An online agency which claims to be the first in the world to be dedicated to sealed bid property sales, is to launch in January.
The site - SealedBid.Property - is aimed at developers and private owners of high value properties in London and the south east who are willing to put their homes through a three week auction process.
The homes for sale are advertised on the SealedBid website and on Rightmove and Zoopla; the auction for each property is open for three weeks.
Danny Jay, one of five directors of the company, told Estate Agent Today that listings are entirely free but a fee is payable when a property sells.
“The first option is to pay a straight one per cent commission of the sale price” he says.
“Option two is to pay £5,000 as a flat fee and then 15 per cent of the uplift we achieve beyond the reserve price. So for example if the reserve is £1m and we sell for £1.1m, it’s £15,000 plus £5,000” says Jay, a business entrepreneur.
Once buyers have completed the verification process they can place their bid and if won, the property will be legally theirs, he says.
The agency is brand new, starting work this week with press publicity and then the firm’s five directors - one of whom has agency experience having worked with Hanover Residential - will next week begin recruiting sellers’ properties.
The website will have its formal launch in the new year; in addition to publicity on the two main portals, it will rely on extensive social media publicity to generate interest in specific properties.
You can see the new website here.
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Just rang Sealed Bid and told them I was thinking of using them to sell my house as it seemed a no nonsense sales method. Firstly they asked if the house was vacant. I said no and they said they were only dealing with vacant possession properties at the moment and were targeting developers. They said they would be looking at conventional homeowners in 6 to 9 months time. I then asked them how long they marketed their properties for and they confirmed 3 weeks. They said that exchange of contracts happened at the end of that period. Apart from the fact that 3 weeks is not nearly long enough to introduce prospective purchasers to a home and for them to be in a position to exchange contracts and to be certain that the best price has been obtained, the courts accept that one month is the minimum period to prove full marketing has taken place, so this could open up disputes on executors' and contentious sales. Very friendly guy and a good idea in principle (anything to get away from conventional private treaty sales has to be a good thing) but am not sure how it will progress.
All good points Richard however I think you are missing the point. Sealed Bid is ostensibly an online auction site and not a portal for people in chains. I think this is a great idea and one that I wish I had had.
Danny Jay. MD SealedBid
It was good to talk with you this morning Richard and thanks James for your kind words. SealedBid has been a two year project for the investors and Directors and we are an ‘Online only, Sealed bid only’ Estate Agency.
Initially looking for high end Property Developers with homes ready to sell early in 2018.
If a Penthouse flat in Central London is valued at £2m, it is not the purchasers last £2m. He probably has another £xxM in the Bank and it may not be an issue if he pays £2.1m - £2.2m or even £2.5m, whereas the local Estate Agent will do their best to sell it for £2m. The icing on the cake is as the Sealed Bid closes, Contracts have exchanged.
A decent idea for sure, and especially in the high end market where no nonsense is required. There will still be enough properties for the traditional agents to make chains that are off market (which seemingly seems to be the majority of what the high end agents do), so good luck to a new player.
I agree Daniel and thanks for the good wishes. The top end of the London market is so vast and more importantly, far reaching. Wealthy buyers throughout the World who want to invest in London know their money is safe and if you can afford it, why wouldn't you? Our incorruptible bidding platform shall instil confidence in buyers, knowing that their bid is secure from unscrupulous Agents and subject to reaching the reserve price and the highest bid, completion could take place in a matter of days.
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