The PropertyEagle website said it is responding to demand and more and more people want to sell and buy without traditional High Street estate agents.
It says that it differs from most of its competitors as it feeds to all the top online property portals, including Rightmove, Zoopla, Findaproperty and Primeloaction.
The website is the brainchild of estate agent Tom Lodge, who realised the future of property was online and not on the High Street. ‘We’re so accustomed to looking for a home to buy online that it’s the logical next step to start selling online as well. We offer every service an office based estate agent would, bar the accompanied viewings but at a fraction of the price of an estate agents’ fees,’ said Lodge.
According to Lodge there are substantial savings involved. He said that with most estate agents charge between 1 and 2.5% of the property’s value plus VAT and with the national average home now costing £238,874, the average fee paid for selling a home at this value would be £5,016 including the VAT. But the website charges a fixed fee for which the property is advertised online with the major websites.
‘We are a true online estate agency, with none of the overheads of a typical high street estate agency, that’s how we can offer our fixed selling price. All our visiting staff are experienced estate agents who can offer property valuation guidance and advice,’ explained Lodge.
He added that a member of staff will come round and explain how the website works and will answer any questions. ‘Once instructed, they will take photographs and measure rooms to create a floor plan. An informative set of digital property particulars are then created and fed to all the leading property portals. The sellers will even receive a For Sale board to help generate local interest, directing people to the website,’ said Lodge.
The fixed fee also includes a weekly report that shows how much interest in being generated for that property, including details such as the number of people who have viewed the property online.
PropertyEagle.co.uk appoints each seller with an account manager, who personally oversees the marketing of the property and the resulting sale, something, said Lodge, that’s not always the case with High Street estate agencies. The account manager will create a timetable with the seller in order to book viewings, negotiate on all offers with buyers, which is the most important stage of a sale where experience is crucial. Once the sale has been agreed they will produce sales memorandums for both parties and their solicitors. All the seller has to do is show prospective buyers around their own home.
‘Letting the home owner show around prospective buyers is often the best way of selling the property, as the owner can answer all questions about the property, the neighbours and the local area. If a customer cannot show round the buyer, we can organise accompanied appointments or open days at an additional cost,’ added Lodge.