Have you ever sold, or are you selling a house privately, without an estate agent?

If so, I would like to know why you chose to do it by yourself, if it paid off, how you went about it and your best/worst experience, and tips!

You can also send me a private message if you don't want your details in the public discussion space for any reason.

Thank you in advance

Have you used the search to find previous discussions on selling without an estate agent?

I have indeed but no post covers the topic with details that I would like to have...

i.e why did you sell without an agent, where did you find advice, how long did it take, how did you set the asking price and were you able to get higher bids or did you take the first offer at your price... and any regrets?

Thanks

Sold without agent as I found agents slow, unhelpful and only out for fast buck.
Advertised in Local paper, and put up a sign out front. Was in a hurry to sell so I contacted several agents as well, and said if they brought buyers they could earn the commision. Two of the biggest told me that I could not do that as ALL agents in my city had agreed to boycott anyone that advertised in the local paper. Went to a smaller firm and was happy to be told he would also list my house, no fear, if i sold it to my buyer I could keep the commision. Thats the way it should be.

I got several lookers, a few bidders (all less than asking price). In the end I took an offer about half a percent less than my asking price and was able to sell within 8 weeks during a fairly slow period of the year.

If you are the kind of person that can deal with selling a car through an ad in the paper, then you can sell your house. Using an agent is purely for saving time and not having to deal directly with hassle of purchasers. (missed appointments, people out for a look, people that criticize your home in front of you, low bidding chancers, etc)

I would do it again next time, or at least give it a try first as long as the market is strong and im not in a big hurry.

Hi there,


I sold privately a while back, advertised in local paper(€250 for 3 weeks big ad and a 1/2 page writeup included)and had a sign made(€55). it took 6 weeks to sell during the summer. I did viewings twice a week on a wednesday and a saturday. I had to have a neighbour/friend to do the midweek viewings as i had already moved away from the area. overall it was a good experience and was easy enough. dealing directly with the person buying was useful and the solicitors were able to do the contracts in about 4 weeks so from the day of putting up the sign and receiveing cash took less than 3 months.

I would suggest getting an estate agent to value the house(free valuations) and ring up about houses in the local area to get a guide price and then set a Fair price and you wont have any bother selling.

Hi
I sold my house my self approx 9 years ago.

A tip I learned from this exp.

Do not get an estate agent involved in any way. Even if you get the buyer , they may try to bill you! I had a buyer lined up but he was slow to sign contracts (2 months) so i contacted an estate agent and explained this to them . They agreed to show house and try to get better price. During this period my buyer signed the contract. I informed the estate agent and they wanted to bill me and threaten to take me to court. Luckily there was nothing in writing,even though i feel i was in the right as i had explained everything up front.

Many thanks for your very useful replies!

Hi there ,

Yes, sold my House last year and did not use an estate agent . Put up my own little makeshift sign outside me door with my phone Number on it . I did not advertise in any papers as i felt that anybody wanting to buy in the area where i had my house would be looking already . Sold property to second person who rang and gave asking price 2 days after putting up sign. It was much better than through an agent as i was dealing with the buyer and he updated me straight away with any problems he was having so i know where i stood.

So i saved a couple of grand by doing things myself. hope this helps