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Original poster

Would a house being sold through on line estate agent put you off?

47 replies

sunshineandhappy · 30/09/2014 12:52

I've had my house on the market for 3 months with an online agent. I'm happy with the details, and the photos are lovely. It's a modern house, but I'm getting no viewings. My neighbour sold an identical house in less than a week, for £2000 less than my asking price. Since mine has been on the market, 2 identical houses to mine, less than 100 yards away, have come to market and sold, for the same price. I didn't even get a viewing! I'm on rightmove and zoopla. Is my choice of estate agent really the only thing that's putting people off?

OP posts:
littlemonster · 30/09/2014 14:00

Not at all, its only the house I'd be looking at. The house I'm living in at the moment was being marketed by the owner which was the worst possible scenario imo but, it was the house we wanted so was what we had to deal with.

Is your house absolutely identical ? Ie same standard of decor, same quality kitchen, bathroom, same outlook etc. In my experience if there are several very similar houses available people become extremely picky.

Our first flat was in a large flat complex in London. Flats came on the market fairly regularly and some just sat there because buyers would sit and wait for one with a better kitchen or flooring or whatever, even though they all started out 10 years before with the just about the same everything.

AnnOnymity · 30/09/2014 14:48

Yes, tbh. I'm only likely to view if I'm really, really keen rather than on a whim. And our last two houses were ones we bought after viewing on a whim (didn't really fit what we thought were our key criteria).

ThunderboltKid · 30/09/2014 17:15

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn at poster's request

HaveToWearHeels · 30/09/2014 17:33

Yes would put me off. We have purchased quite a few over the last 10 years and with each purchase the input from the Estate Agents has been invaluable. I don't think you would get this from a online agent so would be doing all the chasing etc yourself. I know the agent works for the vendor but they also have all contact details of sellers/solicitors etc they really can help close a sale and even rescue one that's going tits up.

titchypumpkin · 30/09/2014 17:35

Wouldn't put me off at all as the buyer, we viewed whatever houses came up on rightmove that we liked, didn't care what kind of agent they were with, if you're interested in a house you're interested.

FrontForward · 30/09/2014 17:36

No it wouldn't put me off.

OneStepCloser · 30/09/2014 18:02

Nope wouldnt put me off, sold one on-line very quickly, and am going to use them again soon. My neighbour sold her house within a day last week using the same on line agent, thank god it worked as we recommended them to her.

Most people use Zoopla/Rightmove now, rather than pounding the streets of EAs.

Its odd that your getting no viewings though Sad

Original poster
sunshineandhappy · 30/09/2014 18:46

Thanks all, an interesting split! I am doing it to save money, only because I couldn't see what the local agent offered to justify the extra £1200 in fees. I'm a little surprised that people might think I would cut corners in my house though, I look on it as getting the best value. My house is 4 years old, I bought it new, I've re- painted, landscaped the garden, very similar to the identical properties on the market. I'm not bothered at all who is selling a house I'm interested in, but I'm starting to worry that it is putting people off from coming through the door. The agent I'm using seem ultra professional, certainly more so than my local office who always seem to be out of office, don't answer the phone etc. I guess I will have to bite the bullet and go with them if I can't sell, but this is the third time I've sold, and I've never been impressed with any agent I've used previously, so I do begrudge giving them thousands.

OP posts:
Soonish · 30/09/2014 19:15

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Soonish · 30/09/2014 19:16

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BackforGood · 30/09/2014 19:21

Wouldn't put me off at all - no interest in who the estate agent is if I'm the buyer.
Do you have a board as well? There are a LOT of people that know which road(s) they want to buy in, and drive past to see what's on offer.

I suppose there's always the possibility that an Estate Agent has people waiting, and that on-line estate agents don't ? I know nothing about this, am just speculating.

HaveToWearHeels · 30/09/2014 19:33

A lot of you saying "everyone just looks at rightmove" yes that is true but if you ring to make an appointment and get a lack of interest (as I have done) I just move on the next property.
A "proper" agent justifies the money by the service they give AFTER the sale have been agreed. As per my previous post they have access to both buyer and sellers solicitors and sometimes others in the chain, a good agent can save a chain from collapsing and it is in his interest to do so, unlike an online agent.
We purchased a property back in December, we were bottom of the chain (BTL) buying off the most unorganised, unmotivated seller with one collapsed chain under his belt and close to loosing his purchase. If it hadn't been for his agent history would have repeated it's self. He earnt every penny of his commission.

enriquetheringbearinglizard · 30/09/2014 19:34

Wouldn't put me off.
The last place we purchased was on with an online only agent.
It was on Right Move and on their own site and had a board outside.
When we viewed the Agent accompanied and they answered my queries by phone and email.
The only difference was that there wasn't a physical office to go in to.

That said, as buyers we were extremely focused and proactive and the agency is a one off local one not based too far out of the search area.

Are you happy with your photographs?
Could you consider if they'd promote and Open Day for viewings?

FrontForward · 30/09/2014 20:42

I have recently sold. On looking to buy I searched on Rightmove, prime location and zoopla.

One house I went to view the agent did not arrive. I was left waiting half an hour whilst they tried to locate her. I was so pissed off in the end I left and refused to go back. That vendor was paying probably about £3000 to their agent

Another property the agent immediately warned me off the property saying it had a very small garden, that's ok I want a small garden I say. Hmm it's always in shade he says.

I was gob smacked. These agents are earning a lot of money for selling houses. I am not impressed

LeftRightCentre · 30/09/2014 20:47

No.

Pipbin · 30/09/2014 22:04

It wouldn't put me off, but I think that a high street agent does do more to get viewing and get feed back from people who have viewed.

Original poster
sunshineandhappy · 30/09/2014 23:04

I'm interested to know how a local agent can drum up viewers, ones who are actually interested. I've had feedback from my viewings. I am genuinely interested, I'm desperate to sell, my house is the same price as the others, yet the more expensive one sold. I really don't know whether to move agents or not. I've had the open house suggestion. How does that work, if there are no viewers? Where do I find them?

OP posts:
MindReader · 30/09/2014 23:12

soonish, I have pm'd you about the company beginning with S as I was about to use them and now I'm a bit worried...

CantSleepWontSleep · 30/09/2014 23:17

Does you listing on rightmove have a floorplan with it? Lack of those puts me off viewing properties that I might otherwise have gone to look at.

A lot of the online agency ones that I've seen have had terrible photos. You think your photos are good, but would someone unbiased think the same?

I viewed one property through an online agent, and afterwards I would get email updates from them about properties that I might be interested in. One of them was c300 miles from where I was looking!

Would you post a link to your property so that we can offer more specific constructive advice?

Princesspond · 30/09/2014 23:19

No it wouldn't put me off, our current house was on with an online agent only. I actually preferred it, meant we had a better relationship with the vendor and when something went tits up on completion day, that relationship was very handy. We sold our house through a high street estate agent I didn't feel we got much for our money, unless you count being hassled to move to rented accommodation so we didn't lose our sale.

Pipbin · 01/10/2014 06:25

I'm interested to know how a local agent can drum up viewers,

We sold when we changed agents and the agent had someone she knew was looking for a house like ours.
Our agent was brilliant. We went with her because when we registered as wanting to buy she kept phoning us with stuff that had just been taken on.

TheBiscuitStrikesBack · 01/10/2014 06:46

Our flat was on the market with an internet company for 8 weeks and we had no viewers, put it on with an estate agent and it sold within a week.

Soonish · 01/10/2014 06:46

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Soonish · 01/10/2014 06:47

OP - the answer is in the fact that a local agent knows the area, knows who will want to buy there, has local people on their books already, probably folk who have asked them for properties in your street, and are waiting to view such properties - people who missed out on the other ones that recently sold, and so on and so forth.

Most properties I've viewed have already had viewings before they made it to rightmove/zoopla, and I've seen a lot which were shown to me before they were advertised on the open market.

This is how it works and the non local agent won't have access to any of that.

Soonish · 01/10/2014 06:51

Also I think a lot of people see it's a remote agency and think 'why?'

I got told by one that their vendor had had to move quickly up to Scotland, so used an agent midway between (Manchester - we're in Kent!) which made no sense at all to me, but any further questions I had (it had been on the market for MONTHS) were met with stony silence and it felt really uncomfortable.

I cancelled that just on the basis of the vendor apparently having done a runner and the price being really bloody low.

Months later I viewed it with the new agent (a local one) and it was a strange house but I am sure they sold it much quicker. They could also tell me about the village, where I ought to park etc.

Many of them use a local agent to show you around, but the weird ones in Manchester (not Springbok - someone else, can't recall the name) refused to tell me who the local agent was or which company they worked for.
It felt like I was dealing with MI5.

I couldn't get off the phone fast enough tbh. Just bloody odd.