Selling your home can be a stressful and arduous task. In the past, you would go to an estate agent and they would take care of most things involved: place a ‘For Sale’ sign in your yard, take pictures of your house, and take potential buyers to give them a tour. With the rise of the Internet, though, the real estate market has changed greatly and you now have the choice between high street estate agents and online estate agents. Let’s take a look at some of the benefits online estate agents have to offer.
Reaching Potential Buyers
Nowadays up to 90% of potential buyers first search online. There are numerous online portals available where you can search for houses from the comfort of your own home. These portals, like Primelocation and Rightmove, offer a number of different search options and you can have your home on the market in a matter of hours.
Cost
Now this is something that is of interest to most people. Online real estate agents offer their services for a much lower cost than high street agents. Where most high street agencies will ask for a percentage of the sale, online estate agents work on a flat rate. Prices can range from around £295 to £899 depending on what exactly is included in the package you choose. To find the best online estate agents you can simply research online. This will probably save you several thousands of pounds when compared to the price asked by high street agents.
Contact with the Buyers
When working with online estate agents you will have direct contact with potential buyers, whereas high street agents act as middlemen. A high street agent will assess your house, take a few notes and a few pictures, but will otherwise have very little to say about the property. You as a homeowner, however, will be able to give a lot more details to buyers. For instance, which rooms receive more sunlight, the history of the property, council taxes, and more.
Extra Options
With an online estate agent, you will have the option to add a lot more information to your listing. You can place many photos showing your home from all possible angles. There is the option to create a complete virtual tour so people can ‘walk through’ your home without ever setting foot in your house. This surely beats one or two photos in a shop window with a few lines of text!
Online estate agents come with a lot of benefits. In a modern world where people are so accustomed to using the Internet for all their needs, it seems a logical choice to make. Faster, more efficient and cheaper, isn’t that what we are all looking for nowadays?