Sorry to interrupt the regular schedule, but just a head’s up…
Special Offer
Boo!! Yopa isn’t currently running any promotions!
Unfortunately I don’t have any Yopa discount codes available at the moment, but as soon as I do, I’ll share it on here. In the meantime, here are a list of online estate agents that are running mouth-watering promos.
Okay, now back to the original blog post/review…
It’s becoming increasingly difficult impossible to get through a day without having a Yopa advert shoved in our faces, whether it be on TV, the radio, or on the side of a double-decker bus. They’ve even managed to throw enough money at Sir Mo Farah and lure him into their marketing campaigns.
Like a freaking plague of cockroaches, Yopa are EVERYWHERE.
We. Get. It. You’re an Online Estate Agent that sells property for a one-off fixed-fee, saving home-sellers thousands of pounds in agency fees in comparison to our local high-street agents.
But the question still remains, should you use Yopa’s £999 service while there are now so many other [cheaper] options? Perhaps my lousy Yopa review will tip you over the edge, one way or the other…
First and foremost, if you’re not exactly sure how the whole ‘online letting agent’ thing works, then I recommend jumping over to my online estate agent guide before continuing down this path. I think it’s important to understand the concept before shelling out on the product.
If you haven’t dispersed, I’m going to assume you get the concept, and now you want to understand Yopa’s proposition before pulling the trigger.
Wise!
But before getting into the nitty-gritty, let’s take a look at the menu – the packages Yopa are currently offering to help you sell your home:
Estate AgentRatingDurationIncludes / NotesPrice Yopa Rating 4.6 TrustPilot Reviews Duration 12 Months Includes / Notes
Pay Now Core package
12 Months marketing on Rightmove, Zoopla + more
Rightmove listing
Photograghs
Floorplan
Negotiation
For sale sign
In-person valuation
*Selling fee of £1,499 in a few specific London postcodes. Price* £999Inc VAT Visit WebsiteBook Free In-Person Valuation Yopa Rating 4.6 TrustPilot Reviews Duration 12 Months Includes / Notes
No Sale, No Fee package
12 Months marketing on Rightmove, Zoopla + more
Rightmove listing
Photograghs
Floorplan
Negotiation
For sale sign
In-person valuation
No sale, no fee
16 weeks Sole Agency contract
*Selling fee of £2,999 in a few specific London postcodes. Price* £1999Inc VAT Visit WebsiteBook Free In-Person Valuation
A Quick Overview of Yopa’s service
They will provide you with a free in-person local property valuation to determine the value of your home!
If you agree to use their service, you will get assigned with a local agent to oversee and manage the sale of your property
Yopa will market your property on the biggest UK property portals (e.g. Rightmove & Zoopla) to generate enquiries
Those who successfully sold with Yopa accepted an offer for 97.9% on average of their initial asking price
At the time of writing this review, Yopa have an impressive TrustScore of 4.8/5 on TrustPilot and over 7000 reviews. Not too shabby at all.
You may have heard enough, and you’re ready to load up Yopa’s shopping cart!
Happy shopping. You can get started by booking a free property valuation.
But maybe you’re not completely sold. So let’s keep going…
How do Yopa compare to other online agents?
Yopa’s overview sounds impressive, right? Right.
However, I’d be a blubbering buffoon amiss if I didn’t point out the fact that they’re not the only online estate agent offering the same kinda’ thing. I’m not saying the service will be the same, but I am saying the feature-list will be very similar.
One of Yopa’s biggest rivals are a little known company that goes by the name Purplebricks. Yup, you’ve also probably heard of them due to their equally gigantic marketing budget!
Generally speaking, when home-sellers are contemplating Yopa, they’re also eyeing up Purplebricks for comparison (and vice versa). It’s the whole Nike Vs Adidas, Sony Vs Samsung, Windows Vs Mac, Blonde Vs Brunette, Mercedes Vs BMW debate.
In order to play fair, let’s take a gander at Purplebricks current menu…
Estate AgentRatingDurationIncludes / NotesPrice PurpleBricks Rating 4.6 TrustPilot Reviews Duration Until Sold Includes / Notes
Pay now package
Until Sold marketing on Rightmove, Zoopla + more
Rightmove listing
Photograghs
Floorplan
Negotiation
For sale sign
In-person valuation
*Selling fee of £1,499 in London and surrounding areas. Price* £999Inc VAT Visit Website
Hmm’ummm.
Now, there’s a pickle.
Exactly the same price, exactly the same feature-list.
What to do?
In my opinion? Honestly, I don’t think it makes much difference. That’s the stone-cold truth. If Yopa is edging it for you for one reason or another, go for them. Do it.
What about the other MUCH cheaper online agents?
Yopa and Purplebricks are probably not the only online estate agents you’ve heard of. There are actually too many to choose from, which is kind of a pain for consumers. Of course, none quite as popular as the two front-runners mentioned, but a couple of worthy challengers’ are loitering nonetheless.
In my online estate agent guide I’ve listed a dozen or so online agents to choose from – you may notice a few other recognisable faces (e.g. HouseSimple, DoorSteps) – each varying in price (and quality). It’s important to understand why there is such a vast difference in price between some of the agents!
Remember, Yopa is a Hybrid agent!
The thing you’ll quickly notice is that the online agents are categorised into two types: “Online-only” and “Hybrid”
Yopa is a “Hybrid” agent (as is Purplebricks), which typically makes them significantly more expensive than an online-only agents (i.e. HouseSimple & DoorSteps), but that’s because they provide a louder bang for your buck, so the price difference isn’t entirely based on brand power. Thank Goodness.
Yopa costs £999, while you’ll find the online-only agents starting from £99. Now that’s pretty jarring and it does raise questions, and rightly so.
Why the premium? What am I paying extra for? Is it worth it? Should I just go with a cheaper online agent?
Why is Yopa more expensive than online-only agents?
Yes, let’s tackle the crux of the issue. And I’ll try not to ramble (even though history dictates I’ll fail, miserably!).
Yopa, like other hybrid agents, are based on a model that offers features you would expect from an online agent and a traditional high-street agent.
Most online agents operate purely online, meaning their service is managed through their website and typically phone-support; they won’t have a physical office/branch which you can bust into and cause a riot for providing a shambolic service, nor will they have localised agents zipping around in their flashy MINI Coopers. Of course, that’s why online estate agents are so much cheaper than the traditional high-street agent cowboys- the overheads are minuscule in comparison.
Yopa have ripped chunks off the online agency model and chunks off the high-street model… and squashed it all together to make a mutant, à la “Hybrid” Essentially, you’re left with the best of both worlds, which is:
Local agent Yopa will provide you with a dedicated local agent! Yes, “local”, and this is what the extra £300 is really about, and that’s the feature which has been snatched from the high-street model. You can catch a glimpse of their mugs over on the Yopa agent page, so you can see exactly who you would be dealing with. Such beautiful people.
The agents are professional and dedicated Yopa estate agents, they’re not moonlighting or working around their full-time job. So to clarify, they will NOT have a high-street shop presence, but will provide local physical presence and support because they’ll be located near you (you’ll probably only meet them once though, and that’s during the property valuation).
If you’re interested in getting a free valuation from Yopa (there’s no obligation to continue thereon), your prospective ‘local agent’ will visit your property to get the ball rolling. If you then wish to use Yopa’s service, your new-best-friend-agent will guide/support you through the sale until completion. That will include the initiation of marketing your property; professional photos, floorplan, a ‘For Sale’ sign and then throwing your property advert onto the likes of Rightmove, Zoopla and PrimeLocation to start generating enquiries.
If you also want your agent to take the viewings, they can, but at an extra cost of £300 (i.e. it’s not included in the basic £999 package), and that’s when you’ll have the opportunity to meet your new mate again.
You with me? Good!
Online agent I’ve already mentioned that Yopa, like every other online agent, does not have a high-street shop front or local branch. Essentially, that’s what classifies them as an online agent, or at least partially.
You can arrange everything online via their website, including payment, and access to a 24/7 dashboard, which will allow you to view/process all your enquiries 24/7.
Is Yopa worth paying extra for, or should I go for the cheaper online-only agent?
Yes.
Well, maybe.
It depends.
This is how I look at it: if you want the assistance of a local agent to support you through the entire process of selling your home and relieve you from some of the work-load (after all, your time is precious), then yes, in my opinion the “hybrid” model is worth stumping up the extra cash for, even if you have to do so begrudgingly. However, if you’re confident you can do without the local assistance, then a cheaper online-only agent is probably the better option. However, I do want to make a few crucial points before you pull-the-trigger and make your decision:
Don’t be THAT Dad Using an online agent, including a “hybrid” one, is already going to save you a shitload of cash comparative to a high-street agency. You’re already winning here.
So I wouldn’t try to whittle down the costs of selling a home to the point of creating a false-economy. What I mean by that is, don’t focus on JUST saving money by taking on a project which you’re ill-prepared for. A good analogy is when an unqualified Dad tries to hopelessly save costs when repairing the leaky dishwasher when the extent of his qualifications is streaming a few ‘how-to’ videos on YouTube. In most cases, the end result will be a bodge-job, and eventually lead to more expenses to fix-the-fix.
My point? As much as we all religiously love to believe that an estate agent’s job can be just as equally fulfilled by a chimp (if not better), they mostly do have the knowledge and experience which will allow for an optimal selling experience.
If you actually would benefit from the added local support, don’t talk yourself into being the bodge-job Dad. The law of averages dictates you’ll cause havoc and it will end in tears.
All Online Agents will provide support I don’t want to provide a false illusion, so let me clarify something (before someone jumps on my hairy back and causes a scene).
No matter which online agent you decide to choose, if at all any that is, they will ALL provide support (as far as I’m aware).
Yopa’s local agent will provide a physical and local presence, and that will understandably be comforting for many (unless they’re a sleaseball idiot). However, the online agents that don’t offer a local dedicated agent will also provide support and guidance, but most likely by a dedicated account manager in a support centre somewhere. Regardless of which online agent you opt for, you will never be left to fend for yourself.
In any case, definitely read the T&C’s of whichever agent you’re interested in working with, and find out exactly what level of support you will receive! Most crucially, don’t be afraid to ask questions, preferably by email so you can prove what was promised to you.
Yopa’s customer reviews
We live in a world where it’s never been easier to complain about piss-poor service. Rightly or annoyingly so, we all have a louder voice in this digital age.
The sad reality is, we humans are more compelled to leave negative feedback than positive ones. I’m still undecided on whether empowering us is a terribly good thing, or a terribly catastrophic thing. Either way, it does have its obvious advantages.
If someone has been sold a questionable piece of cod from Dave’s Fish Palace, you can bet your left nutsack on the fact that you’ll be able to read about it somewhere, even if it’s ticked away in the darkest depths of the internet – it will be somewhere.
So if you’re happy to put a monetary value on objective reviews/ratings from the general public, which people seem to be, maybe Yopa is money well spent (or saved, depending on how you look at it). Credit where credit due, because their TrustPilot rating is sweet as a nut.
So, are you interested or what? If so, this is how you can get the ball rolling…
As mentioned in the opening overview, Yopa provide free property valuations (conducted by one of their local agents), so that’s probably a good starting point. Just to clarify, there are no obligations to use their services after receiving your valuation!
Tell me about YOUR experience
As a matter of interest, have you used Yopa or any other online agent? What’s your experience been? If you’re looking to use an online agent, who are you going to use and why?
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