Purple Bricks

earth

Anyone ever used them to sell a property?

The basic fee is low but there are many up selling options.

I'm a bit worried about not having a photo in a high street window.

The contract feels like signing a deal with the one from the underworld. Once instructed you have to pay the fee even if you later decide you no longer want them to sell it. So there is the risk. Their service attracts few buyers and you cannot change to another agent without paying the fee. If you defer payment until after the sale you have to use their conveyancing service. So how do they maintain legal integrity?

Alternatives do appear at first more expensive.

lucan2

We went with a local estate agent who said that they knew they had to compete with PB, so adjusted their fees accordingly. You can always negotiate.

Pross

The only person I know who has used them refers to them as purple pr*cks (and is usually a very mild mannered non-sweary person). I don't know what their issues were but definitely not happy. I thought estate agent commission was very low and usually a fixed amount these days as a rule anyway.

rjsterry

It's one of the most expensive things you will ever sell. Why would you go with someone you are not sure about?

oxoman

My Mrs,s works in solicitors accounts dealing with house sales amongst other stuff and she hates them with a vengeance. Apparently it's normal for PB to forget various bits of the legal process or documentation to not be done correctly or even sent and when she has to sort it out with numerous follow up calls she can't deal with the same person all the time causing further confusion to sometimes complex problems. She agrees it's broken the high street monopoly and reduced estate agents fees but she still wouldn't use them.

Wheelspinner

They operate here too, although I don't personally know anyone who has actually used them either as seller or buyer. The (flat) fee is extremely low but to me that suggests they'll put in zero effort to promote or sell your place as opposed to any other, or even make much effort at all. If you have a half decent camera and a few web skills you can do an internet listing yourself which will get as much coverage as they offer.

The few places I saw listed through them locally all seemed to remain on the market a long time unsold, when everything else was snapped up. Coincidence? Unlikely I think. One a few doors up from us was listed with them for 3 months, barely any interested buyers came through that we noticed. Usual agency contracts here are that if unsold in 3 months you are free to change agent, no penalties. The owner apparently did, a new sign went up, and it sold in a week.

The last agent we used to sell our house was quite confident the presence of Purple Bricks was going to have very little impact on his business model. There's enough competition between the various agencies anyway that you can haggle somewhat now on fees/commissions, but his view was there was no way Purple Bricks was going to make any money unless they basically had zero sales staff capability. A subjective view of their results in my area suggests he's probably right.

mr_goo

We had our place valued by them, then by local estate agent. PB valued ours over £50k less than the local and this is key. PB claim that properties sell fast with them. No wonder.

slowmart

What MrG says

Online estate agents rely on sales churn to drive thief income which translates into low selling prices

We used a local estate agent, the fees are still expensive compared to online but you’re accessing local knowledge and experience in the housing market. We went with the most expensive agent, simply because of the quality of the individual and she proved that assessment right with her negotiations with the buyers.

Like you I wanted a physical shop window in town with a online presence with rightmove to ensure we covered both avenues.


You get what you pay for.

robert88

Mr Goo wrote:

We had our place valued by them, then by local estate agent. PB valued ours over £50k less than the local and this is key. PB claim that properties sell fast with them. No wonder.

TBF I had an estate agent do that. They 'sold' the place in seconds after it went on. I got more opinions and it still sold very rapidly at the higher price.

Lesson learned: always get several valuations. Estate AGents have some clients they want to please more than others.

john80

Traditional estate agents are a law unto themselves. If they have a chain of five properties they are trying to shift and your house is in the chain then they buyers they recommend are basically to drive these 5 sales. 5 sales commission overrules getting 10% extra for your house off a buyer in the chain as this is peanuts to them versus the five sales. Until you understand this when buying or selling a house you will look at their actions and think they make no sense when in fact they make perfect sense for their pocket.

orraloon

Don't enter into any dodgy, restrictive, favouring one party only contract. You know, be sensible and aware of implications and consequences of your actions.

earth

orraloon wrote:

Don't enter into any dodgy, restrictive, favouring one party only contract.

It's like joining the EU

orraloon

earth wrote:

orraloon wrote:

Don't enter into any dodgy, restrictive, favouring one party only contract.

It's like joining the EU

Ah well, if you are a Brexiter then of course you won't need any advice knowledge or expertise from anyone here, as "this country has had enough of experts" after all. So whatevs, go ahead, do your own deal.

earth

orraloon wrote:

earth wrote:

orraloon wrote:

Don't enter into any dodgy, restrictive, favouring one party only contract.

It's like joining the EU

Ah well, if you are a Brexiter then of course you won't need any advice knowledge or expertise from anyone here, as "this country has had enough of experts" after all. So whatevs, go ahead, do your own deal.

Don't worry I don't count Bike Radar denizens as experts in this field but despite that the opinions voiced did much to help me make a decision. Purple Bricks will have to find another host to drain as will the EU.