1 Star Review
Apr 17,2020
By:
'Mark'
Apr 17,2020
Branch: Solihull, Suite 7 First Floor, Cranmore Place, Cranmore Drive
Services: Sales (as a Vendor)
Would you recommend?: No
Postcode: SE20
Branch: Solihull, Suite 7 First Floor, Cranmore Place, Cranmore Drive
Sales (as a Vendor)
Postcode: SE20
8
people found
this helpful
I went with Purple Bricks for my sale because I thought that given my flat was right next to a station, with good connections to London - I thought that, given this would probably be of interest to first time buyers, as long as Purple Bricks stick it on rightmove and people are able to book a viewing, then it should still attract the same people that a conventional agent would attract?
To cut a long story short, I tried with PurpleBricks, but after four months and a £15k price reduction, two purchases fell through because of the delays in selling my place, and had to revert to a conventional high street agent who got it sold in half the time that it took PB to achieve nothing.
I've just now been charged the £2k for my PB fee (after 10 months you have to pay it even if they don't sell your property), for which I had no benefit and is therefore dead money. This is on top of the £6k I had to pay to the high street agent I went to afterwards, who actually did manage to sell it.
With Purplebricks I had a few viewings at first, but little of any note and a lot of time wasters that didn't turn up. Was recommended to drop the price by £15k which I did, but disappointingly this didn't bring any real interest. The delays in being able to sell meant that two purchases fell through.
I then instructed a regular high street agent, and listed at the same reduced price. Within a few weeks we'd had a few viewings but no major interest, they recommended dropping the price again and I had an offer that I negotiated up to £5k below the first reduced price. By that point I had to sell regardless.
What I learned was as follows.
PB tell you that commission is a bad thing. I'm not sure. What's so bad about it? All of the quotes I had from high street agents were on a fixed fee basis. So the difference for me is - conventional agents only get paid if they sell your property and are incentivised to get things moving. PB get paid regardless of what happens. Even if it doesn't get sold and you feel you have to go elsewhere.
My issues are mainly with the model itself. The agent / “local property expert” seemed a nice guy, but didn't have massive urgency to get anything moving quickly and I didn't see evidence that any work was happening to try and sell it. I also paid for the viewings support - which was a bit up and down. In general though, I lost confidence and didn't feel that there was anyone on my side trying to drive this forward. I felt often with PB that the process of booking viewings was a bit crap. If they make an inquiry on rightmove, interested parties get a boilerplate email to view the property on their website and book through there. Could seem a minor point, but you need someone actively selling your property.
While not a massive issue, I felt that the PB model shifts all the work onto buyer and seller, and is not useful if you may need a bit of selling (for example, if you lack kerb appeal or if the area is not hugely desirable). The approach in terms of viewing was often a bit cack handed and unprofessional.
I've tried to be balanced, but I've just wasted a couple of grand. If you're serious about getting your place sold, avoid PB and do your research on a good agent that knows your area. Yes it's cheap, but only if it works. It certainly didn't for me.
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