Cut out the estate agents?

bridiej

Just wondered, has anyone marketed their houses themselves and cut out estate agents altogether??

If we ever sell again I am planning to make up my own For Sale board and advertise in the local property papers, but just wondered if this would be successful??

Poppy9

Depends a lot on where you live. If there are other houses for sale in your road which is attracting buyers your own sign will work as well as an agents. Make sure you put on the sign 'viewing by appointment only'. Also small ads in the property guide of the local newspapers are cheap and will be read by serious househunters. The only buyers you will have trouble attracting are those from outside the area who contact local agents.

If yours is the sort of house that's of interest to first time buyers or small families often Housing Associations will buy from you. They then market the houses to their clients to either rent or part buy/part rent. Ring around a few Housing Associations and ask them if they are buying. Also draw up details of your house and mail them to the Housing Association.

Worked for us. A surveyor called around to view the house - asked us what we were realistically looking for. Given that we didn't have to pay agents fees etc we gave him the bottom line which he was happy with and sale was agreed.

Robert_Sterling_3

You might prefer to NOT go for the bottom line.

Poppy9

Apparently there are plenty who don't. The surveryor told us that he sees on average 100's of houses. His initial viewing is the survey as well so the sale is very quick and straight forward. No haggling over light fittings etc. He just told us to leave what we didn't want and take what we did. He said that many he views say they want the asking price and he just walks away. He only bothers with serious sellers he is not interested in being guzamped etc. These sellers may get the asking price but then you have to pay Agents fees plus you may not have a cash buyer but someone in a chain. We took a 10% cut on what the agent had asked for. The agents had found us 4 buyers. 1 tried for a silly reduction at the last minute, 1 had their mortgage applications turned down and 2 had the buyer pull out of buying their house.

We were then in a great position to buy our next house and got a cheeky offer accepted because we were like a cash buyer.

bridiej

What a great idea - thanks for that!!!

So, what if I was sneaky and got the house valued then added another £10K on the price so when the surveyor was negotiating I could knock the £10K off and still get the money wanted??

Or do they do the usual surveyor thing and check??

Great idea though - hadnt even thought of it! ;D

terrierlady

A home is usally sold on square footage and most homes are in pricebands,there will always be the homes that are more individual and they could go for more or less.
the valuer is aware of local prices after all thats his/her job so adding another £10k would price the property out of the price band for that type of home.
House prices seem to be falling on their own accord in most areas, so to add on money seems to be not a very good idea if your looking for a quick sale.
Estate agents do work for the dosh, I know it does not always seem so, your sale may go through sweet as a nut but then perhaps you would be unaware of all the behind the scene sales chasing going on, plus many other jobs that agents do. Good and bad in all professions.
One can sell their own home easy enough but in a tough market the agent will usally win after all thats their job. Good luck I hope you find the process easy and im sure some of the regulars will give you good ideas for marketing your home.

bridiej

Thank you!!

Having sold two houses to buy the one we now live in I think estate agents seem to do very little for the extortionate amount of money they get (ours charged 3% and 2.5% respectively). >:(

I was just thinking of the adding the £10K on for the housing assoc idea...... just being greedy I guess! :P

Robert_Sterling_3

I asked one Estate Agent, who I had used before, to sell my house for 1.75%.
I said he could have 5 days start and then I would ask
three other agents to also do it for 1.75%.
So that is what happened. Multiple agency service at sole agency prices.

John_M_Business

I think it firstly depends on your property - it's great selling to housing associations, but not if you've done your property to a high standard of finish...

Also, I think what's really important in selling terms is not just to think about 'what can I save?' but think about 'how much can I make?' Obviously, if an Estate Agent can get you more money than his fee, it makes sense to use an agent.

Often, we are conditioned by the emotional side of selling - thinking that others should love our property as much as we do. And we are also conditioned by the marketplace, because we see inflated figures against properties in our area... remember the only barometer is what a property is SOLD for (not marketed at).

Additionally, there are some agents who are better to sell through (because of their high profile and coverage) and others who are better to buy from (for the converse reason). In London, for example, Foxtons and Faron Sutaria - great to sell through, but NEVER buy from them.

Poppy9

Where I live Estate Agents do very little for their money. I speak from experience of buying and selling. When after selling one property and renting for a short while I became a serious cash buyer all the Agents just got out the same old leaflets every time I visited. I only managed to get the house I wanted without anyone else seeing by getting friendly with one of the agents. He valued a house he knew I would love in the morning, rang me and I viewed lunchtime and offer accepted and taken off the market that day.

As regards selling to Housing Association. If your property is suitable for part rent/part buy they want it finished to a high standard so that they can easily dispose of. Just because people are being helped by a Housing Association to get onto the property ladder doesn't mean they have lower standards. If property prices maintain their high level this will be the only way that first time buyers can get into the property market.

John_M_Business

What I mean about high standards is not 'good finish', but expensive fixtures, fittings and appliances. Where I am in West Central London, there is a real premium on quality throughout... and because of the cost of properties in this marketplace, this makes a real difference to the value of a property - but probably not in the eyes of housing associations.

Of course in areas where houses are cheaper the margin will be smaller - because 5% of £100k isn't even worth getting, say, granite worktops - whereas here, where the average flat is over £300k, it definitely is.

As for your story, although it sounds great from your end, I'm not so sure that I would have been as impressed as the vendor... one viewing, offer of asking and a sale would say to me: "undervalued". You must remember that one person getting a 'good deal' often means that another loses out.

However, I'm glad you found what you wanted.