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Property/DIY

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Original poster

Online estate agent (e.g. Purple Bricks) or local estate agent?

21 replies

pinkappleorpineapple · 02/05/2022 20:00

We are hoping to sell our house, and would like to do so relatively quickly.

DH is keen to use an agent like Purple Bricks but I'm not sure if a traditional local agent might be better? Or maybe it would make no difference?

It's a nice house in a fairly desirable area, good schools, close to outdoors type activities.

Any thoughts appreciated, thanks

OP posts:

bilbodog · 02/05/2022 20:03

Most people on here will tell you that purple bricks are crap.

get three local estate agents round to value and choose the one you like the best and also do your homework and check on line what similar houses in your area are on for so you have an idea of what they are likely to say before they come round. Dont price your property too high if you want a quick sale.

BettyForgety · 02/05/2022 20:07

with online estate agents do you have to take your own photos?

BigcatLittlecat · 02/05/2022 20:10

We have recently bought. We wouldn't even look at the details of a house that was on with purple bricks! We then ended up buying a house being sold by YOPA. Never again! We put an official complaint against them! Appalling service! You get what you pay for!

Tulipvase · 02/05/2022 20:11

We bought through PB two years ago. I nearly didn’t view the house as it was on with PB but I loved it so we did. PB basically don’t do anything once the offer has been accepted. We ended up liaising directly with our sellers, which was fine as they were nice but it could have gone horribly wrong.

We sold with a local agent and our contact was amazing, ended up doing PB’s job to keep the chain going. Exchange was delayed due to PB’s online conveyancer too so please don’t be tempted to use them even if you sell with them.

muddyford · 02/05/2022 20:12

Local estate agents every time. They will more than pay for their commission with the checks they do and the way they handle the buyers.

Meredusoleil · 02/05/2022 20:16

Don't use YOPA or PB. If you do use another online only agent, set it up so you only pay if the house is actually sold.

fucketyfuckwit · 02/05/2022 20:18

My advice is that it depends on how easily your house will sell.

Have others in your street sold recently? How long were they on the market? What is the demand in your area. Is it a quirky property on a main road or dodgy parking etc?

I know my house would sell in seconds as others on my road have very recently so would happily go to an online agent.

But if you are unsure go with a local agent.

ToffeeNotCoffee · 02/05/2022 20:37

*PB basically don’t do anything once the offer has been accepted. We ended up liaising directly with our sellers, which was fine as they were nice but it could have gone horribly wrong.

................ ended up doing PB’s job to keep the chain going. Exchange was delayed due to PB’s online conveyancer too so please don’t be tempted to use them even if you sell with them.*

This^

We purchased through PB. We would never sell though them. We did most of the, 'leg work' ourselves regarding liaising with the seller who was on the level and switched on.

There was no one driving the process, well it certainly wasn't PB.

MrsJamin · 02/05/2022 20:45

Remember the goal is to actually complete a sale, not just find a buyer. Local agents will get the best price for you and should have a good office team driving the sale - this shouldn't be you. Pb won't care if the sale doesn't happen, whereas local agents will. We wouldn't see a property listed with an online EA, it just wasn't worth it. Also I'd not want to do my own viewings, it's best that it's done by an EA.

Cookie79 · 02/05/2022 20:58

We bought our current house through someone selling via purple bricks. It wasn’t a positive experience and I’d not consider buying via that channel again. Ever.

To be fair our seller was a total nightmare though so others might have better experiences than we did. If she’d used an estate agent she’d have been better advised than she was (assuring viewers chain free and not going through probate to purchase a house on mortgage when the reverse was true). Sigh…

Probably a good option if you completely know what you are doing. If not, let the professionals do their stuff - it’s what they’re there for.

Twiglets1 · 02/05/2022 21:23

I would hesitate to even view a house through one of these online agents -,they really are rubbish! You have more chance of getting the best price & the sale reaching completion if you bite the bullet and pay for a traditional estate agent. Just make sure you pick a good one.

cloudcats · 02/05/2022 21:24

It's a shame as it wasn't always like this. I sold through an online agent ages ago, before Purple Bricks existed (can't remember the name now! It was nearly 12 years ago. There were recommended here).

The process was great, they took the pictures, I enjoyed doing viewings and they did liase after sale, just like a conventional agent.

They don't exist anymore though. I think I might have read they weren't making money.

I was all up for an online agent this time round also, but looked into Purple Bricks and they sound awful

mummabubs · 02/05/2022 22:48

We sold our new build through PB last year and it was really easy and fine (think it depends on how easy your house is to sell and whether you get good buyers). We'd already been forewarned however not to touch PBs conveyancing firm with a barge pole. Unfortunately no one told our buyers this and we had a really stressful time of exchange being delayed time after time due to their solicitor not responding. I was pregnant when we sold and all the delays meant I ended up moving at 39+5 and giving birth 2 days later. So. Honestly I have no issue with PB agents or the general selling process but their conveyancing service is utterly shit. If I knew a house was being sold through their conveyancing firm now it would be enough to put me off.

Villagewaspbyke · 02/05/2022 22:51

ive used purple bricks and they’re fine. Houses are pretty much selling themselves at the moment. As long as it’s on rightmove it will sell.

CorsicaDreaming · 03/05/2022 16:06

I've heard nothing but bad things about online estate agents. And several of my friends have had one / attempted to buy a property via one.

We moved recently and both our purchase and sale were dealt with by small, local estate agents. One a family run team.

They were both excellent - the sale became very protracted due to undisclosed easements and problems at the top of the chain, and I'm pretty certain it would have all fallen through without the excellent work of the two local firms who both really went above and beyond, and were very experienced.

CorsicaDreaming · 03/05/2022 16:12

Yes I'd also agree with the PP above - get a decent local solicitors firm to do your conveyancing.

Our seller had an online firm miles away and they were so shockingly bad I nearly reported them to The Law Society. I really should have done.

Original poster

pinkappleorpineapple · 03/05/2022 22:16

Thanks for all the input.
I found a comparison site for online agents ranging from ones which just get you listed on Rightmove and Zoopla and you do everything else (really cheap) to others that do more.

I think a traditional agent will probably get us a sale a bit quicker and maybe what we pay in commission will be covered by a slightly higher sale price.
We have a fair idea of the value of the house and are not interested in starting a bidding war, just getting close to asking price and a buyer in a good position.

I did say to DH that if we sell the house ourselves we might get more nosy time waster viewers and he's agreed we'll just use a local agent.
I do take the point that houses are selling themselves and it would be interesting as an experiment, would probably do it if selling an investment property or not in a hurry to sell this place.

OP posts:

lakeswimmer · 03/05/2022 22:27

We're in the process of selling and our local agents have been fantastic and helped us manage the overwhelming interest in our house which was stressful; we had to go to best and final and there's no way I'd have wanted to manage that myself.

We had Purple Bricks do a valuation when we were deciding which agent to go with. We came to the conclusion they didn't understand the local market and the price they valued our house at was really out of kilter with the local agents.

Kmj2018 · 03/05/2022 23:42

I purchased a house with purple bricks. No major issues as we were chain free so there was no rush on our end. But we definitely had to do all the chasing and it took far longer to complete than it should. We also had to re negotiate after the survey picked up on a few things. This was very awkward having to speak directly to the owners. I also believe the house was under valued. It worked in out favour but I believe if the sellers had gone with local agents they would have got a lot more for it and even a bidding war as the house is in a very desirable location where properties were selling like hot cakes .

Kmj2018 · 03/05/2022 23:44

so as I seller I wouldn’t use them but I wouldn’t have an issue with buying a property as long as I’m not in a complicated chain

Kmj2018 · 03/05/2022 23:47

@lakeswimmer totally agree PB undervalued our property by about 25k in my humble opinion

we knew the market very well as we had been looking for nearly a year at than point.

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