Can you sell your house without an estate agent?
With everyone watching the pennies, more homeowners are wondering “can you sell your house without an estate agent?” The short answer is yes, but most sellers find it’s quite a challenge.
In this blog, we look at the most challenging areas of selling your house without an estate agent. It’s important to consider whether you have the time and energy to meet all the requirements, and whether the financial saving is worth it.
Do I need an estate agent to sell my house?
In the UK, there is no legal requirement to use an estate agent when you are selling a property.
However, it’s worth remembering that a lot of the responsibilities estate agents shoulder are difficult to do by yourself, particularly if you also have a job, family or other demands on your time. Sellers who have chosen to go it alone often find that, while they have saved on estate agents fees, they have lost in time and earnings and felt very stressed by the whole thing.
You should only consider selling your property without an estate agent if you’re experienced in the property market and/or you already know who your buyer is.
What are the most difficult aspects of selling a house without an estate agent?
1. Finding a buyer
If you decide to sell your home without an estate agent, you might find it takes longer to find a buyer.
Estate agents are great at networking. We all have details of buyers who are looking for particular types of property so we can contact them if the right home arrives on the market. If a buyer’s offer isn’t accepted, we keep their details (with their permission) so we can contact them again if something similar becomes available.
In addition to our own work, we have access to a huge database of buyers who have signed up for property alerts.
So if you want to sell your home without an estate agent, you might have to be prepared to take longer finding a buyer.
2. Accurate valuation
If you decide to carry out your own property sale, you might find it difficult to value your property accurately.
Estate agents have lots of experience in accurately valuing property. Not only does this help attract the right buyer, but it also means it’s easier for buyers to find mortgages and problems are less likely to emerge during conveyancing.
You can work out an approximate valuation based on other sale prices in your area, but it’s difficult to work out an accurate valuation for your specific property. Unless you have experience in valuing property, we’d always recommend using an estate agent.
3. Negotiating experience
If the price of the property comes down to a negotiation, would you have the experience to get the best price? Deciding not to work with an estate agent will save you the cost of agency fees, but it’s not worth it if you end up selling for less.
4. Conducting house viewings
It is possible to know a house too well! If you’re conducting a viewing of the home you know and love, it’s important to give the right impression of it and describe its good and bad points in the right way. Again, this takes experience – getting it wrong could lead to your home being on the market for longer.
It’s also important to remember that most buyers will be used to meeting estate agents. They won’t hold back with their questions and criticisms – this can be hard to take if you’re showing someone round your own home.
5. Coordinating a chain
If the property sale is not straightforward, you could find yourself having to coordinate a property chain. This is not impossible, but you will have to take time to educate yourself and put your findings into practice.
6. Managing documentation
Anyone selling a house is legally obliged to provide certain documentation. Knowing what to provide, when and who to can be complicated. Worse – mistakes can be costly. If your mistake holds up the property sale, you could be fined. Again, this will eat into any saving you make by not paying estate agent fees.
Sell property in Guildford
As you can see, it’s possible to sell property without an estate agent but it certainly isn’t easy! Any mistakes you make can lose you the saving you made on estate agents fees. Selling property is also stressful and time consuming if it’s not part of your regular job.
Instead of selling property without an estate agent, we’d recommend selling property with a really good estate agent so you get the best value for money. If you’re selling property in Guildford, of course we’ll suggest you use Cobbles! And if you’re selling in other parts of the UK, get recommendations, check your estate agent’s track record and read their reviews.
Explore our site to find out more, follow us on social media, or get in touch on 01483 457000.
Can you sell your house without an estate agent?
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