[The Woodsiders]

Hi all, has anyone had any experience in selling their property themselves without the assistance of an Estate Agent? this would be purely from the marketing point of view, not the legal conveyancing, although could be surprised that someone on here may have done.
We are wanting to move and having had the house vaued the agent said their fee would be 1.25% whilst not knocking their expertise and contacts I do not see why they want nearly £5.500.00 plus vat. of my money to do it.
Then Mr Osbourne wants another £14.500 of my money for stamp duty on the new property purchase.
Not quite a rant but nearly.

[lachlanandmarcus]

Don't forget that the quoted figures are always open to negotiation, we managed to reduce ours from 1.25% to 1% just by asking, they are more likely to agree if the asking price is a realistic one or the property type is in demand so worth a try.

[tizaala]

http://www.channel4.com/4homes/buy-sell/selling-property/selling-advice/how-to-sell-your-house-privately-08-06-25

some guidance on here but the site is no longer updated.

[spandit]

Bear in mind that sites like Rightmove and Zoopla don't take private listings. You can sell on eBay, don't know how large the fees are

[lachlanandmarcus]

You could try Sarah Beenys site, they don't charge commission so might be worth a try?


http://www.tepilo.com/

[The Woodsiders]

Thanks for your replies so far, I am not a mean old bugger but like most of the Tasers I work b----y hard for my money and don`t part with it easily to some chap turning up in a new BMW telling me my house is not worth as much as I thought, I do live in the real world though and of course everyone wants as much as they can. Will have a look at some of the suggested sites and keep you posted.
Thanks again
 

[Derby_menagerie]

My dad Sold his house himself last year, Put a nicely printed sign, with a web address, a week later a bloke knocked the door, my dad showed him round, sold! My Dad's house was in a high traffic area!

[happygolucky]

I had a friend who did all his stuff himself, even his divorce  , he used to read up and just use a solicitor for the legal stuff...far too much for some one who like me!! BUT, you can advertise yourself, I put some adds, did get a reply and a viewing from Gumtree but the viewing was then cancelled when they re thought the situation, also we nearly sold through Gumtree, we recon the buyer became ill as he E Mailed me daily then I asked him to contact the estate agents and he also did the same for them, I used an Estate agent as that man picked me up on every detail, so I dare not say much in the advert. I currently have an ad on Sarah Beenys site but no response so far, its not that easy to find if you are house hunting. Some houses are easier to sell than others, I also hate paying the fee to an estate agent but if you do sell, being too personal with a  buyer can also create problems....I have bought and sold a few houses and always used an Estate agent sadly!!

[plumseverywhere]

When we sold our old house we used an agent, initially it was great but it slowed right up...in the end we moved branch (same agent) and used photos we took ourself and showed viewers round ourself, within 3 months sold. Makes you wonder though really as it was our pics and our viewing that sold it...yet we still paid a % to them...would be tempted to go without agent next time.

[sabrina]

We once sold our small croft through an add in Exchange & Mart, that was over 20 years ago and we had lots of interest.

[lachlanandmarcus]

The other thing to check out is that none of the locals or neighbours want to buy it - our old house ended up being sold to people 3 doors down for their parents to move into, if only we had asked we would have saved the agents commission altogether but we had no idea! It worked out well tho as they let us rent it for a couple of months post sale which made the 550 mile move a lot easier to do logistically.

[HappyHippy]

We've sold two houses ourselves (only using a lawyer for the legal side of it) we used ebay and the free ad's paper for gaining awareness and put posters and signs up locally. Nowadays I suppose it would be really easy to do a free website with all the info and post links on facebook, forums etc - it's entirely do'able.
Go for it !

[southernskye]

We did quite a bit of private advertising and got a few snifters but, in the end, the deal came via rural scene who, for the % they took, were a good bunch to deal with. 1% IIRC but their website has details.
Good luck
Sskye

[lachlanandmarcus]

Rural scene would be worth considering as the details are always very detailed with big photos which really help with rural properties where people might be moving a long distance.

[The Woodsiders]

Thanks for all your helpful advice, going to give it a go, had thought about setting up my own website, long way to go, will keep you posted, Thanks again