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Rising property prices mean rising estate agency costs. With most estate agents charging between 1% and 3% of final selling price, UK homeowner could be charged between £2,630 and £7,890 in estate agency fees for a home that sells for the current UK average property price of £263,000. Homeowners that achieve a higher sale price will have a higher estate agency bill.
For many homeowners, the idea of being able to sell house without the cost of estate agency fees is an attractive one. But is it really possible, and what do you need to know to be able to sell your house yourself?
Valuing your home
An estate agent’s first big role in your house sale is a property valuation. A good agent should have a clear idea of how the local property market is performing and what price you can hope to achieve for your property
If you choose to sell your property yourself, you’ll need to think about how you will get an accurate valuation of your property.
You have a couple of options. Firstly, you could contact some local estate agents and see whether they’d be happy to give you a free, no-obligation valuation. If they’re not happy to do this, they may be happy to value your property for a small fee.
If getting a valuation from a local estate agent is not an option, you may be able to value your property yourself using the property data available online. By looking at recent sold prices in your area and the sort of price similar properties in your area are being marketed at, you should be able to get a rough idea of how much your property might be worth. If you have a mortgage on your current property, you could also contact your mortgage lender who can arrange for a valuation, though you may be charged a fee for this service.
EPC
Before you advertise your property, it’s a legal requirement to have an EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) assessment carried out. An EPC will give potential buyers information about how your property uses energy and provide suggestions for energy saving changes that could be made to the property.
You can search for accredited domestic energy assessors to carry out the assessment on the government website.
Marketing your home
Once you’ve decided on your asking price and got your EPC in place, it’s time to start advertising your property. There are several ways you can do this. Unfortunately, the two biggest UK property portals, RightMove and Zoopla, only accepting listings from estate agents so you won’t be able to advertise your property on them. If you’re keen to list your property online, some other property sites like The House Shop and House Ladder do allow private sellers to list their properties for a fee.
Other advertising channels you may want to consider include:
- Private ‘for sale’ board outside the property
- Advertising via social media – many areas have ‘property for sale’ Facebook groups
- An advert in your local newspaper or shop window
- Word of mouth – this can be especially effective in a small community
Viewings
Another area usually handled by an estate agent is property viewings. Part of selling your own house will be arranging and conducting property viewings. Are you confident enough to show people around your house and answer their questions without the support of an estate agent?
Negotiating an offer
Once you’ve conducted some viewings, as long as you’ve priced the property correctly, you will hopefully start to receive offers on the property. Are you happy to negotiate a price with any interested parties?
What happens after you’ve accepted an offer
Once you’ve accepted an offer, it’s time to inform your conveyancer or solicitor – the person who handles the legal transfer of property ownership. You’ll need to ensure you provide all of the information they require about the property and your buyers to enable them to progress the sale. You will also need to ensure you take responsibility for sale progression, keeping the sale moving forward to a mutually convenient completion date.
Consider other ways to sell without an estate agent
If you like the idea of selling your property without an estate agent, but you aren’t sure you have the time or the confidence to conduct a sale by yourself, you may want to consider alternative ways to sell your property.
Both property auction and a sale to a cash home buying company can offer quicker, simpler methods of sale for those looking for a hassle-free move.