Welcome to

Online is obviously the right place to list or start your search for any property. Why visit every estate agent in person when you can see the properties they offer from the calm of your own home or office?

Similarly, why first go through the websites of individual traditional estate agents who mainly only list properties they themselves market?  Rather than going onto a property portal which features many more properties from numerous agents and independents?

And surely it should be completely your free choice to accurately list properties wherever you wish?

Our view is that the choices to list and search for property have unfortunately been a real problem for both groups over time.

In fact, we believe the matter has sometimes been little short of 'a cesspit'.

To take some examples that have commonly been reported (and which you may have possibly already experienced) together with some other factors you might wish to bear in mind:

• There has been two or three main 'big players' online for listing property. Yes perhaps some of us know 'what a lovely service and price' we enjoy when there are a limited number of 'players' in any market, be it with respect to energy, water or anything else we all need.

  However, even if a property site has a large or reported huge numbers of visitors, that effect can be disadvantageous or even greatly diluted as more and more agents and property listers list their properties on these sites. i.e. more properties listed on the site your property is listed on does not necessarily work to your advantage.  And if searching facilities are not very good with properties becoming buried or otherwise disadvantaged, or if all types of properties are not covered, then it does not work to a searcher's advantage either.

  Maybe a big 'powerful' site does not work for everyone, or even most? 

• It is widely reported that the figures concerning the volume of site visits cannot be relied upon. Personally, I do not believe 'many of any' figures readily pushed to me, but it is up to us to make our own judgements.  
• Many property listing portals are actually linked to each other or to one of the two or three 'big players'.  (i.e. smaller sites saying they are powered by 'such and such').  'OneClick' is not linked to any portal and is completely independent in that respect.  
• It has been common for bigger property portal players to purchase other property portal sites, only to then shut them down.  This can only result in reducing competition and customer choice both for property listers and searchers alike.  
• It has been common for numerous property agents to take properties off portals and then after a short time period has elapsed, or when a sale has maybe fallen through, to then relist those same properties back on the portal, but appearing as if they are 'new on the market' listings. This unfair practice can also falsely increase web search positions and provide misleading property alerts.  This 'portal juggling' can be misleading as can any misrepresentation.  Our site does not use property alerts and all live searches on our site are based purely on basic criteria provided by the property listers.  E.g. the date when the property was first listed is irrelevant to all search tools on our site.  We also do not list any claimed figures as to our site's performance or to the average asking prices, as you can never assume anyway that a property which is still listed but as sold, achieved any given listed asking price. Similarly on our site, any property removed and then placed back on our site will be at no advantage. Any account recognised by us as being part of a fraudulent act or part of any misleading practice on 'OneClick' will be closed down as per our terms.  

  In any event, please note that all claimed details should always be carefully checked by the buyer or renter(/leasee) and their legal professional when contemplating the purchase, lease or rental of any property. (And maybe even take all details with a 'pinch of salt' 🙂 

• Individuals have been commonly prevented from directly listing property on some 'main big-player' portals unless they instruct an estate agent first.  We believe this is wrong and that anyone should be able to list and expose their own property effectively to as wider audience as possible without needing to be 'tied down' or 'hemmed in' in any way.  How many of us would wish to have to agree a commission on the future sale of our own car, just to be able to effectively list or advertise it?  And you would likely also want to list that car in several places, wouldn't you?  
• At the end of the day, property searchers (i.e. prospective buyers/renters), and listers of property who are prospective sellers do (or should) need to be straightforward and completely honest about these matters. The truth is (and we all probably already know it 🙂 ) is that any property agent who approaches you is clearly a professional (and even if you approach them, they are still that professional). The Agent will commonly want to get your property 'on their books'. i.e. that is the main or maybe only avenue from which they personally will benefit from the sale or rental of your property, however long it takes.  You may have one property to sell, but they do commonly have many more than 'that one' to sell. i.e. it is 'a numbers game' where your number may be one and theirs can be many more than that. To 'help you get on their books', an agent as 'middleman and salesman' may suggest to you that your property can (or even is likely to) achieve a certain price.  It is also 'human nature' for any owner seller to want to achieve the best sale price when trusting a professional who has more experience and knowledge in that field.  This can sometimes be a tactic used by an agent to persuade you to 'go with them' re 'we can get the best price for you'.  The agent could base a price assertion on figures that may or may not be true or realistic.  The agent in this endeavour may also drop his fees to attract you as a client.

  But in any event, and in terms of more relevancy, the hard overriding fact is that once/as (or if) you have agreed to 'go with them', then it can often go 'helpfully hand in hand' with some kind of agency or sole agency agreement where you may be thereafter 'tied in' to staying with that agent who now has 'all the time in the world'. 

  In these situations, now price reductions agreed by you because of the former, 'can happen'.  i.e. you may loose or be at a disadvantage again, but whilst an eventual commission to that particular agent is still largely protected. i.e. you sometimes cannot dis-instruct an agent thereafter not to sell your property.   They may also sometimes have pre-communicated that your property cannot be widely listed on the internet if you do not agree to their 'tied in' terms whilst suggesting or persuading you that your property may sell for whatever certain figure.

  Are all Estate Agents like this?

  Certainly not. And most provide a valuable, knowledgable and trustworthy local service.

  Is this a real temptation driven by the forces of competition and the 'natural direction' of wanting to 'out-do' or survive in that 'middleman/sales/competitive' zone?

  Yes it is.

  Has it been a problem?  Yes it has.

  Is there a way to protect against this?  Well, try and get as accurate and as independent a valuation of the likely achievable and realistic sale price for your own property as possible. And be careful not to have that price be based on any claimed sale prices which may be completely false or other asking prices which may already be inflated.  Also be very careful if signing any agency agreement, and if you do, then make sure you are happy with the details of the arrangement and also make sure that it is only for a limited time . (Almost sounds like a BREXIT backstop, doesn't it 🙂 )

  Who is at fault for these numerous scenarios?

  We are not so much interested in that and not meaning it in an unsympathetic way, but it is time to move on.  What we can change and what we do absolutely passionately care about here is to offer fair terms on this site for property listers and searchers alike.  And whilst 'briefly' pointing out what in our view has been occurring.  The rest would likely be a complete waste of everyone's time. Yes our site focuses on useful content, is maybe more 'raw', functional, minimalistic and less opportunistic, and without the many distractions of advertising and banners there commonly are on such sites.

  But then again, that's the way it is intended to be by design,  and It's time to move on.

So in short: 🙂

Anyone is welcome to accurately and fairly list property on 'OneClick' as per our straightforward terms.  Customers listing on our site can simultaneously list on any other property site(s) as well (if the other site allows it!).  We make no discrimination as to whether property listers and searchers are large or small, traditional estate agents or not, online agents, businesses or private individuals.  (or whether listed property is residential or commercial)

If it is your property or you have legitimate sanction to list it, then 'OneClick' is a good place to be.

Our goal is a fair, transparent 'level playing field'.