Selling without an Estate Agent - Does it work???

Swift66

Hello forum,

I'm in the process of selling my apartment and after not being able to get through to my prospective Estate agent on the phone and there being no message on her phone, I'm considering going the self-sell route. However I have a few concerns:

Are prospective buyers uncomfortable dealing directly with the sellers??

Are there any problems with going this route??

Any information / experience from people who have sold privately would be greatly appreciated as would opinions from buyers.

Thanks a million

ellejay

Are prospective buyers uncomfortable dealing directly with the sellers??
- As a prospective buyer, answer here is No! Personally I'd prefer to deal directly with seller as I'd know they would be receiving my offer, if I was interested.

Are there any problems with going this route??
- Your solicitor does the real work. The Estate Agents basically just show buyers around with looks of unintereted disdain, ignore buyers requests for information, ignore buyers phonecalls. If an EA does mange to get back to the offer a buyer has made, this is usually countered with a pathetic "just had an offer for 30k more than your offer" even though house is trying to sell for 2 years.

Any information / experience from people who have sold privately would be greatly appreciated as would opinions from buyers.
- You've probly priced your apartment to high, hence no interest. Property is selling, but at realistic prices. Buyers aren't interested in what you paid for it, only what they themselves are willing to pay for it. At the moment, as soon as buyers sign on the dotted line, they're in negative equity as prices are continuously falling. Buyers want to try to insulate against further falls.

-Maybe you could rent apartment out if you can't afford to sell it.

Hope that helps.

Mary Hairy

I have tried dealing directly with owners a few times. Always ended badly. A private seller usually cannot value accurately, cannot market and has problems when the usual legal queries arise. Some also get bullied by intending purchasers. I know some agents who give their own houses to someone else to sell.

Zamboni

At the end of the day, the right price will sell your property whether there is an EA involved or not.