online estate agents faq

No. We don't operate sole agency agreements, tie ins or penalty fees like High Street agents do. Feel free to list with us and a High Street agent if you like although they will only be duplicating, in part, our marketing coverage.

If you choose options 1, 2 or 4 your home is marketed until sold. Option 3 is a month by month deal where you pay for a month's marketing at a time. We do not charge renewal fees at 6 months, 12 months etc, like other online estate agents do. Watch their small print!

Our fees, which are typically ten times cheaper. Our opening hours, which are longer. And our advertising coverage across dozens of property websites attracting more buyers than the High Street can. Apart from those differences, we are estate agents in the same way as your local agent and regulated in the same way.

Well, pretty good actually, especially compared to traditional High Street agents. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors have thousands of estate agency members and they survey them each month to establish benchmarks across the UK. One particularly significant statistic is the 'sold vs for sale' ratio. This demonstrates the percentage of properties that agents sell compared to their total stock. Currently (March 2012) the RICS figure is 23.3%.

Ours is 27.2% which means that we sell more homes as a percentage of what we list for sale each month.

Our average selling time is quicker than RICS High Street members too.

With fees as low as ours, we have to cover the cost of producing the board and sending it to our local contractor to erect it. High Street agents do provide a 'free' board. But then they'll charge you £thousands in selling fees.

Yes. Everything on our website can be verified. All homes displayed as sold are either under offer or under contract. All testimonials are received by us in writing by genuine sellers. The Advertising Standards Authority now regulates websites for accuracy and honesty and ensures that claims are bona fide.

Not as such. Initial valuation visits are very resource 'hungry' and one of the reasons that our High St counterparts are so expensive. We can provide a 'desktop' valuation as a guide but realise that you will have a figure in mind in any case. Try it. You can always reduce your price later if need be. 

Yes, as long as they are representative of your property, we're happy to add them. We visit every home that we list for sale and will take our own pictures in any case. We can only rely on our own measurements and floor plans (standard) though to ensure that we comply with the Property Misdescriptions Act.

It's simply a case of economy of scale. We don't have the overheads of dozens of offices to pay for and we pass the savings that the coverage the internet provides us on to you. High St agents are the ones to question. How do they justify charging £thousands to do what we do for £hundreds?

No. The service and the advertising exposure that you receive is the same whether you choose options 1, 2, 3 or 4. It's just the balance between initial cost versus completion fee that is different.

We are an established firm of estate agents. We're regulated by the Property Ombudsman and have listed hundreds of homes for sale since we began two years ago. In any case, pay by credit card and you are protected under the Consumer Credit Act and would be refunded by your card provider in the event of impropriety.

Over 80% of our customers choose option 1, our £295 deal. Overall, it's the best value.

No. We contact you with viewings. We are not a private sellers' site and so do not just put buyer and seller in touch. It's you, the home owner that will show viewers your property, but we take the enquiries, arrange and confirm appointments, negotiate any offers on your behalf etc. Just like an estate agent, because we are estate agents.

You'll be looked after by a team. From initial enquiry, sign up and getting you listed live, you'll deal with the same person. But the home visit will be carried out by a field agent. Viewings and all future contact are dealt with by two to three other members of 'your' team.

Yes. We'll ensure that solicitors/conveyancers are instructed by both parties, a memorandum of sale is sent and then we will supervise and problem solve where necessary all the way up until moving day. 

Nope

Plenty. Testimonials and properties marked as sold are our biggest advert to prospective sellers. Demonstrating that the eMoov concept works, is really important. But estate agency isn't about pushing someone to buy your property. Because you can't. It will be seen by an audience of millions of potential buyers who will enquire, view and, if interested, will make an offer to purchase of their own accord. No matter what High Street agents might have you believe, estate agency is now a very reactive business. It's just not proactive anymore now that mailing lists have been replaced by property websites and email alerts. 

Yes. We're happy to honour any of the deals we have offered in previous months. A FREE EPC with our standard £349 plus vat deal, for instance.