Selling without auctioneer

wowey · 18-12-2018 08:29PM #1

I heard that is is not a very popular way of sellling houses in Ireland, but in UK and Poland this is one of the natural options - you dont need to involve auctioneer and instead, do everything yourself. Does anyone have experience in that?

L1011 · 18-12-2018 08:32PM

My brother did quite recently. Professional photographer resulted in a listing which looked better than any of the agent ones for the same development and the place was sold in days. However there were a significant number of viewings to accommodate which would not be for everyone.

airportgirl83 · 18-12-2018 08:33PM

wowey wrote: »

I heard that is is not a very popular way of sellling houses in Ireland, but in UK and Poland this is one of the natural options - you dont need to involve auctioneer and instead, do everything yourself. Does anyone have experience in that?

A friend of mine sold his place in Lucan on his own. He knew the price he wanted, he was interested in a quick sale as already picked a new house. He saved himself c. €5k, did daft add himself, arranged viewings (I believe two), only had to get someone to do the BER cert for him.

wowey · 18-12-2018 08:39PM

That's what I wanted to hear:) So there is God

I cant understand why most people don't feel like saving themselves a substantial amount of money:)

godtabh · 18-12-2018 10:05PM

wowey wrote: »

That's what I wanted to hear:) So there is God
I cant understand why most people don't feel like saving themselves a substantial amount of money:)

I dont me you personally but

I wouldnt give you a deposit. To me thats a key role in an estate agent.

I also wouldn't trust you to tell me everything that is wrong with your house.

I wouldnt trust you with bids/offers.

Cash_Q · 18-12-2018 10:17PM

godtabh wrote:

I also wouldn't trust you to tell me everything that is wrong with your house.

An agent trying to sell a house won't usually tell a buyer anything thats wrong with the house either. Even when directly questioned they try to spin their answer so it comes off not as bad as it is.

utmbuilder · 18-12-2018 10:18PM

Maybe if your solicitor dealt with their solicitor otherwise I think it could be a nightmare. Buyers tend not to have cash on the hip, then the whole deposit scenario what if you dont hand it back if the buyer backs out. It really sounds like scarey stuff, but I see where your coming from.

wowey · 18-12-2018 10:33PM

It is a common procedure in some countries, i.e. in Poland. I sold a some property over there this way. As for deposit, you either do it through a solicitor, or just write up a contract yourself (download a template from internet), both sides sign it and it is legally binding.

I totally agree with Cash Q that an agent doesn't tell you much re faults of the house. I just bought a house in Ireland and the agent avoided EVERY question we had. He run through the house in under a minute and said 'not a problem' to literally everything he was asked. It was actually pretty shocking.

I can agree that offers/bids aren't transparent. At the end of the day, everyone offer they max and hope for the best.

airportgirl83 · 18-12-2018 11:34PM

godtabh wrote: »

I dont me you personally but

I wouldnt give you a deposit. To me thats a key role in an estate agent.

I also wouldn't trust you to tell me everything that is wrong with your house.

I wouldnt trust you with bids/offers.

I believe booking deposit goes to the Solicitor in that case. Also, why on earth would you trust the estate agent to tell you the truth about the house? Why would you trust the estate agent in relation to the bids? Sorry but that just makes me laugh so much! You can only trust the results of the house survey if anything.

godtabh · 19-12-2018 12:00AM

airportgirl83 wrote: »

I believe booking deposit goes to the Solicitor in that case. Also, why on earth would you trust the estate agent to tell you the truth about the house? Why would you trust the estate agent in relation to the bids? Sorry but that just makes me laugh so much! You can only trust the results of the house survey if anything.

I’d have more faith in a professional who works in a regulated industry than I would a randomer

airportgirl83 · 19-12-2018 12:53AM

godtabh wrote: »

I’d have more faith in a professional who works in a regulated industry than I would a randomer

Bidding process is not really regulated (correct me if I'm wrong). You can't request a record / history of it? Also, a lot of the time estate agents just turn up with the key and know nothing about the property. Furthermore, as a property owner I can tell the estate agent only what I want them to know.

Claw Hammer · 19-12-2018 12:55PM

wowey wrote: »

It is a common procedure in some countries, i.e. in Poland. I sold a some property over there this way. As for deposit, you either do it through a solicitor, or just write up a contract yourself (download a template from internet), both sides sign it and it is legally binding.

I totally agree with Cash Q that an agent doesn't tell you much re faults of the house. I just bought a house in Ireland and the agent avoided EVERY question we had. He run through the house in under a minute and said 'not a problem' to literally everything he was asked. It was actually pretty shocking.

I can agree that offers/bids aren't transparent. At the end of the day, everyone offer they max and hope for the best.

It night be common in some countries but Irish conveyancing law differs from other countries as well as the fact that te irish property market is more olatile. Many attempts were made to set up to start a service of owners selling themselves. It has been going on for decades. Most people don't have the experience to deal with the range of issues ad messers who appear on the scene when a property is being sold. Relying on internet templates for the terms of a contract is foolish in the extreme. people are free to sell their own houses but the fact that relatively few do so tells its own story.

wowey · 19-12-2018 01:49PM

It's not so foolish if they're legally binding:)
These are regular contracts stating who, what, where, by when etc. but just simple in terms of what they relate to. Deposits given/received, date by which transaction must take place and what happens in any of the sides withdraws - this sort of things.

Claw Hammer · 19-12-2018 01:53PM

wowey wrote: »

It's not so foolish if they're legally binding:)
These are regular contracts stating who, what, where, by when etc. but just simple in terms of what they relate to. Deposits given/received, date by which transaction must take place and what happens in any of the sides withdraws - this sort of things.

A person can get into a legally binding contract which they cannot complete or get out of and find themselves sued. What would you know about inserting special conditions into a contract for the sale of a house?

wowey · 19-12-2018 02:08PM

It obviously works - when both parties want to go down that route. If not, you can use solicitor.

Claw Hammer · 19-12-2018 02:15PM

wowey wrote: »

It obviously works - when both parties want to go down that route. If not, you can use solicitor.

No sane puchaser is going to sign a contract when they gie you a deposit. Any purchaser is going to give the contract you have prepared to their solicitor to evaluate it. since you know nothing about inserting special conditions, you will be taking a major risk, not the purchaser.

wowey · 19-12-2018 02:45PM

I never said I would be implementing it Ireland. Just letting you know what way it works somewhere else. Here I would probably just use a solicitor & still sell without an auctioneer. It is obviously possible (see above).

Claw Hammer · 19-12-2018 03:44PM

wowey wrote: »

I never said I would be implementing it Ireland. Just letting you know what way it works somewhere else. Here I would probably just use a solicitor & still sell without an auctioneer. It is obviously possible (see above).

So much for downloading your contract from the internet.

cnocbui · 19-12-2018 03:52PM

godtabh wrote: »

I dont me you personally but

I wouldnt give you a deposit. To me thats a key role in an estate agent.

I also wouldn't trust you to tell me everything that is wrong with your house.

I wouldnt trust you with bids/offers.

Deposits are meaningless in Ireland - nothing but a fig leaf.

That's why buyers employ engineers to check out their prospective purchase.

What's trust got to do with anything property related in this country?

zdragon · 19-12-2018 09:44PM

godtabh wrote: »

I dont me you personally but

I wouldnt give you a deposit. To me thats a key role in an estate agent.

I also wouldn't trust you to tell me everything that is wrong with your house.

I wouldnt trust you with bids/offers.

a colleague sold his house himself. deposit went to his solicitor . so nothing to worry about "changing your mind"

JohnCleary · 19-12-2018 10:08PM

I sold myself, no need for an auctioneer.

The interested parties (and subsequent purchaser) were MUCH happier when they realised I was the owner. I ensured that I had all paperwork in order (compliance, BER, legal docs) so there was no delay.

Saved a few grand, for the sake of having to spend some time doing viewings.

Take good pics, have the place presentable (all the usual things, anyway).

BTW, deposit goes straight to the vendors solicitor, no issues whatsoever.....

Bio Mech · 20-12-2018 01:44AM

JohnCleary wrote: »

I sold myself, no need for an auctioneer.

The interested parties (and subsequent purchaser) were MUCH happier when they realised I was the owner. I ensured that I had all paperwork in order (compliance, BER, legal docs) so there was no delay.

Saved a few grand, for the sake of having to spend some time doing viewings.

Take good pics, have the place presentable (all the usual things, anyway).

BTW, deposit goes straight to the vendors solicitor, no issues whatsoever.....

Having just sold a house I would personally opt for an agent. I had a figure in mind for our house based on one valuation and comparison with several very similar (to me) homes in the area.

So I had that amount in mind and would have been more than happy getting it sold for that. We had an agent come in (one of the larger ones) who looked at all the details of our house and came up with an asking price of 10k over the figure I had in mind.

I didn’t think it would go for that. But In fairness to the agent the listing and brochure were really good. Photos were great and they had a list of potential buyers and applicants ready to go.

First weekend of viewing ( Saturday open viewing) we had a dozen viewers and an offer of 5k under asking. Now that’s still 5k over what I would have taken based on the figure I had in mind.

I wanted to accept but the agent said “ wait a week. Trust me”. We then had another offer in at asking and then another at 5 over asking (so that’s 15k over my figure). It sold at that. 19 days after it went up.

So yes they took some commission but I ended up better off than I would have if i had gone with my own counsel. I also think I would have been naive to assume I could have gotten what they got.

My two cents. I would go with an agent if I even sold again.

ted1 · 20-12-2018 08:12AM

airportgirl83 wrote: »

A friend of mine sold his place in Lucan on his own. He knew the price he wanted, he was interested in a quick sale as already picked a new house. He saved himself c. €5k, did daft add himself, arranged viewings (I believe two), only had to get someone to do the BER cert for him.

Sounds quite possible that he sold his house for a much lower price than an estate agent would have got.

uck51js9zml2yt · 20-12-2018 08:19AM

Sold our house in the summer.
Had 22 viewings. Very glad we had an agent.
All the time we saved made it worth it.

cruizer101 · 20-12-2018 09:11AM

godtabh wrote: »

I wouldnt give you a deposit. To me thats a key role in an estate agent.

I also wouldn't trust you to tell me everything that is wrong with your house.

I wouldnt trust you with bids/offers.

Deposits can be handled by solicitors.
Wouldn'y trust EA to tell you that, or even to necessarily know it.
Can you trust EA with bids/offers.

I'm surprised not more people do it, especially in a sellers market like we currently have where it is easy to get a sale.

pwurple · 20-12-2018 09:34AM

wowey wrote: »

That's what I wanted to hear:) So there is God
I cant understand why most people don't feel like saving themselves a substantial amount of money:)

Because it's a pain in the backside dealing with viewing public.

snowcat · 20-12-2018 09:38AM

utmbuilder wrote: »

Maybe if your solicitor dealt with their solicitor otherwise I think it could be a nightmare. Buyers tend not to have cash on the hip, then the whole deposit scenario what if you dont hand it back if the buyer backs out. It really sounds like scarey stuff, but I see where your coming from.

Thats exactly what happens. You dont pay the vendor anything. The payment goes to his solicitor. From there on in the solicitors deal with it which is what happens with an estate agent anyway. Deposit is returnable until contracts are signed. Same as with an EA.

snowcat · 20-12-2018 09:46AM

ted1 wrote: »

Sounds quite possible that he sold his house for a much lower price than an estate agent would have got.

What a load of bull. An estate agent has no interest in getting the max price for a property. They just want to sell it quick and get their commission.
If you have the time and inclination you will get more money than any EA will. You have more knowledge of your property and can answer any queries promptly and efficiently and know your exact area and property values within.
I have sold and both many properties and dread dealing with EA's as most are uninterested and have zero knowledge of the property they are selling.

happyfriday74 · 20-12-2018 10:20AM

Agent is well worth the €. A decent one will have a database of buyers they can call on they would have been compiling all year. They will also know all the tricks people will pull when buying and have experience dealing with them.

Bought and sold at the same time(rookie mistake) Had a few agents through my own with a view to tell and engaged with others trying to buy.

Some were poor, most were fine, some were exceptional. In the big chains individual agents on one branch might be better than another.

Also if buying I would be put off by someone trying to flog the house themselves. If they were selling themselves AND not using a solicitor I would run a mile.

pasquale83 · 20-12-2018 11:05AM

Bio Mech wrote: »

Having just sold a house I would personally opt for an agent. I had a figure in mind for our house based on one valuation and comparison with several very similar (to me) homes in the area.

So I had that amount in mind and would have been more than happy getting it sold for that. We had an agent come in (one of the larger ones) who looked at all the details of our house and came up with an asking price of 10k over the figure I had in mind.

I didn’t think it would go for that. But In fairness to the agent the listing and brochure were really good. Photos were great and they had a list of potential buyers and applicants ready to go.

First weekend of viewing ( Saturday open viewing) we had a dozen viewers and an offer of 5k under asking. Now that’s still 5k over what I would have taken based on the figure I had in mind.

I wanted to accept but the agent said “ wait a week. Trust me”. We then had another offer in at asking and then another at 5 over asking (so that’s 15k over my figure). It sold at that. 19 days after it went up.

So yes they took some commission but I ended up better off than I would have if i had gone with my own counsel. I also think I would have been naive to assume I could have gotten what they got.

My two cents. I would go with an agent if I even sold again.

15k more than the price you had in mind sounds good but you have to deduct the agent fees that can be around 6-7k or more so that virtual gain ca be substantially reduced by half.

cruizer101 · 20-12-2018 11:16AM

happyfriday74 wrote: »

A decent one will have a database of buyers they can call on they would have been compiling all year.

I don't think they really do and even if they do I don't see the value of it.

Anyone who is looking for a property to buy (and even many who aren't but are just interested in the market) will go onto daft and will see your property for sale. So regardless of if it is with an EA or not an interested buyer will know about your property being for sale.
Might some be turned off because its not being sold by EA, maybe but if they really want the house I doubt it.

Selling without auctioneer

Comments