It can be a tough task to sell your house without an estate agent, but its not impossible. With the right knowledge and plenty of patience, you may be able to sell your home and avoid fees traditional estate agents would charge. Before spending a penny on listing your property as a private owner, make sure you are able to conduct your house viewings and have already estimated what the difference in price would be if you were to sell on your own, using We Buy Any House, an online estate agent and when selling with traditional real estate agents. It would be simply wrong economy to drop your asking price by 5% to avoid 2% real estate agent fees. While selling as an individual owner may potentially save you fees, it will most definitely cost you time and effort. If you don’t manage to sell your home as a private owner, the time and money you have paid to list your property will simply be wasted. Another possible downside of listing your property without an agent is the limited reach – only regulated real estate agents can advertise properties on major real estate portals such as Rightmove and Zoopla. However home owners across the UK have successfully sold their homes without paying any estate agents. Here are our professional tips on how to sell your property without an estate agent taking the following steps
Make necessary improvements
Carry out necessary repairs before you list your property for sale and conduct any viewings. Small cosmetic changes can increase the value of your home. The kitchen and bathroom are considered to be the most important rooms to upgrade. Furniture is one of the major factors which affect how your property will be perceived by potential buyers. Outdated sofas, retro wallpapers and broken tiles will give off the impression of a poorly maintained home. To sell your house without an estate agent, you must make sure every aspect of the home sale is taken care of. Invest your money wisely when upgrading your home – decorating and fixing leakages is absolutely necessary, however investing in the latest designer white goods really is not. Spending £50,000 on kitchen appliances makes no sense if your property costs £150,000. Your home’s interior should reflect the neighbourhood it’s situated in – property worth £400,000 on a street with average house value of £200,000 will not attract the right buyers.
Read more: Fees to pay when selling your home
Determine the house value
Get in touch with us for a free house valuation – we provide free, no-obligation cash offers and objective house valuations, tailored to suit all seller situations. You can also get a good estimate of what your property is worth by comparing for how much properties similar to yours have sold for in the past few months. You can check house prices on Rightmove and Zoopla. Alternatively, speak to a few local real estate agents for your house valuation.
Get an energy performance certificate
EPCs are issued whenever a property is rented or sold and failing to provide the certificate can result in a fine. Find out more about EPC here.
Read more: How to increase the value of your property
Resolve all legal and architectural issues related to your home to increase the value of your house and ensure the sale will take place. Most buyers take out mortgages to pay for their new home – if the surveyors don’t approve your property value, the sale will not take place. You can spend months and years trying to sell your property and find yourself in the same situation until you fix the issues surveyors found. Browse our Solutions to see how we can help you sell your home fast.
List your property for sale
Investing in newspaper adverts will most likely be a waste of money, since most buyers nowadays research on the internet. You can market on social media and websites specifically designed for private home owners, if you choose to sell your house without an estate agent. It might be worth working with an estate agency – contact us so we can help you. We can list your property on major portals such as Zoopla and Rightmove and expose it to your thousands of potential buyers.
List your property at the right time – the chances of selling your home are higher if you list your property in spring. This way you will have more time to market your home and conduct house viewings when the weather is more pleasant.
The viewings
Stage your home for viewings. If you will be living in your home until you sell it, remove furniture you haven’t used in the past few months – either store it away or dispose of it and arrange the remaining furniture in a way that makes every room look more spacious.
Clean the whole house – dust places hard to reach and rooms you hardly ever visit, such as the basement and storage rooms. The chances of selling your home without an estate agent increase if your property looks well maintained and taken care of. Avoid using harsh chemicals when cleaning your house and rely on naturally pleasant smells such as flowers, vanilla, cinnamon or freshly made bread. Make sure that there is an open window in each room and light some tea candles to create a warm and homely feeling. Remove personal items such as family photos and souvenirs of places you have visited. This will help buyers imagine their lives in their new home.
House viewings are the time to quiz your potential buyers and answer all their questions about your home. It is your chance to learn how people perceive your property and eventually improve anything buyers didn’t like. Ask people how they plan to fund their new purchase. If your buyers are also sellers, you will become a part of chain – if something goes wrong with one party, everyone involved fails to buy and sell.
Offers and completion of sale
Decide how much you are willing to sell your house for before you even list your property. Take into consideration how much you have spent on improvements and maintenance throughout the years and estimate the increase in house value. You shouldn’t be at any loss, otherwise going through the whole process of selling your house without an estate agent would be a huge waste of your time and money. Once you have received an offer you are happy with, you need to get in touch with your solicitor. They will work your house buyers’ solicitor and liaise with them to carry out the conveyancing. Your solicitor should advise you on how the process is going and request or obtain any necessary paperwork. Once the transaction is completed, you would need to hand the keys to the new home owners.
By Kristiana Georgieva
