Purple Bricks 🧐

[HmmmmmmInteresting]

Is it me, or are they just shite?

We've recently sold with them, sold on the first day of viewings and had multiple offers at asking price. We had nearly 20 viewings in total so I don't think us being listed with PB was a problem in terms of attracting viewers.

I think PB are a relatively safe bet if you have a house that you're pretty confident will sell easily. Our house is on a new build estate where we knew properties had sold very quickly through PB before, so weren't too worried. I know some other estate agents are now also offering no commission as an incentive and I think given the choice of the two I'd go with a local agent, none local to us were offering this however.

Pros - No commission, we liked the idea of being able to communicate with viewers and buyers directly if we choose to. Our actual agent has been really good and helpful so far.

Cons - Our agent's colleague (who did our viewings) openly knew nothing about the area or the house and actually told us she didn't need us to tell her anything which we found a bit unsettling/ off-putting. The app is buggy as heck. We've deliberately avoided PB solicitors as everyone said they take forever. The sale is moving quickly at our end thanks to our independent solicitor... Unfortunately our buyers were convinced to go with Pb solicitors so it's slower at their end 🤦🏻‍♀️

I'm so tempted to tell PB to shove the house up their arses, but the kids love this house so I won't (for now). I completely loved it too, but this whole thing ( just booking a fucking viewing) has been so convoluted that I actually can't even look at the pictures of it now. The 'property expert' is a simpleton who doesn't seem to understand how business works.

When this is done and dusted, ie. we lose the house or we buy it, Purple Bricks are going to get the worst review they have ever received. They are going to wish they'd never heard of this house. Because I honestly will never view a house listed with them again, so I'm willing to be blackballed.

you can't brush all online EA with one brush, just as you can't do with high street EA.
most high street agents weren't able to answer any question about the houses we viewed(boiler's age...etc).
I went with one even cheaper than PB, great booking platform, received instant viewing request and offers.
20 viewings in one day, over 10 offers.
if your house is overpriced or to put it nicely inadequate, it won't sell as fast as you wish.

@HmmmmmmInteresting
"When I bought my last house they were the agent selling the house my vendor was buying, and they were the ones holding up the whole chain all the way through."
most holdups are due to the legal things, once an agent finds you a potential buyer, there's little they can do after that.
I understand they liaise with other parties and they try facilitate the communication other than that, not much.
I did my own viewing, I could answer any question viewers throw at me, still in touch with my buyer after 6 months :)

I used them and had no issues. I used the agent to do the viewings and negotiation. Agent even negotiated my onward purchase. I couldn't recommend them more highly. Just don't use their conveyance service

@HmmmmmmInteresting

“No need to introduce clowns into the equation”

^ This.

I buy and sell a lot of properties. I’ve never once considered an online agency to sell anything of ours because a good agent really is essential to help turn an asset quickly. Yes Trad agents are expensive but the fact they don’t earn anything until completion day means they can be worth their weight in gold to keep a chain together to get to the finish line.

I just got a text from a 'property expert' all like 'Hi, just checking in to confirm our viewing tomorrow at TIME' after I'd already rejected the appointment time on the website. I also didn't actually realise they could get your number either.

If I see a house for sale using Purple Bricks red flags wave immediately. If the seller is too tight to pay for a proper agent, what else have they been too tight to pay for over the years?

NotCurrently Fri 26-Mar-21 17:55:20
If I see a house for sale using Purple Bricks red flags wave immediately. If the seller is too tight to pay for a proper agent, what else have they been too tight to pay for over the years?

Ridiculous non sequiter.....exchanged yesterday on a beachside apartment. My first experience of dealing with an online agent 'OntheMarket' (very impressed). Viewing, I could see immediately that the seller had high-end tastes. Offered - the agent who did the viewing - the asking price, before walking out the door. Seller was intelligent to know that the quality of his apartment would sell itself - and all he needed to do was to get it on 'Rightmove' - there was no need for an expensive 'High St' agent.

This is all good to know! Not heard much negativity about them before

@NotCurrently

If I see a house for sale using Purple Bricks red flags wave immediately. If the seller is too tight to pay for a proper agent, what else have they been too tight to pay for over the years?

Ouch 😂 Having just sold very quickly with them and at full asking price I can say that we definitely take care of our home. 😉 For us it felt like the smart decision given our house is in a popular location- why would we pay hundreds in agent fees and pay a % in commission on the sale price when for a one off lower fee we could still sell quickly and get to put all of that towards our next house!?

Yeah, I agree it's not a sign a vendor is cheap. I think PB have done a good advertising campaign. As evidenced by the person who just said they've never heard anything negative about them before. I'm guessing anyone who's never dealt with them thinks they're probably a decent company to try.

Some houses just sell themselves, so it's reasonable to use a cheap online agent. But when a complicated chain is involved, this is where a good EA comes into its own. The one I am using are wonderful. I guess this is why high street agents haven't died out yet.

OMG, PB are advertising on this page. The AUDACITY!!

Fuming 😂

More poor interaction with them this afternoon.

I'm really appalled at the 'property expert', but there's no point telling her that because she's the bridge between me and the customer and I get the impression she'd get rid of me without a second's thought and tell the vendor I dropped out.

I finally got the chance to view the house I have been after. Disappointingly, the photos make the rooms look much larger than they are. I don't see the point in that. With the house I'm selling, if anything, the house is nicer in real life than the pictures. I think there's nothing worse than being disappointed when you turn up to a house.

We viewed several houses with PB during most recent move and really liked the communication with the vendor themselves. I can't stand the convoluted arranging a viewing with high st agent where you ring, give availability, wait whilst they ring the vendor, get told they can't do it, offer an alternative date, again wait for agent to ask vendor, and perhaps eventually agree on a mutually agreeable viewing all through this third party! So much easier to book on the PB app.

We sold via PB last time as we knew the house would sell quickly and couldn't see why we'd spend three times the price for the same Rightmove listing, and that's all you need. Can't say I've ever had an EA actually help a chain along, they've made phone calls to ask what's going on but not done anything tangible to move it along.

My estate agents have been invaluable so far. Things have been slow at our end because we lost our house and had to search for a new one. They've fielded all queries from the buyers (bloody stamp duty making everyone extra anxious, and I do feel for them as we might have been able to make the deadline if our first house had gone through without problems but it's very unlikely now), managed to keep them in the chain and are keeping everything ticking over fairly nicely.

I couldn't have done with the angst if I'd had to deal with the buyer in person.

I'd just add in case people are misunderstanding how PB works, the communication doesn't have to be solely between vendor and buyer- your PB agent can act just as a traditional agent would. We went for a mix of the two which I feel has worked well for both ends- eg our agent handled all the booking in and showing of viewings (you give them your precise availability in advance so there's no need for as much toing and froing to get a time sorted). Offers are sent directly to the vendor which we also liked - we had a low offer from some ftbs which we politely turned down as we'd had another offer come in at full asking price. They then messaged us saying how much they liked our house and if they were to up their low offer to full asking would we consider them? We used our agent to help sort through our offers and communicate with potential buyers at that point. We actually ended up going with the ftbs as they were able to be far more flexible with dates than the other people who'd offered. Further down the line when we then needed to renegotiate our price due to survey valuation we handed comms back over to our agent. So you can liase with sellers/buyers as much or as little as you want to. I suspect a big part is how good your agent is, ours is great but I think whether you go with an online or a high street agency you take a gamble with how good your individual agent is!