of years before joining purple bricks, you should do well.  If you have someone who’s last job was selling tupperware then you may not do so well over a traditional agent.  I know of people that advise not using their conveyance service, so perhaps avoid.  If you have a house in the higher price bracket then you’d do better with a traditional agent. The market has not stagnated per-se but dependent on house type, price, area in the country etc.

    longwayup
    Free Member

    We bought our current house through PB. The local agent was just the key holder (never got the key back when we moved in) and just opened the door and sat on the sofa whilst we looked around. Putting an offer in online was simple and then once accepted PB just made it clear that we dealt directly with the sellers which was probably the best thing they did.  After that they played no further part.  We decided to go with their conveyancers (Premier Property Lawyers) who out of all the conveyancers in the chain were the best hands down and pushed to get things moving when others were stumbling.

    Selling our property we used a local bricks and mortar Estate Agent who offered an online package that was cheaper than PB and co so might be worth ringing around seeing what they offer.

    beicmodur
    Free Member

    Another point of advice (you all probably know this already).. we went with an independent mortgage broker. I was sceptical but he came highly recommended from friends. Worth every one of the £350 he cost. His advice on mortgages, the selling process and even translating the solicitors letters into human language helped with everything. They have a vested interest in helping the sale go though as their payment is baked into the exchange of money on exchange day. Our sale, as with most, took longer than expected and we had to reapply for the mortgage (letter of intent only lasts 3 months). He took care of it all for us, no hassle.

    mikewsmith
    Free Member

    You pay upfront with Purple Bricks so no incentive for them to sell your property.

    Your local high Street is incentivised to sell with the least effort possible. Everyone has motivations

    hb70
    Full Member

    We used House Simple. Really excellent. Felt in control of the whole process and much preferred the good contact and negotiation on a direct 121 basis.

    We wrote our own details. Their photos were excellent.

    We have sold 2 this way now. Fair price, good pictures, and all of the pimping (flowers & super tidy etc). We did block viewings on a weekend with 30 mins slots per person. One sold first day. The other took a month.

    Think of it as the cheapest way to get onto Rightmove, where people do their first viewings in effect.

    Rather joyously the local estate agent who quoted us 2.5k for a service that cost us £700 sent an ill advised email rant headed “PurplePricks” when she found out we were not going to use them. We sold on the first day, for 5k more than she advised us to list at, for a quarter of the cost.

    If you are “good” at the house selling process, with good pics, realistic pricing, and good presentation, then it’s definitely the way to go.

    schrickvr6
    Free Member

    We had a good experience but I’d recommend paying up front. If you defer payment you’ll open a credit agreement with Chase Brothers and be forced to use their conveyancers, not a huge deal but all the same…. We knew exactly what the house was worth but do your research as the local expert thought it was worth about 20k less, we had it on as offers in excess of and had 5 offers over asking withing 7 days, North Cardiff FYI. Likewise I prefered doing the viewings myself due to the amount of blood sweat and tears I’d put into it myself, an estate agent would never convey these details.

    Kahurangi
    Full Member

    Our experience is only short:

    Viewed a house with PurpleBricks. The photos were ok, the seller did the viewing and was great – in fact all our viewings the vendors were always better than the agent. It was however overpriced and didn’t sell quickly.

    Sold our flat with a recommended local agent. they pitched it well, photos were good and the viewings they did must have been good as it sold for a decent wedge over what we would have accepted. They had experience negotiating and extracting that little bit more. I didn’t.

    FunkyDunc
    Free Member

    We are currently selling with PB and can not fault the local agent in north Bradford.

    You have to pay up front, unless you use their solicitors (which don’t have great reviews)

    The whole process is so transparent you can see when someone requests a viewing, the feedback they have given etc. Also things like offers etc are made through the app, again all very transparent.  Makes traditional agents appear out of touch.

    Our local guy is very good, it does not mean the service will be quite so good in other parts of the country.

    I have also had very bad experiences with local bricks and mortar agents who have cost £1,000’s more.

    thisisnotaspoon
    Free Member

    Viewings have been fine, don’t mind doing them myself, like PB they can do them for you but it’ll be someone who doesn’t know the area/your house at all, just one of their “consultants” or whatever, I didn’t fancy that.

    We looked at a few houses that were listed with PB/emoov/tepilo.

    Without a shadow of a doubt the “properly consultant” who has never seen your house before, can still sell it better than you can, sorry.

    The owners ranged from just bad sales people (your enthusiasm for DIY is commendable, but I’m mentally knocking £5k off each time you say “I was going to do X but haven’t got round to it, it’ll be done before it’s sold”, dam right, because based on your previous DIY standard it’s not going to sell.   To just awkward, I want a proper poke around, see what the shower pressure is like, how big are your wardrobes, what’s the view like from your bed/sofa, is the garage secure, what’s in the loft etc.  Give me the keys and go to the pub for 30min, if you don’t trust me then get a bricks and mortar agent to show me round.

    poolman
    Free Member

    I have always used a local high st agent for lettings.  I know it is expensive but they always get more money than i would have asked, my mate who is a bit careful with her money lets privately and has had loads of problems.  Certainly for lettings i think the scammers can spot a desperate landlord a mile away.

    For selling i think I would try a cheapie first, but would certainly take care inviting strangers in the house.  I remember the Suzie lampugh case as my boss had met her on a viewing the week before she disappeared.  We used to call him mr kipper.

    wobbliscott
    Free Member

    Just be wary they don’t undervalue it. My dad sold his house recently. PB’s suggested sell price was £30k lower than the local estate agent and my dad ended up selling for £15k more than the PB suggested sell price…so more than paid for the estate agent fee.

    mikewsmith
    Free Member

    Just get 3 valuations before you sign anything

    FunkyDunc
    Free Member

    Just be wary they don’t undervalue it.

    They all have motives when selling. We had 1 that said put on at 300, another 330, another 350

    Take their advice but draw your own conclusions and decide your own selling price.

    dyls
    Full Member

    Just a couple of things I have noticed locally. They tend to overprice their properties in my area, compared to other estate agents. Because of this none of their properties seem to sell. But I suppose it is a clever way to get sellers onboard.

    I think you have to pay upfront, whether you sell with them or not. When I sold my house last year through a local agent, I only paid when they sold my house.

    mikewsmith
    Free Member

    I think you have to pay upfront, whether you sell with them or not. When I sold my house last year through a local agent, I only paid when they sold my house.

    As above different motivations, the agent paid on sale gets his fee on sale, everything beyond the first offer is costing them money unless it’s on a % and a decent increase, the onlines need good wins to keep the mood up.

    If you have paid a fixed price you can hold out or fold at the fist offer and your expense doesn’t change. If your house is in the right area at the right place it will sell regardless of who’s board is outside.

    When was the last time people thought estate agents were doing a good job?

    wobbliscott
    Free Member

    Yes, you do ultimately decide on the selling price, which is fine if you understand the market and know what the fair market rate is, and the whole point of an estate agent is that they should be advising you and assisting you to get the best price. Anyone can sell a house at under market value, so in my dads case (which of course could have been an isolated case) what were PB bringing to the table in suggesting a lower than market rate price? You’re paying them for basically advertising and that’s it. You don’t actually have to appoint an estate agent at all, but most people do because they should be bringing some expertise and market knowledge with them. That’s their value at the end of the day.

    tonyg2003
    Full Member

    When we were buying we viewed a few houses via PB and their agents were very very mixed. It put us off when we started selling our current house and I’m not in favour of their “pay up front” model. Also the house market around here (Surrey) seems very slow and this works against the PB model.

    konagirl
    Free Member

    We are about to complete selling our house with PB in Cambridgeshire. We first put on the market wih a high street chain, who were useless, not proactive, rarely able to do viewings. Left after the minimum contracted period and paid PB upfront including viewings package.

    Two major positives of the viewings. 1. They will take bookings at any time (online) and will try to accomodate every booking. We made it clear we would show the house if they couldn’t but that was very rare. 2. They will deal with the key handover on completion. They also offered to arrange access for the (mortgage and house buyers) surveys. So thats 3 days off work potentially.

    When you accept the offer, you get passed to PB completion team. I only had to contact them once but they responded quickly and professionally. We have had lots of correspondence with our agent / viewings agent and they couldn’t have been more helpful. So if you are in the Cambridgeshire area I would highly recommend.

    Also, whilst you do pay up front (or pay after 9 months and have to use their conveyancing), you are free to update the advert, change the price etc.  I will still get multiple quotes in future but I’m unlikely to use a high street agent again.

    dannybgoode
    Full Member

    Lots of EA’s now offer a fixed price package. Ours was £999 and given the hassle we had with our buyer was worth every single penny. No way I could have handled it directly – I’d have kicked off and list the sale!

    It’s like a lot of self-service things, if all goes smoothly then it’s generally ok. If things start to GK wrong you quickly begin to wish you’d paid for a proper service.

    scruff9252
    Full Member

    We bought our house last year and the seller used PB.

    I should point out that were in Scotland so the method of selling is quite different from down south. However the sellers spoke about not being given any market advice and PB were not particularly good at answering local advice. When I called the agents they didn’t know about the house / area beyond what was written in the schedule.

    The house was fundamentally well under priced – the sellers themselves had undervalued the house by about 20 odd grand below similar houses on the market, but not given a steer by PB. However as they never advertised in the ESPC (the main house selling site in Edinburgh area) the house never got the market exposure or footfall.

    Overall, as a buyer I got a brilliant deal but the sellers may think differently…

    strike
    Free Member

    Thanks for the feedback so far – on the basis of no sell/no fee, I’ve booked an appointment with HouseSimple for today.

    njee20
    Free Member

    Without a shadow of a doubt the “properly consultant” who has never seen your house before, can still sell it better than you can, sorry.

    Bollocks they can. Some are ok, I’m sure, but speaking as a buyer we’ve had some viewings done by owners that were excellent, and some that were terrible. Equally some agents have been good and some have been dismal. I’ve encouraged all viewers to have a look around while I leave the house, that seems pretty common sense.

    We saw one listed with a local agent where the owner wanted to show us around, so the agent hung around awkwardly by the front door while the owner did a horrific viewing, very weird. Another one was the local agent, but the owners were both in, and just sat in the living room reading the papers, they didn’t offer to move or anything.

    It was something we weighed up, and I wouldn’t do the viewings myself if we instructed a local agent, but an Emoov “consultant” would never have ever been to our village, let alone seen the house, and that makes for a shit viewing IMO. Nearly all of our viewers have asked what the neighbours are like, what’s the parking like, and I can give honest answers. A local agent can have a reasonable stab, an online vendor’s representative won’t have a clue.

    DezB
    Free Member

    How about an agent that has their properties listed on all the usual websites (zoopla etc), but don’t charge you to fund their (admitted amusing) TV advertising?

    I haven’t sold with them, but I bought my house from Property Eagle (found it on Rightmove)

    Fees look lower than Purple Bricks @ £399…

    paulneenan76
    Free Member

    Could be crap but it might be worth looking at this to check and balance, OP.  https://bestestateagentguide.co.uk/

Viewing 32 posts - 1 through 32 (of 32 total)

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