Q. I’m getting ready to sell my property and was going to instruct the Agent to sell it for me whom I bought through, they seemed pretty efficient considering some of the bad reports I hear of Agents in general. However, with the present financial climate like everyone I am always looking at money saving avenues and wondered if it might be worth having a go at selling it privately, what are the pro’s and con’s of going it alone or getting in the professionals?
A. Shying away from estate agents fees and selling your home privately can on the surface seem like a good alternative but you need to understand the advantages and disadvantages of this option. There are several things you need to consider when deciding whether to go it alone and sell privately online or go through the traditional channels and instruct an agent. On line portals can offer to advertise your property for a much smaller fee compared to agents but little else will be offered, the rest will be up to you. One of the benefits of using a traditional estate agent is that you get access to their knowledge of the local market. They will understand what types of property are selling and what price they are currently achieving on the market for your particular type of property. If you are looking to sell your property yourself then you will need to get familiar and obtain enough knowledge of your local property market to confirm how much your property is worth. You will also need to commission some professional photographs and arrange for a floor plan to be drawn up; these are all things that buyers expect to see when searching for a property. Viewings too are easily dealt with via an agent, no awkward moments for you and good honest feedback afterwards having a third party linking the buyer and seller together. Doing this yourself again has its con’s and do remember to exercise safety first, consider you would be inviting a complete stranger into your home so precautions should be put in place. Once a sale is agreed you will then be responsible for getting the necessary papers out to the solicitors on both sides. And then you can relax and let your solicitor take care of things – right? Unfortunately, this is not the case, as this is where the labor really begins! Around 30% of all sales agreed never actually complete for a variety of reasons so keeping a very close eye on progress will ensure that you are not in that category. You should be calling your solicitor, estate agents and your seller at least once a week to ensure progress is being made. Don’t be afraid to push for progress if none is being made, remember this is your home at stake here, so don’t be afraid to have a voice. Even though you may be keen to save on fees and no matter what your opinion of estate agents is, most will work very hard to secure the sale of your property. Also, they will not receive their fee until the sale is complete, whereas doing it yourself will incur costs upfront and these will be lost if you decide not to sell. Cutting out the estate agent will also require a great deal of work from yourself in preparing details, taking photos, conducting viewings and progressing the sale so you may save money but you will certainly work for it, and have you factored into the equation how much of your precious time this might take up. Ultimately, there is no right or wrong answer to whether you do it yourself or instruct an estate agent but proceed with caution, go it alone and it may all end in tears. You may have paid upfront to do it yourself and failed in which case you will likely be heading to your local high street to call in the experts!