Property portals provide hunters with a one stop shop that capture more than 95% of property available for sale.
But Jo Aldridge of Stacks Property Search says:
"On the face of it, searching for property can be done with relative ease, but be careful not to allow yourself to become complacent. The perfect home may just fall into the 5% that bypasses, or fails ever to reach, the likes of Rightmove and Primelocation.
Firstly, remember that by the time a property appears on the portals it may have been unofficially on the market for anything from a week to a couple of months. Buying agents and favoured 'hot' buyers are often informed of new properties weeks before they're officially launched. In parts of the country, or for particular types of property, where demand outstrips supply, other buyers will have gained a valuable head start by the time Zoopla tells you there's something new to look at.
And there are other properties that never see the light of a property portal at all. Private sellers aren't permitted to promote their properties on these sites, and private vendors are forced to use other methods of publicity ranging from the small ads in Horse & Hound or the Sunday papers, to dedicated private property sale websites. Even ebay has an extensive range of property for sale. But it's all fairly scattered, searching is time intensive and not necessarily immediately rewarding.
Another recent development is an ebay-esque online system of property auction, known by its creators as the Modern Method of Sale. www.iam-sold.co.uk rolls out a white-labelled auction management service to independent estate agents who can then 'sell' it to vendors as a no-fee alternative to traditional marketing through an estate agent.
Buyers bid online for property, pay a non-refundable deposit, and there is a fixed date for exchange and completion.
While this is yet far from mainstream, there are elements of the system that make a great deal of sense. Any move to a more secure method of buying and selling is, in essence, a good thing. But we would advise caution if you are tempted to buy through this method. Take advice from your solicitor before bidding, and do everything you can to avoid paying a non-refundable deposit. You have a lot of work to do researching the property before committing yourself financially.
Psychologically, auctions - whether they're in the village hall or online - can encourage recklessness, and mistakes can be made. If the result is a rather tatty second hand designer coat, you can put it down to experience. But the pain involved in making a bad property buying decision is less easily forgotten."
