Selling without an estate agent - any recent experiences?

100mel

I'm about to put a property on the market and was going to do it myself but having read these postings it has made me think again. My property is currently tenanted with a local agent - but he has done nothing for his fee - however he is the agent who sells and lets most locally. I suppose I can do both and don't need to be solely reliant on the agent?

What other methods have others used locally - adverts, fliers maybe?

Mel

Ian_W

100mel wrote: »

I suppose I can do both and don't need to be solely reliant on the agent?

If you do that make sure you enter a "sole agency agreement" with them so that if they don't introduce your purchaser, you dont pay them a fee. This area can be a bit grey though - worth reading THIS explanation.

googler

100mel wrote: »

I'm about to put a property on the market and was going to do it myself but having read these postings it has made me think again. My property is currently tenanted with a local agent - but he has done nothing for his fee - however he is the agent who sells and lets most locally. I suppose I can do both and don't need to be solely reliant on the agent?

What other methods have others used locally - adverts, fliers maybe?

Mel

If this agent, who "does nothing" for his fee sells the most properties in your area, then what are you going to do that will or could be more successful than what he's doing.........?

chickmug

Ian_W wrote: »

If you do that make sure you enter a "sole agency agreement" with them so that if they don't introduce your purchaser, you dont pay them a fee. This area can be a bit grey though - worth reading THIS explanation.

When you use an estate agent to help you sell a property, you have to sign a legally binding contract. Before signing, read the contract carefully and make sure you understand it. Find out whether you have the right to cancel the contract. Check how long it will be tied into the contract. It should allow a reasonable length of time to market your property and find potential buyers. Beware of contracts that tie you to an estate agent for a very long time.

If you are unsure, get advice from a solicitor.

You may come across some unfamiliar terms in a contract. Make sure you understand what you are agreeing to. The terms 'sole agency', 'sole selling rights' and 'ready, willing and able purchaser' must be explained in writing if they are used in a contract. The following are terms and descriptions are considered the normal but be careful as some agents may and try (within the contract) to vary these terms.


Sole agency

The estate agent is the only agent with the right to sell your property. If you find a buyer yourself, you don't have to pay the estate agent's commission although you may still have to pay for advertising or a 'For Sale' board.

If you change from one agent to another, there may be a period when both agents' commissions are due if your property is sold.


Sole selling rights

The estate agent is the only person with the right to sell your property. It is different from sole agency: if you find a buyer yourself, you still have to pay the estate agent.

http://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/before_you_buy/thinking_about/buying-home/selling-england

cymro

chickmug wrote: »

http://www.housesimple.co.uk/default.asp

Another option that does go on rightmove.

Tried HouseSimple thinking they would be better value than the high street cowboys. This is what I found:

• pre-contract communication - Excellent
• Cost of HIPs - Average - shop round elsewehere for better value
• post-contract communication - Poor - no updates on progress in marketing and having to send same information repeatedly
• speed of service - Slow getting property uploaded to website

It appears the Housesimple strategy is to sell houses as quickly as possible at any price. Almost daily I was haggling - not with would be buyers but Housesimple as they tried to get me to lower the price so they could make a quick profit. A few times I had to remind them they were MY agent. AVOID

thriftyamy

chickmug wrote: »

When you use an estate agent to help you sell a property, you have to sign a legally binding contract. Before signing, read the contract carefully and make sure you understand it. Find out whether you have the right to cancel the contract. Check how long it will be tied into the contract. It should allow a reasonable length of time to market your property and find potential buyers. Beware of contracts that tie you to an estate agent for a very long time.

If you are unsure, get advice from a solicitor.

Does anyone know, without going that far - does marketing the property yourself actually break the sole agency agreement? after all, I'm not a qualified estate agent...!

someone mentioned that estate agents get you the rightmove coverage you'll need, but surely if someone responds to that, you have to pay the agent a fee - how's a propspective buyer supposed to know they can cut them out?!

I'm tempted to market my property as well as using an agent - I think I'd give it more time, care and attention and it would save me £1500.

one final thought though, how do you prove the estate agent's marketing didn't contribute to the sale, if you sold - could they claim their fee?

googler

Does anyone know, without going that far - does marketing the property yourself actually break the sole agency agreement?

Depends on the wording of the agreement.

I'm tempted to market my property as well as using an agent - I think I'd give it more time, care and attention and it would save me £1500.

You mean you want to sign a contract with someone for their services, then try to perform those services yourself (it's unclear as to whether you're going to tell the agent this ....), and if you achieve the end first, renege on your contract....?

Just out of interest - what would you be doing in terms of 'marketing', and how much time would you be able to devote to it?

one final thought though, how do you prove the estate agent's marketing didn't contribute to the sale, if you sold - could they claim their fee?

How, indeed? Can you prove this conclusively?

thriftyamy

lol, well basically there's only two agents actually covering the area for 'window' shoppers, and they're nowhere near the property, it's part of a converted mansion in the middle of nowhere, I feel that whoever buys it wont necessarily be local and almost certainly will find it online, I guess we lack the confidence to omit the agent completely, my point is in terms of visual marketing (photography, sales paraphinealia and garb) I think I could do a better job

in fact the only way the estate agent is going to be of any use is if they have someone on their books waiting for something like it to come up, in which case I'm happy to pay them as I think managing a database of potential clients earns them their fee.

100mel

Well I've got house network and now a local agent and neither have got viewers through the door and been proactive. I can't fault house network in terms of site, photos etc but other than that little in terms of contact or feedback - the only advice being lower price which I have done but that can only go so far and it is now at a very good price which is at the lower end of the market , in a good area for schools and transport etc, is a house which needs nothing doing to it, is in great decorative order etc but if you don't get people through the door then they never get to see it. House network seem to rely heavily on the stats they get from Rightmove and nothing else. Equally the local agent is selling because he is forcing everyone down the chain to drop prices. I don't see any signs of proactive marketing of my house apart from the odd advert so my experience is little between them

So I am just pondering next moves and whether there is anything I can do to further the marketing