Selling Your House Without An Estate Agent: Top Tips

When it comes to selling your house, there is a whole range of options.

From selling with an estate agent to selling online to selling via auction; to a cash property buyer to simply selling off of your own back, there are plenty of ways to shift your property.

Increasingly, though, there is a keen interest in selling your house without an estate agent, so we thought we’d put together a handy guide of our top tips for doing so.

Whether you choose an auction or rely on yourself to sell, we’ve got you covered.

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Selling Property Without An Agent

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Why sell without an estate agent in the first place?

If you’re reading this, you’re obviously interested in selling your house without an estate agent, but you might not be completely convinced just yet.

So, in terms of why you’d sell without an estate agent, there is one huge reason: money.

Estate agents tend to suck up cash like vacuums.

They charge percentage fees and have a lot of add-ons during the process of selling your house, so selling your house without an estate agent can save you a lot of cash.

You should be aware, though, that if you choose to sell without one, it won’t be an easy ride as there’s a lot of work that goes into it.

Another reason for selling without the help of an estate agent is hassle.

Yes, advertising your property yourself is a total pain, but sometimes estate agents take their eye off the ball and don’t always put everything into getting your house sold. This is why many buyers switch estate agents halfway through the process in the hope of getting a sale.

Moreover, selling your house with an estate agent generally takes longer than most other ways and it is an arduous process.

You will go through multiple viewings and even get your hopes up quite a few times for a sale that never comes through.

Sometimes you’re just better off doing the job yourself.

Selling at auction

Selling your house at auction is one of the most common ways of selling your house without an estate agent that we see at Accelerate Homes.

In order to get your house featured at an auction, you will have to do your research into auction houses. Look at their track record and portfolios of other houses they’ve sold.

You have to ask yourself whether or not an auction house will genuinely sell your home well and for a price that you want.

When going to auction, it’s important to remember that you’ll have to set a reserve price for your property.

If you are offered less than that price, then your house will be dropped from auction, but if you’re offered your reserve price and nothing above that, the auctioneer will drop the hammer and then you have to sell it for that price.

Bear that in mind when considering selling your house at auction, and when setting a reserve price if you choose this option.

Generally speaking, selling your house at auction saves a lot of time and effort.

As soon as the hammer goes down, the bidder has to put down a 10% deposit. Over the next month, the sale is completed and then the rest of the money is transferred.

As well as this, if your house has a slightly odd layout or is different from the conventional house, auctions are a great place to go, especially if you’re dedicated to selling your house without an estate agent.

Remember, though, that selling at auction can cost up to £1200 plus VAT and solicitor costs, which can reach between £350 and £500.

Need a fast house sale?

We can connect you with the best cash property buyers in the UK. Sell in under 30 days.

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Selling with a cash property buyer

If selling at auction doesn’t seem like what you want for your house sale, then there are other options.

One other option is selling your property with a cash property buyer, which is basically someone who has the money available to buy your house outright without having to secure a mortgage or sell another property to afford it.

People have many reasons for using cash property buyers, one of which is the issue of time.

If you find a cash buyer straight away, you will have the sale done and dusted in practically no time. This is particularly desirable if you’re selling your house due to divorce or bereavement or for health reasons.

Selling your house without an estate agent in these circumstances can be incredibly useful, and while it might add to your workload in terms of finding the right cash buyer, it cuts out the painstaking process of going through an estate agent and waiting months and months for a sale to come through.

Cash property buyers can be found through companies, like our own, and online. Search around local cash property buyers, and then expand if you can’t find anyone who will take your property on.

If you find a cash property buyer through a company, you will need to check that they’re registered with the National Association of Property Buyers (NAPB) or The Property Ombudsman Scheme.

The same checks for legitimacy should also be applied to cash property buyers who are found individually by yourself in your search. When it comes to these individuals, you should check if they’re using their own funds or borrowing via mortgage.

Ask for proof always and enlist help and support from a solicitor to oversee the preparation for the sale and then the sale itself.

You should also double-check to see if any cash property buyers charge a fee for their service (especially companies) and ensure that you have a back-up plan in place in case the buyer pulls out at the last moment.

Need a fast house sale?

We can connect you with the best cash property buyers in the UK. Sell in under 30 days.

Selling your house completely by yourself

Of all the ways to sell your house, selling it completely by yourself is the most work-intensive option.

You have no third-party help in finding a buyer or advertising it, but, in turn, you will definitely save the most money this way if you’re successful.

To begin with, you should be aware that selling your house without an estate agent means you can’t advertise on Rightmove, PrimeLocation or Zoopla.

Instead, you’ll have to do it all yourself in a number of ways.

You can still advertise online on The House Shop, for example, and on eBay and Gumtree as both allow property listings. This will get your house out there on the internet, which is great for generating interest and eventually a sale.

However, just advertising online isn’t the wisest of ideas.

Hire adverts in your local newspapers and use noticeboards in local supermarkets and community centres to get local interest.

You can also become a member of neighbourhood groups on Facebook and share your house in those to generate more local interest.

Word of mouth is often a great way to sell your house, and is the next best alternative to using an estate agent.

Using word of mouth also means that you’ll have to be proactive with advertising.

You are in charge of photography and making your house appear stunning. If you are good with a camera, then go ahead and take the property photos yourself, but if you know someone particularly good when it comes to photography, ask them to help you out.

Even better if you have a young person in the house – they’ll know all the lighting tips and tricks going, which are so important when it comes to making your house look nice on camera.

In terms of our other top tips for selling your house completely by yourself, you should create your own ‘for sale’ sign, including your phone number, email and name, or buy one from eBay or Amazon to make it look slightly more professional.

We’d also recommend creating an email address specifically for selling your house to help you out when it comes to organising viewings and corresponding with different individuals about the sale.

When selling your house this way, we’d also suggest getting valuations from estate agents if possible. Some estate agents charge a valuation fee, but not all do.

Ask around and see what you can get. Even if you have to pay a small fee, it’s worth it for the opinion.

As well as this, you can use online estate agents who will value your house for free and use websites such as Property Price Advice to give you an estimate of how much your house is worth.

Make sure to get a whole range of valuations in order to get the most accurate figure as some online sites can only give you an estimate on the value of your house based on your postcode, how much you bought your house for, and when you bought it.

We hope this guide has helped you understand more about selling your house without an estate agent, and we hope our top tips will come in handy however you choose to sell.

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