selling privately

scoobysue_4

i have recently registered with houseladder, i have always used an estate agent before but as i always seemed to be the one to do the work ie, phoning for info showing potential buyers around the property and pressing agents to promote my property i decided that there is no harm in trying to sell this house myself, for £119.00 i get a good quality for sale board, and the details of my property being put on 3 major portals, what concerns me is that i have had several emails and two phone calls from people claiming that they are not estate agents but in fact are working for private, clients who are looking to relocate in my area and would i agree to letting them introduce these clients to me with a view to showing them around my property, all are mobile numbers with noother form of contact, i have told these people that i am not interested and one man in particular got quite iritated when i challenged the purpose of his call to me. has anyone else had this? and could they indeed be estate agents who could then turn around and inform me thjat ik have entered into ome sort of verbal contract with them if i do show one of their clients sround?. any info greatly appreciated. thank you in advance.

spunkeyrich

It is faily normal for an agent or private person to act for a buyer to look for properties. They will get paid by the buyer instead of the seller. However, they will only recomend buying properties that are cheaper than usual or one with potential for development, or rarely available ones. Remember though they will act for the buyer instead of the seller so will try and get a good price for thier client.

did you get valuations before you put a price on?

if people are reluctant to give you a land line phone and address then there is something dodgy. make sure you get more details and ask if they expect a fee. security is one reason why people use an estate agent.

rich

scoobysue_4

spunkeyrich wrote:

It is faily normal for an agent or private person to act for a buyer to look for properties. They will get paid by the buyer instead of the seller. However, they will only recomend buying properties that are cheaper than usual or one with potential for development, or rarely available ones. Remember though they will act for the buyer instead of the seller so will try and get a good price for thier client.

did you get valuations before you put a price on?

if people are reluctant to give you a land line phone and address then there is something dodgy. make sure you get more details and ask if they expect a fee. security is one reason why people use an estate agent.

rich

hi, i live alone and so i will take the same precautions i did when showing a potential buyer around as before, ie, get a friend to sit in with me. i did get four estate agents evaluations prior to putting it on and did research what the properties in this area go for before deciding on the price. thank you for taking the time to reply.

courtjester

spunkeyrich wrote:

...security is one reason why people use an estate agent.

.. which is a shame that it's a fallacy that you get any more security using an agent than you would looking after yourself.

Agents love to talk about 'vetting' when they mean 'trying to sell your buyer a mortgage...' ,

they love to talk about 'security', when they mean 'we promised you accompanied viewing, but unfortunately we're too busy that day so can you show people round yourself...?' :cool:

But really, the risk to a private seller is only perceived and that is due to agents scaremongering to promote their service. Common sense precautions are all you need, taking some details and asking some basic questions when buyers contact you, removing cash & valuables from view during viewings etc.

Estate agents, despite their codes of practice prohibiting such behaviour, constantly try and poach clients from other agents. Similarly, they will also try and contact private advertisers to offer their 'service', often trying to (mis-)lead people into thinking they have buyers ready to view (with the old "we have clients waiting, or wishing to relocate" spiel...) and suggesting by saying nothing that it is the buyer paying for their service... when in fact, all they are offering is standard estate agency for you.

The key is in the question "permission to *introduce* their clients to you...", i'e you pay for their 'introduction'.

There are indeed genuine relocation agents (look at Phil & Kirsty) who charge their clients (the buyer) to find suitable properties - no fee is paid by you the seller. However, it would be made clear by any professional service who they are and who they are acting for - your property would be short-listed for a SINGLE client, not many clients...

You can't get into trouble by speaking to someone on the phone. This does not make a 'verbal' contract as they have not made their terms clear or obtained proof that they have communicated their terms to you and that you have agreed such terms - they would have to send you a written contract for your signature.

scoobysue_4

courtjester wrote:

.. which is a shame that it's a fallacy that you get any more security using an agent than you would looking after yourself.

Agents love to talk about 'vetting' when they mean 'trying to sell your buyer a mortgage...' ,

they love to talk about 'security', when they mean 'we promised you accompanied viewing, but unfortunately we're too busy that day so can you show people round yourself...?' :cool:

But really, the risk to a private seller is only perceived and that is due to agents scaremongering to promote their service. Common sense precautions are all you need, taking some details and asking some basic questions when buyers contact you, removing cash & valuables from view during viewings etc.

Estate agents, despite their codes of practice prohibiting such behaviour, constantly try and poach clients from other agents. Similarly, they will also try and contact private advertisers to offer their 'service', often trying to (mis-)lead people into thinking they have buyers ready to view (with the old "we have clients waiting, or wishing to relocate" spiel...) and suggesting by saying nothing that it is the buyer paying for their service... when in fact, all they are offering is standard estate agency for you.

The key is in the question "permission to *introduce* their clients to you...", i'e you pay for their 'introduction'.

There are indeed genuine relocation agents (look at Phil & Kirsty) who charge their clients (the buyer) to find suitable properties - no fee is paid by you the seller. However, it would be made clear by any professional service who they are and who they are acting for - your property would be short-listed for a SINGLE client, not many clients...

You can't get into trouble by speaking to someone on the phone. This does not make a 'verbal' contract as they have not made their terms clear or obtained proof that they have communicated their terms to you and that you have agreed such terms - they would have to send you a written contract for your signature.

hi. yes! common sence does prevail in these circumstances and i have allways taken precauitions regarding security of myself and property. I realise estate agents are coming increasingly concerned about the increase in people deciding to see themselves and so i assume that these callers are estate agents, it was when i decided to ask questions to one persistant caller that he got annoyed , i take great offence to someone trying to railroad me into doing something im unclear on.all my contact details are on the houseladder website and yet many of the callers dont even ask for me by my name, i didnt want to jeapordise the sale by refusing to talk to these callers but have decided from now on that i wont. thanks for all replies on this matter.