HouseSimple
HouseSimple is an award-winning online estate agent, with a primary goal of achieving the highest standards, while providing an efficient, affordable alternative to traditional high street agents.
With the increasing reliance people have on the internet, and its expanding popularity, the world of property trading has rapidly developed to accommodate this change. Today, over 95% of home vendors and buyers begin their search with online portals, so it’s clear that a high street agent is not necessary anymore. HouseSimple combines the most essential tools used by a high street estate with the sheer efficacy of digital marketing. HouseSimple to help you sell or buy a home at a lower fee.
What Type of Agency is HouseSimple?
HouseSimple is an online estate agency and the 2nd largest in the UK. In the last two years, they have quadrupled their revenue, and are 30% more likely to sell your home than a high street agent. As of this point in time, HouseSimple has sold over £2 billion worth of UK properties, won the Online Estate Agency of the Year awards, and is ranked in the top 100 UK agents in terms of customer satisfaction and size. According to Alex Gosling, founder of HouseSimple, this is the time for online estate agencies, because property vendors are looking for alternatives to the appalling customer service and high expenses that accompany high street estate agencies. Online Estate Agencies charge a tenth of that fee, and provide the same services for you.
What’s the Background of HouseSimple?
HouseSimple was established in 2007 and boasts 30 years of experience in estate agency. HouseSimple offers estate agency services such as hosted viewing, valuation guidance, and full management of the sale and negotiation. Recently, Sir Charles Dunstone, an intelligent investor and Chairman of Dixons Carphone and TalkTalk, alongside his business partner Roger Taylor, invested in HouseSimple to enhance HouseSimple’s status as trendsetters in the estate agency industry. The investment highlights the growth potential and swelling charm of the online estate agency market. The market is projected to grow to 20% by 2022, which is impressive, especially when compared with its current total market share of 2%.
Are HouseSimple Good?
HouseSimple is listed on several customer review sites and they have favourable ratings on all of these sites. There are 1320 reviews on Trustpilot UK, with a trust score of 8.6 out of 10. Customers who gave a 5-star rating praised the process from start to finish, commending them for simplifying the process and keeping vendors informed every step of the way. However, customers who gave a 1-star rating complained that they didn’t speak to the same agent twice, even after requesting one agent, and messages went unanswered a number of times, especially when they opted for the full upfront payment.
At allAgents.co.uk, they have a score of 4.42/5, averaged from 328 reviews, with firm rankings of #1 out of 20 branches in CO10, and #1 out of 13 branches in Sudbury. The complaint from reviews was similar to Trustpilot, with a prospective buyer saying that even though the platform was good, he was linked repeatedly to different agents from HouseSimple, instead of getting the dedicated account manager for the listing. The core of the reviews are favourable, with 241 customers saying they loved the service and would recommend it to their peers.
Overall, the reviews were remarkable, with a few average and poor ratings on allAgents and Trustpilot, and we recommend them as an online estate agent for our users.
How Much Does HouseSimple Charge for Selling my Home?
The fee packages include flawless assimilation with HouseSimple’s renowned conveyancing partner to ensure the process of selling your property is fast and efficient. There are three payment options. These include Pay upfront, a fee of £495 after a 7-day trial period, Pay later , a £595 fee after 6 months of using the service, or pay on sale, and pay only if you sell: £995 on completion of the sale. All fee options offer the following features:
| A 7 day trial period | A ‘For sale’ board | A dedicated account manager or agent |
| Professional sale negotiation | Professional photos and floorplans | Sales progressions |
Ads on major property portals like Zoopla and Rightmove
Where do HouseSimple Advertise my Property?
The process of marketing your home goes beyond placing adverts on property portals; you start with a free home valuation, where a local assessor take professional photos, offers a valuation guide, and creates a floor plan of your property. They also check the property details and, depending on your chosen plan, might complete the EPC on your behalf.
Your property goes live on renowned sites like Primelocation, Zoopla and Rightmove. The huge advertising network of HouseSimple boasts over 10 million tenants and buyers, with over 180 million searches every month. Other property portals your listing will be advertised on include Globrix, Homes24, property network, propertyfinder.com, hotproperty.co.uk, TalkTalk, MSN, Mailonline, mirror UK, and many other online news outlets, social media channels, and major website adverts.
HouseSimple Agent Summary
Considering the superb reviews and the estate agency services offered, we recommend HouseSimple as a good option for people looking to sell or buy property and save money at the same time. You can cut out most of the extra charges by prepping the home for a viewing, doing the house viewing, and negotiating an offer yourself.
The online service has racked up some impressive awards, including the ESTAS Agents Awards for Best Online Agent, 2015, and the Negotiator Awards for Online Agency of the Year in 2016. The service is efficient and prompt, offering an easy turnaround that ensures the sales process is stress-free. They stay in touch during viewings to keep you informed about interest in your property. A leading positive across most of the reviews is the fantastic quality of the photographs on the listings, which has been attributed as the reason why they have a 60% success rate for selling properties which they have advertised, an amazing statistic for any estate agent.
Another major positive is the amount of money which you save when compared to a high street estate agent, who keeps a 1.5-4% of the full price which the property sells for.
Full breakdown of HouseSimple Extra Fee Structure
Optional services include:
| Hosted viewings: £35 per viewing if you want HouseSimple to host your viewings on an ad-hoc basis, or £295 for a fixed fee. |
| Mortgage Broking: mortgage services by L&C Mortgages provides homebuyer protection up to £1050, and expert advice across the market. |
| EPC: Energy Performance Certificates are legally required when a property is listed for rent or sale, and HouseSimple takes care of this on your behalf for a fee of £90. |
Premium listing: Boost the exposure of your listing by upgrading your advert on the top three property sites: Primelocation, Rightmove, and Zoopla.
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Looking for new ways to sell your property faster than any online agent can do?
We offer an online valuation calculator to help you get a precise value estimate for your property and locate buyers in your community at a faster pace.
