by Mike Griffiths,
former estate agent and founder of
GMW Systems & Expert Agent

I must admit I struggled with the idea of Instant Valuation Tools.

I wrote one years ago but didn’t launch it. At the time, Estate Agent friends weren’t keen – they said things like:

“It could get used as a weapon against us by purchasers. If we agree a sale at a good price and the purchaser finds an app on our website that suggests a lower valuation figure and demands a price reduction, we wouldn’t have a leg to stand on.”

“It will give Potential Vendors false expectations on price. Too high and we’ll have a fight on our hands to get instructed at the right price. Too low and they’ll probably go elsewhere without speaking to us. Either way, our business and brand will get damaged”

Later, after quite a few had implemented these sort of tools, I asked them why.

“We know the Instant Valuation tool on our website isn’t perfect but it generates lots of leads!”

So, could it be that some agents were implementing tools that had the potential to damage their brand and reputation yet were prepared to do this in order to get leads? Once they got those leads, how many battles did they have to fight with potential vendors whose price aspirations had been raised by an inaccurate Instant Valuation with the agents’ name on it?

I remained unconvinced and parked the whole idea until late in 2019. A lunch with an agent friend and a desire to build some more software started me thinking about the issue once again.

Challenges & Solutions

What if I could come up with an Instant Valuation solution that made it quite clear from the moment the potential vendor arrived on the site that the impending valuation result was just an inaccurate computer generated guess – then “big-up” and offer an old fashioned, face-to-face valuation?

What if I restricted use to the geographical areas that the agents worked in so as to reinforce their local expertise?

What if I could come up with an Instant Valuation Solution that only the current property owner can use?

What if the valuation tool discredited itself rather than discrediting the agents’ expertise, value and brand? Maybe this would create leads without damaging agents’ brands or setting price expectations.

What if we could engage with users – extract their thoughts on value and push for a face-to-face valuation?

Advice Received from Agent Friends….

“Make sure you explain how you arrive at your figure – owners need to understand that valuation is an art and all you can offer is science and poor science at that!”

“Don’t waste time creating a network.. if someone asks for a valuation out of our area, just tell them – we don’t want to refer people to agents we’ve never heard of, or worse, a competitor.”

“Make it really simple so that there’s no training or complexity – just email us the leads – we’ll do the rest”

“Engage with the owners – ask them to tell you what they’ve done to the property. Above all, Ask the owner what they think it is worth – that’s such valuable information”

“Tie the potential vendors up with a valuation appointment there and then! No need to check with us – as long as its in normal hours we’ll move things around and accommodate or we’ll make contact and change the appointment – don’t give potential vendors chance to drift off!”

“Don’t send a rubbish email confirming the rubbish valuation – just send us the lead and we’ll make contact. If you send your email, you’ll just reinforce the inaccurate figure in the owner’s head and inbox who will then use it as a stick to beat us with”

So that formed the basis of a plan.

I’d create the Valuation Tool that my agent friends wanted. I’d make it explain its own inadequacies and push for a proper face-to-face valuation. I’d keep it simple, easy to use and above all affordable!

In early 2020, a software developer friend had some time on his hands. I wrote the specification, he wrote the software. I changed the specification and he wrote it again.

In development, I called it “Crap Val” because it was designed to convince potential vendors not to waste time having a crap instant val. Instead, if serious, they would be encouraged to book a real valuation. Later, I chickened out and changed the name to TruVal.

Covid 19 popped up and face to face valuations were on the back-burner. We added the idea of a “virtual valuation” – send the agents pictures or a video and let them contact the property owner for a chat.

We rolled the beta test out, got good results and made further refinements.

I’ve really enjoyed setting up the billing system, the help system, the website, the phones etc.

I’m looking forward to seeing how it sells and how it develops.

I’m also looking for my next project. Any ideas gratefully received!