A new online estate agency is getting set to launch, offering a sealed bidding process.
SealedBid will concentrate on new and refurbished properties at the top end of the market and will initially target property developers in London.
Vendors will be able to list their properties on the website, which says it will then market the property “utilising a wide industry network”.
Buyers will have to pass a verification process before being able to submit a sealed bid. An email is sent to their solicitor together with the contract details, confirming they are who they say they are, have passed money laundering checks and have the funds available.
Just three weeks on average will be allowed for bidding, with the exact closing time and day known from the outset.
Once bidding closes, the winner will have exchanged contracts with completion possible within days. All bids must be “in excess of” the reserve price.
Vendors can choose between paying 1% or £5,000 plus 15% of the uplift from the reserve price.
Behind the business is founder Danny Jay, who describes himself as an entrepreneur and disruptor.
Also in his team are conveyancer Justin Selig, who was until last year a co-owner of eviction firm Landlord Action; and London estate agent Jeremy Rosenblatt, currently a director of Vantage Private Office, and who previously owned Hanover Residential.
Jay said that his team is currently investigating requests from developers to market their properties.
He said: “Each property has to be carefully selected according to SealedBid Property’s brief.
“Our audience will be looking for luxury, new/refurb, high-end residential properties, with a value of over £1m. We therefore need to ensure that each listing matches this description.”
Jay said that the SealedBid gives no opportunity for the sale to fall through.
Asked if three weeks was really long enough to go from first marketing to exchange, he said it would be sufficient because documentation such as searches and plans could be uploaded on the site.
However he added that the three-week period was not set in stone if the vendor wanted a longer period for marketing and bidding.
Jay said: “Another idea we came up with was a viewing period of say two weeks and a bidding period of three weeks, ie a total of five weeks. Either way, it is flexible.”
He added: “Estate agents have been selling property the same way for 250 years – it has not changed in all that time. Maybe SealedBid can help transform the industry.”
Another day… another “…disruptor” with a business that will “…help transform the industry.”
Is there anybody out there who is just looking to help agents “substantially improve” or even “get a little bit better”. It might not be as catchy a headline, but it would be a little more honest and realistic!
Bring on the “non-disruptor’s”.
Have a great day everyone!
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Yes…..we are working on products, and from what I read yesterday, Robert May’s revolutionary new system maybe launched in a week’s time!
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It’s not revolutionary as such Agent, its is an experienced based, “err why didn’t I think of that?” solution.
It won’t be released in a week’s time we simply move to the next phase next week. We’ve built something, it works and now we start tweaking what we’ve built and try to make it work for agents on a day to day basis.
Up till now we’ve been levelling the playing field so that service, honesty and integrity have value. We haven’t built anything wonderful just something that makes you all compete on the level of service you can deliver rather that the claims or promises some people make.
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This one is simple. Buyers hate sealed bids. Just a non starter but I agree with Simon. Please let’s not hear from another non disrupter with little or no chance of having ANY impact in the market. Am I being complacent? I hope not! Bring on Robert’s new ideas.
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Simon,
I totally agree with your comments and suggest we have a chat.
If ok, how?
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Only agents can help themselves.
It seems that we’re all very good at moaning about the disruptors and mocking them….then we sit and watch them disrupt and take our business without making any changes to compete. It’s changing big time out there. We’re all slashing our fees to compete with each other (not the online agents) and there’s going to be a big crash in profits soon for those agents relying on a decent letting income stream. We should ignore the disruptors at our peril. The purple monster has proven what a disruptor can achieve.
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Yes…..it’s been proven beyond doubt that you can use millions of pounds of marketing allied to a cheap investor subsidised product to buy lots of businesss….especially if there is little other competition.
Once thousands of good independent agents realise they can use ‘Collective Marketing’ efficiently to help generate new business, there will be a lot more competition offering a better service.
We’ll see!!!
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I visited their website, clicked the link to sell my property and nothing happened. Ironic really as that’s exactly what will happen when the site goes live.
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yawn
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this article has nothing to do with agents being better, the articles subject and instigator only talks of selling at the million plus section otherwise it isn’t worth it to the three boys who “take their cut” and it also only works with a buyer and buyers solicitor who will and can work to that speed, in my experience those solicitors are few and far between, not to mention ifa’s and surveyors but why do you have to mention the improvement of estate agents!
there is a need for improvement in the system all round but most agents out there are good agents, we do need to be more open minded to the online competitors but I take exception to your comment, why does everyone feel it’s always the estate agent at fault and bad, we are just the easiest to take a poke at.
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How many good buyers are put off by sealed bids in excess of what they perceive as the price, particularly in a weaker market?
My father made a fair offer on a prestige property many years ago and the agent asked him to make a sealed bid.
As an extremely honourable and well-respected gentleman, he reluctantly did so and knocked 5% off his original offer.
The flustered agent then came back to him and asked why he had offered less and he said that he did want the property as much now.
The seller, whom he knew, then called him directly and said he could have the property at the original offer for which he declined.
Many years later, when he told me that story and as an agent myself, I asked if he would have proceeded if his original offer had been accepted first?
He said yes and I know he would have.
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This is no longer news.
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