Think Property, an established high street estate agency in South Essex, has launched a nationwide online estate agency offering a completion fee free house sale service for less than £400 from 01 April.
The move has been inspired by the belief that high street agents will no longer exist in three years, following the same path as many travel agents.
Think Online Property is also offering to protect their client's next property purchase should that purchase fall through, through no fault of their own. They will reimburse up to £500 in mortgage arrangement fees, up to £750 in valuation fees and up to £600 in lawyers disbursement costs and in if the client decides not to continue selling their current home the Think team will reimburse 50% of the upfront fee of £395.
The company says it is breaking the mould of online agents who up until now have not significantly shifted the property market. It aims to shake up both traditional and online estate agents with their new offer and one stop shop system.
With no completion fee, but including continually updated case process reports and text and email message updates, the Think Online team are looking to turn the tables on traditional estate agent methods with benefits promising to save sellers thousands of pounds in fees and charges.
Unlike other online agents who offer a minimal service, the only difference between the traditional estate agent route and this new online service is no presence for the sellers house in the estate agent window, a method rarely relied upon, it claims.
The £395 fee includes listings on all the main property portals within 48 hours, such as Rightmove, often the first port of call for over 90% of people when searching for a new home.
The fee also includes a full set of professional wide angle photos, full floor plans, valuation, negotiation between buyer and seller, full sales progression and a free wealth check and mortgage advice from the in-house Independent Financial Advisors team. For clients requiring surveys, a nationwide team of surveyors are also available.
‘As a high street agent we have experience of clients, their needs and wishes and feel that some estate agents have quite rightly earned a reputation for being unscrupulous and not always worthy of their fee,’ said Peter Joseph, founder of Think Online Property.
‘Similar to low cost airlines that changed the market with the introduction of online bookings, we believe that online estate agents are the way forward for a number of reasons. I would even go as far to say that the quiet revolution of online agents could kick start the housing market if these lesser fees allow sellers to reduce the prices of their house in order for a speedier sale,’ he added.
The company has also offered all of the properties currently on their books for sale in Leigh on Sea, Essex, the same fee as part of a pledge to improve the reputation of estate agents and hopes other agents will follow suit.
