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Strike estate agents

58 replies

ThisMustBeMyDream · 14/02/2022 23:31

Has anyone used them? They are free. Unless you want to pay for extras. The reviews say there is no hassle to use the extras (I've looked at them and I definitely wouldn't need them).
Has anyone used them, and got to completion for free? It seems to be a no brainer. I've got a house that should be easy to sell at a fair price. I don't see what work an estate agent will do that is worth a few grand.

OP posts:
ThisMustBeMyDream · 17/09/2023 22:41

Yes, definitely. My house went on RM on 27th March this year. It also did last year too. No charge at all.
I'm sat in my new house, having moved in 10 days ago. Totally free from Strike.

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ShitMermaid · 17/09/2023 22:46

Ok thank you for answering will email them tomorrow to check.
We don’t have much spare money after (hopefully!) moving house so if we could sell for less than 1k it would be so helpful to us.

ShitMermaid · 17/09/2023 22:58

They must have changed it. I did the online chat and asked them 😞

Strike estate agents
ThisMustBeMyDream · 17/09/2023 23:51

Ask them when it changed? It's very odd.

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Pemba · 18/09/2023 04:15

If it's free to list with them, how are they making any money, how do they operate ? Makes no sense really.

In today's market I would think you would want a proper agent and all the help you can get!

ShitMermaid · 18/09/2023 08:06

Our budget won’t allow the thousands for a proper estate agent. I wonder if Yopa are good? I will start my own thread to ask if anyone used them so I don’t hijack @ThisMustBeMyDream ‘s!

Twiglets1 · 18/09/2023 08:31

It’s a false economy @ShitMermaid especially in a difficult market. You need a really excellent EA not an online one to get it sold and even harder, get the sale to Completion.

ShitMermaid · 18/09/2023 08:55

Hmmmm I might need to rethink it then.
Thanks the advice 🥰, much appreciated.

Earhell · 18/09/2023 09:02

My estate agent has been the one who has held the chain together. Wouldn't be without him and worth every penny

Twiglets1 · 18/09/2023 09:19

You’re welcome @ShitMermaid

The good thing about traditional EAs is they don’t get paid until the house gets to Completion. So they have more incentive to still work hard even after the house is Sold.

ThisMustBeMyDream · 18/09/2023 09:22

So I used strike initially, but when the sale fell through (personal situation change of buyer 3 weeks after offer) I switched to a high St agent because RM wouldnt let it go on as a fresh listing. The high St agents talked the talk but ultimately were shit. I lost 2 more buyers with them. I switched again to a different high St agent who also were shit and that sale fell through right upon exchange.
That's when I went back to strike. They had it sold within a month at asking price. I found my onward purchase a month later, and 3 months later we completed. It was my most hassle free experience.

Whoever asked, as I have said previously they make money through upselling. But there is no pressure to use their conveyancing, or any of their upgrade packages etc. They say about 60% of people do which is where they make their money. Their website explains all this and is very transparent.

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ThisMustBeMyDream · 18/09/2023 09:22

And no, I don't work for them 🤣 I'm just sharing a good experience.

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Twiglets1 · 18/09/2023 09:41

ThisMustBeMyDream · 18/09/2023 09:22

And no, I don't work for them 🤣 I'm just sharing a good experience.

Are you sure?
You were previously claiming they don’t charge for a Rightmove listing when of course they do.

ThisMustBeMyDream · 18/09/2023 09:44

Am I sure about what? They didn't charge me for a rightmove listing at any point in the last 18 months of house selling. I've even posted my RM listing on here previously so you can check that if you like.

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Twiglets1 · 18/09/2023 09:47

ThisMustBeMyDream · 18/09/2023 09:44

Am I sure about what? They didn't charge me for a rightmove listing at any point in the last 18 months of house selling. I've even posted my RM listing on here previously so you can check that if you like.

I meant are you sure you don’t work for them? You started a thread just to promote them and claimed they don’t charge extra for listing on Rightmove

ThisMustBeMyDream · 18/09/2023 10:06

🤣🤣🤣🤣 If you searched my history you w9uld see I'm a midwife! Not an EA! I started a thread over a year ago to ask for experiences before I used them!

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Twiglets1 · 18/09/2023 10:14

I was being tongue in cheek @ThisMustBeMyDream
I don’t seriously accuse you of working for them but in a thread promoting Strike I think it’s fair to point out that they do charge for a Rightmove listing and they do charge for things necessary to sell a house in a difficult market like this one, such as professional photos & a floor plan.

These fees have to be paid regardless of whether the property gets Sold or gets to Completion or not, so Strike is a more risky choice as a Seller. Though obviously it does work out well for some people.

Plus many Buyers don’t like using online agencies as will be clear from lots of Mumsnet posts on the subject.

DepartureLounge · 18/09/2023 10:32

I don't know anything about Strike and I'm not selling atm so I don't care, but I've got to say I'm fed up to the back teeth of people extolling the virtues of a "good high street agent" when there basically aren't any.

Most EAs are part of chains that regard house sales as a necessary evil to access the core business of flogging mortgages and other financial advice, and couldn't care less about what your house sells for because the business as a whole values the cashflow and business forecastability of pushing through unremarkable sale after unremarkable sale more than it values the extra hundred quid they get from each extra £10K they persuade out of everyone's buyers. And my personal experience of independents isn't any better tbh, though I would rate them more as a buyer because of their local knowledge.

The fact is that most HS agents are at best a mediocre lot and are often useless, worse than useless, or positively corrupt. It's hard to know whether Strike/Yopa/PB etc can be relied on not to scam you, and of course as sellers we all want the coveted RM listing, but in every other respect I would say I could do a better job of selling a house myself without the 'help' of some undereducated wide boy variously failing to pass information on or alternatively just forwarding emails between buyer and seller unedited. It's pretty simple. You just take decent photos, make the place nice for viewings, be reasonable but not a doormat, communicate regularly with your buyer, prod your solicitor as often as you feel necessary, and make sure the money is definitely there before you take the place off the market. As an optional extra, have a word with yourself about the amount of aftershave you consider appropriate. More EAs than I can shake a stick at don't manage this simple checklist and many don't manage any of it.

If anyone really does come across a "good high street agent" then please, name them and let's all benefit.

ThisMustBeMyDream · 18/09/2023 10:34

I see, I've obviously lost my SOH in the house move somewhere 🤣.
I've never claimed that they don't charge for professional photos.
I can say categorically that we went on with them in March 22 and March 23 and we didn't pay for a RM listing. Which is all I've said. We sold for free, and was listed on RM.
I've had a look on the strike portal at the t&c and there is nothing about having to pay for a RM listing either 🤷‍♀️.

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ThisMustBeMyDream · 18/09/2023 10:52

I just messaged Strike and it seems that they have had a change in policy. They list on zoopla for free but charge for RM. I asked when this had changed and they said they didn't know.
I suspect they won't get as much business now if that is the case. I wouldn't have gone with them if I'd been selling now. What a shame as I won't be recommending them now.

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Twiglets1 · 18/09/2023 11:07

Savills were excellent when we sold my Dads flat in 2022 but I don’t normally name them @DepartureLounge I agree there are some shit ones out there too.

@ThisMustBeMyDream I googled Strike out of interest and in a couple of minutes found a reference to the fact they charge for Rightmove, photos & a floor plan.

Twiglets1 · 18/09/2023 11:08

Sorry @ThisMustBeMyDream we cross posted about Rightmove

BlueMongoose · 18/09/2023 11:13

You may lose some potential buyers. I;m not the only one here who won;t use online agents.
If the house was the only one that would do for some weird reason, I'd just drop a note to the sellrs that I was interested in a house like theirs but only if they used a traditional agent.

KievLoverTwo · 18/09/2023 17:02

@DepartureLounge

As an optional extra, have a word with yourself about the amount of aftershave you consider appropriate.

bahahahhaaha

So true. Why is it so prevalent amongst young, male EAs?

I wouldn't use Strike. My one experience with them this year was shit.

I'd be very loathe to buy a property via an EA that doesn't make a fee off the buyer really.

Tartareistasty · 19/09/2023 07:54

Twiglets1 · 18/09/2023 09:41

Are you sure?
You were previously claiming they don’t charge for a Rightmove listing when of course they do.

They didn't charge me for RM either

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