Anyone used online estate agents recently?

[Sarahpd229]

I am about to try to sell my house.
Has anyone out there sold their home recently using online estate agents?
I think the savings you can make render it crazy not to seriously consider using them.
Purple Bricks and sellmyhome.co.uk seem to have the best reviews but they vary widely from site to site.
Anyones experiences would be so much appreciated. Thanks :D

I used HouseSimple (I assume a hilarious play on ‘How Simple’), £500 upfront and they send a guy round to take photos (with actually a very good camera, not a phone) and make a valuation estimate, and then it’s up to you to name your price, write your own blurb, add other photos if you want and arrange and hold viewings via their portal. They stick you on Zoopla and Rightmove, which is the main thing for getting people through the door.

We had an offer within two months and are halfway through the process now, hopefully exchange date in the next few weeks... the sales progression team have also been quite on the ball in regards to chasing solicitors and keeping me informed of each stage.

Basically, cheap and cheerful, and saved me £1.5k minimum in EA fees. The first EA I went with was shite too, didn’t give a shit about my little property and didn’t listen when I tried to tell her the selling points. Would’ve been money for old rope. I did a much better job!

Don’t go with House Simple solicitors though, they quoted us £2k+ for buying and selling at once, whereas a quick online comparison found me a £1.5k deal with a reputable firm within minutes.

Good luck!

I tried to buy via Purple Bricks recently. Made an offer etc. Was completely ignored. Couldn't speak to a meaningful person. No one even acknowledged me. until seller contacted me 2 months later asking if I was still interested as their buyer pulled out. By this time I was buying elsewhere. And I was not about to get involved with PB even though House was my first choice.

I'll never even consider looking at another PB listed properly. They aren't well thought of and my experience isn't uncommon.

My colleague went to exchange, then PB tried to get him into a bidding war with 3 other buyers also ready to exchange.

We had a great experience with PB. We sold within 2 wks of going on the market and it was great to have direct contact with our buyer.

There was definitely more emphasis on the buyer & sellers being proactive with solicitors and talking to each other.

It could also depend on the area?

I'd definitely use them again.

I sold through emove, perfectly happy with them.

MN did a product test recently Here

thanks for the feedback everyone, much appreciated :D
I have decided to get Yopa and Purple bricks in to do a valuation, and also 3 high street agents. (Yopa because of the mumsnet product test, thanks Backforgood)
That way I can tell the highstreet agents how much I like the deals with the online agents and maybe get them down in price, worth a try.
Houses in my street dont tend to take that long to sell, so fingers crossed it will work out.
Ill keep you all posted.