Purple Bricks or High St Estate Agent? + Asking Price Strategy?

[Caroline147]

Hi lovely ladies,

I'm looking for help choosing an estate agent and deciding on asking price strategy. As we were first time buyers last time around, we're very new to the selling side.

Currently torn between Purple Bricks and a well-recommended local firm- please help us choose!

• Purple Bricks obviously appeals because it's a lower cost- plus their local agent has a lot of experience in the area.
• Purple Bricks are recommending going on at a lower price (£300k, with a guide price up to £330k), in the hopes of inducing a bidding war as we'll be the best value property of this type on the market. They valued it at £320k.
• The local agent have agreed to cut their fee to 1%+ VAT (this will still be nearly £2k over PurpleBricks though). They have valued the property at £325k, and are recommending we market at OIEO £325k. My concern is that we'll end up having to reduce the price and waste time by starting too high.
• The only advantage I can see of the local agent is that they already have some potential buyers 'on the books' - but doesn't everyone still check Rightmove?
• We did get a valuation from another agent who we've ruled out, and they valued it at £300k-325k too.

What do you think? We're planning to make a decision tomorrow, so we can hopefully get everything through before the Stamp Duty holiday ends. Thank you in advance.

I’m a solicitor and I’m afraid every PB property has been troublesome. They give zero shits about pushing things on or keeping in touch, liaising with the buyer and so on. I often end up doing their work for them, particularly at the end when they seem spectacularly dumb about arranging for keys to be released in a proper manner.

Any yy to pp who say if you use them make sure you use your own solicitor, their legal service is shocking, -though I guess I would say that wouldn’t I?!

Have you thought about Doorsteps?
I sold my house within a month for the full asking price, just under 400,000 and paid Doorsteps around £250 ( the extra 50 was for the priority thing on right move etc)
The photos were great and I did the viewing myself
The only draw back could be if you were in a complicated chain as I don't think there is much support following the actual sale

As someone who is currently viewing properties I would say go with the local agent. I have viewed a purple bricks property and am attempting to view another. As a buyer they are a total pain. My email box is full of emails arranging and re arranging viewings. If you are happy with all the online/do it yourself stuff then great but seriously consider how much it will put potential buyers off. I am purposely ignoring anymore purple brick properties because I sense that even if I found the right house I would be getting myself into a nightmare world of complications and faff.
Purple bricks may be cheaper but get what you pay for.

Don't use purple bricks! It's fine to get onto Rightmove but once your under offer they are beyond useless!

Like fatfacesellcupstoo, I would recommend looking at Doorsteps
Amazingly cheap and pretty much do what purple bricks do.
My relative just sold quickly and was pleased with customer service, speed etc

I wouldn't view a property on with Purple Bricks. They are just too inefficient. In a buoyant market they may find a seller quickly but are not there to chase through from sale agreed to completion which can be long and complicated, especially if there is a chain involved. Some local agents are poor as well but a good agent can be great.

@1starwars2 has your relative completed though? There's no issue with getting to under offer. It's managing the chain and having conversations with vendors.

Currently completing with no issues, I believe.

I wouldn't view a purple bricks property again. We viewed one and they were 40 mins late to the viewing, there was a queue of people, half of whose gave up. When they showed up they had forgotten keys so couldn't access the garden (a major selling point of the property) they told us to come back the next week whereupon they had forgotten them again. They had no answers to any of the very basic questions we asked. We gave up in the end. It went for around 20k less than comparable properties in the area so can only imagine we weren't the only ones exasperated by their ineptitude

The other thing my relative liked about her online agent (Doorsteps) was doing her own viewings - no extra people in the house, and knowing more about what was going on...
You are saving money by circumnavigating this bit of the estate agent process and dealing with buyers direct, although I think they do, do the offers, negotiation etc

I know too many people who hve been burnt with purple bricks havibg to pay the money upfront and them not being pro-active.

With a local estate agent if you are unhappy with the service or change your mind for whatever reason, you give notice and find another agent with no penalty.