Putting house on Rightmove for £99. Catch?

neneromanova

I've found a company that I can put my house on the market with for £99. I've got pictures and floorplan already so don't need the higher package, but what else do estate agents do that can be a pain in the rear?


(Link incase anyone is interested in what you get for £99: https://www.99home.co.uk/pricing/sellingprice/)


A property I wanted to view was listed with housesimple and they tried to hard sell me selling my house with them as well and were very shocked to find I can do it for £99. She listed off things that she said "do they do this for the price?"


I've never sold and bought before, so this is all new territory for me.

ReadingTim

So you're happy to negotiate with buyers direct, prepare the necessary paperwork and progress the sale (and indeed chain, if necessary) all the way through to completion yourself?

If not, you've just tripled your initial £99 cost.

You know what they say when something looks too good to be true...?!?

westernpromise

neneromanova wrote: »

I've found a company that I can put my house on the market with for £99. I've got pictures and floorplan already so don't need the higher package, but what else do estate agents do that can be a pain in the rear?

Ideally, they value it accurately, filter out the timewasters who like looking around other people's houses, and conduct the actual viewings so you don't have to.

eddddy

I guess you could try it out, and report back to say how you it's going.

(It's a bit unkind to a random seller - but you could try a bit of 'mystery shopping' first... Book a viewing for one of their properties, to see how well the process works... and then cancel it.)

neneromanova wrote: »

I've never sold and bought before, so this is all new territory for me.

So if you sell to a clueless FTB, will you feel confident to chase them...

• Do you have a mortgage arranged in principle? Can I see proof?
• (Can I see a bank statement to prove you actually have a deposit???)
• Have you instructed a solicitor? What's their name and address?
• Have you applied for your mortgage? Have you paid for the survey?
• "All valuation reports say that about electrics... just ignore it"
• "You could see that the boiler was quite old when you viewed, and it works fine. So I'm not knocking £5k off the price for a new boiler."

davemorton

For balance, here is another one for £99. Not used them, but was considering it last year.
https://doorsteps.co.uk

Bass_9

Have nothing useful to add here but initially thought you were going to sell your house for £99... :rotfl:

Clutterfree

Bass_9 wrote: »

Have nothing useful to add here but initially thought you were going to sell your house for £99... :rotfl:

Crashy would still say it's overpriced!

lessonlearned

Don't expect much for £99.

If you want good professional advice, Good service and someone acting in your best interests then you have to be prepared to reward them for their knowledge, time and commitment.

A good estate agent is worth their weight in gold, never mind a couple of per cent. If you use a decent agent you will easily recoup your outlay by getting the best possible price for your property, just as If you pay a broker to get you a mortgage you will get the best deal.

KL0001

House buying/selling is pretty stressful at the best of times. Having an estate agent you can contact with any issues is always useful in my opinion. Chasing up/down the chain, arranging suitable times for surveys etc, performing viewings, dealing with some of the paperwork related to the purchase/sale, contacting the solicitors, dealing with buyers enquiries and negitiations etc etc. Even as a second time buyer/first time seller I don!!!8217;t think I have enough knowledge, patience or free time to deal with all of that myself.

kinger101

I think it's worth a try, if you're prepared to do the viewings and are happy with negotiation (not that difficult as long as you don't get emotional about it).

The only downside is the loss of a sales progression team. So you'll also be handling every visit the buyer needs to make once you've gone SSTC. Valuations. Surveys. They might need access once. It might be half a dozen times. The EA can also be good at finding out why conveyancing appears to have stalled. Not been an issue on two of the three transactions I've been involved in. On another, they earn't their fee.

It's possible not having an EA will put some people off. Not everyone wants to deal with the vendor directly. Especially if they've little understanding of how the conveyancing process works. But if you're not in a rush or your property is in demand, I don't see the harm in giving it a try for a month or so to see if anyone bites (I stuck my own for sale sign up in my garden for two weeks before instructing an agent - it's not unheard off for people to spends thousands on a agent only to have a neighbour buy it).

Bass_9

Clutterfree wrote: »

Crashy would still say it's overpriced!

This really made me laugh :rotfl: