Any agent fed up with competitors who keep properties online as having been sold subject to contract, when in reality the sales were completed weeks or months ago, will sympathise with the agent who posted on Twitter at the weekend:
“Sold, completed 3 months ago, refurbished & rented out. Yet still advertised as Under Offer”
The agent who posted that tweet is Martin Haigh, founding partner of Bristol agents Haigh & Sons.
And the agent he was tweeting about? Well, she just happens to be a well-known name.
Indeed, none other than Sarah Beeny, coming to a TV set near you tonight with her series about online agents, How to Sell Your Home.
Haigh tells Eye he has no personal issue whatever with Beeny.
He is, quite simply, hacked off with this kind of behaviour.
Indeed, he has written a blog about it.
In it he writes: “Unlike some ‘High Street’ estate agencies, I don’t have a particular problem with the existence of ‘online’ agents (ie those that don’t appear to have an office you can visit, but who rely entirely on the internet to conduct their business; the ones who make the vendor do all the running around, usually demanding an upfront fee from them for the privilege, but – in fairness – who generally charge less at the end if a sale actually happens). It was in this spirit that I sent a friendly tweet to Ms Sarah Beeny and her company Tepilo the other day:
“‘One of the three properties you’re advertising in Bristol has now sold; the sale completed nearly three months ago’, I chirped.
“The property concerned is marked by them as ‘Under Offer’. This is a little misleading, I would have thought, as it suggests there is a chance the sale might yet fall through. Potential buyers might be keeping a keen eye on the house in the hope that they will get an opportunity to buy.
“But they won’t get that chance. I know that the sale completed some while ago (25th July, I believe) because the new owners have refurbished the property and rented it out through us. I’m not sure the tenants, who have been there for nearly two months, will be too pleased to have potential home-buyers cruising past their front windows!”
He goes on to say that Tepilo claimed that the property had a “sunny rear garden” when in fact, says Haigh, it faces north-east. He also disputes it is in a private cul-de-sac.
He ends by saying he has redefined his view of online agents.
“I do think there’s a place for them. There will always be people who want to sell their home without using a traditional estate agent (‘I saved myself thousands, etc’), and if someone else can make some money out of them, well… why not?
“But there’s only a place for them if they do the job properly and get their facts right. And that’s not always easy.
“Mind you, deleting a property from your website that was sold several months ago? That’s not that hard, surely?”
The whole subject of “ghost” properties, and also the ease by which it is apparently possible for agents to re-list properties as if they were new instructions – thereby sparking “new” property alerts – from the portals is one that Eye is closely pursuing at the moment.
Any concrete evidence that readers can produce of such tactics will be gratefully received.
The full blog by Martin Haigh is at this link.
Sarah Beeny’s second instalment of How to Sell Your Home is on C4 at 8.30pm tonight.
Its a bit unfair that Tepilo are being singled out for this unsavoury practise. I sent a series of written complaints to Rightmove and Zoopla about 6 months ago as many local competitors were still advertising properties on the sites for 6 months after completion (and sometimes then re launching to show sold for further months!). Rightmove were the only ones who gave me a response which was that they would only take a property off the site if someone could prove its' completed status….the only evidence they would accept?….land registry data!!..That left me with no choice other than to consider leaving our companys' completed properties available on a "can't beat them-join them basis". I plan on looking at doing that in the new year for all our completed properties on Rightmove . The main portals are totally reluctant to enforce any actions against agents guilty of this (and there are loads) as people are still interested in looking at property details, even if it is marked sold stc or under offer, which improves their user numbers data…….something which is more important to them than their customer user satisfaction with the sites being littered with properties that are way past completed.
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RM are apparently having a purge on 'Data Cleansing' – they have removed several of mine recently where if the sale process has taken over 6 months (as can happen here with some awkward Leases…) they remove the property. I've had to get them reinstated until such time that the sale completes. I also had one where they had 'checked' Land Registry data and removed a property they said had sold some 6 months previous – only to have to reinstate because they hadn't checked the information properly as it was number 12 that had sold and not 12'a' that we still had available for sale. It doesn't need saying, of course, that every time I ring them they are hugely apologetic for chuffing up… ;o)
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I've got a test one on Rightmove that has shown sold for 5 months. It completed 8 months, or so ago. Seems as long as the property is taken off and put back on you can have another "run " with it. I don't approve but, like I said, in the new year I'm going to start to advise that the offices keep their sold properties (marked sold) until RM throw them off, not when they complete.
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The practice is rife in my area, so much that as I write I'm looking at a competitors shop window which has one of his windows full of SSTC. Strange but they are still there 4 years later and very faded!
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A large agency near me put the old properties back in the window with SOLD on them!!
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Me: Hi why on your site do you quote the high street agent inc vat but your fee plus vat?
Peter:
Hello,
Good question actually. When the online estate agents started, we all quoted our fees + vat, and its stayed that way since.
I believe some are starting to change this
Me: OK but the ombudsmen wants inc vat
Is there any cooling off period please?
Peter: We have a list of development items that are constantly being worked on. I know its in the list.
Thank you though
Yes, It is 7 days I believe
Me: Isn't the law 14 days?
Peter: I believe the law is changing. I will have to see if it is actually been passed yet.
Me: You quote agent's fees as 1.5% but then on another page you say 1.8% where are these figures from please?
Peter: We use 1.5% on our calculator as it seems Traditional agents are bringing their fees down, 1.8% was a figure that 'Which' published
Are you looking to sell your property may I ask ?
Me: Not quite yet
Peter: The market is now starting to slow down as you may know, it will start again in January if that's when you were thinking
Me: Do you send someone round to value please?
Peter: No we perform our valuations online from the vast data we have access to, very much the same way a traditional agent should. We will then discuss with you our data to offer you a valuation.
Me: Do I as a seller do photos and write up please?
Peter: We can organise a professional photographer for you. The cost for this is £118.80
Yes our vendors write their own description
Me: What does the home visit involve please?
Peter: If you order photos, or an EPC, floor plan etc, our agent will come and perform these. He will also verify the property and the vendor (ID etc)
Me: OK, but if I provide my own epc, plan and photos then no home visit?
Peter: Yes, just to come and compare your photos and description to verify the property is as it looks etc
Me: Do I pay extra for the home visit?
Peter: No.
Me: There is a lot to think about
If an offer is agreed how often do you update me please?
Peter: Yes there is, but we feel you would be in very safe hands.
The offers system is amazing, we chase every item from your purchaser and that is updated as they upload everything.
Its so easy to track
Me: Do you call me or is it on your website?
Peter: You receive a text and an email
If you dont respond you get a reminder
I unfortunately have to leave for an appointment, is there anything else I can help you with ?
Me: No that is great thank you for all your help and a real insight into how Tepilo and online estate agency works, it must be quite good getting paid up front then it doesn't matter if it sells or not.
Peter: We need to sell our properties to make us successful. My pleasure.
Have a nice evning
Thank you for contacting us.
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