I sold both of my last two properties without an estate agent. Both bungalows in nice areas. Bungalows are always in demand with older couples wanting to downsize. At the one I'm in now I even get occasional handwritten letters through the door from couples desperate to buy one, asking if I am interested in selling. If yours is in a desirable area or has a lot of passing traffic, just try putting a sign up outside. Works even better if there are other similar properties in the area for sale as anyone that view those will see yours. The agents only job is to value the property then introduce potential buyers, the rest is done by a conveyancer or solicitor and even that can be done yourself, though I'm not brave enough to try!
- Thread starter Monkey Harris
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Morris
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I bought the house we live in without an agent 26 years ago. I heard about it by word of mouth that guy that owned it wanted to sell (he was making no real effort). He actually lived across the road (still does) so I knocked on his door, agreed a price and was in four weeks later.
Nomad
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Check what the latest news is before you decide to use any particular company - comments last year made it sound like Purple Bricks was near closing https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money...ebricks-puts-sale-warns-deepening-losses.html
brightspark
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i sold my last house with an advert in the teeside times. it cost a fiver for the line advert./ a box one would have been a tenner 
. the 1st one round bought it 
. the 1st one round bought it 
brightspark
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the only thing an estate agent does is put a sign up outside your house and a few pictures of your house in there shop window and show a few punters round the house for a viewing and thats it 
they ring you up if someones made a stupid bid
they ring you up if someones made a stupid bid 
Pete.
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the only thing an estate agent does is put a sign up outside your house and a few pictures of your house in there shop window and show a few punters round the house for a viewing and thats it
Nowadays you have to enter an exclusive contract with them for a minimum period unless you want to pay ££££ fees. My girl did that then they kept calling her asking HER to show the place to people.
addjunkie
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Much as I detest them….they get your house online on sites that every house hunter looks at regularly!the only thing an estate agent does is put a sign up outside your house and a few pictures of your house in there shop window and show a few punters round the house for a viewing and thats it
DAPPH
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I'd go for both buyer & seller using specialist conveyancing solicitors every time . Not a mega multi base legal practice with specialist departments of 40 or 100 solicitors up & down the country nor a grubby desk two man band in town with papers piled so high they were in danger of getting a stop order on putting on any more .on the piles .
Selling ... Our conveyancing solicitors finished all paper work in four days , we paid about £35 for an insurance indemnity incase something caused problems in the future that they had missed ,
We used the same people when buying here .. lighting a fire under the donkey wouldn't persuade the local weasel to pull his finger out . Numpty who was selling refused to go the conveyancer route till we said if it's not done in four more working days we are pulling out . Not only did that light a fire under the donkey it bathed his balls in neat hydrochloric acid ,
sale completed in 3 & 1/2 days .
Selling ... Our conveyancing solicitors finished all paper work in four days , we paid about £35 for an insurance indemnity incase something caused problems in the future that they had missed ,
We used the same people when buying here .. lighting a fire under the donkey wouldn't persuade the local weasel to pull his finger out . Numpty who was selling refused to go the conveyancer route till we said if it's not done in four more working days we are pulling out . Not only did that light a fire under the donkey it bathed his balls in neat hydrochloric acid ,
sale completed in 3 & 1/2 days .
Nomad
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If you do decide to use an agent make sure you ask which websites they advertise on before you sign anything.
The local independent agents near me (including one I rate very highly) decided to all stop using Rightmove when the price to advertise jumped massively, they now use their own website + some other sales sites. The system seems to work fine, it's just not what I'd expect.
Gritineye
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Some friends of ours signed up with an estate agent to sell their large house, he did absolutely nothing, no advertising, no on line listings, no viewings, completely incompetent, this went on for months. Eventually they sold it themselves to by word of mouth. They refused to pay the agent who took them to court and won, they had to pay his very high fee and costs as the contract they signed said he was due his fee wether he sold the house or not.
My Mrs was a legal PA and some of the goings on with agents up to dirty tricks she saw verged on criminal behaviour, and their fees were always higher that the solicitors who the agents always blamed for any hold ups.
My Mrs was a legal PA and some of the goings on with agents up to dirty tricks she saw verged on criminal behaviour, and their fees were always higher that the solicitors who the agents always blamed for any hold ups.
outofthefire
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I have little experience in this area, but we just sold the late father in laws house through an estate agent, the agent told us the sale could be problematic because it was an unconventional build house (ex council, poured concrete walls) on the edge of a roughish council estate in Leeds. Despite this we had a couple of offers almost straight away, we had to go through probate which has taken about 17 weeks the contracts have been exchanged, I reckon it'll be 5 months from start to finish.
I see plenty of houses for sale round here while i'm walking the dog, the same estate agent seems to turn them over reasonably quickly. There are a few boards up from a company called Strike who some how don't charge any fees. I can't see them being around for long because i've yet to see a sold sign on any of them and some have been up at least as long as the F.i.L's
I think if you get a good agent they are probably worth the effort.
I see plenty of houses for sale round here while i'm walking the dog, the same estate agent seems to turn them over reasonably quickly. There are a few boards up from a company called Strike who some how don't charge any fees. I can't see them being around for long because i've yet to see a sold sign on any of them and some have been up at least as long as the F.i.L's
I think if you get a good agent they are probably worth the effort.
While it's taken a few months, and isn't yet all signed and sealed (I'm waiting for a LPA), the local agent I am using to sell my mum's house has taken viewers, opened all curtains prior to visits (and closed again after), put the alarm on every time, all exactly as promised - I live some distance away, so I didn't want to be wasting my time traipsing back and forth.
Depends on what you need, and who you use.
Regarding solicitors etc - I used a local one, as does my other half - who works in commercial property for a big legal firm - even with the staff discount, to use her own colleagues in the residential side of the company was simply too expensive.
A mate trying to buy a house from a couple of lovely ladies was told it was their solicitors holding things up . . . he dropped in on them and discovered they have been told it was his solicitors holding things up . . . two phones calls to solicitors later, within a day or two, signatures were on papers.
MY sister bought a house with a cheap conveyancing company in Manchester - dragged on so long she was in danger of losing her mortgage offer. I was on the point of going to pay them a visit wearing my other halfs company branded hoodie - finally sorted it. But then she discovered the house build wasn't signed off with council and any one else who needed to do so . . it didn't exist in theory! Get what you pay for I guess.
Depends on what you need, and who you use.
Regarding solicitors etc - I used a local one, as does my other half - who works in commercial property for a big legal firm - even with the staff discount, to use her own colleagues in the residential side of the company was simply too expensive.
A mate trying to buy a house from a couple of lovely ladies was told it was their solicitors holding things up . . . he dropped in on them and discovered they have been told it was his solicitors holding things up . . . two phones calls to solicitors later, within a day or two, signatures were on papers.
MY sister bought a house with a cheap conveyancing company in Manchester - dragged on so long she was in danger of losing her mortgage offer. I was on the point of going to pay them a visit wearing my other halfs company branded hoodie - finally sorted it. But then she discovered the house build wasn't signed off with council and any one else who needed to do so . . it didn't exist in theory! Get what you pay for I guess.
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Can't complain about the estate agents selling my mums house, they marketed it for £215k and played off two interested parties selling it for £221k
Monkey Harris
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they did well,Can't complain about the estate agents selling my mums house, they marketed it for £215k and played off two interested parties selling it for £221k
what was their commission,a fixed fee or percentage ?
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Fixed fee, think it was £2100
DAPPH
as dyslexik as I'm daft
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How much below market value did they slap you for ?
