There are some people that wonder if selling their home on their own, using what the Internet has to offer, would not be a more viable option than using a real estate agent – and of course, if you are working with a viable private sales company, you could end up saving a considerable amount of money on fees that you would otherwise have to pay!
You do have to ask yourself a question – is this a good option? Or will you simply be wasting your time, as well as your money, doing it yourself? Kate Faulkner talks about the benefits and drawbacks associated with selling your home privately and recommends a few websites that you should visit to see if this is a good decision.
The Benefits Of Selling A Home Privately
In most cases, a savings of 2% of the value of your home, can be achieved when selling it yourself. Assuming that you are selling your house for £250,000, you could actually save the £5,000 in fees that you would otherwise have to pay, plus it may only cost you £500 to get this done on your own by purchasing printing packs, floor plans, photos, and then showing it yourself.
As you can imagine, you are going to be more educated on what is good or bad about your home, and if you are able to speak with these people, and show them around, you will likely have more to say than the estate agent!
By simply removing the middleman, you can become the seller, working directly with the buyer, so that your communication is going to be much more streamlined and you can sell house fast.
All you have to do is organize times when you can meet with the people that will be interested, and you’re not going to be limited by office our restrictions!
Your total focus should be on the potential seller, and you will not be distracted by catering to the agent that would sell your property for you.
The Drawbacks Of Trying To Sell Your Home Privately
There are certain things that you may not be aware of, such as legal requirements, or the Property Misdescriptions Act, which you should know about, plus you may not have any information about the Energy Performance Certificate or the Home Information Pack that you should provide potential buyers prior to their arrival.
It’s not really that easy to secure buyers – today, we are not selling as many properties, which means it’s more difficult than just a few years ago to sell them!
If you are good at negotiations, you may still find it difficult to work with potential buyers. You need to know what questions to ask, and get the buyer to the point of making an offer. You also need to maintain your disposition, and avoid getting angry, when they are not offering you a fair asking price!
Some of these buyers will be difficult to work with, and that’s why having some expertise in selling properties is good to have. About 1/3 of all sales are going to fall through, plus there are legal issues that you may have to contend with on your own.
If you have never shown your house before, you might find it difficult to do. You will discover that many of the people scheduled to meet with you will not show up, nor will they provide any type of feedback. If you are showing them around, you can’t just tell them that they are in the dining room, or the lounge, as this is not going to help you sell your property. You need to also consider the feedback from potential buyers, as this will help you sell your home, but will not if you ignore it.
Most private sellers end up working with agents because they struggle to find a buyer for the house, especially one that will offer them a fair price for their property.