selling house without estate agent

windmilllane

Has anyone had any success doing this. I was thinking of putting sign up outside house and ad on daft. I have a figure in my head which I want to get if I'm not offered this won't sell. Opinions please

natkhal

Can I ask in which area are you selling? I'm looking to buy a house, that's why I'm asking :-) I can say that from buyer's point of view, I would definitely prefer to deal directly with the owner rather than estate agency as it's very frustrating when people don't return your calls, you're not sure if owner was informed about the offer you've made, etc. No harm to try to sell it yourself, there are also few websites for house owners who are selling their houses directly.

maximum12

A few people do this but it seems to be a small minority. It's certainly possible.

There are a number of challenges with this but I think the biggest one is that there's no credible way for you to run a bidding process yourself. i.e. if a second or third person bids higher and you go back to the first bidder saying there's another higher bid, you have no credibility as it's your own house.

Now if you only have one bidder that might not be an issue but the best way to maximise the price is to have a competitive bidding process.

Brego888

maximum12 wrote: »

There are a number of challenges with this but I think the biggest one is that there's no credible way for you to run a bidding process yourself. i.e. if a second or third person bids higher and you go back to the first bidder saying there's another higher bid, you have no credibility as it's your own house.

Many people wouldn't consider estate agents particularly credible either.

maximum12

Brego888 wrote: »

Many people wouldn't consider estate agents particularly credible either.

Right but the seller has massive incentive and low risk to make up a bid.

Estate agent has very little incentive and massive risk if he makes up a bid.

TeaBagMania

Would much rather deal directly with the owner and cutout the BS and extra expense of an agent.

Every house has a personality and speaking with the owner and going over all the mechanicals helps with a smooth transition.

For example: the basement window well on my house will flood in a heavy rain (rare here in the desert) but explaining to the new owner what to look for and how to operate the sump pump will save them headaches and a flooded basement, in my mind that display of trust and personal communication is what cements a sale

Blueboggirl

What about sellityourself.ie?

blackbird 49

17 yrs ago I bought my house from the seller, he had it advertised in the buy and sell magazine

ted1

Can you extract as much money as possible from a potential buyer.
Estate agents are generally soulless individuals who would sell their granny if they thought that they would make a profit .
If you can then sell it yourself if not then get a professional

maximum12

TeaBagMania wrote: »

Would much rather deal directly with the owner and cutout the BS and extra expense of an agent.

And here's another disadvantage. Selling yourself means every time waster thinks they're going to get the house cheaper because the seller is saving on Agent fees.

It looks like teabagmania is in the US where I believe Agent fees can be up to 8-9%.

Jen44

Blueboggirl wrote: »

What about sellityourself.ie?

dont use this website i put my house up on it a few yeas ago and got numerous dodgy phonecalls lots from the UK. I have asked the site to take down the property on numerous occasions and its still up there!

JuliusCaesar

TeaBagMania wrote: »

Would much rather deal directly with the owner and cutout the BS and extra expense of an agent.

Every house has a personality and speaking with the owner and going over all the mechanicals helps with a smooth transition.

For example: the basement window well on my house will flood in a heavy rain (rare here in the desert) but explaining to the new owner what to look for and how to operate the sump pump will save them headaches and a flooded basement, in my mind that display of trust and personal communication is what cements a sale

I have a file of all the work I've had done on the house, including the invoices/receipts from contractors. Also has details on plumbers, boiler inspection, instruction books for CH etc. I intend to pass this on with the house when I sell. It would have been really helpful for me to have had something like this when I bought it.

lawred2

maximum12 wrote: »

A few people do this but it seems to be a small minority. It's certainly possible.

There are a number of challenges with this but I think the biggest one is that there's no credible way for you to run a bidding process yourself. i.e. if a second or third person bids higher and you go back to the first bidder saying there's another higher bid, you have no credibility as it's your own house.

Now if you only have one bidder that might not be an issue but the best way to maximise the price is to have a competitive bidding process.

as if estate agents have any credibility in such matters

maximum12

lawred2 wrote: »

as if estate agents have any credibility in such matters

Infinitely more credibility than the seller.

lawred2

maximum12 wrote: »

Infinitely more credibility than the seller.

infinitely?

maximum12

lawred2 wrote: »

infinitely?

Yes literally.

windmilllane

windmilllane wrote: »

Has anyone had any success doing this. I was thinking of putting sign up outside house and ad on daft. I have a figure in my head which I want to get if I'm not offered this won't sell. Opinions please

A few things to think about...

• Yes it is certainly easy to do, or rather there is no hidden 'catch' involved anywhere. The estate agent doesn't handle anything super-complicated from the legal side so you don't have to worry about that.
• In my experience (buying) estate agents are generally pretty poor at 'selling' houses. They don't appear to believe it is their job and perhaps it isn't. The Irish system is open the front door and then stand in the kitchen while people wander around. Fair enough but to my mind a good owner would or at least could do better. A bad one could do worse of course, no question.
• You will have to generate some emotional distance around allowing people into your home who will in turn criticise it. If you can't handle that you have a problem.
• You have to make yourself available for visits etc, but then the alternative is leaving the house at particular times.
• One plus side is that you can eyeball your prospective buyers and get a feel for their bona fides and whether they are the type to let you down.
• I don't really believe most estate agents are that bothered about getting the best price. Why would they be? Far more important to turn over the house quickly and get on to the next than it is to hang around trying to get an extra 10 grand, which at 1% is only 100 euro to them. So that's a myth. If anything, I think the owner who gets 100% of any greater amount is far more likely to hold out.
• On the other hand, you have to have the ability to be hard-nosed. Are you confident you will be strong in the face of the first sob-story you might hear? If not, you could be taken advantage of.

So swings and roundabouts. I don't buy into anything about credibility, whether it is fair or not, estate agents have zero credibility in this country and you can't get lower than that.

lawred2

maximum12 wrote: »

Yes literally.

In your opinion.

allibastor

I know a couple, mind you a couple, of people who sold direct.

They had everything work out very well in the end, had about 2-5 viewings and spoke to the potentials on anything in the house, got a good price, i think a few grand more than normal asking.

At the end of the day, as pointed out, an agent if the house is hanging around for a while will be more interested in making the sale to get it off the books, nothing worse than a house hanging around on your books for ages.

I also am reminded of a time back when I studied construction, we shared a class with the Property valuations class, Our lecturer would go into details about windows, PVC double sash double glazed window with a U-value of 0.5:
Or to your future estates agents, windows - White.

L1011

maximum12 wrote: »

Yes literally.

Not many would agree with you.

Agents will always tell you this because its pretty much the only thing they can think of these days - their business is nothing but a middle man and is at severe risk of dying due to the net just like music stores, Buy and Sell, etc, etc.

maximum12

L1011 wrote: »

Not many would agree with you.

You're missing the point. I'm talking specifically about the ability to run a bidding process, not the general character of the person.

Also the lat thing I want is an emotionally involved owner following me around "selling" me the property. I want to be allowed view the property and have someone there who can answer questions.

lawred2

maximum12 wrote: »

You're missing the point. I'm talking specifically about the ability to run a bidding process, not the general character of the person.

Also the lat thing I want is an emotionally involved owner following me around "selling" me the property. I want to be allowed view the property and have someone there who can answer questions.

ability to run a bidding process?

you mean take calls and write numbers down? It's not exactly rocket science is it!

seamus

People generally don't feel all that comfortable dealing directly with the property owner, if even just on an awkwardness level.
There are also issues of honesty and indemnity. While we all know that estate agents can't be trusted, people at least feel like there's some level of comeback if you encounter a dodgy one.

A private seller can tell you anything and everything and you have no comeback.

L1011

maximum12 wrote: »

You're missing the point. I'm talking specifically about the ability to run a bidding process, not the general character of the person.

I'm not. A bidding process is simple enough that a five year old can do it.

A offers X
Y offers x+y
Ask A if they want to go higher

There is zero skill to that - if an EA thinks there is they have deluded themselves in to a false sense of security.

maximum12

L1011 wrote: »

I'm not. A bidding process is simple enough that a five year old can do it.

A offers X
Y offers x+y
Ask A if they want to go higher

There is zero skill to that - if an EA thinks there is they have deluded themselves in to a false sense of security.

If you can't see why there's a problem in the seller running that process, then ok I'm not going to argue it further.

L1011

maximum12 wrote: »

If you can't see why there's a problem in the seller running that process, then ok I'm not going to argue it further.

What problem is there that isn't also inherent with an EA doing it?

Michael D Not Higgins

L1011 wrote: »

What problem is there that isn't also inherent with an EA doing it?

Both have a stake in selling the property but the EA has an industry code of practice to follow as well as their professional reputation.

L1011

Michael D Not Higgins wrote: »

Both have a stake in selling the property but the EA has an industry code of practice to follow as well as their professional reputation.

Reputation which is practically non-existent for most EAs - and we are yet to hear of the PSRA doing anything to any EA.

Michael D Not Higgins

Michael D Not Higgins wrote: »

Both have a stake in selling the property but the EA has an industry code of practice to follow as well as their professional reputation.

With respect that isn't the point - the question is whether knowing they are dealing with a private seller would put someone off making a bid. I think that is unlikely.

Most buyers assume estate agents are untrustworthy but they still bid. The question is "am I willing to pay this much money for this house", and if the answer is "yes" then distaste for the process doesn't come into it.

Michael D Not Higgins

L1011 wrote: »

Reputation which is practically non-existent for most EAs - and we are yet to hear of the PSRA doing anything to any EA.

Just like the RTB and other quangos, they are horribly understaffed but worse again they don't appear to publish any of their ongoing enforcement. Instead they have a section for FOI requests on their website. I don't know what the figures are on their following through on complaints.

Deleted User wrote: »

With respect that isn't the point - the question is whether knowing they are dealing with a private seller would put someone off making a bid. I think that is unlikely.

Most buyers assume estate agents are untrustworthy but they still bid. The question is "am I willing to pay this much money for this house", and if the answer is "yes" then distaste for the process doesn't come into it.

I take your point and would say it probably depends on the house and person selling it. For example, you're less likely to buy a former let apartment from a distressed landlord than a family home from someone trading up (or down).

beaufoy

I tried to sell my flat in england without an agent. All viewers said they preferred to deal with the owner directly and then went to an estate agent and bought from them. After a few weeks I gave the job to an estate agent and he sold it after a few more weeks. Having said that the sale took place in the late nineties, and I did not advertise online. Concerning the bidding process provided you are honest and professional in your dealings it should be OK. The worst thing you could do is try to increase the price with the (false) claim that someone else has offered a higher price, and then when the buyer refuses to match/increase the new bid...say it is ok the new buyer changed his mind

Rew

A friend recently sold his house without an EA and bought from someone doing the same. He was very happy, and sold the house in about 3 weeks.

Clive

I know someone who sold without an EA. The way they handled the bids was to assign each bidder a letter, then email all bidders a simple email with "Bidder A has offered 250,000." All bidders were BCC'd of course rather than CC'd.

Everyone saw their bid acknowledged and everyone had relatively real time information.

Michael D Not Higgins

Clive wrote: »

I know someone who sold without an EA. The way they handled the bids was to assign each bidder a letter, then email all bidders a simple email with "Bidder A has offered 250,000." All bidders were BCC'd of course rather than CC'd.

Everyone saw their bid acknowledged and everyone had relatively real time information.

That's better than most estate agent approaches.