Introducing Agent Online
An online estate agency business designed to help brokers and IFAs offer clients a new service
How do online agents work? They tend to cover the whole of the country from one central office, allowing them to keep their costs down and consequently charge sellers and landlords a much lower fee than most traditional agents.
Importantly the online agent should still list all its properties on the UK’s most dominant and visited property websites, namely Rightmove and Zoopla. These are the sites used by the vast majority of all buyers, sellers and tenants – but consumers are not allowed to advertise on them directly, they need to go via an estate agent. Traditional ‘high street’ agents advertise on exactly the same websites but they will usually charge the seller or landlord a much higher fee, partly to cover their own higher costs.
Most online agents will handle all the enquiries that come in from Rightmove and Zoopla and organise for potential buyers and tenants to view the property. All the seller or landlord needs to do is show people round the property at the time they agreed. After the viewing, the online agent should then contact the potential buyers/tenants to see if they are interested in making an offer. The agent’s job is to obtain the best price they can for the seller/landlord.
Once a sale has been agreed the online agent should then instruct solicitors for both parties (buyer and seller) and keep in contact with everyone up until completion. In the case of a rental property, once a tenant has agreed to sign up, the agent’s property management team will carry out the necessary pre-tenancy checks, take a deposit and arrange for an agreement to be completed prior to moving in.
We recommend you watch this short company video by one of Agent Online’s investors, Sarah Willingham, explaining how they work:
Agent Online is one of this new breed of agents and has come up with a brand new concept partnering with mortgage brokers and IFAs to offer their clients a leading estate agency service. Backed by a group of interesting investors, Agent Online’s primary focus is working with intermediaries in the mortgage and financial planning market place.
The information on this website will hopefully answer any questions you have regarding how the service works and help you decide whether you yourself want to become an Agent Online Partner or Introducer. If you have any questions at all please feel free to call their support team on 03333 447 007.