Spicerhaart and Tesco launch online estate agent
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Spicerhaart has teamed up with Tesco to launch iSold.com, an online estate agency that offers to market a property for just £999.
It describes itself as a “halfway house” between a traditional high street estate agent and an online service and will launch in Bristol before being rolled out across the country.
Customers can also buy their Home Information Pack, conveyancing services, a survey and arrange their mortgage through the service.
iSold.com offers a prime package, combining the HIP and part of the conveyancing to speed up the sale process.
Tesco will market the site to its customers in store, but the commercial arrangements of the deal have not been revealed.
The £999 fixed fee for the iSold.com’s essential package includes free valuation and home consultation, professional property details, advertising on all the major property portals, 24/7 access to the iSold.com website and a branch team available from 8 a.m. to 10pm weekdays and normal weekend opening.
Sellers register with the site for a free online valuation before a valuer visits to confirm the selling price, take photos and measures the rooms.
iSold.com clients’ properties will be advertised on all the major property portals, including: Rightmove, Primelocation, FindaProperty, Globrix, Mouseprice and Zoopla.
A spokesman for iSold, says: “iSold.com is an innovative new service that gives customers choice about the level of service they require to sell their home. We put buyers and sellers in control of the whole moving process by allowing them to log into their own area of the website, arrange viewings, email each other and view a handy calendar for keeping track of appointments.
“All offers and negotiations are carried out by the expert team from iSold.com to ensure that the customer gets the best price achievable.
“We appreciate that some people will prefer to use the services of a traditional High Street agency. What iSold.com offers is a real alternative.”
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Readers' comments (15)
dave | 5 Mar 2010 9:15 am
Remember the days when there were insurance brokers and travel agents on every corner? Run the clock forward a few years and we will say the same about estate agents.
Both travel agents and brokers played the service card - but how many of the people reading this now go with the 'appropriate price'. AVMs, HIPs, online marketing we dont need agents - most brokers could do a better job
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Tom Cleary | 5 Mar 2010 9:20 am
I can't wait for the first person to walk into a Haart branch and ask for them to sell their home for £999 because they saw it in branch of Tesco. This is the "pile 'em high and sell 'em cheap" approach to the biggest asset in a person's life. Why associate your brand with that?
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Anonymous | 5 Mar 2010 9:24 am
So that's the sharks being sorted then.
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Chris | 5 Mar 2010 10:35 am
only a matter of time till estate agents go the same way as insurance brokers. Haart are just trying to make sure they have a buisness in 5 years time. £999 is a bit steep though, will only be a matter of time till another portal offers the same service for £299. Lets face it, it's not that hard to be an estate agent you only have to look at the age of the average haart neg.
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Dom | 5 Mar 2010 11:50 am
House network do it the same for £300!
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rav | 5 Mar 2010 12:01 pm
Do you get clubcard points when your house is sold? Spend £50 and get 5p off a litre of petrol......
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David Tyler | 5 Mar 2010 12:05 pm
An inevfitable and welcome move that will get rid of the ridiculously high charges made by Estate Agents.
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Anonymous | 5 Mar 2010 12:37 pm
Buy one get one free !
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S Foden | 5 Mar 2010 1:12 pm
Do they have to pay up front?
If so this was trialled in Bristol a few years ago and the company went bust shortly afterwards.
If as part of the £999.00 the consumer will have to use their solicitors then the consumer will find that the deal in not as chaep as they first thought and the service for any non-standard house is less than satisfactory.
However for the straightforward house it is likley to work
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Anonymous | 5 Mar 2010 6:15 pm
Great news & about time to. we have been ripped off for years but only ourselves to blame when there has not been much other choice. Could never understand that using an agent who most of the time had not even seen your house when came with a viewer and paying over 1% & some times they didnt even show the prospect around you would end up doing it yourself. lets see how this developes but I expect alot of agents will be crying to mum & dad.
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