I have seen Purple Bricks for sale signs for the first time in my travels over the last week or so. I just get the feeling that in a pretty static market, the competition is quite fierce although PBs certainly seem to offer a competitive package. Sarah Beenie has a similar enterprise and it doesn't seem to have taken off nationally either. Don't like your local estate agents ? Andy
It's not so much in the fact that I don't like local Estate agents, and I have a couple that are my friends. But it's the agents fee that I feel is excessive, given that it is enough for me to buy a new 959 Panigale
We paid 1% with our last agent, they wanted 1.5% if they got full asking price. We dropped the price before it went to market for a quick sale. It was a Georgian stone cottage that was beautiful - inglenook fireplace etc, and (we did a bit of renovation work to it). Which I do in my spare time as part of my everything feels like work lifestyle. I've always used agents. For me personally when you start altering properties if you deal with the buyers direct they can start asking all sorts of silly questions and they don't often understand the answers or they talk to someone (down the pub) who pretends to know that they are doing (even about price, trying to work out how much money you're making) Which is irrelevant, if you add a bedroom / loft conversion / garage / driveway, m2 if the market value increases more than the cost of the work, that is the market value same as house prices increasing. After all, you could easily hire the wrong builders have lots of hassle and lose money. Some people are very suspicious, dubious or just idiots. I'm sure most on here have dealt with a few selling cars or bikes privately. It's one reason I stopped doing work for general public after a few years and started doing my own projects and investing. I did/do prefer working in industry for other professionals than domestically it's a real pain in the butt. Sometimes it is worth having someone take them round when you are not in (buyers often prefer this, get an agent that lets them walk round and is not constantly talking at them) they can answer silly questions in a way buyers feel reassured (as the agent is there to help both parties) and it means you are not dropping your self in the poo if you don't know regulations. Estate agents are great at saying I don't know or being vague genuinely because they don't know all the properties on the books that well. I will get back to you on that. They (should) know the answers about local schools, train stations etc. Helpful when it sells and the solicitors start asking questions. When was it wired? boiler replaced etc... all haggling points for price reduction. A good agent can reassure the buyers better than you can. The house is in good working order and valued correctly, the area is popular and good place to invest, they won't drop the price because it was valued higher by other agents, if you rewired the house in a few years it would not be up to date either. Unless a older house is gutted recently the best you can hope for is that aspects have been updated and when buying a character property, you pay a premium for character, updating a character property, removing original features incorrectly defeats the object of owing one etc...etc... Our last place was rewired in the 90's (thank goodness) Red and Black wire, fuse board had mcbs, (better than rubber insulation and re-wireable fuses) but no RCD. Most surveyors would pull this up as the lights in the bathroom were period items, not ultra safe by todays standards. The floor was bouncy, the floor/ceiling joists were a bit bent, period property.. The issue start when clowns come round with a half baked expert (a friend who is a DIY expert) who fills there head with poo. We had a full structural survey on our last place, which we did not have when we bought it,gulp. I don't even know what questions the buyers asked the agents afterwards but (they obviously had common sense) as it went through without a glitch. I made some money and was happy. The chain was managed by the same agent from top to bottom so it was pushed through, they made calls to us asking question, chasing paperwork, they had a shortlist of people looking for property in the area and dealt with specialist property. The cost was quite a lot of money on the last house but it was worth it in that case. We were also asked a question after the sale, about what service provider did we use. I rather have middle men involved, than have to receive phone calls direct. Luckily I've never dealt with very difficult (odd) people but I've met a few outside of work that would be a nightmare. The house I sold before that took 6 years to renovate (I loved it) it had no original internal walls and was a transformation, it sold for the highest price in that area and was difficult to value and the locals in nearby town would probably not pay the premium (it was inspired by working in some cottages with all the mod cons). So I used an energetic pro active (the type my anti social mum hated) to sell it to someone from a surrounding village or different area, who appreciated the open plan layout with the wood burner, the expensive fittings, inside a normal-ish house in a quiet area. A conversion into something kind of resembling a Villa. Not grand by some peoples standard but just different. If I had a new build on an estate that I had not altered, perhaps owned since new or had all the documentation that previous owners sometimes lose and it was a simple sale, I'd perhaps sell that direct. It's a personal choice. I guess you could give it a go first? As I've not done it I can't talk from experience. Good luck
A friend has recently sold her house through purple bricks no problems at all's You do the negotiating yourself directly with the purchaser which she said was better being less protracted that going through an agent. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
