Selling your house without using an estate agent

[00snook]

I am at the point where I am going to put my house on the market; however I am massively keen to do this without any involvement of estate agents.

My experience of them as a whole has been far from good, and I loathe the idea of paying somebody 1000's of pounds to do something if I can do it myself.

Has anybody else on NSC sold without estate agent involvement?

If you have do you have any top tips, things to watch out for etc?

As always, all help graciously received.

James

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

I think 1% to an estate agent who may have thousands of suitable applicants over a number of branches is a price worth paying myself.

 

[mikeyjh]

It can't make sense can it? You're going to massively limit your audience and therefore your price. Surely this would outweigh saving the agents' fees?

 

[The Wookiee]

I am at the point where I am going to put my house on the market; however I am massively keen to do this without any involvement of estate agents.

My experience of them as a whole has been far from good, and I loathe the idea of paying somebody 1000's of pounds to do something if I can do it myself.

Has anybody else on NSC sold without estate agent involvement?

If you have do you have any top tips, things to watch out for etc?

As always, all help graciously received.

James

Good luck !!

 

[Return of the Rev]

Put our details around about 5 estate agents with a view to buy a flat,money all sorted and ready to go but the response was pathetic,the only agent that arranged viewings sent some dumb arse girl who just pulled faces and shrugged shoulders when asked any questions.Go it alone good luck

 

[beorhthelm]

there was a Sarah Beeny site with advice on this, dont know if its still up. i've also seen £50 services that broker putting details onto Rightmove, which has the point about audience addressed.

 

[viscentaye]

I had bought and sold in the middle of a chain many years ago - didn't use an agent as we were all known to each other and so the fee was of no value.

In the absence of this, you are paying for the network of active buyers the only frustration being that I have not previously had value for money when it comes to marketing your own property in terms of viewing and frustratingly, the communication side of things with solicitors etc. on other occasions, I have more or less done this side of things myself as I don't trust them to do it properly!

 

[BBassic]

I'll give you a fiver for it.

 

[swindonseagull]

I am at the point where I am going to put my house on the market; however I am massively keen to do this without any involvement of estate agents.

My experience of them as a whole has been far from good, and I loathe the idea of paying somebody 1000's of pounds to do something if I can do it myself.

Has anybody else on NSC sold without estate agent involvement?

If you have do you have any top tips, things to watch out for etc?

As always, all help graciously received.

James

I put a post on here a few months ago, berating estate agents when my mums house was put up for sale,
Now with experience I would not want to go through it alone, these guys are experts in what they do and will get plenty of buyers through the door, for the money you pay I believe it to be well worth it., Mums place sold very quickly.

I used Mission Macay in Portslade and after my initial moans , I must admit they have been upmost profesional , and have been recomended by me to other sellers near my mums house, and I would not recommend anything or anyone if I was not happy.

 

[Lush]

Me. Through House Network. A fraction of the price and you still get total online coverage on right move etc, which is where most people look these days. Very efficient re appointments/offers/feedback etc. They take great photos 360 degree tours of every room etc. You just have to be willing to show people round yourself. Highly recommended -have a look at their website.

 

[The Grub]

My advise would be to use an estate agent but pick who to use carefully. I would always use an independent agent as they want to sell your house rather than sell financial services to people. As well as advertising your house and doing viewings, they also do the most important bit which is to get it to completion. The agent progressing the sale and dealing with all the stressful stuff that happens between offer and completion is probably the most valuable aspect of what an agent can do better than most individuals. I would always use an agent. Now is not a sellers market either so you are massively reducing your chances if getting the best price simply by being shortsighted about paying a small fee.

 

[Vegas Seagull]

You can do it yourself, but I bet you're not going to pay hundreds for varied marketing channels which will help you achieve thousands more in sale price

 

[Jam The Man]

I'm midway through the house selling hell. Have to say the estate agents have been pretty good this time round.. however the solicitors for our buyers AND sellers are anal passages of the highest order.

And if you end up dealing with any damp proof firms, make sure you get at least 2 quotes!

 

[ropey9]

My advise would be to use an estate agent but pick who to use carefully. I would always use an independent agent as they want to sell your house rather than sell financial services to people. As well as advertising your house and doing viewings, they also do the most important bit which is to get it to completion. The agent progressing the sale and dealing with all the stressful stuff that happens between offer and completion is probably the most valuable aspect of what an agent can do better than most individuals. I would always use an agent. Now is not a sellers market either so you are massively reducing your chances if getting the best price simply by being shortsighted about paying a small fee.

It's not really a small fee - it's a percentage of what the house sells for + VAT, I would more inclined to look at estate agents more favourably if they provided a fixed fee service rather then a percentage. What difference in the amount of work for them for a house worth £300,000 or one worth £1,000,000?

I would love to see how may hours they actually put in per house sell, obviously houses that take an age to sell may take a little more work, although I suspect agents are pretty clued up as to how fast they will be able to shift something so allocate time accordingly.

 

[OzMike]

Go for it mate, I sold independently before coming here after dealing with Estate Agents I felt I had no choice.
Got good a good result as well and a quick turnaround.
People I showed around felt more comfortable with the more relaxed attitude and knowledge of the area.

 

[knocky1]

I decided to sell without agents 18 months ago. I achieved £22,500 above best valuation by Mishon Mackay, Nash Watson and someone else. I sold to first viewer and saved £7,500 on estate agency fees. Buyer was happy as we shared commission in final deal. I also did own conveyancing and so was in control of whole process. This meant hassling buyers conveyancer. Time from viewing to completion 8 weeks. All this and I dont wear a cheap suit or pointy shoes.

I read that the only way to sell privately is to be positive and make sure people know the property is on the market. It does depend on your property, however,and that bloody pointy shoe term LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION. Good luck whichever route you take.

 

[Cadiz Seagull]

If they charge you 1%, put your asking price up by 1% to cover it. 1% is a big chunk of money when looked at in isolation, but on the asking price of a house it is nothing.

If you want 250,000 and you advertise at 252,500 it won´t make any difference to the interest generated.

And there's nothing to stop you advertising privately as well, assuming you are happy to pay for it without any guarantee of success - as long as you don't sign a sole agency contract.

 

[Del Boy]

If you want 250,000 and you advertise at 252,500 it won´t make any difference to the interest generated.

It would make a huge difference as the buyer would be paying 3% stamp duty rather that 1%.

£0 - threshold NIL
Threshold - £250,000 1%
£250,001 - £500,000 3%
£500,001 and over (all properties) 4%
£1,000,001 - £2,000,000 (residential) 5%
Over £2m (residential) 7%

 

[00snook]

Put our details around about 5 estate agents with a view to buy a flat,money all sorted and ready to go but the response was pathetic,the only agent that arranged viewings sent some dumb arse girl who just pulled faces and shrugged shoulders when asked any questions.Go it alone good luck

This is exactly what I am talking about Rev. Last night the wife and I went to view a house that we are going to put an offer in on. The bloke turned up, didn't even introduce himself or shake hands, had no paperwork with him, walked us round the house and every question we asked he replied with "I dunno mate, haven't been to this house before". Then when we were done he essentially tried to put us off of buying the property and told us that he had others around for us to look at.

 

[00snook]

Me. Through House Network. A fraction of the price and you still get total online coverage on right move etc, which is where most people look these days. Very efficient re appointments/offers/feedback etc. They take great photos 360 degree tours of every room etc. You just have to be willing to show people round yourself. Highly recommended -have a look at their website.

Thanks Lush,

Have taken a look and seems just the ticket.

I am happy to pay to advertise it myself as my house is in an absolutely prime location and am therefore very comfortable it will sell. Plus I would much rather show people around the house myself and do my own sales pitch rather than having some plastic twat from an estate agents do it.