Online estate agents

Online estate agents have been getting a bad press recently from the high street estate agent.

Some of them thoroughly deserve it while the more professional among us feel a little embittered by it all.  At times, my Twitter feed is deluged with comments from some high street estate agent complaining about something or other. Some of it makes for interesting reading but most of it is just inane drivel worthy of being written by a poorly informed office boy who’s been told to raise the profile of the brand via Twitter and Facebook.

The PR machine clicks into overdrive as soon as you mention the online estate agent charges an upfront fee and then we apparently “sit back and do nothing now they’re paid".

This is where my blood starts to boil.

When we were looking for a property for a client, I was truly appalled at the level of customer service we received at the hands of a few local high street estate agents. We contacted a number of “local” online agents and they were even worse, if that was possible. We weren't looking to split commission or take a vendor away. We simply needed property details to pass on to a client. Finally, we used an estate agency from Nottinghamshire to assist us with renting the home in Cheshire for the client..!!!

Some of the very people on my list of Twitter followers, who have made dreadful remarks about online estate agents, were guilty of a level of customer service that was outstandingly poor and breathtakingly inept. In my experience, some of these “experts” in the sale of luxury homes have absolutely no idea when it comes to the marketing of luxury homes.

Recently, I walked into an agency in Wilmslow and the agent, who was sat at their desk eating lunch, couldn’t be bothered to take my details and or provide me with a property brochure. I was told to visit the website and download the details. So, in a fit of pique I went to their local rival and got the details and the client then took on a long term rental.

Another estate agent within the “Golden Triangle” was more concerned in finding out the current address of our well known client and gaining an autograph than sending us any details. When pushed they stated that “they were just being drafted” despite the property having being on their website for over three months. When we finally got the details it contained five photographs, on three pieces of 90gsm paper and a written description worthy of blind person's attempt at describing the property. It bore absolutely no resemblance to the actual property and missed crucial details. The property was listed at £8,000 pcm and we've since installed a client into it via another agency, again no commission payable to us.

However, there are a lot of high quality high street estate agents in Cheshire that are moving with the times. They are slick, professional, organised and treat every potential client as though they are long lost friends. These “New Age” high street estate agents know the Internet, their client base and the client base they are trying to reach. They understand that online estate agents are here to stay and rather than fight them, they work with them. Long gone are the days of newspaper advertising being the way to reach potential buyers. Working together in cyberspace is the way forward.

The savvy high street agent now works with online estate agents whom have an enormous audience reach, our reach is over four million and we’re small fry compared to the likes of Hatched and Rightmove etc. They also know that there's more than enough room for both types of estate agent and more than enough stock to go around.

When we relaunched Britain's Best Home, we decided that we’d do it differently. We’re going straight for the customer rather than wasting time with the old style high street estate agent. Can you imagine the tagline “Do You Own One of Britain’s Best Homes For Sale?”.

We want to work with estate agents that are pro-active, professional and offer a level of service akin to our own. Therefore, we’re starting our own estate agency, Benedict & Black, and we’re marketing homes valued at over £800,000 and “well appointed”. Benedict & Black will be about high-tech video production, photography and a level of customer service unrivalled in our local area. Any and all working collaborations with other agents are done at 0.5% and any direct instructions at a maximum of 1% of sold price. We’re so confident in our ability that we’ll even give a full refund and money back guarantee if we don’t do exactly what we say we will or the property isn’t sold within a specific time frame.

However, it’s not our main focus because we enjoy marketing luxury homes to the masses and it’s what we’re very good at. Britain’s Best Home is our love, passion and desire.

When we start our property management side, we’ll interview potential clients in their current home. A great idea thrown out by Chris Watkin, one of the best informed Twitter followers a letting agent could have. We won't take any old references from potential tenants, we'll go and take the reference face to face. A great deal of work I agree but in the long run taking on a select number of properties and marketing them well at 12% is better than having 300 properties and scraping 7%.

How can an online estate agent do this?

The answer is simple; working with professional high street estate agents makes life easy. We’ve stayed true to our online roots and, yes, we will have a shop front in major areas as it forms part of our marketing strategy. “You’re not an online estate agent if you have a shop front” someone will type. Have you seen the amount of paperwork a successful estate agency creates..!! Any shop front will be closed to the general public with visits by appointment only.

Every day I read comments from high street estate agents decrying our online services. They make claims that are designed to “scare” the public, painting us to be money grabbing charlatans. Please, look in the mirror before your next blog or comment. All this politicking does our industry, as a whole, no good whatsoever. It just serves to prove to the public right in their perception that we’re all a bunch of money grabbing charlatans, which most of us aren’t.

Tom Benedict has over 30 years experience of the property market with the past 10 years living and breathing the luxury and high end property sector. As Senior Partner of The BBH Group, which incorporates Benedict & Black Online Estate Agents, Britain’s Best Home, Spain’s Best Home and several other businesses, he is passionate about the luxury homes industry and its place in the world of marketing.

@BritainBestHome
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