Selling a house without an agent

bigmaz

Hi guys

My in laws are looking to sell their house without an Agency, just wondering if there is anyone on here that has ever done this, and what their experience was. First things first is the home report, trying to find a decent price. Reading on here, I have seen a few questions to ask the surveyor, such as are they on the major lenders list of approved surveyors, good tip. The other thing is advertising. Obvious areas are Gumtree and local papers, any other ideas? The house is in Scotland, West of Glasgow.

Thanks in advance

Davesnave

I've done it, but not in Scotland, and certainly not in this market.

I lived in a street that was in high demand, so I had the house valued, added a bit and put the word out that I was up for sale. I quickly had a buyer, sold for asking price and bought my friend's house, also without an agent.:D It sounds like a fairy story now, but that's because the world's moved on.

If your in-laws have something highly desirable, then selling semi privately might be an option. By this I mean that they could put the house on the Internet at a nominal cost using one of the on-line agents. This should get them on Rightmove (or its equivalent in Scotland) Without full exposure to the market, they won't necessarily connect with their full quota of potential buyers.

Gumtree is full of duff/dodgy adverts for rentals, so many people possibly won't take it seriously. They could reach part if their target audience via the local paper, but my guess is that many more would be missed without the vital Internet connection.

googler

As the previous poster says, in this market, you need to put the property in front of the lion's share of the buying public, including those moving from outwith your local area. This rules out the local papers, as these folk won't see your advert. This maybe rules out gumtree too, as that is themed by local areas.

Why do the sellers want to do it this way?

How far West of Glasgow? Greenock? Cowal peninsula/Dunoon? Hebrides?

bigmaz

googler wrote: »

As the previous poster says, in this market, you need to put the property in front of the lion's share of the buying public, including those moving from outwith your local area. This rules out the local papers, as these folk won't see your advert. This maybe rules out gumtree too, as that is themed by local areas.

Why do the sellers want to do it this way?

How far West of Glasgow? Greenock? Cowal peninsula/Dunoon? Hebrides?

They would like to save money. They are next to Dumbarton

googler

bigmaz wrote: »

They would like to save money. They are next to Dumbarton

So they propose to 'save money' by only exposing their property to a small subset of the buying public?

bigmaz

googler wrote: »

So they propose to 'save money' by only exposing their property to a small subset of the buying public?

They are looking into it as a possibility, they are not necessarily going to do it. I am on here looking for advice on how to do it and some tips, not a lecture

googler

bigmaz wrote: »

They are looking into it as a possibility, they are not necessarily going to do it. I am on here looking for advice on how to do it and some tips, not a lecture

Take the huff if you want to.

Your OP read - "any other ideas?", not "How do I do this", after all......

bigmaz

I aint taking the huff... Hence the smile I was asking for more ideas yes, not for you to have a go at what my ideas are so far, looking for suggestions.

googler

Well, my suggestion is that in order to maximise both their chance of selling, and to achieve the best price, they need to publicise it to the max, not hide its light under a bushel.

That means internet exposure where the maximum number of active viewers and buyers will see it - and that ain't Gumtree.

That means exposing it on the high street, where people who come to town, or those already in the town, can see it along with all the other property for sale in the area.

It may mean the local papers as an addition to the above, but certainly not on their own.

googler

bigmaz wrote: »

I was asking for more ideas yes, not for you to have a go at what my ideas are so far

Sorry, I don't feel you have any 'ideas' thus far......

bigmaz

Cheers so really need to advertise it on Rightmove then?