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Vesper Homes hires Bien Media to raise profile

Melanie Bien • Jan 17, 2018

Vesper Homes, the pioneering proptech London estate agent, has hired PR agency Bien Media to raise its profile in the press.

Vesper Homes is at the forefront of the rental revolution, harnessing technological developments to make life easier for landlords and tenants. London-focused, with primarily an international client base, the company offers all the services of a traditional high-street agent but at a reduced rate.

Landlords typically pay agents upwards of 11 per cent for a full management service, a charge likely to increase when tenant fees are abolished, but Vesper Homes charges half this amount.

James Cameron, director of Vesper Homes, says : ‘Estate agency is changing and we are launching some exciting new digital products in coming weeks to assist landlords in making the most of their property portfolios, as well as considering future investments. Many agents use outdated and inefficient procedures: our strategy is to deploy a leading-edge technology to improve the lettings and property management service for both landlords and tenants.

‘Although the rental sector has come under siege recently with changes to mortgage interest tax relief and the stamp duty surcharge for landlords, the year has got off to a good start with no lack of enquiries from prospective tenants. However, some of the rents which were achievable 12 months ago won’t be this year, so landlords need to be realistic on pricing and take the advice of a knowledgeable agent.’

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Houso, the off-market property app, hires Bien Media to boost its profile

by Melanie Bien • 03 Feb, 2020

Houso, a revolutionary new property app which allows vendors to gain pre-market exposure for their home in order to gauge interest before committing to selling for free, has hired property PR agency Bien Media to raise its profile in the press. Ben Johnston, founder and director of Houso, says: ‘Anyone who’s experienced the torturous home-buying and selling process knows the current system is simply not working. With so little stock for sale, and far more demand than supply, vendors won’t seriously entertain an offer from a buyer unless the buyer’s own home is under offer. But if you haven’t found a dream home to buy, why risk marketing your own property? If you receive an offer, the pressure is on to find your next home and you may end up buying something which is ok, not brilliant, just for the sake of it. This is where wrong decisions are made.’ Houso aims to solve these problems and remove uncertainty by enabling vendors to list their home, for free, in order to gauge buyer interest. This pre-market exposure enables vendors to build a waiting list of people keen to buy their home. It gives the vendor the confidence to go house-hunting themselves, safe in the knowledge that there are interested parties in their own home. Then when the vendor finds their perfect next home, the transactional time could be greatly reduced. Melanie Bien, director of property PR agency Bien Media, says : ‘We are delighted to be working with Houso to raise awareness of what they are trying to do, which is to resolve what are real issues with the whole process of buying and selling property. Anyone who has sold a home has been there – trying to find an interested and qualified buyer at the same time as finding the dream home that you wish to buy, and having an offer accepted on it. That’s a lot of pressure on things happening at the right time and in this market with such low levels of stock available, it’s increasingly difficult to achieve.’ www.houso.co.uk