Sell Your House Online

In this blog post we will be looking at what an online estate agent is, why people sell their houses online and the different online selling options.

Alexandra Ventress ★ Digital Content Writer

When it comes to selling your home, you are left with a lot of important decisions to make, such as where do you want to move to? What is your budget? When should you put your house on the market?

But the most important decision you will need to make is how you want to sell your home. Do you want to use a high street estate agent or do you want to sell your house online?

What is an online estate agent?

Before we look at selling your house online, we will first take a closer look at what an online agent is. An online estate agent is very similar to a traditional estate agent but with a few key differences. Rather than having a high street office, an online agent operates remotely online but are generally cheaper compared to the flat fee that estate agents offer and offer more flexibility than high street agents do.

How do online estate agent work?

As online estate agents do not have a physical office, they conduct their work online. Before you put your home on the market, you will first need a valuation of your property. Rather than conducting an in person valuation, many online estate agents will value your home online.

To provide this valuation, your agent will take a multitude of factors into account. They will analyse the local property market and analyse the trends present in your area as well as nationally. They will also take the size, location, and condition of your property into account. Then they will look at how much other houses in your area have sold for and how much they are currently priced at. They will then combine this information to provide you with your valuation number.

Many online estate agents will then market your property on their own website as well as property portals such as Rightmove and Zoopla. Private sellers cannot register their properties on these portals and with 95% of property searches beginning with an online search, this is a powerful tool to have in your corner.

Why do people sell their house online?

There are many reasons why someone may opt to use online agents to sell their property. Below are some of the most common reasons why someone may decide to sell their home online:

Low and visible fees

One of the biggest advantages to selling through an online estate agent is that unlike high street agents, the fees you will have to pay are lower and often upfront and visible. The majority of high street estate agents charge you percentage of your property sale price, which is typically around 1.5%. If you are selling a house costs £250,000 then that will be an estate agent fee of £3,750.

Where this system becomes a particular issue is with the recent rising house prices. This means that agents are charging the same rate and getting more thanks to rocketing prices, but the seller at a major disadvantage.

Online estate agents offer the same service as high street estate agents but are able to charge a flat fee that are cheaper than their high street counterparts.

Flexibility

Another upside to using an online estate agent to sell your property online is that you are given flexibility with the sale. You are able to advertise your property on your terms and decide exactly when you want to put your property on the market. Online estate agents are also often credited with being able to offer a faster sale as they are able to list properties online within 24 hours of valuation.

Control

Online estate agents also offer people a lot more control over the sale of their homes. You are given much more freedom when it comes to arranging home viewings, rather than having to work around others. Most online estate agencies offer the chance to conduct viewings on your own terms, setting hours that suit you rather than others.

You will also get more control over your listing than you would if you went through a traditional estate agent. When there is a mistake on a listing you will have to wait until the office is next open, whereas with an online estate agent any mistakes would be easier to rectify.

Communication

Another advantage is that you are able to communicate with potential buyers. Often the biggest complaint that people have with their high street estate agent is that once the sale has begun progressing, they lose all contact with the agent. By going through an online estate agent you are cutting out the middle man and able to talk directly to any potential buyers.

High street estate agent vs online agent

Whilst high street agents and online agents do the same jobs, there are differences between how they operate. Below we take a look at some of the differences between the two:

Cost

Service

The service you receive from both online and high street agents are on par. When you sell with a high street agent you will often be assigned a personal account manager who will be on call to answer any questions, fix any issues that may arise and walk you through the selling process. Most online agencies offer a similar standard of service where you will be assigned a property expert who will be in charge of selling your property and who will be on call for any situation.

Local knowledge

High street agents can offer a more in depth knowledge of the local area when compared to online agents. However, online agents have access to a lot of the same information as they will study the market trends both nationally and in your area. Because they are based online they are also able to advertise your property to a much wider market than a local estate agent would.

How to sell your house online?

When it comes to selling a property sale, there are several different ways that you can go about making a sale. The most popular way that you can do this is either through selling to a cash buying company, an online property auction, or an online estate agent. Each of these ways have their own pros and cons which we have outlined below:

Cash Buying Company

When it comes to selling your home, one of the ways you can do this is through a genuine cash buyer. A cash buyer is a good way to ensure a quick sale on your property. Unlike an estate agency, a cash buyer will not have to advertise to anybody, as they have the funds available to buy your property there and then and will often cover your legal fees for you.

Another positive to selling through a cash buyer is that the sale is guaranteed in a timescale that suits you, making it a great option for people who are in debt, trying to avoid repossession or wish to unlock cash funds quickly.

However, if you are selling with a cash buyer then you need to be aware that you will be receiving less than market value for your home. Most cash buyers will typically offer you 10 – 25% under market value. If you are looking to walk away with full profits then selling this way may not be the best way for you.

When it comes to selling through a cash buying company, it is best to thoroughly check any cash buying company that you wish to sell through. You can do this by reading a variety of reviews from different sources in order to make sure that the company you are selling through is legitimate.

Online Property Auction

Another way that you can sell your property is through an online property auction. A local property expert will visit your house and value it before it is put to auction. The way a property auction works is by agreeing on a minimum reserve price for your property, then once that price has been met, the highest bid over that point wins and purchases the property.

One of the main advantages to selling through this method is that fewer house sales fall through as bidders tend to be more serious buyers and risk facing serious financial repercussions if they pull out.

A disadvantage however to selling through a property auction is the time it can take. When you first sign up to a property auction you will have to wait for the next one before you can sell your property. This can be months away and if you are looking for a quick sale, this is far from ideal. Even after the auction has finished and your property has been sold, you will still need to wait for the paperwork to go through which can add further weeks to the process.

Furthermore, selling through an online property auction is not without cost, auctioneers will charge you a commission to cover the cost of marketing and selling your property, eating away at your final profit.

Online Estate Agent

Another option for those looking to sell their properties online is to sell through an online estate agent. The main advantage to selling through an online agent is that you are given a lot more freedom. Unlike traditional estate agents, an online estate agency is able to put you in the drivers seat with the sale.

They offer cheaper fees and a more modern approach to selling your home. Rather than having endless viewings and legal fees to deal with, some online agencies can cover these for you and even sell your home within a month.

If you are looking for a house-selling option that is fast, effortless, and free, then look no further. Here at The Property Selling Company we pride ourselves on offering the less complicated option to selling your home.

You will benefit from our honest and transparent customer service and our dedicated team of property experts will undertake all of the selling aspects for you, from creating floorplans, taking photographs, arranging viewings, marketing your home and even covering all of your legal fees for you!

Another advantage to selling through us is that we will advertise your property on property portals such as Rightmove and Zoopla.

And because we believe that selling a property shouldn’t be time consuming or complicated, we aim to sell your house in 28 days and complete within 12 weeks.

So if you are looking at selling your house online, get in touch today to fill out one of our free no obligation home valuation forms today!