Online-only realestate agents v the High Street real estate agents

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Online-only realestate agents v the High Street real estate agents
We're reading a lot about ‘online-only’ agents who market properties nationwide. Their business model based upon taking instructions for property sales across the UK and using the main web portals to advertise on the seller’s behalf. Sounds fine. It will cost much less commission rate when compared to a traditional agents due to them not having to pay the labour costs and running costs associated with High Street premises.
The nasty business is that most of them claim to do the same thing as a traditional Estate Agency. There are lots reasons why this cannot be true. Looking carefully at the facts, it appears that by registering with an online-only agency who is trying to sell your property from a distance, you are effectively buying a ticket in the house moving lottery. Here’s why.Pricing: At best your online-only broker are going to have utilized Rightmove and also Zoopla as a price comparison guide. They are unlikely to have sold anything close-by and they certainly won't understand what the home a few doors away sold for the previous week. They might know exactly how much it was it was being marketed for but not what price it achieved. On a new-build development, they won’t have any idea how a particular style of property created by one builder compares with another and also the difference that this tends to make to respective prices. They won't know exactly how many buyers are seeking in a particular area and what their reasons are. They won't know what influence the local school has, irrespective of the Ofsted reports and how much this affects the price compared with a similar property in a different location. They won't know where the perceived rough areas are and which particular roads are affected by this, because not all are. In fact an online-only agent will not be able to provide any useful, reliable local information at all to a buyer. Without this information to consider, your online-only valuation is just a guess formed using very limited price data.
Finding a buyer: An established High Street agency will have an existing database of Clients who are looking to buy in your own area. The online-only brokers rely entirely on web portals to generate interest. They would have no information relating to someone who has sold a more compact house who may well want to trade up if the right property details are provided. There will be no cross-referencing, for example somebody calls about a particular home that is for sale and they can then be introduced to other properties for sale in the same area. An online-only agency does not necessarily cater for an more mature individual looking to downsize who may not go near a computer. Because there is absolutely no business office to advertise in in the area, there is nowhere for a potential buyer to call into for a chat. Some buyers like to pop back numerous times with an agent prior to making a selection about making an offer. A trained accompanied viewer can provide information that a seller may possibly not be able to. By being on the spot as well as available, the chance of a vendor getting not just any offer, but the best offer is seriously increased. The sale process: As we are talking about selling and not just getting an offer, it is really crucial that an office has adequate employees available to make sure that each and every sale gets the full attention required to reach a successful completion. If for example something adverse on a house search comes up, would an online-only broker have the necessary local knowledge to deal with it? It would be reasonable to say that very few of the issues that happen after a sale is instructed can be dealt with from afar. Conclusion: An online-only broker offers a reduced chance of an individual selling your residence for a reduced fee. The home valuation is going to be much less precise and as a consequence the agreed sale price may not be the best price that you could have achieved. You may possibly be asked for a listing fee in advance - an unrealistic valuation means that you will lose this fee if the house remains unsold. So generally in life you get what you pay for. A reduced fee means a reduced service. Selling your property using this cut-price method could prove to be a very expensive gamble.