Private Sale

pbfhpunk

Hi, we're having our house valued tomorrow and aiming to put our house on the market this week, however when I went over to my local shop the owner said that he's interested in it, as we'd talked before aobut me selling it. He's coming to look tonight and so I'll know more then but he's saying a private sale without agents will be cheaper.

Thing is I got this house when I was 21 and was very uninvolved in the whole process telling the agents the house I wanted my price limit and saying I'd sign the forms when they'd sorted it, so I don't really know what goes into selling a house! Does the agent purely market it? Or do they deal with solictors and surveys? I basically want to know if going without an agent is more stressful!

Thanks

Helen

courtjester

Estate agents only deal with the marketing, there is no legal aspect to their service.

Once you have a buyer, you simply pass the details of the sale terms you have agreed to your solicitor /conveyancer.

Having an agent is irrelevant to the legal process - agents will run communications for you with others in the chain to 'hold the sale together', but this is nothing you can't do yourself in that situation, it's only phone calls.

In the case of a direct private sale, there is no point in involving your agent unless you insist on paying them a large slice of the proceeds for no input...

prutter

Yep, go for it without agents if you can. In my opinion they take a large chunk of your cash for, in most cases, very little work.
Just make sure if the shop owner wants it that you're getting a fair price for the property. I'd get 3 agents round to value the property before the chap comes. Then, you have a rough idea of how much it's worth if he wants it and starts negotiations.

JoKay_2

prutter wrote: »

Just make sure if the shop owner wants it that you're getting a fair price for the property. I'd get 3 agents round to value the property before the chap comes. Then, you have a rough idea of how much it's worth if he wants it and starts negotiations.

Agree with prutter

spunkeyrich

When i was an Agent I was asked on a number of occations to deal with a private sale at a substantial reduction in cost. This was due to sellers or buyers from the past who knew that it can be stressfull dealing directly with a buyer. If you have someone you can approach they may be willing to look after the sale for you for a few hundred pounds. Agents are usefull in certian ways and the ability and knowledge of the system can save alot of hassle.

or let me and others on here guide you on your way for free :-)

rich

pbfhpunk

Thanks for all your advice, another question if that's ok!

I've seen online conveyancing places talked about on here and wondered if that's what people use to totally replace solicitors, eg do thay deal with the searches and the money and getting the required gurantees and surveys and things? so is it possible that all I'd pay would be around the £300 I've seen on the sites, stampduty and mortgage fees?

prutter

pbfhpunk wrote: »

so is it possible that all I'd pay would be around the £300 I've seen on the sites, stampduty and mortgage fees?

Yep, plus solicitor fees for searches, money transfers etc I suspect.

I'd also reccomend getting a couple of quotes from local solicitors to see how these compare with the online ones. In my experience local knowlege can be worth the extra you might pay over online solicitors.

pbfhpunk

Ok. Just had it valued and quite pleased as I was expecting it would go on for 130k and get knocked down to 125k. first valuation was put it on for 155 with a view to getting 150 - with a 2% fee although would come down to 1.75 and (according to the second agent!) could be pushed to 1.5. second valuation was to put on at 147,500. There were good and bad things about both but mainly bad about the 2nd, she was late which was annoying as she knew I had to be back at work for 2.30, she bad mouthed a lot of other agents in the area, told me the first agent would lower their fee if I asked!! and contradicted herself by saying they sold houses quickly then told me they don't do contracts and one house had been on for 8 months with them!!

Got the 3rd one this afternoon.

I did tell the guy who's interested in buying that it woudl be around 130 so now I have to tell him I'd be looking for 20 more so might end up going through the agent's anyway!!

Any thoughts on any of this??!

Thanks

Helen

prutter

it depends what amount you are looking for for the property.
Why not tell the guy the average of the 3 valuations (if this is suitable for you) - and offer him first refusal?

If not, go with the agent you prefer most. Try to beat them down to 1% comission and a weeks notice (2 at most). Should be doable. Play them off against each other if need be.

pbfhpunk

The viewing last night went quite well and I'll know by the end of the week, I've already picked the agent I'll use if it doesn't go through.

I've had a conveyancy quote through one of the estate agents an also one using an online place I think it was conveyancy warehouse.

Ok the guy said last night that he'd if he wanted the house it would all be sorted within 28 days. Which is cool, though I guess that means we have to look for somewhere and get a mortgage asap! but it's still cool! My question is then if he says yes he wants it ( i just want to be prepared!) what happens with the money he gives me? I'm guessing I pay off my mortgage with some of it and then do I just put the rest in a bank - or will they take tax of it? Or do I get the conveyancy people to hold on to it until I'm ready to buy the new house I know with effect I'm kinda making myself homeless so I'll need to move quickly as soon as I know he wants it.

Thanks

Helen

prutter

If he says he wants it, then you instruct your solicitor, who deals with the sale (and any potential new purchase for you). The purchaser will instruct their solicitors, arrange their mortgage, valuation, survey etc.
Remember, anyone can pull out prior to exchange of contracts. At exchange, he'll pay his deposit, then at completion he pays the rest.

The solicitor you instruct will deal with the money, and paying off you outstanding mortgage, and will then provide you with any profit you've made, either by cheque or by transfer (they'll be a fee for electronic transfer).