Beware headline grabbing offers from online agents!

Contemplating using an online only estate agent for the sale of your largest asset? Find out what happened to a couple we helped in Faringdon who were initially tempted to go down this route . . .

Mr & Mrs G were planning for their future and had decided to downsize to pay off their mortgage and release capital from their home.  This is a move they had thought carefully about over a couple of years, and with their only child now a teenager, decided that 2017 was the time to try.

Thinking they could save some money, they decided to instruct a prominent on-line only estate agent, prompted by their prominent televised advertisements.

They met with the agent who agreed a price, took some credible photographs and placed the property on line to attract buyers.  Then they waited.  A handful of buyers came through the door, but there were long periods of inactivity and their ‘local property expert’, whilst sounding professional and encouraging, could only promise that one of their viewers was still ‘watching’ their property.  There were no offers, and no second viewings.

Mr & Mrs G were becoming frustrated whilst they watched properties that were suitable for them to buy, come to the market and sell, and they were in no position to make an offer.  They felt trapped, as their fee to the on-line only agent would become due if they terminated their contract, and they likened the payment of that fee to watching money being flushed down the drain – they had nothing to show for their expenditure – all £900 of it.

Mr and Mrs G’s home in Faringdon

So why hadn’t their beautifully presented home sold?  It was located in a popular non-estate and sought-after area of their town and offered the flexibility of being a house, or bungalow, depending on the next owner’s needs.  The kitchen and bathrooms were modern and attractive, the windows and central heating all up to date, and the garden kept tidy.

Mr and Mrs G’s contemporary kitchen

The problem was that their agent did not have a database of buyers to work with.  They had placed the property on the internet – their ‘shop window’ – and were waiting for the buyer to find them, rather than proactively searching for that right person or couple to fit the property.

You see many buyers start their search thinking they know what property they want to buy, but not actually stopping to consider their essential needs.  There are hundreds and thousands of properties to search through online, and it is too easy to miss the ones that actually could be the best fit.

How did we make a difference?  With a local database of 1600 buyers centred around the same town, we were able to match by price and style, but more importantly than that, we knew which buyers to call.  You see we take an ‘applicant story’ from each and every buyer we register.  We understand what their most important needs are and are then well placed to help match them to the most suitable properties.

We called Mr & Mrs B, an elderly couple in their late eighties, who needed to move into the town.  Mr was ready to give up his car and they wanted access to buses, shops and medical facilities without having to drive.  They had seen but dismissed Mr & Mrs G’s property, as in their view the garden was too big.  Our trained Customer Managers persuaded them they would do well to revisit the property, and allowed sufficient time to help talk through all of their objections.  And what did it boil down to?  Hiring a gardener!

Both couples are now happily settled into their new homes.

Mr and Mrs G were thrilled with the service they received from Perry Bishop and Chambers Faringdon. Here’s their Google review, which clearly spells out the benefits of selling your home using an experienced full service estate agent:

“After straying from our usual safety net & making a brave decision to try an on-line estate agent to sell our property, we very quickly realised that there was a distinct lack of communication from our allocated agent & the viewings dried up quite quickly. Feeling aggrieved that no progress was being made & our ‘one-off’ payment period was coming to an end, we were convinced that very little effort was being made by the agent, as he was guaranteed his fee. Sale or no sale!

Thankfully, Perry Bishop came to our rescue & gave us some confidence that the market was moving & convinced us that they could sell our property, which had already been on the market for 5 months. We have used Perry Bishop in the past with great results, so didn’t hesitate to change agents. Sarah Benson & her team performed their magic & sold our house within a few months. The administrative support was there every step of the way. It was lovely to have some confidence back & a local agency we could pop into. We bought our new house through them too, so we had double the support.

There is nothing like the personal touch & would recommend Perry Bishop to anyone thinking of putting their house on the market.”