Selling House without an Estate Agent

56runner

I would be interested to hear from people who have sold their house without an agent.  
Have put my house on a free website and was thinking of just putting a for sale sign in the window.  The house next door is for sale so would get lots of views.  

couriervanman

Don't do it....unless you want people banging on your door at all times and are prepared to show them all around as well loads of other hassle

eddddy

I've seen examples where this has worked fine - where both buyer and seller were sensible, reasonable, honest people with previous experience of buying and selling.

I've also seen it end in disaster - where things started to get a bit stressful between buyer and seller, and there was no EA sitting in the middle to keep everything under control. So they ended up shouting at each other over the phone, and the seller stormed off.

(TBH, I've been involved in a few transactions which I don't think would have happened if there hadn't been an EA chasing people, dealing with hiccups along the way, calming people down, etc.)

Mutton_Geoff

56runner said:

I would be interested to hear from people who have sold their house without an agent.  
Have put my house on a free website and was thinking of just putting a for sale sign in the window.  The house next door is for sale so would get lots of views.  

What free website? The vast majority of houses are found by buyers on the main portals, if you're not on there, you're severely limiting your market. Without lots of prospects, you risk not achieving the best price. And the agent doesn't actually cost you anything up front because they don't get their fee until the sale completes.

As much as I dislike agents, a good one can easily earn their money 10x over.

How does your neighbours house being for sale get you lots of views? Only people physically viewing your neighbour's property are going to see your sign, and even then the chance of them actually seeing it and acting on it are so remote, you've diluted your pool of potential buyers for the sake of 1% plus VAT of your sale price.

Thrugelmir

56runner said:

The house next door is for sale so would get lots of views.  

Far less than if the property was marketed on Rightmove or similar sites. As that's generally the starting point for most people when searching. When your neighbours property sells then what? 

amandacat

Can you use an agent such as Strike or similar who are free of charge? At least that way you will get the exposure on rightmove and a managed viewing service (you still do your own viewings but potential buyers have to book online) rather than people just knocking on your door. 

AdrianC

Think like a buyer. If they want to buy a house like yours in your area, where are they going to look?

RM is the obvious one. What's this "free website"? If you weren't advertising on it, would YOU look at it? Would I?

Is trying to penny-pinch on not paying for marketing going to come back and bite you in a slower sale for less money?

Weathergirl_76

Hi, my house is up for sale with an agent, but in my evening free time, I have been looking around just to be nosey, and noticed there is a company (i forget their name, but a google search should bring them up) who you pay a nominal fee to, to advertise your property on Rightmove. They do nothing else. Someone suggested getting a professional photographer to take some good photos, and provide a floor plan (some professional photographers offer both) and then deal with the enquiries yourself. You save yourself a lot of money, and if you are well organised and have the time, there is no reason why you cannot manage the sale. You won’t have a database of buyers, but a lot of people start their search online. 

caprikid1

You will most likely value it wrongly, either too much or too little so you either sell it cheap or it goes stale, get a buyer who intimidates you to lower the price.
Estate agents have many many roles in the whole transaction both in negotiation and acting as fire break between you and the buyer. A good estate agent more than covers their fees in the better price they achieve and the gap they create between you and the buyer.

NameUnavailable

I was an agent pre internet. We had a few instances where people decided they could do better than us.

One couple had a valuation from us and then said they had decided to market it themselves. They were on a fairly busy road so thought a home made for sale sign with their telephone number on would bring them a quick and free sale.

Whilst people may see a for sale sign and clock the name of the agent, they're unlikely to be able to write down a phone number driving past the place. They returned a couple of months later asking for our help!

You could say it's different now with the internet but unless your property is visible online (major sites) it's just not going to be noticed. I also think many buyers will be put off by dealing direct, thinking there's something risky going on.

56runner

couriervanman said:

Don't do it....unless you want people banging on your door at all times and are prepared to show them all around as well loads of other hassle

I would hate that.  I have a 'no cold callers' sign but certain people just ignore it. Thanks.