Interview with Sarah Beeny – tepilo.com
July 2, 2009 by Emma Sorensen
Earlier this month we reported on the arrival of a new UK website that aims to transform the way people buy and sell property. tepilo.com is the brainchild of TV presenter Sarah Beeny and has just gone live in “phase 1″. propertyportalwatch.com spoke to Sarah about her new website, which is “a platform that allows you to take independent control of buying and selling your home.”
What is the thinking behind tepilo.com? Why start it?
Around three quarters of home buyers are using the internet to search online for properties online, many using popular property portals such as Rightmove and Globrix. But the majority, around 90%, still use an Estate Agent to sell their property (according to the Office of Fair Trading) even though this can be a costly process.
This is because there is a general perception held by the public that selling your home is daunting and incredibly complicated. Of course this isn’t the case at all.
By providing a simple to use platform, coupled with excellent advice and a step by step guide, we could help people through the process and dispel the myth that selling a home can be a minefield.
At the end of the day, we need to kick start the economy; buying and selling houses is a great start – so why not save some pennies in the process?
Do you think there’s room for yet another property related website in an already crowded UK market? And at this time, when there’s a downturn?
There are a host of other portals out there, but most charge a minimum fee to upload and sell your property online. Not only is ours completely free to use for the vendor and buyer but will give you all the advice you need along the way.
We are passionate about property and really believe that the public will warm to Tepilo – it’s already creating quite a buzz!
You’re in pre-launch phase – what’s been the reaction so far from the public?
Feedback so far has been incredibly encouraging, from both consumers and businesses alike.
Not only has everyone found our service simple and easy to use (uploading properties is a breeze) but we also have some great looking properties on the website already. The “ask Sarah a question” function has been a particularly success addition to the site; it’s working really well.
Is there any significance to the name – tepilo.com?
My father had a fictional story about Tepilo Castle; he used to tell me about it all the time when I was very young. To me it seemed like a magically and beautiful place – and so it seemed fitting to name the site after the castle as we all aspire to live in our dream home.
How does tepilo.com differ from the many for sale by owner (FSBO) websites emerging in the UK?
We set up Tepilo to be different from the beginning, for instance:
• The site is completely free to use – with no charges for uploading your property
• We make it easy for you – the site is packed with advice, including a video library of hints and tips that we are constantly updating.
• We provide practical profit enhancer tips too – in particular the “design for profit” section lays out ideas on how to design your house to maximise your profit.
• We host the negotiation process through the site. The users are completely in control of how much they want to offer or accept on a home, but by negotiating on the site we’re giving the vendor more opportunity to get a good deal or hold out for the price they want.
• We encourage the personal touch – using owner descriptions and a magazine style layout, we aim to give buyers much more of an insight into what’s great about each property.
Who do you see as competitors for tepilo.com – are you going head to head with property portals?
There is nothing quite like us online but we’re not competing head to head with any other portals, in fact we are working directly with one or two. We would like to be seen as an additional resource for their users, and a good option for those not already advertising online.
What kind of business model will the website operate under – how will the site generate revenue?
Our aim is to keep the site free for users and in order to generate revenue we will use advertising and affiliate schemes but this won’t be used to excess. By keeping the team small team means our cost base is low, which is what makes this possible.
What has the response been from agents – do they feel sidelined by the site?
Our aim isn’t to compete with Estate Agents but rather to open up options for buyers and sellers. Overall though we’ve had a positive response with well wishing and even some asking if they can add properties to the site!
As a longer term project, how do you hope this will change the way people buy and sell houses in the UK?
We see this as a long term, education project, and over time we hope to be an essential place to advertise your property or search for the best deals and advice. This is just the beginning, and the site is still in its infancy but by listening to user feedback, we aim to constantly evolve and adapt to our users’ requirements. As more people get to grips with selling their property and reaping the rewards we hope to see far more private sales.
You can find out more about Sarah’s website at tepilo.com.
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The public needs to educated about buying and selling BUT getting the buyer is crucial so Tepilo needs to get its message out there to populate the site as quickly as possible before visitors get disappointed and don’t return. Progressing a sale is tortuous even when with estate agents so it’s not for the faint-hearted – good PR is what is needed to get this site going. Wriglesworth?? We are the experts.
The self sale market should be regulated in line with laws governing estate agent professionals. To allow private sales on such a basis is opening the doors for PMA (Property Misdescription) abuse.
Self sale is not governed on the basis that a vendor gets their details wrong. The good thing with such sites is that with high profile individuals being involved should encourage government and estate agency bodies to look at how the people that use them are regulated. We encourag self sale regulation being introduced to encourage Joe Public to use agents more so.
Sarah is seen on TV giving advice to people in the property market, with this she should also encourage the general public to use the professional agents that are already in place.
We trust that on her boards there will be no mention of Tepilo, which if there is would make her under the OFT’s legislation an acting estate agent, and as such would be responsible for checking that all the vendors complied with PMA, in accordance with HIP (Home Information Pack) redress for which fines can run into £housands per case. This is why TESCO pulled out from the property market.
Here is the link at the OFT:
http://www.oft.gov.uk/advice_and_resources/resource_base/legal/estate-agents-act/retailers
Yours, in support of estate agents and not self sale.
Trevor Mealham
(The Independent Network of Estate Agents)
Trevor – I’m surprised that someone in a position such as yours, cannot see the benefit in getting house sales moving again, for all involved in the housing market. I for one think Sarah’s site is a fantastic idea, if people can save themselves money, then why wouldn’t anyone use them? Some estate agents do a great job and are well worth their fees, but most that I have used have little or no training, are ill prepared for viewings and charge a huge amount of money for the privilege. The gripes of estate agents seem slightly hollow when most refuse to do the smallest things, such as opening on weekends, to help themselves and the market. Some people will of course want and need to use agents but for the rest of us at least this offers us a choice.
Comments such as yours are unproductive and make you seem bitter – or scared that tepilo may damage your business. The housing market needs something to kickstart it and maybe tepilo could do the trick.
In support of consumer choice,
Anna
I fully support Trevor of the INEA. He has valid views on the thorny issue of self sale. I agree with Sarah Beaney that we should not encourage private sellers – if we don’t provide a platform then someone else will. Better to keep everyone on the same site anyway. Estate Agents are free to encourage private sellers to use their services instead. I have done this before and gained addiional sales. Lets face it – most private sellers make a pigs ear out of attempting to sell their own property and will eventually enlist the help of an Agent. Anna has made a good point about untrained estate agents – another case for licensing and the passing of exams. Will this ever happen in the UK? On the basis that it hasn’t happened yet, I very much doubt it!
Anna, I am far from not wanting the market to move, but encouraging self sale to value their own homes and to be competent enough to place admin in order to market their listing needs thorough discipline, not for people to dabble in a changing industry once every 3-4 years. If self sellers could do the job, and if the market was better arranged things would be better. What must be realised is that many innocent homeowners suffer from chain breakdowns. Reform could make the whole process smoother fr all if in a coordinated manner with correct input, such as introducing a premarket survey so people knew wat they were buying. Reform is needed and many are saying the HIP is hindering early stage marketing. Just because I may need 10 tonnes of sand delivering, doesnt mean because I have a car licence I can drive a lorry, or fly the jet overseas. Everyone to their own. What we actually need at the moment is lenders lending to valid cases and businesses who need help.
[...] Read propertyportalwatch.com’s interview with Sarah Beeny here or our previous coverage of the site’s launch here. [...]