In the past week I’ve noticed a couple of houses locally with homemade for sale boards outside, which got me wondering whether more people are deciding to sell their houses without employing the services of an estate agent?
On the face of it, it could make sense, after all, you could save the 1.5% you might end up paying them (this does vary from agent to agent), which on a £150,000 house, is the not insubstantial sum of £2,250 – money which could very useful to put towards the mortgage on the new property, or for renovations to your new home.
But of course, despite their reputation, estate agents do still have a role to play in the home buying/selling process – they should be able to get your property listed in local newspapers and on all of the popular property websites (although some may charge extra for some of these services), without you lifting a finger. Of course, you could do this yourself, but it would cost you time and money, which you need to factor in if you’re to sell your home yourself.
Estate agents should also be there to do all of the chasing-up and hurrying-along of all of the parties involved, and to keep you updated of where things stand in the process. For example, this could mean staying in regular contact with the people in your chain, talking to solicitors, and dealing with surveyors etc., which could be a massive task for you to undertake, especially if you’re also doing your own full time job.
I’d be interested in hearing from anyone who has sold their home without the help of an estate agent. What was your experience? Was it difficult? How much money did you save. Please let us know in the comments below.
It would also be interesting to hear from estate agents themselves – what can you offer to home sellers that they couldn’t achieve themselves?