McEwan Fraser - Have you used them?

[Speedy]

Just a general query.

One of their advert mentions someone using them after hearing about them through their sponsorship of us, so it got me wondering how effective their investment has been.

Have you used them?

Edit: Admin, feel free to move this to Holy Ground if you want but one of the things that interests me is whether sponsoring us is cost effective for the company(e.g. McEwan Fraser) as this may impact how much money we can raise through sponsorship. This is of particular interest at the moment as they are, apparently, not renewing their deal.

[GORDONSMITH7]

Pretty effective apparently.One in five enquiries. I read this article last year.

http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/business/McEwan-Fraser-has-scored-with.6399204.jp


McEwan Fraser buys properties at around 75 per cent below market value from people in need of a fast sale using investment funds from private equity individuals. It then sells the property on to a private buyer.

"There's sometimes a feeling that we're trading on people's misery, but we don't create the circumstances in which people need to sell," said co-founder Scott Fraser, who launched the firm in 2003 with Ken McEwan.

Deary me!

BIG G

[Speedy]

Pretty effective apparently.One in five enquiries. I read this article last year.

http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/business/McEwan-Fraser-has-scored-with.6399204.jp


McEwan Fraser buys properties at around 75 per cent below market value from people in need of a fast sale using investment funds from private equity individuals. It then sells the property on to a private buyer.

"There's sometimes a feeling that we're trading on people's misery, but we don't create the circumstances in which people need to sell," said co-founder Scott Fraser, who launched the firm in 2003 with Ken McEwan.

Deary me!

BIG G

It's horrible to think that some people are so desperate to sell their house.

I suppose the sponsorship deal with Hibs has done the job in that it has raised awareness massively even if it only results in a small number of clients.

[iwasthere1972]

It's horrible to think that some people are so desperate to sell their house.

I suppose the sponsorship deal with Hibs has done the job in that it has raised awareness massively even if it only results in a small number of clients.

:agree:

I suppose it's better to get 75% of the market value of your property and having the opportunity of settling with your mortgage lender, if there's enough equity, rather than being forced out of your house and handing the keys over.

McEwan Fraser are not forcing people to sell. It's there as an option.

[Beefster]

:agree:

I suppose it's better to get 75% of the market value of your property and having the opportunity of settling with your mortgage lender, if there's enough equity, rather than being forced out of your house and handing the keys over.

McEwan Fraser are not forcing people to sell. It's there as an option.

In the limited number of cases that I've heard of, they've not offered anywhere near 75% of the property's market value.

They do take advantage (and profit massively as a result) from the desperation of those in difficulty IMHO.

Edit: I should point out that they are far from the only company that offers this type of service.

[Geo_1875]

While there are people who are genuinely in difficulties through no fault of their own, and I do sympathise with them, there are a huge number of people who are in this situation through nothing but short- sighted greed. As someone who never got involved in the "property boom" I think these people are lucky to get out with anything. We should remember it's a buyers market now and property is only worth what buyers are willing to pay.

[ArabHibee]

In the limited number of cases that I've heard of, they've not offered anywhere near 75% of the property's market value.

They do take advantage (and profit massively as a result) from the desperation of those in difficulty IMHO.

Edit: I should point out that they are far from the only company that offers this type of service.

But you have to wonder how they got themselves into that position in the first place. Some through no fault of their own, some through their own stupidity. Better than having your house re-possessed in my opinion.

[Ritchie]

I'm in the process of putting my flat on the Market as I need to find a bigger place now that I've got the wee man.

We've enquired with mcewan Fraser and they are actually a good option as they give you numerous options when selling. You don't have to sell your house to them on the cheap, they also act as a normal estate agent and can get you good deals on part exchange.

Still not decided If I'm going to use them yet though :wink:

And for the record, had they not sponsored Hibs, I'd still have enquired as they were well marketed prior to the sponsorship so I knew all about them.

[Keith_M]

:agree:

I suppose it's better to get 75% of the market value of your property and having the opportunity of settling with your mortgage lender, if there's enough equity, rather than being forced out of your house and handing the keys over.

McEwan Fraser are not forcing people to sell. It's there as an option.


Not a dig at you but I thought I'd just point it that it actually says "up to 75% below market value", which actually means that some people are selling their houses to them for as little as 25% of what they're worth.

How desperate would you have to be to sell a £160K house, for instance, for as little as £40K?

[Shaggy]

Heard of them through the sponsorship,
called them in last year when I was at a low ebb and very vulnerable.

Fank I never used them, I would have turned a bad couple of years into a life time problem from which would be difficult to recover.

They suss out how weak a position you are in, dangle a carrot that may help, then continually reduce the offer to ridiculous levels to pressure the deal.

It is legal, but not ethical.:bitchy:

[heretoday]

Pretty effective apparently.One in five enquiries. I read this article last year.

http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/business/McEwan-Fraser-has-scored-with.6399204.jp


McEwan Fraser buys properties at around 75 per cent below market value from people in need of a fast sale using investment funds from private equity individuals. It then sells the property on to a private buyer.

"There's sometimes a feeling that we're trading on people's misery, but we don't create the circumstances in which people need to sell," said co-founder Scott Fraser, who launched the firm in 2003 with Ken McEwan.

Deary me!

BIG G

I sometimes get the feeling that you are trading on other people's misery too, Mr Fraser.

Arguably, any sponsor Hibs are likely to get will trade on others' misery to some extent. After all.....Carlsberg? 'Nuff said?

Frank Graham, Builders.....P and D Windows.......hey fascists!

[SlickShoes]

I moved to Glasgow for a job and needed to sell my flat in Edinburgh so that I could get a place through here.

My house was valued at 105k and mcewan fraser were confident they could give me 75k for it.

They were fairly decent and honest in the offers they made to me but i was never in the desperate situation of needing to sell, if i had taken there offer i wouldnt have even had enough to use as a deposit i would have effectively lost everything from buying 5 years ago and selling last year.

My general thoughts are that unless you are riddled with debt and need to offload your house to pay things off then there are better ways to go, selling normally may take longer but it saved me 20 grand in the long run! Although the recurring ESPC fees were a bit annoying every 6 months!

I ended up using a normal solicitor and getting 95k for my house although it did take 18 months to sell.

Selling a house is pretty depressing stuff, i have bought one in Glasgow now and i dont intend to be moving again for a good ten years.

[KeithTheHibby]

My house is on the market for 190k - they offered me 147k.

I think you need to be pretty desperate to go with their 21 day offer.

Ken Eadie is a big fan.:greengrin

[ArabHibee]

Not a dig at you but I thought I'd just point it that it actually says "up to 75% <b>below</b> market value", which actually means that some people are selling their houses to them for as little as 25% of what they're worth.
How desperate would you have to be to sell a £160K house, for instance, for as little as £40K?

Out of interest, where does it actually state on their website "up to 75% below market value"?

[SlickShoes]

Out of interest, where does it actually state on their website "up to 75% below market value"?

http://www.21-days.co.uk/faq.html

It is very unlikely that we will offer you full market value for your property. McEwan Fraser normally offers between 70-95% of an independent surveyor's valuation, however, when property prices are unpredictable it is sometimes better to get your house sold quickly, safe in the knowledge that you can purchase your next home.

[ArabHibee]

www.21-days.co.uk/faq.html
It is very unlikely that we will offer you full market value for your property. McEwan Fraser normally offers between 70-95% of an independent surveyor's valuation, however, when property prices are unpredictable it is sometimes better to get your house sold quickly, safe in the knowledge that you can purchase your next home.

Thanks for that. So Keekaboo is incorrect in his post that they will offer "up to 75% under market value" ie 25% of what the house is worth.

[SlickShoes]

Thanks for that. So Keekaboo is incorrect in his post that they will offer "75% under market value" ie 25% of what the house is worth.

Well things change quickly when you call them, i spoke to them and the guy told me 3 years ago hed have offered me 90% value but now im looking more at like 70% if i want to sell it to them.

I dont think they will ever be offering 25% of your houses value, they wouldn't have any customers at all doing that.

[Green Mikey]

Heard of them through the sponsorship,
called them in last year when I was at a low ebb and very vulnerable.

Fank I never used them, I would have turned a bad couple of years into a life time problem from which would be difficult to recover.

They suss out how weak a position you are in, dangle a carrot that may help, then continually reduce the offer to ridiculous levels to pressure the deal.

It is legal, but not ethical.:bitchy:


They don't suss out what position you are in. You contact them voluntarily ans they give you an offer based on the information you provide. I have never heard of any coercion by McEwan Fraser or any instance where they have actively sought and approached vulberable people.

It's people's actions not McEwan Fraser's actions that cause these situations to arise. Their type of service is well documented and transparent if you choose to use it then it's your choice.

[Beefster]

They don't suss out what position you are in. You contact them voluntarily ans they give you an offer based on the information you provide. I have never heard of any coercion by McEwan Fraser or any instance where they have actively sought and approached vulberable people.

It's people's actions not McEwan Fraser's actions that cause these situations to arise. Their type of service is well documented and transparent if you choose to use it then it's your choice.

I think the implication was that they base their offer after finding out about your circumstances rather than straight offering a fixed percentage of the market value.

You're right though - it's not their fault that folk become desperate or get into debt/arrears.

[Woody1985]

I agree with Mikey but I think what the guy is saying is that they identify how screwed you are and make you the lowest possible offer rather than give you fair value.

I couldn't say if that's true but it makes the most business sense.

[greenlex]

I agree with Mikey but I think what the guy is saying is that they identify how screwed you are and make you the lowest possible offer rather than give you fair value.

I couldn't say if that's true but it makes the most business sense.
It's called business.
It's just that it's a wee bit emotive because it's a house. If it was a car,sofa or a playstation then nobody would be that bothered.

[Removed]

It's called business.
It's just that it's a wee bit emotive because it's a house. If it was a car,sofa or a playstation then nobody would be that bothered.

Exactly. Try trading your car into a motor dealer. Everyone knows you always will get a better price selling privately but there are loads of reasons why folk don't. Don't know why some folk are getting so arsey about MF. They make an offer just like any prospective buyer, take it or leave it if you think you can get a better one elsewhere.

[Dashing Bob S]

I'm glad our sponsorship deal with this two bob company is coming to an end.

[Green Mikey]

I'm glad our sponsorship deal with this two bob company is coming to an end.

Why?

I think that the relationship between McEwan Fraser and Hibs has ultimately been positive for both parties. McEwan Fraser have seen an increase in business and Hibs have shown that sponsoring can have a real impact on your business. Hopefully the success of this sponsorship will lead to higher sponsorship revenues in the future.

[Woody1985]

Green Mikey, meet dashing bob. You can get off the hook now.

[Green Mikey]

Green Mikey, meet dashing bob. You can get off the hook now.

I've seen plenty of his posts and know his style. I thought this post might have been serious considering there wasn't much obvious humour in it.

[Jamesie]

Has anyone recently used the part exchange offer with McEwan Fraser, and if so what was your experience? How much of a % knockdown was the price at which you sold to them? Casually looking at different options for moving property and came across this thread from some time ago.

[jonty]

Its worth making an enquiry I guess (options), but when I queried them about 4 years ago, they were looking to knock around 20-25% off the asking price.

Actually, it was more like 30-35% when I worked it out - fp £160k, they offered 'around' £100k-£115k depending on the investor.

[hibs6270uk]

Agree with Jonty. I used McEwan Fraser to sell and was given the part exchange option but decided again it on the basis of what it was going to cost me in loss of revenue on the property. That said I sold the property with them in the standard way and within 5 days I had 10 viewings and 3 offers with the property being sold on day 6. Their fees are a little but higher (between 0.5-1.5%) compared to others but the service from them was brilliant and always able to give help and advice. Also the pictures they take and the brochures are top notch compared to others as well.