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Graham Awards

TODAY'S OTHER NEWS

For Sale By Owner website launches - will it succeed?

Another day, another website for online property sales - but this site does not describe itself as an estate agent and is instead for direct sales by owners to buyers. 

Sellers Meet Buyers - which has the startling claim “Over 12,000+ Buyers Online Now” on its home page - launched to the public just three months ago, yet carries a testimonial from an unnamed female, pictured on the site, who is quoted as saying “I am now on my fifth purchase using SMB...”

The site says there are three phases for sellers - firstly to create their own advertisement, secondly for it to be approved by the Sellers Meet Buyers team, and thirdly “instantly start dealing with property buyers in your area.”

A paragraph on the site reads: “Other alternative companies advertising to sell your home quickly are estate agents, that basically list your property on the likes of Rightmove and Zoopla for an upfront fee, or a back end commission when your property sells. Neither of the above are what we offer you. We are going to show you a way to sell your house online, quickly and for free AND negotiate your own asking price with a genuine buyer!”

Spokesman David Sessford says “this completely cuts out the need for an estate agent."

An indication of the nature of the site might be seen from another service owned and managed by Sessford - topcashoffer.co.uk - which he says “is aimed at homeowners looking to sell for cash, and keener for a quicker sale.”

  • Chris Arnold

    You can fool some of the people, some of the time!

  • Glenn Ackroyd

    So essentially it will match motivated sellers with below market value investor buyers. It might not include a fee, but the price achieved could be substantially lower than a house for sale to the 'whole of market' via an estate agent.

  • Trevor Mealham

    Agree Glen. why market for free when free exposure could mean less to the seller??

    Um. ......

    ''We are going to show you a way to sell your house online''
    Spokesman David Sessford says “this completely cuts out the need for an estate agent."

    Can't work out the model as no 'other services' appear to be offered as would take the model away from a passive model.

    But if the statement - ''We are going to show you a way to sell your house online'' extended to any advice, ie valuation, advice on offers etc etc, then it would open the model to estate agency regulation and redress???

    So what's the business revenue model?? No revenue makes a site hard to ongoing fund, unless there are others funding with other interests at hand???

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