Should we use a cheap online estate agent?

[Dogsallovertheplace]

The fees are so much less than usual, we've had local agents out and it's thousands, online are hundreds. Not sure it makes sense to go with them though, you pay the fee before they sell the house so what's their incentive to push for sale? Apart from that they look good. It's the upfront fee thing I'm not sure about. Any experience anyone?

I've found them very good, I think they work hard because they're quite new businesses at the moment and trying to succeed. Only thing is you have to do your own viewings.

We went with eMoov who were fab. No upfront costs, they get you on rightmove and handle all enquiries. We'd never go back to a traditional estate agent.

Thanks both, I'll have a look at emoov, I thought the fee was upfront so that's good news

We used Housenetwork, and sold our flat pretty quickly.

The thing is, with traditional agents, the idea is supposedly that because they're getting a commission, they'll work to get the best possible price for you. But actually, if you look at it purely in terms of money, how an agent makes the most money for themselves is to close the deal as soon as they can and then move onto the next sale. It's not in their interests to spend ages negotiating about price, as a few grand difference doesn't equate to much commission for them.

Using an online agent, on the other hand, means you can price your property competitively. Say your house is worth £2.5K. Well, if you used a traditional agent at, say, 2%, they'd be taking 5k fees.

That gives you an extra £4.5k (approx) to negotiate with, that people using agents don't have. That's how I see it anyway.

We used emoov too. Sold our house faster than others on our street two were with traditional estate agents. I think the key is to make sure you're priced realistically, most people look online now so which estate agent you're with is much less important than it used to be.

Tips on showing yourself: show them round once yourself, then let them have a look on their own and you stay out if the way. Tell them you're going to do this before you start.

This because some people find the owners being present off putting apparently. (Personally I liked it as we could get better info e.g. on local schools from owners than agents)

Only if you are in a good market where you are likely to sell. If you live somewhere that is not on the up the you definitely need a good high street agent.

My parents used housenetwork and found them very good, sold for a good price etc. We are in the process of using them, so far have only had our photos taken but found them very professional and excellent. The only difference really is you have to write your own information about the house (they do start you off) and do viewings, but we actually prefer this. As long as you are confident at doing viewings and know the price you want/can get, it can be much better.
We have just bought a house with a local estate agent and found them rude, difficult and nearly lost the house due to ridiculous sealed bids, lies and underhand tactics. The whole thing has been really stressful. We ended up going directly to the vendor and finally secured the house. It puts me off having anything to do with traditional estate agents and I would massively resent having to give 1.5% to them!

We used House Network and they were ok, not great at communicating and I wonder if they did their best for us in terms of getting the best price as opposed to just getting a sale.

We also used an online conveyancer who was useless and whose procrastination lost us our first buyer. C o n v e y l a w if you're interested.

We also had a rubbish online conveyancer, I would be very wary of using one again.

Again, sold twice using online (hatched) no problems. Obviously you need to be ok doing viewings and helping them with the listing wording See they don't have local knowledge. Poor experience with online conveyance.

sold very fast at good price using housenetwork, very impressed, and we wouldn't sell any other way again.

BUT, assume you are doing it all yourself - the valuation, the blurb, the viewings, the negotiations on price, the negotiations with other agents when you are in a chain and it starts going tits up. Housenetwork officially do all of those things (other than viewings) for you, but in reality, if you want to be successful, you'll need to do them yourself. We're control freaks, so this was perfect for us - you are basically paying to get on to rightmove.

Speaking as someone who works for an EA, there are a lot of things that EAs do that the onlines won't. It works for some people like eskinosekiss who want control, but it is not for everyone.

Things to think about:

Buyers don't always feel happy to be shown round by the owner / negotiate as you may be offended if they say "well we think the bathroom is dated and will cost £3k to replace" for eg, so some people would rather walk away than discuss it with you whereas the EA is a buffer and will act on your behalf.

Will you be happy with showing complete strangers around your house? Some people feel very vulnerable about this.

The buyers will have your phone number / e-mail address, are you happy to be telephoned at all hours / ranted at when things don't go to plan? For that matter are you happy to give out your contact details to all and sundry who may ask to see the house.

An EA will probably have a pool of buyers on their books that are interested in properties, they will know their situation and be able to recommend who is best place to proceed.

An EA will get all the buyers mortgage offer info, will you feel happy asking for this and will the buyer feel happy giving it to you?

Will you be able to list the property well and take good photos? A good EA will use a decent wide angle lens to take a shot of the whole room with decent exposure etc etc to make the most of it, snapping a pic on your smartphone won't do.

Could you maybe find a halfway house solution? Use an EA that will do the bits that you want them to and not the bits that you don't and will agree an appropriate fee?

The online EA will do most of that, 500smiles, you don't need to give buyers your own contact details, they go through the EA, who also sort out who has a mortgage etc. They also take good photos, and made a floor plan. Basically they do everything except show people round, but charge several grand less.

500miles I think maybe you've misunderstood? What you're talking about seems to be going 100% DIY, rather than using an online agent.

Our online agent (Housenetwork) was open to book appointments 24/7.

The online agent got the mortgage info from the buyers ans dealt with all of that.

The online agent took brilliant pictures and did a great floorplan.

The buyers did not have our number or email, they spoke to the online agent, who in turn made the appointments with us (usually with the buyer on hold on the other line, so it was done quickly). Actually though we chose to swap numbers with the actual buyers, so throughout the sale we could communicate directly with each other on things like "would you like the sofa"? and "have sent paperwork to solicitors". We both agreed it was a much more civilised way to do things.

An online agent is the halfway house!

There are plenty of examples on here when an online agent isn't the best option. One of which is running now. If you use an online agent be absolutely sure you are in a good are where property is likely to sell. Otherwise, you need a local agent. No point in using an online agent hundreds of miles from your home when they know nothing about the local area, schools, transport etc.

"No point in using an online agent hundreds of miles from your home when they know nothing about the local area, schools, transport etc."

But you show the buyers round, and presumably you know about the local area, schools, transport etc possibly better than most agents. I don't understand what the problem is here?

So a potential buyer calls asking about the house and local area, what will an online agent know? Not every buyer moves within area. Lots move from another area and have realistic questions such as the local schools, nursery, transport links, clubs etc etc.

I'm with wigglylines on this one. The only thing an online estate agent does not do, which local ones do, is show viewers around. And even then you are lucky if a local one a) picks up the phone b) has an available time slot in the next month and c) can answer any questions remotely about the house they are showing to people.

And most people can easily find out about local schools, crime rates, transport links by the mere touch of a button these days. If I called a local estate agent now and asked, "Do you think this house is near good schools?" I'd probably get the Saturday girl going, "Errrrr. yeah....errrrrrrrr"

Worth a try. Tend to believe that estate agents charges are way over the top. Many years ago, when young, worked for for estate agents. I remember thinking it was money for old rope. However, always go for a really good solicitor. Good luck and make sure you are not alone when showing strangers around house.

Fair enough Rita but you are on the market with an online agent that isn't doing enough for you ( I don't think) which is why you have a thread running at close to 200 answers full of advice - mainly bad photos and bad agent.

Sorry to be brutal but online agents do not work in all cases. I am a very experienced agent and have seen lots and lots of properties such as your stuck because they need a local agent.

We're in the middle of moving, we have sold through a traditional estate agent but are buying through an online one, express estate agency and from our side its not been an issue. Our offer was accepted in the first week, all communication through agent but shown round by vendors which was fine and meant we got to see it on a Sunday. We are having loads of issues with our agent and are resenting the money we will have to pay on completetion and have decided if our sale falls through, again, we will go with an online one.

Ooops, brain obviously addled by the move! We did have to pay at the beginning - d'oh! Definitely worth it though. Good luck