8 Reasons To Sell With Online Estate Agents

We have a new generation of internet using home buyers. With this new generation comes a new online sales market and the popularity of online estate agencies has exploded. But why are so many young buyers using online agents over traditional high street agents? What are the advantages to using online agents?

1. Save Time

Selling with online agents is quicker and easier to do. You can do it from your home computer in minutes. No need to visit any office or arrange visits from agents.

It’s simple, you just upload your photos and add a description of your property to the online agent’s website, then you can sit back and wait for the inquiries to come in.

2. Save Money

Estate agents in the UK charge anywhere between 1.5% – 4% of the properties price in house-selling fees. When you include tax, the typical estate agent’s fee could total around £7,680.

You could save over £5,000 with an online estate agent. For example, Purple bricks offer to sell your home for just £798, SellMyHome.co.uk offer just £550 and eMoov charges from just £395. So it’s a far cheaper alternative to the traditional high street estate agents.

3. Flat Fees

Standard estate agents fees are normally linked to the value of the property or its location. But online agents offer simple flat fees. So you’ll pay the same fee if you’re selling a £80,000 house in Newport or selling a £1,000,000 flat in London.

4. Cost Transparency

Standard agents may include extra hidden fees in their contract, such as marketing fees and hidden penalties for ending the contract early.

Because online agents have simpler flat fees there’s no chance of any hidden extra costs. The online agents will have a full list of fees online, so you see exactly how much you’re paying.

5. Use of Property Portals

Anyone selling or buying a property will be well aware of the main property portals such as Rightmove and Zoopla. Most of the properties sold in the UK are found online through these portals. Almost all estate agents rely on these portals to sell properties.

Online agents are no different. They all offer to advertise your property on multiple portals. Although they don’t have any high street shops, they can guarantee that your home will be seen by thousands of prospective buyers online.

6. No Exclusive Contracts

Be careful when you sign up with any estate agent, most of them don’t allow you sell with anyone else. They only offer sole-seller agreements that prevent you from switching to other agents (including online agents).

Online Estate Agents offer Multi-Agency arrangements. That means you can sell your property with as many agents as you like. You’re not restricted by a long term contract to just one agent.

7. You Have More Control

You remain in control of the selling process. No need to hand keys over to any agents, after you’ve put your property up for sale you’ll receive all the inquiries from potential buyers. You will be in charge of managing the viewings of your property. This makes sense, after all, you know more about the property than anyone.

You will also be meeting the potential buyers, so you’ll actually talk and get to know to the person you’re selling to in person. There’s no need to go through the estate agent middle man every time you have a question. You’ll be the one choosing the buyer, giving you further peace of minds.

8. Sales agents just aren’t needed

The value of the traditional estate agent has been significantly reduced. In the past, estate agents were the experts, they knew how to sell, the property’s previous sold prices, value of other properties in that area and current valuations. But now, anyone with an internet connection can get this information in seconds.

High street agents are increasingly reduced to merely conducting viewings. A recent OnePoll survey found that more than 79% of sellers are happy to conduct their own conducting property viewings. These days it’s difficult to justify the use of traditional estate agents.

Summary

People can easily compare and sell properties online without the hassle of visiting estate agents. The UK market is good and houses sell themselves anyway. If you’re selling a standard home, it makes sense to use online agents, you’ll save time and money.