Selling a house privately - Any tips?

dora37

Hi,

We are thinking of putting our house on the market after Christmas, but thought we would have a go at selling privately first.

Has anybody had a go at this? Was it successful? Any tips or pitfalls? The best and worst websites to advertise?

Do you think people's mindset is that Estate Agents are the only way to sell a house or do you think more people are more open minded?

If you liked the look of a house and it had a private for sale sign outside - would you still make enquiries?

I have found a few websites and did think of emailing the people advertising property on there to see if they were getting much response - would this be unethical?

Your opinions would be appreciated

lin473

We sold our first property privately via an ad in the local paper.
It was a sellers market though, in an area which had few properties available at our price .We immediately sold to first time buyers and started a reserve list in case that fell through.They were unable to get a mortgage,so we contacted the person who was at the top of the reserve list and sold at the full asking price to a (retired widow)cash buyer.
Out of all the times we have moved house,this was by far the easiest.
No harm in trying,but if the market is against you ,you could end up paying out for your own advertising and get nowhere.
Personally,I would not be put off by a private seller .If your house was what I wanted,
I would be happy to deal directly with the vendor.

Ian_W

dora37 wrote: Do you think people's mindset is that Estate Agents are the only way to sell a house or do you think more people are more open minded?

Don't actually think that matters, dora. What does, is where buyers look when they're after a property in your price band and area. IMO it's likely to be local ea's, local property papers, internet - in that order.

I've sold an apartment abroad privately and also a flat in this country years ago [ad in local newsagents window] but never a house. If I was buying, a private sale certainly wouldn't put me off, but for you as a seller, it's got to be a question of how you reach your target audience to make them aware you're up for sale.

If it's likely to appeal to locals I would certainly advertise in the local press and think about ads in local shops or see if you can access noticeboards, staff newsletters of any major local employers.

The 2 internet based firms I've come across most often on RightMove are thelittlehousecompany and houseweb, whichever you go with I'd certainly think about paying for the package that gets you on RM or fish4homes.

Another alternative, why not do both? If you put it with an agent on a sole agency basis and make it clear to them that you're also advertising it privately on the net and in the local press. If you find the buyer you don't pay the agent, if they find the buyer they've earned their fee. You do need to make sure the contract reflects this and any buyers you find deal only with you and not the ea.

BoL.

theGrinch

try leafleting your local area. maybe 1000 in nearby road. I did 300 and had 2 viewings, which isnt bad as it took 2 hours , ink and paper

dora37

Thanks Lin473. Our theory is that if I can get all the necessary reasearch and paperwork done then we might as well give it a try.

I am just trying to gauge whether in other people's experience the work/research is worthwhile - i.e. Does advertising privately (online, local paper and own 'For Sale' board) still attract leads? Did you feel more in control of the sale as there was no middle men involved?

We have approximately 5 EA's in the area that would be suitable to put our property up with, however recent dealings with 3 of them, makes us wonder whether using them is worthwhile.

However if they have the power to advertise to a wider audience than us and ultiimately do find us a buyer - then of course their fees seem to be worthwhile!

Catch 22 situation!!

dora37

Ian_W wrote:

The 2 internet based firms I've come across most often on RightMove are thelittlehousecompany and houseweb, whichever you go with I'd certainly think about paying for the package that gets you on RM or fish4homes.

BoL.

Thanks Ian - I have been looking at thelittlehousecompany and their multi deal package seems to advertise on quite a range of sites (including fish4homes) for a price of £135, which I think is probably worth doing.

From the experience I have had EA's frustrate me!! So though I am not under any illusion that it will be easy, I think I will try the private route first - give it a certain timeframe - and then if no leads are coming from that method, bite the bullet and instruct an EA.

No doubt I'll be back for more advise!!!

Gambler

I requested house particulars via rightmove from 4 different estate agents.

Agent 1 : emailed me a link to the very same page I had already seen. I requested the particulars because my partner and I find it easier to sit down and compare properties using the particulars.

Agent 2: sent us totally the wrong house details.

Agent 3: took them a week to send out.

Agent 4: still waiting

These people charge extortionate fees for doing very little in my opinion.

dora37

Gambler wrote:

I requested house particulars via rightmove from 4 different estate agents.

Agent 1 : emailed me a link to the very same page I had already seen. I requested the particulars because my partner and I find it easier to sit down and compare properties using the particulars.

Agent 2: sent us totally the wrong house details.

Agent 3: took them a week to send out.

Agent 4: still waiting

These people charge extortionate fees for doing very little in my opinion.

For the amount they charge, sometimes their service is laughable. Out of my 5 local EA's - I have had dealings with 3. One has an arrogance (you should be grateful they are dealing with you!), the other two seem very lethargic. Hence why I looking it to doing it myself.

I may regret it and you never know in 6 months time, I may be thinking that EA's are the best thing since slice bread!!

Gambler

you'll never know if you don't try........good luck and make sure to keep us all updated on how you get on.

rrwfotr

I just had a dealing with an estate agent yesterday, the dimwit came approx 20 mins late and when asking any questions with regards to the property their answer was don't know or will get back to you. For heavens sake these people charge in the region of 3%. And for a 200k property 6k is a hell of allot of money for someone that sticks the property in the paper and directs people to the place. My experience of estate agents are basically they are the middle people and make a hell allot of cash for essentially just a service. And from my past experience they are usually not very good at it. I’m sure there are good one's out there as well as car dealer's but as of yet I've not found any. Usually they are out to make as much cash as they can from you. The estate agent yesterday was trying to sell me all kinds of add on services like loans etc, for heavens sake do your job and not try and sell me something I don't need, I'm sure commission was in the back of their mind!!

If you can sell your property privately then I would go for it as it will most probably save you loads of agro and time and money as you cut ot the middle man. Can't hurt to try it yourself unless you are looking for a quick sell then I'm sure the estate agents will find a buyer usally a mate...

lin473

I know what you mean about estate agents!
Hope you get on okay!