Be very wary of the collaboration between Connells and IAmSold -- or indeed any collaboration between an estate agent and a 'modern style' auction house. They are motivated to sucker you into an auction because they make 4.5% in fees instead of the more typical 1.5-2.0% by the conventional selling method. Make no mistake, whatever they tell you, IAmSold is going to sell to a cash buyer, who will pay 75-80% of the market price. Im my case a property valued at £250,000 by Connells was sold by IAmSold at £186,000. Connells advertised well and got plenty of visitors but no offers. They nevertheless advised me to keep the price high for far too long. We stuck at "offers over £240,000" for months, briefly tried £230,000 then they suddenly recommended an auction. I agreed, with a reserved price of £200,000, and still hoping for around £220,000 because they were supposedly getting me the best price on offer from a lot of interested viewers. The auction did not go well. It was timed for two weeks, but no-one bid at all until the last two days. Most of the bids came in the last few minutes at just over the starting price of £180,000. IAmSold staff are motivated only by the need to make a sale. They called me on the last day of bidding and persuaded me into lowering the reserve price to the highest bid at the last minute. Foolishly I agreed. I regretted it immediately, but the IAmSold contract makes clear that verbal changes to the reserved price are binding. There was no way back.Clearly what I should have done is progressively reduce the asking price, against Connells advice, to £220,000, £210,000 and if necessary £200,000. Only then should I even have considered an auction. I still feel I probably would have got an offer around £220,000 despite talk of a 'slow market'. I feel ripped off. It feels like Connells deliberately gave me incorrect pricing advice to force me into an auction that was not in my best interests, and that IAmSold pressured me into a snap decision against my better judgement to take even lower than the reserve price that I had decided upon. I lost a lot of money. I would advise using an estate agent that does not have any vested interest in an auction house (if you can find one) and if possible take independent, pragmatic, advice on pricing, rather than optimistically clinging on to the first valuation -- which was probably pitched high to persuade you to go with that agent in the first fist place. Do not use IAmSold unless you are looking for a quick cash buyer. There is no need to go for a cash sale unless you have an unmortgageable property or a very short timescale. Fix your reserve price and do not answer the phone to them on the last day of bidding!
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Connells Estate Agents and Agency for Property Sales and Letting in West London, Midlands, Leicestershire, Warwickshire, Herefordshire and Southern UK.
