A mortgage broker originally backed by Zoopla which at one point offered agents referral fees has now advised vendors to bypass the traditional estate agent entirely to ‘save money’.
Trussle, which recently changed its name to Better after being acquired by a US financial firm of the same name, has said that “selling your home yourself can be a manageable process with a few key steps”.
The advice is given by the firm’s ‘property expert’ in an article published by Sky News which also suggests the number of people wholly managing the sale of their home is becoming “more common”.
The Better.co.uk expert, Jack Smithson, goes further explaining that all the core services that agents perform for their customers including photography, marketing, copy writing, viewings, negotiation, conveyancing and selling can be completed without professional help, aided by YouTube videos, ChatGPT and Grammarly.
Purplebricks
Smithson’s advice also makes the common assumption that every estate agent merely ‘advertises’ properties to gain a sale, recommending that vendors “consider using websites like Purplebricks, which allow individuals to list their properties for free on platforms like Zoopla”, or in other words, an estate agent.
Perhaps more worryingly, the advice also suggests vendors write and organise their own legal documents including the ‘memorandum of sale’ although it recommends they use a solicitor or conveyancer at some point.
The Sky News article does make an attempt to warn readers about going it alone, including quoting one lawyer who points out the dangers of not completing KYC and AML checks, and that the DIY route is likely to ‘drag out’ the process.