Selling your house privately...?

[blondebier]

Hi Guys,

We've pretty much outgrown our house and are thinking of moving to somewhere bigger.

In the current economic climate I'd rather not throw money away and was thinking of selling our house privately. (I don't care much for the estate agents around here...)

I could quite easily knock up a board and put it outside, but I don't reckon many people are likely to see it.

I've seen various websites that offer a "Sell your home privately" service ranging from £FREE - £XXXs.

Sarah Beeny's offering is free. Sarah Beeny's smarter way to buy & sell a home - Tepilo

I quite like the look of this one : Online Low Cost Estate Agent Selling Property>Right Move Estate Agents @ House Network Sales
(They list on RightMove and other more popular property websites)

Any others worth looking at?

If anyone has sold their home privately and has any pointers I'd be most grateful.

Cheers,
Blondebier

 

[A210AMG]

Although I'm always amazed at how much agents do for so little It is the advertising that you need.

People looking for houses do drive round areas looking for boards but most do the runs down the local agents picking up any new details of houses weekly in their price range, if yours isn't their to pick up then your missing buyers.

I agree saving some money sounds good and if it works for you great...its also a bad tume generally to put your house up as getting close to Christmas people tend to stay put.


I tend to use rightmove.co.uk to view property also not sure but guessing only businesses allowed to sell on their?

Good luck but given all the other cost in moving house, stamp duty being a big hit, it all blurs into one at the end of the day.

 

[blondebier]

Thanks. I can't really imagine there is ever a good time to move.

I think Rightmove are probably the biggest online property website. That's probably what drew me to the HouseNetwork.co.uk website. For £750 you get a Home Information Pack, For Sale Board, Rightmove Premium Listing (Twelve Month Validity), Photo Rotation Service, 3D Floorplan, 3D Walkthrough Video and some other stuff I don't understand yet.

That's more than most estate agents offer.

 

[Will]

I think that the likely saving you'll make in estate agents commission will be negated by a lower sale price and/or problems with buyers and the time it will take to find one.

As A210 says - solicitors fees, surveys, stamp duty, removal costs etc - not to mention the cost of the new place it all seems less significant although I do appreciate where you're coming from.

Will

 

[jonnyboy]

i think that the likely saving you'll make in estate agents commission will be negated by a lower sale price and/or problems with buyers and the time it will take to find one.

As a210 says - solicitors fees, surveys, stamp duty, removal costs etc - not to mention the cost of the new place It all seems less significant although i do appreciate where you're coming from.

Will

+1

 

[Smatt]

We have been heavily involved with estate agents over the last few months.

We were initially going to do a house swap with a friend- we are glad we did not as we would have lost out a lot financially.

Then on another property, we did initial negotiations in person with the seller. This was actually incredibly stressful. The estate agents are doing this daily & are very experienced. Not only can they get you a good price for your house, but can help you to purchase a property at a favourable rate too. We wished we had done all the negotiating through the agent.

However, if you can get a deal which gives you a rightmove listing (housenetwork sounds good), then this goes a long way to selling as it is the biggest property site & gets you loads of viewings.
The difficult part is getting the listing value just right; low enough to attract lots of interest while still giving you a good price. It is worth having some good photos too, but not too many- you want to tempt people to have a viewing to see the rest of the house ( dangling a carrott). If you have a perfect property then do a floorplan. If not, then I would advise to omit the floorplan, as it may put people off even viewing the property, whereas if they come & view they may like the property despite an odd layout or the occasional odd shaped room, which may not even be noticed when actually viewing.
Also, if marketing yourself, you need someone available most of the time to answer enquiries & arrange viewing appointments.

Obviously, do all of the Sarah Beeney type things to make your house as presentable as possible before viewings.
You would have to act quickly to gain interest/buyers before Christmas. There is a lull over the festive period.

Now is the best time in years to sell if you are trying to move up the property ladder in terms of value. Your money will get you relatively more (if moving up) than at any time in the last 10-20 years! Interest has picked up very significantly in the housing market in the last few months & prices are rising- in some areas more than others.

 

[wemorgan]

With the empowerment of the Internet I'm amazed and frustrated how strong estate agents have remained. With the 'skills' they have I think they offer poor value for money. Selling privately should be a viable proposition in 2009.

But sellers are typically buyers too and if we are not prepared to change our habits of visiting the high street estate agent then the cycle won't be broken.

IMHO if you're not able to get on to rightmove.co.uk then selling privately will be an uphill struggle. So somewhere like housenetwork.co.uk looks most suitable.

If you're going to take your own photographs then take your time to look at other advertisements to understand what is required. When the advert is ready ask some friends/this forum for feedback before it goes live.

Good luck.

 

[verytalldave]

Taking into account ALL other costs involved moving home, the estate agents fees need not be a significant amount.
Dont get me wrong, I dont like estate agents generally and I think some are quite low life.
However, providing you pick a good one that perhaps charges a set selling fee, then its a viable selling option. And IF the agent can market your home well, he/she may even get you a better price than you might have done, leaving you better off on balance.
The REAL thief that rattles his tin under your nose is the stamp duty charge.
My daughter and her partner are thinking of moving a new home. Their stamp duty ALONE could be almost £40,000.
Sort of puts it all into perspective doesn't it?

NOW tell me who is the real **** when wanting to move home .......................

 

[davidjpowell]

A good agent should save you more than they cost you.

When I sold my flat in Weston I chose an agent based on one who had sold two flats on my (very small) development. I was more than a bit cheesed of when they fell through and he ended up with three of us - no conflict there then!

I ended up with a joint agent, while the original agent was serving his notice. Unfortunately the new agent was too efficient and negotiated a sale within a week.

A good estate agent is valuable. A bad one is expensive.

Make sure that you choose a small agent who has been around for some time. Ask your friends who they use. Look at who has sold boards out.

Don't use a large agent, invariably they work on numbers. Your Move I think are particularly bad - they assign negotiators to the purchaser, not the vendor. I would want my agent to have rapport with me thank you very much!

 

[Benzowner]

Will,
When you sell your house and begin to look for a new one, where will you go to loook for the new house. Those on your OP are in effect only estate agents who charge a bit less. I am not in favour of them, but I think the are a necessary evil. Good luck in your house sell.

 

[crockers]

Have you considered extending your existing house. Cost of stamp duty may cover most of this cost. Just a thought.

 

[blondebier]

Have you considered extending your existing house. Cost of stamp duty may cover most of this cost. Just a thought.

We did look into it but as we're in a conservation area it makes extending a bit of a pain. The list of things you can and can't do was enough to put us off the idea.

We'd also like a bigger garden.

 

[kth286]

The first thing to do if you have not done it yet, is to do some calcs and estimate the mortgage size you will require and go see if you can actually get that amount, and get an offer in priciple based on your current income/s.

You might be surprised how difficult it has become to get a mortgage offer.

It might save you a lot of wasted time to get that bit out of the way.

It is now the number one reason why house sales fall through (intended purchasers not being able to get the size of mortgage they want/need).

 

[blondebier]

Thanks kth286. That was one of the first things we did.

We can port our lifetime tracker so no worries there.

 

[kth286]

Thanks kth286. That was one of the first things we did.

We can port our lifetime tracker so no worries there.

even so, I asume that you want a bigger mortgage to go with bigger (more expensive ?) house.

Can you easily get the extra amount if needed - do get the offer in principle for that extra amount.

Do not take anything for granted verbally - get it in writing, you might be surprised at how that focusses the mind and (the possibility of) unwillingness to assist in this current environment.

 

[blondebier]

All done.

 

[wemorgan]

Hi Guys,

We've pretty much outgrown our house and are thinking of moving to somewhere bigger.

In the current economic climate I'd rather not throw money away and was thinking of selling our house privately. (I don't care much for the estate agents around here...)

I could quite easily knock up a board and put it outside, but I don't reckon many people are likely to see it.

I've seen various websites that offer a "Sell your home privately" service ranging from £FREE - £XXXs.

Sarah Beeny's offering is free. Sarah Beeny's smarter way to buy & sell a home - Tepilo

I quite like the look of this one : Online Low Cost Estate Agent Selling Property>Right Move Estate Agents @ House Network Sales
(They list on RightMove and other more popular property websites)

Any others worth looking at?

If anyone has sold their home privately and has any pointers I'd be most grateful.

Cheers,
Blondebier

Hi.

Just bringing back an old thread to ask how you got on? I'm in a similar situation myself, so curious for any feedback.

Like others I use rightmove to search for properties, so feel that as long as my flat appears on that search I should be in a good position to sell. Or does an agent really add value to offset their fees? I have 4 agents visiting next week for a 'home appraisal' valuation, so the advertised price should be accurate.

Many thanks.

edit: I suspect selling a flat is different to a house in that potential buyers will be young and internet savy, or that's my theory at least.

 

[blondebier]

Hi Will,

Sorry I've just seen your post...

Well, we used them and they were fantastic. We moved recently and I can't think of a bad word to say about them.

The best part is we've saved the commission that we would have had to pay one of the agents in town.

I'd use them again without hesitation.