Little House Co Issues Official Statement on Axe Agent Saga

The Little House Company, one of the UK's leading private property sales portals has issued an official statement on the controversy surrounding The BBC show Axe the Agent? The show has been accused of advocating that British people eradicate estate agents when looking for property, a claim that is denied by the BBC, which says that the need for estate agents is portrayed in every show.

The Little House Company says:

"We are not anti-agent and the service provided by estate agents is generally a good one, though it comes at a cost. We never advocate eradicating the agent; we simply display that there are other options out there.

"With a clause in the estate agent's contract that says should the property be sold privately the estate agent receives no fee. Therefore selling privately online, merely gives the consumer choice and in some cases can help spur on the activities of an agent that a seller feels is not pulling their weight."

The main part of the controversy kicked off when Lee Bramzell, director of Property Index wrote a letter to the BBC, slating their decision to run a program "that directly advocates British people to eradicate estate agents when looking for property."

One part of the letter said:

"Estate agents are expected to pay their TV License fee yet the BBC use this money to create a show which could result in the loss of their jobs and ability to pay the license fee."

This was interpreted by some as a call for inciting estate agents not to pay their license fee.

"Estate agents don't usually encourage the non-payment of fees, so it will be curious to see how the UK's 125,000 agents respond to an appeal not to pay the BBC licence fee," writes Sebastian O'Kelly property editor at the Mail in Sunday's edition.

Nick Marr of Little House was quoted in the article, and this is thought to have been behind the decision to issue an official statement on the matter.

Notes to editors:

Little House Spokespersons are available for interview. For more information contact Liam Bailey: Tel: 0141 416 0927 Email: liam@write-about-property.com.

About The Little House Company service

The Little House Company charges a one off fee of £89, for which private sellers' properties are advertised until the property is sold, unless removed by the seller first. The good thing is the seller's contact details are published with their advert, which means they are contacted directly by potential buyers so there are no middlemen. Find out more about the Little House Company at: http://www.thelittlehousecompany.co.uk