iSold estate agents

iSold estate agents is an online estate agent owned and operated by Spicerhaart, the UK’s largest independently owned estate agency, and working in association with Tesco. It was launched in March 2010.[1] iSold operates from a central location in Colchester, Essex, where Spicerhaart’s head office is situated. Unlike many other online estate agents, iSold directly employs Valuation Managers located around the country who visit properties to provide a free home appraisal and valuation service. iSold charge sellers a fixed fee to sell their property, and they claim that this can mean a substantial saving when compared to a traditional estate agent.[2] Both buyers and sellers are awarded with 5,000 Tesco Clubcard points upon legal completion of the property transaction.

There is a legal dispute between Tesco and Spicerhaart over iSold.[3]

History

Tesco launched a home selling service in July 2007[4] called Tesco Property Market, which allowed sellers to 'by-pass' estate agents. Property sellers using the service could sell their homes for £199. The website was launched with over 300,000 properties for sale, thanks to its partnership with online property portals. Sellers signing up to use the Tesco Property Market service were provided with a ‘for sale’ board, however they did have to provide their own room measurements, write their sales particulars and conduct viewings.

Shortly after launching, Tesco Property Market was closed.[5] It was deemed that Tesco were acting as an estate agent and therefore needed to comply with the Property Misdescriptions Act (1991) and would need to join the Ombudsman for Estate Agents scheme, which resulted in Tesco closing the venture.

Spicerhaart purchased the business from Tesco, subsequently revising the business model and re-launching it as iSold in March 2010. Unlike the original Tesco Property Market, iSold does advertise their homes for sale on Rightmove and most other major property portals.

Coverage

iSold launched in 2010 in Bristol, expanding during that year to cover Reading, York, Manchester, Leeds, Portsmouth, Southampton and London.

Awards

During 2010 iSold enjoyed success at the UK Property Awards where it was ‘highly commended’ for its estate agency services in:

  • Berkshire,
  • Gloucestershire,
  • Manchester and
  • Yorkshire.

The business received an award for best estate agency marketing in the UK.[6]

Trade Bodies

iSold is a member of the Property Ombudsman and follows the OFT approved code for estate agents.

References

  1. ↑ Daily Mail (2010-03-10). "Tesco turns estate agent with iSold website which lets you sell your home for flat £999 fee". Retrieved 2011-01-20.
  2. ↑ Gordon Miller Channel 4 (2010-04-26). "What should estate agents charge?". Retrieved 2011-01-20.
  3. ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/business/2012/oct/02/tesco-spicerhaart-home-selling
  4. ↑ Daily Mail (2007-07-03). "Now Tesco moves into the property market". Retrieved 2011-01-20.
  5. ↑ The Times (2008-04-30). "Tesco to sell property website to Spicerhaart". Retrieved 2011-01-20.
  6. ↑ http://www.residentialpropertyawards.net/index.php/United-Kingdom/Winners/2010-Best-Real-Estate-Agency-Marketing.html
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