1) To those who are not familiar with Viewber how would you sum up what makes you different?
Viewber is a pay as you go service giving any lettings/sales agent, landlord, investor or property manager on demand access to many thousands of trained and vetted local people able to do viewings, inspections and more, anywhere in the UK. Viewber helps agents to differentiate themselves from their opposition, deliver on service commitments, retain staff and open up areas of the week, like Sundays, that have previously been dead time for agents.
2) Who can benefit from Viewber services?
Our focus is on property related services, so landlords, investors, property managers, estate/lettings agents and auctioneers. Clearly anyone wanting to extend their reach, given the service is UK wide, would benefit, and agents needing to fill in gaps in their schedules created by illness, holidays or staff shortages. Our Viewbers are local, so know the area well and are rated after every viewing on their feedback to maintain standards.
3) What is your top tip for sellers/landlords to make their property more appealing?
Stand in front of the property and imagine you’re a buyer or a tenant and ask yourself would you take it? Also, ensure your agent really is going to let people in when they ask.
4) How important are traditional High Street agents with more and more being done online?
Effective local knowledge at the end of a phone is still a vital part of moving home, whether renting or buying. All agents are effectively online but more and more compliance, advisory, legal and communication is being done digitally. The current generation of buyers are still somewhat old school, but my kids, now 25, will not want to conduct a property purchase with the existing status quo. It’s no coincidence that lettings is being far more affected by collaborative and clever technology as the average age of renters is smack in the middle of the tech enabled generation.
5) Where do you see the business going in 2019?
Viewber is expanding rapidly and we feel the High Street, lettings and sales, is finally recognising that as a dip in dip out pay as you go service Viewber can really produce a return on investment ROI, and can see its uses, so I see this year as the year of High Street take up. Self-managing landlords with huge portfolios are also finding what we’re doing game changing and many are beginning to see that having a UK wide on demand pay as you go service available when needed is something unique.
Ed Mead is founder and chief executive of Viewber.
https://viewber.co.uk/