I can’t help notice that high street agents regularly blog about how ‘online’ agents (those who trade from anywhere but the high street) are limited at being able to offer a personal service because they don’t work from a high street office.  So I shall compare:

Free Valuation

An ‘office agent’ usually visits and provides a valuation.  However they will be conscious that other competing high street agents will have already provided one for you (they will always ask if you have had any other valuations).  Because of this they might just offer a pretty speculative figure to make you really happy.

We offer a free online valuation that we think is realistic and we supply our research data for you to see how we have reached our conclusions.  Once you decide to use us, we’ll send a RICS qualified surveyor to provide a valuation, to give you a strong idea what the market is really saying.

Aren’t high street agents more qualified to offer a valuation?

In one word.  No.  They may have more attuned knowledge of their local market, but its amazing how accurate you can be by doing good quality research.

We are also NAEA registered agents (as most better high street agents are) and we adhere to their principles.

If the ‘office’ agent you are dealing with isn’t NAEA registered, how do you know they are even giving you a genuine valuation, or just playing you to get your signature?  You don’t, unless you perform some prudent research yourself.

Professional photography

This is usually standard with higher end agents (who often charge higher end fees).  However your average high street agent is usually abysmal and we often wonder why sellers are prepared to accept such shoddiness for such a relatively large fee at the end?

We offer professional photography as standard.  Not us with a fancy camera.  Our photographer is an actual professional who earns his crust taking photo’s.  Sometimes he even does magazine work too.

Here’s an example of what he does:

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-29636152.html

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-29135539.html

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-29403214.html

Internet marketing

Yes, we all do that.

Meeting buyers/tenants to ensure they are genuine

High street agents ‘sometimes’ meet buyers or tenants at their office.  However I can’t ever remember an agent having ever ‘checked’ a persons genuineness by doing anything other than asking a few questions about their needs and wants.

We do the very same thing (shock, horror!).  Except we do it by talking on a phone!  It’s crazy, we know but talking to a person and asking the right (sensible) questions enables us to build rapport.  Using our refined sensory skills (gut instinct) we can then happily book a buyer/tenant for a viewing.

Accompanied viewings

Regular agents usually do the viewings (though recently we keep hearing of local agents sending viewers directly to sellers).  This is actually the defining difference between those that have an office and those that don’t.

Using us an example- we are limited to providing a viewing service to areas we can easily commute to.  Traffic and distance travelling times make offering this service to everybody impossible.

Advice for buyers and tenants

Whilst many agents claim to being able to better advise their buyers and tenants, we’d suggest that in the main – why would they listen or value anything said by the agent who is acting on behalf of the seller or landlord?

We provide a quality service to buyers and tenants.  We act diligently and we act as an agent should.  However our advice is usually reserved for our clients.

Fees

Traditional agents traditionally charge a high completion fee, as they have an office to maintain (with staff and plenty of overheads).

We offer our clients a choice.  Pay a much lower fee upfront – which suits sellers who are motivated and will accept a more realistic offer.  Or pay a commission fee upon completion – which suits those looking to obtain a more speculative offer.

We also offer a ‘mix-it-up’ type service – with a smaller upfront fee and a very low commission (by comparison).

Post offer sales support

As long as you have access to a phone and an email, you can offer a decent administrative sales support service (provided you have a good understanding of the buying & selling process).  You don’t need to use a solicitor who is located nearby do you?

So there you have it.  We’re 90% of the service for 90% less cost (in some instances).

We’ll ensure your property looks just as good as if you were being marketed by Foxtons, Savills or Hamptons, however our fee is just ridiculously good value (and by all accounts much less than it should be).

Don’t believe us, put us to the test!  If you are happy to be a case study for our website, we might even sell your property for FREE