TV presenter Sarah Beeny has backed up her TV advertising – in which she says her online agency Tepilo sells “hundreds of properties” every month – by specifying that the number is over 250 “every single month”.
In an email yesterday to its database, headed “Better because . . .”, she said: “I created Tepilo because I believed there must be a fairer, easier and more cost effective way to sell a home.
“Seven years on, I’m proud to say that I have proven myself right.
“My team of highly experienced agents are available for you 24/7 and will work tirelessly to progress your sale right through to exchange and completion.
“What’s more, by avoiding high overheads such as a high street shop front, we’re able to provide a full estate agency service for fixed fees from £495.
“We sell over 250 properties every single month, saving our customers on average £5,000 in traditional estate agency fees, and we’d really like to sell yours too.
“I’d also like to take this opportunity to offer you a free premium listing on Rightmove and Zoopla (worth £150) if you decide to sign up with us in October.
“One of my agents will gladly apply this to your sales package if you reference this email over the telephone.”
Tepilo charges £495 for an upfront payment package, and £795 for a ‘pay later package’. Both offer further services for extra costs.
It is not clear how Beeny has calculated a saving of £5,000 for her customers.
And in a similarly factual statement, Santa does exist says parent to Child.
But seriously it is scandalous how this drivel is allowed to be constantly spouted. It would seem that the laws of misrepresentation do not apply to those in the .com only world. And as for working tirelessly, it’s not a statement that even sounds true, i wouldnt dream of saying that to a potential vendor, he/she would think i was patronising them.
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According to Zoopla, Tepilo have listed 262 properties in the last 30 days.
on the site, 141 of their 1171 total listings are Under Offer/SSTC.
*Someone tell me PLEASE how these figures make her statement work?
*Someone EXCEPT Ms Beeny. She readily admits that ‘Tepilo’ is a by-product of pure fiction…
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It’s quite simple how those numbers could work – there are many permutations.
e.g. 400 listed last month, 125 sold last month, 125 sold this month.
400 listed this month, 138 sold, 262 remaining “listed in the last 30d”
means 138+125 sold this month = 263.
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Are you related to John Prescott? He was good at adding up using “Spin”.
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I don’t agree.
There are no permutations on the word selling when it comes to house sales. A property is only Sold when it has legally exchanged contracts and completion has taken place.
Therefore what Tepillo have stated is that they are completing on 250 sales every month. Assuming a 40% fall through rate for an online only agent (generous) that means they would have to be placing under offer 350 sales per month.
Purple Bricks convert less than 60% (equally generous) of their instructions into sales so let’s be generous again and give Tepillo that. This means they need to be listing 490 instructions every month.
Those figures don’t seem to be there now do they.
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There are millions of permutations when you are trying to get hundreds of answers from a bigger pile of hundreds – but there are only two possibilities here that matter:
Truth or Falsehood.
When this story – normally I would use the word ‘article’… but in this instance I reckon “story” fits the bill superbly – last hit our screens a week or so ago, those nice people from the dating site GetaGent supplied us with their figures of the listing totals from the last 21 months of Tepilo.
Since then, they have added 109 listings to Zoopla – but the total number of listings has increased by only FIVE. Anyone have a Scooby where the other 104 properties have de-materialised to?
‘Listings’ and ‘Sales’ have little or no relationship to each other in the same month – as you should know if you are an Agent.
On 9/2/15, a comparison carried out by SellingUp showed Tepilo had 421 properties listed on Zoopla. Today, that figure is 1174 (note the 3-unit increase from 0730) – an increase of 753 units.
Assuming that they have been, as they claim, ‘selling’ over 250 properties “every single month” – for which I would suggest must encompass a period of at least four consecutive months to be a valid statement – then I’m at a loss from where all these ‘sales’ have emanated from.
Perhaps the company would be prepared to provide EYE with a list of their last 4 months’ sales – postcodes only – for verification? I’m up for it if they are.
Tepilo was a fantasy created when Ms Beeny was a child. A make-believe place in a make-believe world where everything no doubt revolved around her.
Some people may say that some things never change…
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The figures don’t stack up in my opinion.
According to Home.co.uk Tepilo have 214 properties available for sale that are less than a month old. With a combined stock count of 1,021 available. On Home and Tepilo list 100-125 a fortnight. They are not selling every property they list. Just check their Trustpilot reviews…
Is there a little bit of double accounting going on?
Are we talking agreed sales, exchanges, completions? If we are talking agreed sales are these unique or ones that fall through and are resold numerous times?
Or are we talking about a combination of the above?
For example:
Last month:
I agreed sales on 75 unique properties (before memorandum)
50 properties in my pipeline fell through and resold
I exchanged on 50 properties
I completed on 50 properties
I round up to the nearest 50 🙂
= 250 sales
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Ah there John Prescott again.
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I smell bull5hit.
Wonder what would happen as a real estate agent if I started making outlandish, inaccurate and false claims, like call centre agents seem to be able to?
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To save average £5000 the gross commission to the vendor would be £5496.00. Based on the Hayter average (1.3% plus vat) 1.56% gross Sarah Beeny is claiming to sell 250 properties worth an average £352,307 each month
I think Sarah Beeny should substantiate her claim. with actual, factual numbers
Her highly experienced team of agents could not explain why her valuation system valued a £600,000 property at £288,000. The highly experienced agent escalated my call to an even more highly experienced estate agent who said “I don’t know get an RICS valuation”
If highly experienced agents can’t answer basic queries about valuation I would question exactly what experience they do have.
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I went to see a Teplio client earlier this year who was disappointed with how things had gone, namely not a single viewing. I queried how they arrived at the (eye watering) asking price. “I don’t know, that’s just what they said, well she’d actually said more, but we thought that sounded too high.” We’ve just agreed the sale 23% below that valuation, 3% below ours. First fee up in smoke.
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Has anyone else noticed that TEPILO is an anagram of TOP LIE?
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@ Andrew Overman
LOL at what would happen to estate agents ‘making outlandish, inaccurate and false claims’
Of course they don’t … that’s why estate agents are called to task by the Advertising Standards Authority from time to time
Thinking about has Andrew just made one lol…are you an estate agent?
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Maybe its time her employers at TV world took a closer look at her claims and wonder if she should be making programmes …. credibility is found wanting! Doesn’t set a very good example and we all know how many people in public profile have suffered for less. There is a direct link of public perception to her programme supporting her business interests?
Any person who has no high street presence and claim they offer the same job as a High Street Agent is not offering the same service and frankly are a liar. She cannot service the many who do not use the internet (Which report 2016 under 50%) or want to walk-in to do business and enquire. False claim that consumers will save on average £5,000. MOST agents don’t charge that fee, so selective costing is used which is misleading and breach of ASA rules. And again that 250 a month figure is based on how many months and when? Again misleading use of stats, even if its true for two or three months for it can’t be right over the last twelve months unless she is failing under the Estate Agents Act and under selling market value. The spots are starting to show through …. she isn’t as credible as she would like the public to believe ….. promoting herself as a champion is turning out to show her up as being “wanting” and devious for self profit?
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Me and my friend (special friend) DT sell about 995m houses every year, hold on I think I got that wrong, my special friend Donald “where’s your troosers” Trump lost $995m and doesn’t have to pay taxes anymore.
Is this as relevant to Tepilo’s claim to what they do?
I dunno, ask Sarah!
Me? I’ve got stick my thumb in a leaky wall.
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Re: The nonsense above.
I was simply making the point we can all talk **** !
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B*******s
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The Tepilo website states that their savings comparisons are based on ‘an estimated traditional estate agent charge of 1.5% + vat’
Two things with that.
1) In line with recent ‘informal resolutions’ by the ASA with Purplebricks and eMoov their website statement needs amending as it does not comply with the CAP code.
2) Based on the %age fee quoted for comparison their average house sale price must be in the region of £306,000 for a vendor to save over £5,000.
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John Prescott must be doing your accounting for that would have to work out at selling all properties for the asking price ……. impossible unless they are being undersold, which raises that other suspicion of “acting in the vendors best interest”.
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Saw a house listed with Tepilo that I would have valued at around £650k it’s listed at 860k – that’s wild
zoopla estimate is £768k – mouseprice is £560k – Tepilo in a world of their own at £860k
the property was bought in 1999 at 215k and a quick check gives a simple values have doubled in the area since then
I know they haven’t had a single viewing yet I wonder why????
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According to the highly experienced agent I spoke to the Tepilo valuation system is powered by Mouseprice. so it Looks like the £860k is professional advice. This business of whacking on listings for whatever the vendor wants or whatever the highly experienced agent reckons is a dangerous business model.
The duty of care and skill which lead to the evolution of no sale no fee dictates the highly experienced agent has to be correct otherwise the service to the principal is worthless and no remuneration is payable.
If you provide an outcode, type and connection I will run the numbers so see what is realistic present value is. (PV is not a valuation)
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LA1?
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Assuming it is; the trend price equivalent of that property is now £600,000 suggesting an asking price well below £700,000
At £860,000 vendor has been given over optimistic expectations on value or because Tepilo have nothing to lose they have just whacked it on the internet but risk not getting paid
LA1 5B has compound 6.1% for the past 17 years, LA1 5 B is currently 24% behind trend so your £650k would have been a very good offer. based on the observation it doesn’t look like it has changed much. If it was a doer upper in 1999 that might increase current value.
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I’ll do you an accurate valuation for LA1 😉
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so can we all …. Except Tepilo, pb, yourmove, house simple, emoov, Zoopla etc. and the list goes on…
I’m kinda expecting our HybridAgent friend to tell me that it’s worth an extra £200k because the marketing is excellent and those onlinies and hybrids are all great marketers.
I could pull figures out of the sky and still be closer to the true value than Tepilo. It’s a shame as now the damage has been done and they want over 800k – good luck hitting your head against that brick wall Mark.
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The Zoopla rental guesstimate of £3,750 / month for the Water House is utterly laughable. We have just re-let a nice 3 bed house on there for £1,000 / month. I doubt that anything residential in Lancaster has ever come close to £3,750 / month.
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Clarkuk – can’t see where the ‘optimistic’ price comes from? Just look at the unique features – such as:
“a minstrel gallery with velux widow”
“with vellum window looking out over the rear of the property”
It’s a wonder it hasn’t gone to sealed bids in my opinion…
Maybe they’re just holding back the sale to go towards next month’s 250+ figure?
Who knows?
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We have reviewed the Water Tower and the absolute maximum we would go to on the Water Tower is £725,000, but really more like £650,000. Tepilo has massively overestimated it.
The vendors need to get cracking because a developer called Mick Stainton has secured planning for a number of brand new high end properties at Aldcliffe nearby. An increase in supply of properties around the same price as the Water Tower is not going to help its price tag.
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Powered by mouseprice and some numpty that doesn’t know the local area.
Postcode is LA1 5BJ, its called The Waterhouse
have a look. Their son is a Doctor friend of mine and was asking my opinion. I told him the valuation was wild and that he’s better off with someone local but the parents now want 800k now so unlikely anyone local would touch it.
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See above I was typing as you were
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And that is a breach of TPO Code of Practice …. and where are they?
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In 30 years, I have never heard a lie from an estate agent.
None of them have ever told me they have market share.
None of them have ever told me it should be ok.
None of them have ever told me it was cash.
Non of them have any worries about Purple bricks.
And they are all experts….ok, I know as they told me so.
What is a fact though as of course are all of the above…..Is that Tepilo, Purple, etc etc are slowly convincing people that £900 is better than 5K or more. And it wont be long before high street agents slowly disappear.
As I type this a market appraisal has just cancelled to go on the market with purple.
Retirement looms
.
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Despite tens of millions of pounds being thrown at the model and wild predictions of funerals and “turning points” by 2016 (Quirk and EasyMove), call-centre and hybrid agents have yet to deliver more than a 5% (generous estimate) national market share. Add in to the mix that it looks increasingly likely that the model and its proponents are about to face a number of rather large civil/ criminal law problems and I wouldn’t stock up on industrial quantities of Werthers Originals quite yet hodge.
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All depends on for how long they can get dummies to invest for their advertising. Once the money dries up they will die very very quickly, but until then they will disrupt the market for bonafide agents, some may not survive and that is the tragedy. The public will them find themselves in the sea with no boat to rescue them and this is why the Sheriff and possey (regulators) should be stepping in and stopping this wild west nonsense.
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It is a good job the business model hasn’t grow. Assume they had hit 20% by 2016 as they predicted
20% of 2 million listings is 400,000 take ons, lets imagine 50% sell 50% don’t so 200,000 properties don’t sell.
Can you imagine how disruptive it would be to say “no sale no fee 2% just like the old days. Sounds expensive until you realise 200,000 people have parted with £140,000,000 and not sold, not move etc” The public like the fact agents take the risk and wear the cost of them testing the market
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You nailed it Robert. Investors rubbing their hands with glee, a fortune for no result to consumer! Maybe its about time the Press or Watchdog started to wake up and shout a bit louder, for the regulators only give a damn if the odd £thousands is lost and not £millions!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was this very scenario that the OFT back in the early 1990’s raised serious concerns over fixed fee paid agencies but they were not on anything like this scale.
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Ms Beeny…… I read your comments and substituted the words “Ice Creams” where you mentioned “Properties”……that’s…..
“we’re selling over 250 ice creams every month…..” ……and really….. your Press Release/Sales & Marketing Blurb makes sense….. just substitute “Properties” with “Shoes” or “Creme Eggs” or “Space Ships” or “Balloons” or “Magic Mushrooms” …….or anything really!!
No real proof of the Quality, delivery of Best Price etc etc…… and as I drive daily past one of Your For Sale Boards each day, sitting nailed to the side of someone’s house I can only really notice the Picture of Your Goodself….. and ultimately it really is ALL about you, NOT your clients…… they are just ICE CREAMS!
I long for the day that those making inaccurate claims about their business/cost savings etc are really held to account under The Law. In the meantime you seem free to play the part of the Property Pied Piper…… remembering what happened to those souls who followed that magically crafted tune!
You undoubtedly have talent Ms Beeny….. in my view though…. you are NO Estate Agent…… a rather expensive Property Lister? ……..that seems much more accurate.
………I’ll have a Chocolate Flake with mine Ms Beeny and some of that gooey raspberry sauce!
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Ladies and Gerntlemen…
…PropertyIndustryEye are delighted to confirm that GPL and Jonnie have returned to their rightful spot in the Snug.
Normal service has been resumed!
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Classic spaghetti western Peebee, the townsfolk can see its safe to come out now!
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……sadly when my house filled with 4′ of Floodwater courtesy of Storm Frank, myself and my Good Lady were the only Townsfolk Robert…… and with No Flood Insurance after a similar flood in 2012, rebuilding our home over the last 9 months has been a monumental task….
Ho Hum….. you just get on with it, because you have to….. or live in a disaster zone. Importantly, I juggled home and work….. and dealing with Local MP’s, The Scottish Government, Nicola Sturgeon, SEPA, The Foresty Commission….. and many of the clueless individuals whose sole aim in life is to coast through life whilst taking a handsome salary & pension! …….however, I have had some success…. because I don’t give up if I am being ignored or shafted by the inaction of others…… when those others should be performing all aspects of their profession/job rather than the selective nice bits.
…….so, tell me Robert….. summarise what I have missed here whilst rebuilding my home?
…….in addition to my estate agency work I have rebuilt/refitted the interior of my home, by & large singlehandedly….. because those trades that either wish to profit from misfortune, overcharge for a mediocre service or list all the difficult things/problems which they may have to overcome are not welcome in my life….. my low-key DIY skills now include a decent quality plumber, roofer, joiner, kitchen fitter, tiler, to name but a few…… and many, many, many thousands of pounds saved….
and run an estate agency business……
I never got to watch those films….
A Man with No Portal
A Fistful of Portals
Gunfight at the Portal Corral
……give me the Good News Robert……tell me how things have progressed positively in our business world?
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You missed one … the good, the bad and……………….. the portals.
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Wow… Everyone is absolutely on the ball at questioning the figures of any hybrid agent agent out there.
Assuming you’re all still involved in estate agency and not just retired with too much time on your hands.
Lets play a little game to see what’s REALLY happening in the high street world.
Name the agent you work for or own and the location… Let’s see your TRUE figures!
GO…
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…..and there lies the problem…..
Hybrid Agents playing games….. with peoples Homes?
Ah Yes, Welcome to The Hybrid Surgeon….. delighted to have removed half of the wrong organ however it was cheap and a much better option than that…..Old Fashioned Real Surgeon!
Hybrid DOH! Agents….. Roll Up, Roll Up…… as the Hybrid Ice Cream Van comes to a street near you?
Currently have PurpleBlockheads in a Chain Transaction and it is like poking a Plasticine Toy and expecting it to conjure up a Human Response?
Beans Beeys arw good for your heart…
The more you eat the more you ?
The more you ?
The better you feel…..
Zzzzzzzzzz
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Now then, TheHybridAgent – thought we’d be treated to your return, gracing EYE with your presence and valuable posting statistics (it’s ALL about ‘statistics’ for you chaps and chapesses, innit…).
“Everyone is absolutely on the ball at questioning the figures of any hybrid agent agent out there…
Name the agent you work for or own and the location… Let’s see your TRUE figures!”
Here’s the thing.
Where have I, or ANY of the many contributors in this thread, given statistics relating to our businesses that need substantiation?
That, I suggest, would be never.
But when some mouthy nerk or nerkess chucks Mickey Mouse numbers at the fan in order to make something (in this instance that would be income) stick somewhere (in this instance in their bank account), then those numbers will undoubtedly come up for scrutiny.
And they have.
Ms Beeny freely admits that ‘Tepilo’ is born of fantasy.
We’re just establishing the level.
Narnia, or Trumpton.
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I did mention the good, the bad and ….. the portal. Hat fits!
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HybridAgent – do not defend those in the business who are publishing lies and half truths. You have no need to get defensive when we question another hybrids figures. Just because you occupy the same niche in the market doesn’t mean that you should defend those who are in the wrong or you may all end up tarred with the same brush.
“Lets play a little game to see what’s REALLY happening in the high street world” – well………
WE are on the high street, not you, so i’d actually ask you to look at your local high street and look at the local agents and searching habits of buyers before you play the ‘game is changing’ card. Buyers will find my properties the same as they might find yours (online) they also have the option to come into my office and see me. You are looking at the high street from the outside and it is a very different view from the other side of the window. We see the changes daily, do you??
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Clarkuk
“HybridAgent – do not defend those in the business who are publishing lies and half truths Just because you occupy the same niche in the market doesn’t mean that you should defend those who are in the wrong or you may all end up tarred with the same brush.”
THAT is, of course, assuming that the person commenting is not already tarred right to the bone.
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Hats off to Robert May and Rummage4 for valuing the Water Tower massively more accurately than Tepilo and Zoopla within seconds.
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Thank you Mark, we aren’t valuing as such we are providing Agents with information to support ( or challenge) their professional opinion.
The first thing I learned on day 1 of ISVA was “comparables valuations are not valuations, they are a check, a rule of thumb, but they are not valuations”
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