Selling privately, how did you handle it?

artyboy

Albermarle said:

what checks/tools/steps would actually help a private seller filter out timewasters and qualify a buyer properly,

They could ask an experienced estate agent, who can probably smell timewasters a mile away.

So as with so many such concepts, success or failure hinges on understanding what you can easily automate/proceduralise/scale through technology, and what still requires real human judgement/experience/intervention.

My old process oversight function in my old industry has been a target for cost cutting (*ahem*, I mean, optimization) for donkeys years, but there are so many process permutations, so many different actors, and so much scope for things to fall off the happy path and require intervention, and that's before you realise that the whole thing sits on top of many other imperfect processes, rules and, erm... people...

Well, anyway, fair to say that no one has even come close to cracking it (however much they might tell you otherwise). And that despite many billions invested and no shortage of desire across the big banks to figure it out. Bits have been improved, but not the whole start-to-finish.

Personally I see house buying/selling in a very similar light. Kudos to anyone that thinks they can make the whole thing better. At some point, someone will. But it is very, very, very hard.

Bashie90

artyboy said:

Albermarle said:

what checks/tools/steps would actually help a private seller filter out timewasters and qualify a buyer properly,

They could ask an experienced estate agent, who can probably smell timewasters a mile away.

So as with so many such concepts, success or failure hinges on understanding what you can easily automate/proceduralise/scale through technology, and what still requires real human judgement/experience/intervention.

My old process oversight function in my old industry has been a target for cost cutting (*ahem*, I mean, optimization) for donkeys years, but there are so many process permutations, so many different actors, and so much scope for things to fall off the happy path and require intervention, and that's before you realise that the whole thing sits on top of many other imperfect processes, rules and, erm... people...

Well, anyway, fair to say that no one has even come close to cracking it (however much they might tell you otherwise). And that despite many billions invested and no shortage of desire across the big banks to figure it out. Bits have been improved, but not the whole start-to-finish.

Personally I see house buying/selling in a very similar light. Kudos to anyone that thinks they can make the whole thing better. At some point, someone will. But it is very, very, very hard.

Ha love this, it’s safe to say I chose an industry that is indeed well cemented and there’s a huge challenge ahead. I echo your point on cost cutting/optimisation, my current role is specialised within indirect supply chains so it’s what I do day in day out and a lot of processes are, like you say, held together with some very strong tape sometimes...

Totally agree as well that the key is knowing what can actually be automated/standardised vs what still needs proper human judgement and intervention. I’m not under any illusion we can solve the whole start-to-finish process, especially with chains/people/emotions involved, but I do think there are bits that can be made less painful clearer steps, better prompts, better filtering, fewer timewasters, and just reducing the admin/friction. Even if it doesn’t replace an EA, if it helps private sellers not fall off the happy path so easily, that’s still a win

silvercar

My buyers found us, by putting a note through the door of houses they were interested in. There were hiccups along the way, notably when their buyer’s buyer dropped out. Without an EA involved, you need someone to take charge of holding it all together. In our case it was me- I had lots of conversations with my buyer’s buyers who weren’t familiar with the buying process in the UK. 

I’ve seen a few Facebook groups where people post up their house being for sale privately. I’ve also seen people post in local groups, that aren’t property groups.

paulintheprocess

I’ve sold one place privately before. It worked, but it was a lot more admin than I expected. The hardest bits were filtering out time wasters and sorting viewings around work. Most buyers were a bit cautious at first but once they saw the property and the paperwork was handled by solicitors, they relaxed.

If I did it again, Id probably pay for a proper listing service or at least a third party to handle enquiries. Saves you dealing with every random message and makes the whole thing feel more legit for buyers.

Herzlos

Bashie90 said:

Herzlos said:

You mean an advert board with an advice blog? If you're going to do any of that extra stuff you're going to end up replicating an EA anyway. 

In any case, where's the revenue going to come from?

Yeah fair point. It probably does sound like advert board + advice blog on the face of it and I get the point that if you add too much you are basically rebuilding an EA.

The bit I’m trying to focus on is the stuff that helps people do it themselves (step-by-step listing flow, prompts, templates, what to do next etc) rather than being the agent and negotiating/chasing chains for them. More like making the process less confusing and less risky, not replacing an EA entirely.

On revenue, a few ideas really: small listing fees / optional paid upgrades, mixed stock (not just private we also include EA's) and things like referral/partner bits where relevant. Nothing set in stone yet, which is partly why I’m asking these questions

There's maybe some market for a portal to facilitate self-selling. Pay (signifcantly) less than an estate agent and get your photos listed on all the big sites, have tools to handle bookings, affordability checks etc. 

But when it comes to buying/selling houses I'd always recommend an estate agent. 
In our case ours was invaluable. EA showed me a suitable house and I'd viewed and placed an offer before it went live.  Our buyer actually went to view the house we bought and was shown our place as a wild card they weren't even considering, loved it and offered. 

If either I or my seller went the DIY route then I don't think any of that would have lined up at all, and we'd have at least lost about 4x the comission fee based on the next best offer. 

gunster

I have sold twice with online EA (PropertyEagle) for approx £450 all in. This was in London so saved me ££££s

ExEstateAgent

Bashie90 said:

Totally agree as well that the key is knowing what can actually be automated/standardised vs what still needs proper human judgement and intervention. I’m not under any illusion we can solve the whole start-to-finish process, especially with chains/people/emotions involved, but I do think there are bits that can be made less painful clearer steps, better prompts, better filtering, fewer timewasters, and just reducing the admin/friction. Even if it doesn’t replace an EA, if it helps private sellers not fall off the happy path so easily, that’s still a win

The average person sells a home maybe a few times during their life. The process will be pretty much 'new' to them each time. 

An EA is doing this every day. Most don't want to deal with time wasters etc. I often sold properties before they went on the market, I just knew the buyers from my list who would be interested and got them in first. 

Getting a buyer isn't easy but it's easier than dealing with all of the sales progression - most of that is down to the respective solicitors, surveyors, mortgage co's etc., which you have no control over. We had several staff whose job was basically chasing up all the parties in a sale on a regular basis, to make sure things kept on track. They would often resolve issues that might otherwise have resulted in a lost sale. 

You're either offering a Strike kind of DIY service to enable private seller access to Rightmove, or you're looking at being another Purple Bricks, stripped back EA service. 

YoungBlueEyes

I've never bought or sold privately, but as someone who works in a conveyancing solicitors I'll offer my thoughts.

The trouble with your plan is that it involves people who naturally don't know what they're doing. You can come up with an advice blog or portal or whichever incarnation it'll take, and some people will either read it and not understand it, or read it and ignore it because they know better. A lot of the issues we face at work are when buyers and sellers talk to each other, agree things between them that are impossible/not legal, and then demand we conform to their new plan. At least with estate agents in the mix they have (or should have) an idea of how the process works. 

When we send out our client packs we include a checklist of all the stages in the process so they know what we're doing and what they can expect to happen next. If I had £1 for every time I heard "yeah but it was too long so I didn't read it" or "yeah but it doesn't apply to me because someone on facefook said xyz". That's your real problem to overcome - how to get people to understand what happens and what they're expected to do in place of the EAs. 

Another example. One of the points on the checklist, and in the footer of all emails, is a request not to follow up an email with a phone call, and please allow up to 24 hours for a reply. We regularly get people sending one email after another, then instantly calling asking why there hasn't been a reply, and sending further emails as they're on the phone because they want it in writing. If we ask them do you remember the checklist you signed that stated timescales, they'll say "yeah but me and my buyer have agreed xyz between us because this is taking too long". If we don't action their new plan - for whatever reason - they'll put in a complaint. 

What's your plan to mitigate that..?  

Herzlos

YoungBlueEyes said:

The trouble with your plan is that it involves people who naturally don't know what they're doing.

I think it's worse than that; most people who don't know what they are doing, as well as most people who have some idea of what's involved, will go to an expert.
So bulk of the target audience is people who don't know know enough to know they'll be bad at it, or people who don't want to spend the money on an expert. 

There's going to be a huge overlap with people who won't read any guides correctly and will claim like nothing else if it goes wrong. 

It's pretty much self-selecting for the worst customers, and why there's never really been a success in that field.

You'd need to be well prepared for being sued when someone who doesn't follow the guide properly messes something up claims you cost them £100k in a failed house sale. You'd probably win in court but it'd be an expensive PITA to deal with. 

Chief_of_Staffy

YoungBlueEyes said:

Another example. One of the points on the checklist, and in the footer of all emails, is a request not to follow up an email with a phone call, and please allow up to 24 hours for a reply. We regularly get people sending one email after another, then instantly calling asking why there hasn't been a reply, and sending further emails as they're on the phone because they want it in writing. If we ask them do you remember the checklist you signed that stated timescales, they'll say "yeah but me and my buyer have agreed xyz between us because this is taking too long". If we don't action their new plan - for whatever reason - they'll put in a complaint. 

What's your plan to mitigate that..?  

If I were in a customer-facing business of that nature, I would set up or purchase a ticketing system. Email is not a professional way to handle customer interactions of any complexity. Then, interactions can be regulated, monitored and dealt with in a structured way, documents can be organised and even signed online, and a full history for both parties is always available. Such a system would pay for itself very quickly.