Any tips for dealing with Purple Bricks?

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We've offered on a house, but unfortunately it's with Purple Bricks ... who seem to be just a call centre, where no one knows anything about the properties. I'm dreading dealing with them. Has anyone had an OK experience buying via Purple Bricks? Does anyone have any helpful hints?

We sold with purple bricks 8 years ago …we actually sold and completed in 3 months and got our asking price so can’t complain….BUT I agree it’s a nightmare system really ( we did it cos it was cheap at 795 quid !) …I remember everything being via message …..neither us nor the buyer ever spoke in person to the agent …..so I wish you luck 🍀

I work for an estate agent doing sales progression and I hate it when purple bricks are in the chain for the exact reasons you’ve said. Once the matters with the solicitors it isn’t to bad, pick a good solicitors, maybe try and get the number for the seller so you can liaise directly if needed, purple bricks are only really involved in the marketing so you shouldn’t be to bad

@Kitkat1523 @Mumtum88 Thanks! We have got a number for the seller, so that's good.

Hi, I haven’t used purple bricks but have used another online estate agent. They are only used for the marketing of the property. You should receive the seller details from the online estate agent and then you liaise direct with the seller. Once both solicitors are appointed they just take over. It is honestly no more difficult than dealing with a high street estate agent. Some online estate agents will even deal with the offer stage before it gets to the solicitor. Hope it all goes well for you.

What @Susanap said.

I successfully sold through PB within weeks, and so did three other people I know. All went smoothly and all the houses went for more than high street agents suggested. A real benefit is viewing times are usually flexible (online diary the viewer can access) with weekend and early evening viewings available if you're happy to do your own viewings.

Once an offer is accepted it's vital to swap contact details so you can communicate directly with buyer / seller which really helps to keep a chain together. Have your solicitor's details to hand too, so you both know who is doing the conveyancing.

High street agents like to rubbish PB and other online agents, but our experiences have all been positive.

High street agents like to keep buyer and seller apart which can make things very difficult, and seriously threatened the chain in our case. Only once I tracked down the buyer (he'd told me where he worked) and contacted him directly did it start to go smoothly - the agent had been trying to fleece either party for add-on electrical and other upgrades (which they take a cut from the referral) which we and the seller knew weren't necessary, and they certainly hadn't asked for.

With PB you can do your own photos and write your own property description, often producing a more professional ad than a high street agent would do - if have an eye for presentation and a decent phone, and can write reasonably well, it's a much better system all round.

You just have to pay around £400 for the Rightmove listing, which is basically the shop window. The rest is up to you.

Long time mumsnetter. I do not work for Purplebricks!

@Susanap @namechange1thistime Many thanks. That's very reassuring.

Nope. Their solicitors are shit and eternally frustrated mine.

When we pulled out of the purchase they disclosed our recent search history to their client, who then asked me about it.

They then ignored all emails about data protection.

Its best to just use the online estate agents for advertising on Rightmove, zoopla, etc but then use your own solicitor. I would never advise to use a solicitor with a high street estate agent either. Not sure why people say they have problems with online estate agents as they offer the same service as high street ones minus the extortionate fees high street agents charge. From personal experience once a buyer finds your property on Rightmove most estate agents expect you to conduct the viewings anyway and then the solicitor takes over. It’s the main portals online that find you a buyer not an estate agent.

I appreciate everyone’s experience is different @Susanap but I’ve never conducted a viewing myself and I’ve sold several properties over the years. I’ve always picked EAs that offer that service. They won’t be the cheapest ones but I’m willing to pay their fees because I don’t want to do viewings and my personal opinion is that it’s better if they’re done by EAs anyway.

Yes Twiglets1 everyone’s experience is different of course. I rarely had the agent conduct a viewing. Some even charge extra now for this. Some also charge fees if you buy with them for money laundering checks when this is done by the solicitor anyway,
I personally don’t think the extortionate fees high street agents charge justify what they offer when you can sell a property for a fraction of the price just so they can wait for a buyer to look around a house. You pay enough for solicitors and surveys as it is. It is so much easier to cut out the middle man and be on hand for the buyer with the help of your solicitor,

When I have done my own viewings I just let the buyer walk around on their own and then ask if they have any questions, most buyers like it as they get honest information about the house and neighbours where as estate agents don’t know, Whenever I view a house the estate agent rarely knows anything about the house or neighbours. I appreciate high street estate agents would strongly disagree with this as they are losing business with many online agents becoming very popular, but this is just from personal experience and from friends who have sold themselves with online estate agents.
They also send round buyers who aren’t even interested just so it looks like they are doing something, which is so frustrating. Where as you get to see first hand the honest buyers position before they view your house so it cuts out time wasting buyers. I would never use a high street agent again and haven’t needed to.

Fair enough @Susanap you have a different experience of online agents than me. I've never sold via one but have experience trying to buy via one and that was not a good experience as there was a local agent supposed to be showing us around but they failed to turn up for the viewing.

The risky thing about them is that if you pay fees upfront, they have less motivation to actually get the property sold than a traditional EA and less interest in solving problems as most high street EAs don't get paid anything unless the property sale gets to completion.

This is why I would not ask the online agents to conduct viewings nor would I use their solicitor. It actually baffles me that people still use High Street estate agents tbh.
The only reason you need an estate agent is to get you on Rightmove Zoopla, the top online portals. Your point about their lack of motivation? All they do is wait for the phone to ring from Rightmove? They have no magic wand to find you a buyer and let’s be honest, any buyer will be checking out new listings on Rightmove every day multiple times a day anyway. So they will find your house.
Once a buyer sees your house online they will come and view it regardless of which Estate Agent is selling. If the house of my dreams came on Rightmove, I wouldn’t care if a chimpanzee was selling it! I would definitely go and view it and if other people say they wouldn’t well that’s great for others like myself as I won’t have competition. The sales progress is done by the solicitor anyway so as long as you have a good solicitor ( they are worth their weight in gold )you don’t need the estate agent as they will take it to completion with you.

Times are changing and just like shopping is done online so is house selling, people will gradually get with the times and realise they can save a small fortune selling this way. I know it’s not nice for estate agents but high street shopping has changed to online shopping so it can’t be helped unfortunately. Maybe they need to revise their extortionate fees as otherwise the online selling of homes will take over. 🤷‍♀️

We sold with Purple Bricks, eventually, they were an absolute s**t show from start to finish. It would actually put me off buying through them, even if I liked the house. Honestly you just have to deal directly with the seller.

We must agree to disagree because it baffles me why people are tight in spending money on getting a good EA when selling the biggest asset they own.

Purple Bricks was sold to Strike for £1 in 2023 so that doesn't suggest the online model of selling houses is a particularly successful one.

Yes, we will have to agree to disagree. What do you mean tight? In case you hadn’t noticed we are in a cost of living crisis and we are not likely to get out of it any time soon.
Why would anyone sensible with their money want to throw £4000 to £10000 plus (depending on price!) away when they can sell it for well under £1000? That’s not being tight that’s being astute with your finances!
Plus this way you can also be more flexible with accepting a lower offer as you can pass your saving onto the buyer instead of giving it to an overpriced estate agent?
I would rather sell my house for £10,000 less so the buyer is happy with their offer than give it to someone I don’t need to.

As I said it’s the solicitor that does all the work which, let’s not forget, you pay for also, all estate agents do is wait for the phone to ring from Rightmove and charge you a small fortune!
Times have changed and it’s not being tight at all. It’s just a different new way to sell your home.
You go ahead and throw your hard earned cash down the drain. I would rather be classed as tight than just give away £10000 plus when I don’t need to and pass my savings onto my buyer!

My actual high street agent sold my property for £45000 more than 2 online agents said it was worth . I bought a property marketed by Strike. Strike twice’lost’ parts of the paperwork sent to them via their on line portal and lied to me and their vendor. Fortunately we both used local solicitors and liased together as buyer and seller.
Whatever you do use a local solicitor.

That’s correct both online and high street estate agents try to get you to use their solicitors. I would definitely not do this with either. I would also not ask an online estate agent to value your property. It’s very easy to find this out online with similar properties in your area. To be honest, if you had 10 Estate Agents round to value your home they would all come in at different prices anyway 🤷‍♀️ Also, High Street estate agents are renowned for overvaluing a property to get the listing and then they have to reduce shortly after.

I am saying that my local high street agent actually SOLD my property for £45000 more than 2 online agents wanted to list it at. A good, motivated local agent can be worth paying for if they genuinely know their stuff. They also vetted the prospective buyers very carefully and did all viewings and a professional photo shoot.
On line agents have never asked my financial situations before arranging viewings.

I’d never sell or buy a property listed with Purplebricks for all the reasons mentioned above. They sound a nightmare to deal with. When you are selling or buying a house, you should be able to just pick up the phone and speak to someone not send emails after emails and then wait business days for a reply when you need an urgent response!

You don’t have to! That’s your choice and I respect that.

Purplebricks may have a bad reputation, I have never dealt with them personally so can’t comment on them, but there are tons of other online estate agents now which have an excellent online reviews.

Take a look at high street agent reviews online and you will struggle to find many good ones.

With regards the valuations mentioned by the previous poster, I must add that I had 5 high street agents round to value my house and they differed by up to £100,000 in difference so I ended up doing my own research. Oh and they all turned up with previous sold house prices in the area as they told me this is how they reach their valuations, so you can easily find out a house value.

Online agents are just for advertising on the large portals, Nothing more, you can pay them extra but I wouldn’t personally use their add ons, just as I wouldn’t use one of the recommended high street agents mortgage advisor or solicitor.

Did your agent showing your home know everything about your house, neighbours and local area? I doubt it. They normally sub the work out to weekend staff who aren’t even from the area! Plus you have to wait until THEY are available to show your house.

Every viewing I had was from a genuine buyer, not someone uninterested and just sent round so it looks like the agent is working for their money.

I accepted an offer on my home and as soon as my solicitor (one I found and was recommended by other sellers!) was appointed they asked their solicitor for proof of my buyers funds BEFORE I removed my property from Rightmove. I am sure a solicitors vetting is just as thorough, if not more, than an estate agents.

Yes high street agents offer professional photos for their astronomical fee ( you should get a car chucked in too for the money they make!) you can ask your online agents to take photos for around £50 -£100 or find a photographer. Even if they charged me £200 that’s a lot less than £10.000 fee from a high street agent!