Private House Sale Business

dvdfan

Hi,

Just thinking over the high prices involved selling my house by using an auctioneer got me scaning the net and i came across a website in ireland that helps you sell your house for €200. This is basically how it works:

You pay €200 and get a for sale sign posted out:

You write an article and post pictures of your house on the website.

They advertise the website online and in national papers etc

An interested parties contact you directly to negotiate prices and when a price is verbally agreed you pass it over to solicitor to finalise the deal.

Cons would be:

the hassle, you have to write the article and take pictures of the house and upload them onto a pc and then the website.

You must get your own post, and nail the for sale sign and then hammer it into the ground yourself.

It costs €10 per photo if you dont have a scanner and you have to send them the photos.

You must pay the fee up front which covers 12 months advertising

Pros Are:

You save €2,000+ as you only pay €200 up front and no commission if you sell.

People get to see up to 8 picture of the house which is excellent if the interior of the house is nice as the outside of a house often dosent show the real quality of the house.


Now i dont know if mods allow me to post the url so ill leave it out but anyway i was thinking of modifying the business plan on a local level in Athlone. My modifications would be to try and take the hassle out.

So someone would contact me about selling the house via my website.
I visit their house, take some photos if they dont already have suitable ones, i put up the for sale sign for them and discuss key points they would like stated in the article about their house. I offer to either write the article for them or allow them to write their own. Then i put all the info on the website.

I then advertise the website in the local papers and deliver small catalogues monthly throughout Athlone showcasing the houses for sale and advertising the website which would show more photos etc

I would also advertise on the catalogue the fact that you can advertise rooms or house you have for rent for free. This will be managed automatically online so the rental part of the site will be maintenance free and will basically act as a way to attract people to the site more often.

I will be able to do my own printing low cost, i have another business where i will be delivering leaflets so i there will be no cost to deliver the leaflets only ink and paper costs. I can design and maintain the website myself. The website will be advertised via goodle adwords online and in local papers and i will have to get a local company to make the for sale signs.

Im just unsure wheter there would be enough demand for this, and i think a big factor would be the fact people have to hand €200 up front but the savings of €2,000+ should be a big incentive and the fact i can concentrate the marketing locally and take the hassle out of this could be a big plus.

Im actually thinking of advertising my house which is currently up for sale with an auctioneer with this website as im not in a hurry to sell so i dont mind trying it out for a few months.

But id like to see what the majority of people think, if this service was available to you locally would you use it or just use your usual auctioneer and pay the extra couple of thousand for a service you can do yourself????

RyderCup

There used to be a firm called For Sale by Owner but I dont thinks its around any longer (there is a 4sale by owner - different entity).

There are a number of reasons why selling yourself is not a good idea.

Your are unlikely to be sufficiently detached from the transaction to negotiate effectively.
Not trying to annoy anyone but the reality is that auctioneers do tell some white lies whilst negotiating - most Joe Soaps would have a good shot at being devious but it won't work because a potential buyer will be expecting you to be this way because you have alot to gain/lose. Don't ask me why but potential buyers seem to listen to auctioneers - stupid really.
You say that you would try to sell your house this way for a few months because your not in a big hurry - this would be very foolish as in most cases it wont sell and any potential buyers that did exist will see it languishing on the market for months and will lose interest and even get suspicious of why its not selling.
When you decide to sell your house you should market it well and either take it off the market or take the best offer you get within a reasonable timeframe. A half assed effort will only reduce your chances of a successful sale.

In my experience the auctioneer adds very little to the sale process but he does add something - I dont know maybe its deceit, but it works.

Strokesfan

I would try that service. I wouldn't mind drawing up the ad or uploading the photos and details.

The only thing that would bother me is "showings" - I'd find that tough otherwise I think its a good idea. If you were thinking of setting up to compete with the auctioneers you could always set a certain price for providing showings? Don't know if seller would need to sign a disclaimer that allowed you entrance to their house and that. Not a big fan of estate agents myself I think anything which makes the market more competitive is a good thing

dvdfan

Was hoping a mod might be able to move this to a more popular section like after hours or something and although after hours is not directly assosiated with this, the fact that alot of people have a mortgage or have at one stage or another sold their house this would be a good forum to get a wide range of opinions on this:D

EKRIUQ

Property / Accommodation would possibly be better

dvdfan

BingoBongo wrote:

Property / Accommodation would possibly be better

Yeah, that sounds fine

Hitchhiker's Guide to...

there is an interesting website called www.sellityourself.ie which is along the same lines.

feel free to post your own website for discussion

I'll move this to property/accomodation...

djeclips

What about daft.ie?
Would imagine one of the best having sutch a huge volume of traffic.Can't imagine anyone looking to purchase a house not checking it out.Personally I was on it every day along with my-home when I was looking.

Put my Dads house on it previously and was sold by the following weekend,Obviously just right place right time but for the money.....

You can have a house add in for €90 or €160 for premium add.Actually put my house in Kinnegad up Yesterday on it.:)

homeOwner

How do these websites persuade a buyer to use them? Personally, I would rather deal with an estate agent when buying, for no other reason than I just dont trust people selling their own house. I know that sounds bad, but I would always be thinking that the seller is somehow chancing their arm and the price is too high or something isnt right about it. Irrational I know, but I would assume that is the mindset out there, so I am wondering whats in it for the buyer?