House selling privately

aineo

We have a house in Meath we are looking to sell. It is 2kms from the nearest village and 5kms from Navan. It's a lovely family home on an acre, but we have decided to move back to Dublin for work reasons etc. We have had a the house valued but think the agents fees are too high. What is the chance of being able to sell privately to avoid EA fees?
Also we are on tracker and owe 110k on mortgage. Assume we will have to pay this to close the account and can't transfer mortgage (to keep tracker? :-)).
We will likely rent in Dublin for a year or so. Any idea of how difficult it will be for us to get another mortgage? We are both in our early 50s. My husband works in a new startup so has taken a drop in salary. I took a career break but intend to go back p/t or do consultancy.
Any advice greatly appreciated! It's a very big move for us having spent the last 15 years here, so a bit scarey....

seamus

You can sell privately, but it can be a headache. You're fielding calls from all sorts of timewasters, trying to arrange viewings, trying to bump the listing on Daft or MyHome, handling bids, etc etc.

You're not just employing the EA to advertise the house, you're employing them to handle all of the headaches that come with trying to sell your home to the public. You may be no good at negotiating. Someone will arrive at the house, make you a lowball offer and then proceed to tell you everything that's wrong with the house, bordering on insulting. Unless you're adept at negotiation, you'll find it very difficult to stay calm and level-headed.

In terms of the tracker, most banks are offering products that allow existing customers to "move" their tracker to a new mortgage. Typically you need to draw down the new mortgage within six months of clearing the old one, and you'll take a hit on the tracker rate. But go to your bank and find out what their deal is.

Banks will still want to see a solid income. So if your husband is in his job less than a year and you haven't even started working yet, you may be told to wait another year or so.

But it's no harm going and booking an appointment with a mortgage advisor in your bank. They'll tell you what the lay of the land is, which should help give you some clarity on your next steps.

Cuddlesworth

They will only give you a mortgage to 67. Which means they might not give you the full amount allowed because of the increased payments.

Cyrus

have you done the sums, what will you realistically have left after you sell your house and clear the mortgage and what do you intend to buy in dublin?

does your husbands salary support the mortgage you will need?

its a big move to buy a more expensive house in your 50s after taking a pay cut

JohnCleary

Just did it, no problems.

That said, I live less than 1Km from the unit, had to attend dozens of viewings, deal with fake offers, take loads of calls etc...

Still enjoyed the whole process though. The (potential) purchasers also liked the fact that they were dealing directly with the owner.

When i'm selling my next place, i'll sell privately again.

-Edit- I guess just to add, which made things easier... the unit was in mint condition, literally turn key (doesn't even need a hoovering), no paperwork / legal issues, solicitor had everything prepped in advance.

uck51js9zml2yt

JohnCleary wrote: »

Just did it, no problems.

That said, I live less than 1Km from the unit, had to attend dozens of viewings, deal with fake offers, take loads of calls etc...

Still enjoyed the whole process though. The (potential) purchasers also liked the fact that they were dealing directly with the owner.

When i'm selling my next place, i'll sell privately again.

-Edit- I guess just to add, which made things easier... the unit was in mint condition, literally turn key (doesn't even need a hoovering), no paperwork / legal issues, solicitor had everything prepped in advance.

Ok, so now for some questions:)

Where did you advertise?
How long did it take to get to the offer point?
And compete the process from offer to closure
Were was the house?
How much did you save?

JohnCleary

Amia Fit Woodchuck wrote: »

Ok, so now for some questions:)

Where did you advertise?
How long did it take to get to the offer point?
And compete the process from offer to closure
Were was the house?
How much did you save?

Daft.ie

Within a week I had viewings / offers, some of which were phantom / never heard from again. I had to take people on their word and didn't get anal about people making verbal offers. If I accepted their offer, I told them while I accepted the offer, it wasn't an offer until a holding deposit was lodged into my solicitors account.

From final offer to close approx. 3 months due to the fact that it was a Pension Fund buying the unit, which was a nightmare... much more strict than a mortgage says my solicitor. This would have taken longer if going through an EA as it was another link in the communication chain. At least this way, their solicitor got on to my solicitor, the solicitor got on to me and I got what was necessary right away

Galway

I saved whatever an EA would have charged, minus the Daft.ie charge to advertise

mad m

^^ FairPlay...

Mrs OBumble

OP, have you actually tried looking for a place to rent in Dublin lately? Doing this for a year will be a big line-item in your budget for this exercise. And everything I hear says you will find it difficult to actually locate a place.

aineo

Haven't looked yet as we're only thinking... but seriously thinking😊. We're hoping to move Dalkey/ glenageary so we'll be seriously downsizing!!!!!Thanks for all your replies...v interesting! I am surprised more people don't sell themselves. I thought at this stage there would be some kind of service that would compete with EA considering the changes online/ analytics etc. Obviously not...i think it might be more difficult in a rural area.

uck51js9zml2yt

aineo wrote: »

Haven't looked yet as we're only thinking... but seriously thinking😊. We're hoping to move Dalkey/ glenageary so we'll be seriously downsizing!!!!!Thanks for all your replies...v interesting! I am surprised more people don't sell themselves. I thought at this stage there would be some kind of service that would compete with EA considering the changes online/ analytics etc. Obviously not...i think it might be more difficult in a rural area.

I came across a few companies providing such a service. They will even take the photos and do up brochures for you....for a fee!

Sausage dog

It might be a good idea doing some research on the possibility of getting a mortgage at a later age & with a salary drop, self employed etc...there may be more obstacles than you think so find out beforehand before you sell where you are.

jsd1004

aineo wrote: »

We have a house in Meath we are looking to sell. It is 2kms from the nearest village and 5kms from Navan. It's a lovely family home on an acre, but we have decided to move back to Dublin for work reasons etc. We have had a the house valued but think the agents fees are too high. What is the chance of being able to sell privately to avoid EA fees?
Also we are on tracker and owe 110k on mortgage. Assume we will have to pay this to close the account and can't transfer mortgage (to keep tracker? :-)).
We will likely rent in Dublin for a year or so. Any idea of how difficult it will be for us to get another mortgage? We are both in our early 50s. My husband works in a new startup so has taken a drop in salary. I took a career break but intend to go back p/t or do consultancy.
Any advice greatly appreciated! It's a very big move for us having spent the last 15 years here, so a bit scarey....

Sell it privately. If you want engage a auctioneer as well but let them know you are selling it privately as well. A no sale no fee basis will weed out the chancer auctioneers. If they are any good they should be able to get more than you so should have no issue with you selling it as well. 9 out of 10 times an interested private seller will get more than an auctioneer as you know the market..know your house etc

You are in position were the cost of the EA fees have to be take in to account for your budget, your moving Dalkey which is up there with the most expensive areas in Ireland to live, you also both in your fifties and need to take out a mortgage to do this?.

jsd1004

jsd1004 wrote: »

9 out of 10 times an interested private seller will get more than an auctioneer as you know the market..know your house etc

Private sellers do have a reputation sometimes of having an unrealistically high valuation for their property and of being unwilling to come down to a realistic level to close the sale.

Therefore if selling privately it would be worth your while to set out objectively the basis for your asking price for the property. This will also help you with ammunition when it comes to the actual negotiation.

This is relatively easy when dealing with an apartment or an estate house but more difficult for stand alone country houses.

Cyrus

mariaalice wrote: »

You are in position were the cost of the EA fees have to be take in to account for your budget, your moving Dalkey which is up there with the most expensive areas in Ireland to live, you also both in your fifties and need to take out a mortgage to do this?.

im afraid thats what comes to my mind aswell

whats the budget and what are you expecting to get in dalkey / glenageary?

ted1

My advice is don’t sell it privately. An Estate agent should be able to extract more from a buyer than you can

I recently viewed a house that was being done of privately and quite frankly the cou Me selling it where head wreckers , following you into every room. Talking rubbish, giving you a dirty look when you tell them the decoration is horrible and it’s need to be all changed etc

I just wanted to get out of there. Realistically if they weren’t there I may have made an offer

aineo

We've had our house valued... yes it's ambitious but we'll do the maths based on what we know and then decide . As I say we've only started thinking about it. A considerable downsize would be required....i was just interested in anyone's experience without AE😊.... worst case scenario is we stay put cos it won't work out...

Max Prophet

aineo wrote: »

We've had our house valued... yes it's ambitious but we'll do the maths based on what we know and then decide . As I say we've only started thinking about it. A considerable downsize would be required....i was just interested in anyone's experience without AE😊.... worst case scenario is we stay put cos it won't work out...

What are you hoping to sell for?
How much will you clear?
What are you looking to spend?

Bear in mind banks will only let your mortgage run until you 65 in most cases.

JohnCleary

ted1 wrote: »

I just wanted to get out of there. Realistically if they weren’t there I may have made an offer

Bullsh1t, if you wanted the place you would have made an offer.

Cyrus

ted1 wrote: »

My advice is don’t sell it privately. An Estate agent should be able to extract more from a buyer than you can

I recently viewed a house that was being done of privately and quite frankly the cou Me selling it where head wreckers , following you into every room. Talking rubbish, giving you a dirty look when you tell them the decoration is horrible and it’s need to be all changed etc

I just wanted to get out of there. Realistically if they weren’t there I may have made an offer

why would you tell a person whose house you are viewing that the decoration is horrible, thats just rude, what did you expect, them to nod in agreement?

ted1

JohnCleary wrote: »

ted1 wrote: »

I just wanted to get out of there. Realistically if they weren’t there I may have made an offer

Bullsh1t, if you wanted the place you would have made an offer.

Not bullsh1t, the sellers were so annoying I just wanted out.

ted1

Cyrus wrote: »

ted1 wrote: »

My advice is don’t sell it privately. An Estate agent should be able to extract more from a buyer than you can

I recently viewed a house that was being done of privately and quite frankly the cou Me selling it where head wreckers , following you into every room. Talking rubbish, giving you a dirty look when you tell them the decoration is horrible and it’s need to be all changed etc

I just wanted to get out of there. Realistically if they weren’t there I may have made an offer

why would you tell a person whose house you are viewing that the decoration is horrible, thats just rude, what did you expect, them to nod in agreement?

Because they said that it’s perfect to move in and you wouldn’t have to do anything to it. I was pointing out that I’d have to spend money redecorating the rooms hence it’s not worth what they cost think.

It’s not rude, it’s part of bargaining

Cyrus

ted1 wrote: »

Because they said that it’s perfect to move in and you wouldn’t have to do anything to it. I was pointing out that I’d have to spend money redecorating the rooms hence it’s not worth what they cost think.

It’s not rude, it’s part of bargaining

disagree

most peoples tastes differ, i cant think of one house i have been in that i wouldnt redecorate if i lived there, cosmetic redecoration isnt a bargaining point.

ted1

Cyrus wrote: »

ted1 wrote: »

Because they said that it’s perfect to move in and you wouldn’t have to do anything to it. I was pointing out that I’d have to spend money redecorating the rooms hence it’s not worth what they cost think.

It’s not rude, it’s part of bargaining

disagree

most peoples tastes differ, i cant think of one house i have been in that i wouldnt redecorate if i lived there, cosmetic redecoration isnt a bargaining point.

New kitchens, bathrooms and radiators are expensive and certainly are bargaining points


It ended up selling for 440 which is what others were selling for except this was a corner site which had a site that could take another house so should have fetched about 200k extra. But it didn’t die to it being a private sale

jsd1004

ted1 wrote: »

New kitchens, bathrooms and radiators are expensive and certainly are bargaining points


It ended up selling for 440 which is what others were selling for except this was a corner site which had a site that could take another house so should have fetched about 200k extra. But it didn’t die to it being a private sale

A private sale can only raise the price.

jsd1004

Hard to believe people defending estate agents. The lowest of the low. Its like saying a second hand car salesman is giving you a bargain..they shaft buyer and seller.

ted1

jsd1004 wrote: »

Hard to believe people defending estate agents. The lowest of the low. Its like saying a second hand car salesman is giving you a bargain..they shaft buyer and seller.

They might be lowest if the low, their job is to extract as much money as possible.

That’s why sellers should use them

Graham

Mod Note:

Enough of the sweeping generalisations, they're not accurate and they add nothing to the discussion.

Baybay

The people that ended up being our buyers would never have bought if I'd been dealing with them. I know I wouldn't have had the patience that ended up being required.

QBee

Amia Fit Woodchuck wrote: »

I came across a few companies providing such a service. They will even take the photos and do up brochures for you....for a fee!

Hi,

Can you provide the names of the companies (not EA) who offer this service please?

Thanks,