It CAN be done - sales agreed totally thanks to virtu...

An estate agency in Portsmouth has sold a house subject to contract after nothing more than a video tour filmed by the owners.

A team from the city’s Pink Street agency was scheduled to meet the owner at the property for photos, floorplan and description but the lockdown was put in place.

Instead the owners prepared a video tour of their own.

The agency sent this to prospective buyers and started generating interest. One of them made an offer and after Pink Street’s due diligence was completed, the owners happily accepted the offer.

The vendor - Colleen - says: “We were worried that we wouldn’t be able to sell because of the Coronavirus but we thought we’d give it a go. I must say, I’m very impressed”.

Pink Street’s Matt Wilson adds: “This proves that where there’s a will, there’s a way. The lockdown has affected everyone and we’ve all got to do what we can for our clients. I’m so pleased this worked”.

Pink Street was founded in 2012 and operates in Portsmouth, Fareham and Gosport.

Meanwhile there’s been similar success for two Fine & Country agents.

Karl Rusk from Fine & Country Staffordshire says: “Last Friday, we were contacted by a buyer and we set up a virtual viewing with the vendor the next day at 10am, after we had registered and qualified the buyer.

“Around 15 minutes before the viewing, we gave the vendor’s number to the buyer who contacted the vendor via FaceTime and was shown around the property. The buyer was very keen on the property and wanted to make an offer. At this stage, I got involved and we were able to negotiate and come to an agreement.”

Rusk continues: “While it is in the early stages of the process and there is a proviso that the buyer will be able to view the property in person when the government restrictions are lifted before the sale goes through, it is good news that we are still able to market properties in this way.”

Another agent who recently agreed a sale on a property through a video viewing, Jo Parker from Fine & Country South West Sussex, says that in her situation the interested buyer was someone who had been classified as vulnerable and at risk.

“Before the official lockdown, the interested buyer was already self-isolating and, adding to that, the vendor’s son was unwell, so a video viewing was the only option. The vendor was able to give the buyer a video tour of the property, which they loved and wanted to make an offer on” she says.