PurpleBricks et al - for sellers

[TumbledownBricks]

Shortly, we're going to have to sell a house on behalf of an elderly relative who's entering residential care.

I've never bought, or sold, a house before. I'm looking at PurpleBricks and wondering if there's any reason not to go for them?

It's a grade II listed property, distinctly neglected (needs a new roof, rewiring etc.) but think it will be mortgageable. It's a house with a lot of potential in a desirable part of town and will certainly attract interest.

We've been quoted fees from a traditional estate agent of c. £8k + VAT - so £9600 (expensive part of the country). PurpleBricks, on the other hand, are only charging £999 inc. VAT flat fee.

Other relatives - who themselves haven't bought or sold a house since the internet was invented - are keen on the idea of a traditional estate agent, but can't / won't articulate why. Is there something I'm missing, or is a traditional estate agent really worth an extra £8600?

We are currently with Purple Bricks. We rang last Saturday, they came Wednesday, photographer came thursday and by Friday it was live on their website and Rightmove.

We've had one offer and 25 viewings requested in the past 24 hours and it's been amazing being able to sort it all on the app.

The photos were great, the estate agent was lovely. For him to do the viewings was an extra £300 but we think it will be sold in the week so just doing them ourselves.

I'd definitely recommend so far!

I've read so many posts about Purple Bricks being terrible I'd go with the traditional EA. But do get at least three to give their opinion on what it should sell for, how they'll market it and what they'll do for their commission.

PB are cheap for a reason and it's not because they give superior service - plus you pay upfront iirc so where's the incentive for them to work to sell the house for you?

The people most likely to be interested in a Grade 2 listed house won’t be looking on purple bricks. False economy. A traditional estate agent is going to actively sell the property for you and will probably achieve a higher sale price.
Everyone I know who has used purple bricks has said that the after-sale service is terrible

The main difference is a buyer through PB will make an offer & you'll accept or decline, a high street agent will use all their wiley/sketchy skills to extract more money, like lying about other bids or chain free buyers etc. So they generally achieve a higher price, usually enough to cover their fees.

Secondly the high street agent is motivated to make sure the sale goes through as they won't be paid if it doesn't & will be out of pocket for the photos, floor plans etc. PB already have your money so don't care.

Estate agents hate being in chains that involve PB because trying to get hold of someone to deal with things can be difficult.

However beware, doer uppers are very popular & developers often have agents in their pockets and give them back handers for hooking them up with properties with potential.

It's all a minefield, personal recommendation is best, independents with a good local reputation are probably a bit safer than the big chains but like any business there is good & bad out there.

No one looks on Purple Bricks though - they look on Rightmove and PB will advertise the house on there anyway. You need the house to priced right to be in the right price bracket and you want an experienced agent with good knowledge of the local market to do viewings (not sure if they can at the moment) and do sales progression once you have a buyer.

Have you looked at Doorsteps? Cheaper than PB, and without the Marmite reaction as far as I can tell (I keep seeing people on here say they won't view with PB).

We used Doorsteps last year and sold for over asking in less than a week. We didn't rely on them to move things forward after the offer, and didn't use their solicitors, but for getting a saleable house under offer they were brilliant.

Don't touch with a bargepole, from our experience. A close relative put her house (grade 2 listed cottage, v desirable part of the country) on with Purple Bricks and had a lot of interest, but it was the sales progression after the offer was accepted that was the issue. The whole thing dragged on for months and months and was extremely stressful. It got to the point where she would happily have paid several thousands pounds extra just to get the thing sorted more quickly.
A good EA pushes the transaction through the conveyancing process, which is crucial at the best of times - but particularly at the moment when solicitors are being so slow due to huge backlogs. Purple Bricks won't do that and you may struggle to complete in any sort of sensible timeframe.

It depends on your local franchise really. There are loads of hidden costs that you find out about later! Took us ages to sell with them too and wish we'd gone with a high street agent but other people have had a much more positive time

Rule of thumb is traditional EA. If you've never bought or sold a house, you'd benefit from a good traditional agency. However if the house is priced in a way that makes it look like a bargain to an inexperienced buyer - then it might actually be a good fit to PurpleBricks reputation which is something of a 'bargain' as well.

Our traditional EA has been worth every penny in terms of their role in sales progression. They've worked really hard for us chasing up our buyers and their solicitors, they are easy to get hold of, and been a pleasure to work with.

Finding a buyer is only the first hurdle; EA fees aren't just about a 'for sale' sign and a RM listing.

We sold MILs house using PurpleBricks. I have no issues with the Estate Agency part of their service, all went pretty well

Do not however under any circumstances let them persuade you to use their legal team to handle the conveyancing. They were truly awful and incredibly hard to get hold of. It was a very simple, chain free sale and it took months longer than it should have because the purple bricks legal people literally did nothing. Our buyer was so close to walking away because their solicitor could not get any information or response from ours.

Easily avoidable unnecessary stress. I would much rather have paid more for a local solicitor and would never go down the cheap legal route ever again after this.

Avoid PB at all costs! They are horrendous! Only ever seen positive reviews for them from sellers in cities like London with booming markets. 100% not for listed properties, you'll need a proper estate agent as lots of people dislike listed. Save the hassle and get a proper agent.

There was another thread on this recently

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/property/4208740-Experience-as-buyer-Purplebricks-Doorsteps-Yopa-Strike-and-other-non-high-street-estate-agents?pg=1

I really think it depends on what you’re selling. We sold our bog standard terrace through Purple Bricks and was absolutely fine. It was a straightforward house, in need of a bit of updating but my DH was off work and happy to do the viewings. Didn’t feel we would have benefited much extra from a traditional EA and got the price we wanted.

Also sold late MIL’s house, grade II listed in a conservation area, in need of complete renovation but potentially worth over £1m. Used a local EA who had an existing portfolio of people and much better able to sell something that was such a wreck and also needing to navigate the listing. We weren’t confident of getting the best price ourselves so preferred to use the EA and glad we did.