Selling house without using an estate agents.

M

Minnie***

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Hi,

Last year we put our house up for sale with an estate agent. There seems to be a lot of interest in the area we live in. When we put the house up last year it sold within 2 weeks, well above the asking price. Unfortunately the sale fell through on the house we were buying so we had to pull out of selling our house.

Anyway, we are thinking of selling again but this time not using an estate agent and selling it ourselves. It’s a typical first time buyer’s house and any house that has gone up for sale sold within weeks.

Has anyone any tips or advice on how to go about doing this.

Thanks.
 
Re: Selling house without using an eatate agents.

i used houseladder.co.uk to sell a flat in london recently. worked very well and cost £100 ish and got a board to erect with my mobile number on it. propertybroker.com do similar thing. dont know if you have similar to this in ireland. i had 127 hits in 2 weeks ! if its cheap to go down this route then why not, you have nothing to lose apart from time maybe. depends how quickly you may want to sell. an agent rang me as he spotted the flat on the web and we agreed that if I sell it myself, he would get nothing and agreed to this.
 
Hi Minnie
We did same just before Christmas - Agent were not good enough and we were constantly chasing them for info on viewing etc. Word of mouth sold ours - someone approached the us to ask was the house for sale as they had heard in the local pub we were moving so they viewed that night and put offer in (above the agents asking price i may add) and we are now just dealing with solicitors directly - easiest saving of €5000 we ever had!
Put an add in the local shops/newletters (the Echo is great but dont know what area you are in?)
Good Luck
 
You could also try daft.ie.

Let us know how you get on, I'm thinking of doing the same myself when I move.
 
Thank you so much.

We also thought the estate agent was doing a great job the last time round too. Someone has already asked us were we selling and that's what put the idea in my head.

I'm just wondering am I missing something. Surely it can't be this easy to say yourself 5k. Checked out daft this morning and it's €125 to put the house on their website until it sells. I'll put it in the local papers too. I just have to find out where to get a FOR SALE sign.

The other thing that's putting me off is doing the viewings. Would this put people off. I don't know if I would like to be viewing someone's house and that person with me. How would any of you feel about that?

Minnie.
 
Minnie*** said:
The other thing that's putting me off is doing the viewings. Would this put people off. I don't know if I would like to be viewing someone's house and that person with me. How would any of you feel about that?

Minnie.
Click to expand...
So long as you're not oppressive it shouldn't make too much of a difference. I would suggest not accompanying people around, but letting them look around themselves while you wait in a sitting room / kitchen (preferably sitting room - people like to have a good look at a kitchen, and might be nervous if you're there!).

I do think you'll reduce your viewing public, though - all other things being equal, I've always been less inclined to look at houses being sold by owner and I doubt I'm alone in that. On the one occasion I did look at such a house, I offered on it, went to the expense of getting a survey, but the owner was a complete messer - told me about three times that he was just about certain to sell to me, that we were about sale agreed... and then let it run on and on. Last I heard (coincidentally through my local friendly estate agent!), he'd messed with the wrong person - a young solicitor - and the whole thing was tied up in legal action. As far as I can tell (I pass by every day), it still hasn't changed hands, and this is about 14/15 months later.

... but don't let that stop you!!

Seriously, I think the money for a decent estate agent is often worth it for the coverage, the vetting, and the helping to keep momentum in the transaction, but I'm aware that a lot of AAMers will disagree on that score.
 
Minnie*** said:
Has anyone any tips or advice on how to go about doing this.
Click to expand...

I haven't sold a house, but I did sell a 0.5 acre site about six months ago.
I advertised it on daft.ie, cost me €95
The site went "sale agreed" within a week.
Done and dusted, money in the bank!
Whether the word is estate/travel/financial, if you've got half a brain you'll always save money by avoiding any agent/broker.
I discover this over and over again, be it getting a holiday, a mortgage or selling property.
 
Just sold in North Galway for 23k above local estate agents valuation..currently building two houses of which we will sell one exactly the same way (i hope) easiest 5.5k i ever made/saved.
 
Just went sale agreed on a house in the country .I advertised on daft.ie and got 2 signs made "house for Sale + mobile no." . Daft got 40 to 60 hits a day during the Oct. peak , the signs brought in just as much genuine inquiries during their 1st month .
An advert in the local newspaper was as expensive as daft and brought 5 inquiries . IMO if your EA gets you to pay for part of his weekly advert , all you are paying for is his brand awareness .
Why I didn't use an EA
1. they get a fixed % comission , if the EA sell at €330k instead of €320k his comission increases to say €4950 from €4800 (@1.5%). The sellers vital interest is in getting the last few thousand out of the sale , but there is no incentive for the EA in the hardest part of the price negotiation .
2. Will they arrange visits ( in the countryside ?) to suit buyers , weekend and pm suit most people .
3. When you ask for a valuation , they tell you what they think you want to hear
4. so many EAs with crap photos , wet day with dark house and sky , anybody can do better on a sunny day , but they cant be ar$d.
5. they are not real professionals , no "body of knowledge" , no long years of study , Primetime and Senator Ross have the size of them.
6. the most difficult part part in the countryside is valuation , in towns it is easy as there are similar houses .

On the other hand , talking money is difficult .... its best to be at a distance , tell people that your partner has the final say as she put up most of the money for the house . This gives you time to think and allows for an easier conversation if you have to refuse a request " I could not persuade her to leave the workbench and garage shelves".
Then again , noting people's bids and communicating it to other interested parties is not so difficult that you should pay thousands to avoid it . The human contact part is actually quiet pleasant even though we had a few setbacks on the way .
pjq
 
Hi

An apartment near me is using www.movehome.ie - I just checked them out and it is a flat rate fee:

€999

seems to be Dublin specific - Anyone here used them, seems a good option?

Paddy
 
Thought they would have gotten more for the house !

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PHP: 
Thought they would have gotten more for the house !
 
http://www.movehome.ie/images/MH%20P...tos%200031.jpg
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Cracking up here. Excellent phoenix_n
 
Check out their new branch.

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Al-fresco at its best.
 
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