After months of preparation, online property auction website Bamboo Auctions is due to launch today.
The business is led by corporate lawyer Robin Rathore and Chris Brown, who is past president of both NAVA and the NAEA, and is launching as part of the PiLabs Program, backed by Cushman & Wakefield and Spire Ventures.
Acting through their estate agent, sellers can set a reserve price and choose the length of the auction period for each property listed on the website.
Buyers are pre-approved (for identity and anti-money laundering purposes) and can search, download legal documents, arrange site viewings and place bids on properties.
Bamboo Auctions works with a team of auction lawyers so legal packs can be provided centrally, saving costs and time for the seller.
Exchange occurs immediately at the end of the auction period, meaning estate agents earn their commission faster and the risks of gazumping and gazundering are eliminated. Estate agents can enjoy the benefits of diversified business services as well as joint marketing of properties.
“It’s currently a very exciting time for the property sector,” said CEO Rathore.
“We’re part of a wave of emerging property-tech businesses. A lot of them are either looking to bypass estate agents or are going into direct competition with estate agents.
“We’re different. We want to work with estate agents: we want to see properties exchange, so our interests are completely aligned.
“Estate agents can enjoy the benefits of diversified business services as well as joint marketing of properties.”
Several estate agencies across England and Wales have already registered to list properties, he added.
However, there are competitors, not least Bidogo which appears to have been writing round to estate agents in the last few days.
The Bamboo site is here
The Bidogo site is here
Oh where do they get these names from. Whatever happened to the principle that the brand name should be name awareness of the product being offered. Yes there are many about today than ever before but the time old fashion of a name being important does still apply. My first impression of Bamboo was jungle quickly followed by monkeys! Bidigo …. I'm lost for words that can be printed.
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Well done Robin. You deserve to do well.
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Mr Mealham – you may think this is a very impertinent comment (and one which you may well not wish to answer which I fully accept) – but is there a particular reason why Mr Rathore should 'deserve to do well' in your considered opinion?
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