An estate agency described as operating a ‘pay as you go’ business model says it wants to “disrupt the disruptors” operating in the industry.
The agency, Ourhomesale, charges vendors £30 per month to market a home for as long as they wish, and is now searching for offices in Manchester or Liverpool.
The Business Desk website reports that the Chester-based start-up is run by Martin Haywood, a former England international hockey international and a tennis coach who once taught Tim Henman.
“As an industry, estate agency hasn’t changed much in 100 years. But the way the marketing is done has changed fundamentally, because of the internet” Haywood is quoted as saying.
“All estate agent companies use Zoopla and Rightmove because they are sites everyone goes to. We are competing for instructions and clients."
Haywood, a fellow of the National Association of Estate Agents and the holder of a degree in property valuation and management from the City University in London, says his model involves no up-front fee and no long-term contract.
“You can sign up with us for any length of time. It’s very fair and very simple. If you want to be on the market with us, you pay. If you don’t, you stop” he tells The Business Desk.
“For this it’s £30 month and you will get exactly the same as you would elsewhere. Properties are listed on major portals, viewings are arranged and the sales progression is carried out by an experienced estate agent.”
He admits volume is critical to the success of his business.
“A lot of what we can do is handled automatically, which means we can handle more clients.We can use an in-house mortgage adviser, a conveyancing brokerage – which can get fees down to about £200 and we have a deal with [removal firm] Pickfords as well as an agreement with a utilities warehouse to make the process of moving easier.”
Haywood says he is recruiting what he calls “brand reps” to cover local area.
“For every instruction in their area, we pay them. It can be part-time extra money spinner for people. We are currently recruiting on Merseyside and we are looking for about 25 in Manchester” he claims.
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'a tennis coach who once taught Tim Henman.' - one of the worst scraping the barrell claims to fame I have ever heard...!
Plate spinning is bad enough in agency without making life difficult for oneself. He'll be selling applicants coffee and sandwiches next, hang on where have I seen that done before?
I worry when all new disruptors say their model can 'do the same' when such models can't.
Equally automation has its place, but again can't do everything.
There's reasons why some parts of agency haven't changed for 100 plus years.
Wheels 500 /2,000 years on still work pretty well for the sake they are round.
I think there are a lot of people out there loath to pay big agent fees. I can see people jumping on this band wagon when they sell. People buying houses are looking on rightmove nowadays, not estate agent windows or in the paper. It's completely right that the times are changing, many agents are feeling the pinch. I take my hat off to them!
Didn't last long it seems. Website has been down for a while now.
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