Kondo provides residents of NW England with a new way to buy and sell property
A new social media platform, developed by e3creative, is modernising the process of buying and selling residential properties. The online system, Kondo, connects buyers and sellers directly and eliminates the need for middleman estate agents.
This is not another repackaged take on high-street or online estate agents, Kondo is stepping into a completely new space, as Jessica Bradley, director of marketing at e3creative, explains:
“There’s absolutely nothing available, like Kondo, that empowers people to fully take control of their home buying or selling process. The real estate industry is a very traditional business and there’s always an intermediary estate agent to go through. People want more flexibility and to be involved, as proven with emerging online property portals, such as Rightmove, Zoopla and OnTheMarket, becoming more popular than ever. Unfortunately with these sites, people can only view what’s available, since you must be realtor to upload, manage or inquire about a listings. Kondo is aiming to break that barrier in order to make this undertaking more efficient.”
The time and cost savings from leveraging Kondo’s do-it-yourself concept are clear and were main considerations when bringing the idea to light, as Bradley mentions on behalf of the founder, who’s remaining anonymous until this new business ventures takes off and she can comfortably exit her formal position in real estate.
“The idea for Kondo originated when the founder hired an estate agent to help sell her first home. It was sold within 5 days of being online and, although she conducted the viewings herself, she still had to pay the agent a fee of £2, 500. This experience, and facing similar situations on a daily basis in her current role as an estate agent with a major player in Manchester’s property market, has made her rethink how properties are being traded.”
Kondo is a free service for homeowners to advertise their property for sale, coordinate viewings and negotiate financials. It’s a solution for people experienced in the market, wanting to take control to save time and money, as well as first-timers, with the option to opt-in for one of Kondo’s upgraded packages. These cost as little as £3.99 per month and detail important topics, such as the conveyancing process, stamp duty and EPC to how to properly photograph a home and so on. Looking at the alternative, high street estate agents charge a sales commission, that varies depending on the contract, between 0.75% to 3% of the agreed selling price plus VAT. Online estate agents tend to be more cost effective, ranging from £200-1000+, however, they charge these fees upfront without any guarantee or incentive to sell the property.
Kondo, initially released exclusively to residents of NW England, is now live and ready for public use. To give it a try, log onto their website and create a profile:www.kondo.com
