Sell Your Home Yourself

Thinking of moving? Has a new arrival left you bursting at the seams in your current house? Or have the family and their stuff just grown too much for your home? Nowadays, more and more people are buying and selling their homes privately. How much could you save on estate agents fees by doing this?

The average house in the UK costs around £150,000. A house of that value would cost between £2500 and £5000 in estate agents fees to sell. Think how useful that would be, to add a few extra grand to what you can afford for your new place or to buy new furniture? Advertise privately and you don't have to pay agent's commission.

What does an estate agent actually do for all that money? They take a couple of photos; measure up and write details for your house; advertise it in a local property news paper; add it to a national property website; put your details in their shop window. Usually it is you who shows people around your house. They take phone calls from prospective buyers, and pass the messages on to you. Do they vet the people who come to view your house? Well, have you ever been vetted when you wanted to view a house? Do they negotiate on your behalf? No. They just pass offers on to you for you to decide on. You could do all that couldn't you!

So how can you sell your home yourself?

Find out what price to ask for your home by checking out what the houses in you area are selling for. There are a number of websites where you can do this such.
Put your own advertisement in your local newspaper, classifieds paper such as Loot or a property news paper. It would cost only a few pounds or could even be free - that's how my husband sold his first property.
You can put up your own 'For Sale' sign, which could work well if your property is on a main road. You can have one made from a local sign maker, make your own or buy one online, for example from www.just-a-sign.com.
Remember to tell everyone you know that you are selling your home; they may know someone looking for just that type of thing. That's how I sold my bachelorette pad after I got married.
Then what about the internet? Well you can get your home on all the same property websites that estate agents use. Many internet estate agents and Private Seller websites will list your site on the well-known property portals such as Propertyfinder and Fish4homes as well as their own. Most charge less than £100 and you home will be advertised all over the UK. For a comprehensive list of 'For Sale by Owner' websites visit A Home of My Own, which lists over 100 sites where you can sell your property including over 20 where you can advertise completely free of charge. You can also list your own home webpage for free if you have one and find lots of advice about selling your home privately.
You could always advertise your house on eBay, who charge a fixed fee for property sales.

Some of the biggest and best known websites where you can sell your house with no commission are Buy it Privately and HouseWeb

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