Fast-expanding Internet property web site Homes On-Line is helping
estate agents to make more money from the Internet with the
launch of a new mortgage-finding and processing service which
will pay estate agents commission even if they don't sell a
property from the site.
The new service, which will be available free of charge to Homes
On-Line agents, is believed to be the biggest mortgage and estate
agency link of its kind in the UK and will benefit estate agents
whether or not they have their own in-house financial advisers.
Through a link with The Mortgage Shop Group, visitors to the
Home On-Line web site www.homes-on-line.com can now not only
search for property for sale and to rent but also look at the
best mortgage deals on offer, select one or more products, calculate
their repayments and even submit a mortgage request on line.
Homes
On-line, which saw a 68 per cent increase in business in the
last three months of 1999 and now hosts the web sites of more
than 250 estate agencies, also provides a fax gateway to a further
6,000 estate agents. This enables homebuyers to track down an
estate agent and a property wherever they live in the UK
Homes On-Line Director Guy Baker said: "Everyone is wanting
to help estate agents to increase their bottom line and at the
same time enable home buyers to receive a better service. By
developing this new free service, Homes On-Line agents can now
offer an on-line mortgage processing section from their own
site which will enable visitors to their pages to review and
select from more than 3,000 mortgages products at any one time.
Not only will they be able to see which deals are the best,
but by being able to calculate their repayments they will be
better able to match their personal circumstances to the type
of property they are looking for."
Even if the visitor to their site does not go on to purchase
a home from the agent but subsequently takes up one of the mortgages
they calculated, the agent will receive valuable commission
from the mortgage lender. By taking advantage of this free service,
estate agents can turn their web site into a real profit centre
and make more money from their web site."
Guy Baker said that an increasing number of people already select
and apply for mortgages over the telephone and that he expects
this trend rapidly to extend to the Internet.
"This
shows that many purchasers are not interested in hawking round
estate agency offices or bank branches but would rather sit
behind their desks and find out for themselves what mortgage
rates and packages are available and then select them for themselves,"
he said.
"By adding mortgage details to estate agents' sites our members
can increase their bottom line by an addition £300 or so on
the average mortgage agreement, and they don't have to sell
one of their properties to do it."
He
added: "Another benefit to the estate agents is that the system
allows them to track on-line mortgage leads which originated
from visitors to their web pages and therefore have the reassurance
that everything is being carried out completely above board
and that they are receiving all the commission payment to which
they are entitled."
Gary Bush, Director of The Mortgage Shop Group, said: "Because
Homes On-Line is well established in the estate agency Internet
market it was a natural fit for both of us to join forces to
offer this service."
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