When James Rolfe, 32, began developing property in 2003, he sold his first two
homes through an estate agent. The third time round, he decided to find a
way of keeping all that commission for himself. So he got a friend to design
a board to put up outside the house, a three-bedroom semi in Rawdon, near
Leeds, and created his own website.
He also listed it on Rightmove.co.uk, a
property portal, advertised in the local paper and “carpet-bombed” local
businesses – newsagents, the post office, even fish-and-chip shops – with A4
flyers. Within two months, he had an offer of £199,000, higher than three of
the four valuations he had received from estate agents. “It might have taken
me a bit longer, but I’ve saved about £5,000,” Rolfe says, estimating that
he has spent £2,000 on his personal marketing campaign.
Many others may follow Rolfe’s example and bypass traditional estate agents
after the launch by Tesco, Britain’s largest supermarket chain, of a
website, www.tescopropertymarket.com,
that allows owners to market properties for an introductory price of £199.
Not surprisingly, the agents are not happy about what many see as an attempt
to do them out of business. Within days of the launch, Spicerhaart, one of
the largest groups of agents in the southeast, pulled all its advertising
from Tesco’s website. It was followed swiftly by Fish4homes, a property
portal that would have provided a large slice of its listings. The portal
claimed to have been “misled” by the nature of Tesco’s strategy. The
supermarket retorted that the site had been “put under pressure from some
estate agents who do not understand our offer”.
Before rushing to sign with Tesco, though, it is worth considering all the
ways of selling your property. And remember that, however you choose to sell
your home, you will still need a solicitor to do the conveyancing.
PROPERTY PORTALS
How it works: You list your property for sale, upload photographs and
give as much information about it as possible. Potential buyers browse the
website and get in touch with you directly if they’re interested.
What it costs: Prices vary. For £9.99, Sellmyownhome.co.uk will give
you a basic listing on its website, which it says has 250,000 hits a month.
For £79.99, you can have your home listed on other property-finding sites,
including Fish4Homes, Home.co.uk
and Properties Direct,
which together claim more than 2m hits, and receive a personalised forsale
board. Brightsale.co.uk, which claims
up to 20,000 hits a month – and links to the larger portals – charges 0.5%
of the asking price, but the fee includes a valuation and legal services.
Meanwhile, Homesforsale.co.uk is
offering a free listing for anyone selling a property in the next few
months.
Benefits: Much cheaper than using an agent. You’ll save considerably on
agent’s fees, and anyone in the country can visit the website to view
details of your property. What to watch out for: It could be tricky to
decide on your asking price without an agent’s advice, especially if you
have an unusual property. Not all portals allow individuals to advertise
(Rightmove, for example, takes listings only for agents), and the less
popular websites don’t get nearly so many hits.
Success rate: 8/10 – include as much detail as possible
NEWSPAPERS
How it works: Place an advertisement in the classified section for as
long as you like; buyers will then get in touch with you directly.
What it costs: An advertisement in Home (two columns wide by 5cm), seen
by a potential 3.3m readers, costs £340. Loot, a newspaper dedicated
entirely to classified adverts, charges the same for a three-month national
listing, appearing in its London, Manchester and Liverpool editions. A
single 6cm x 6cm box in the Yorkshire Evening Post will cost you £164.86.
Benefits: You can catch the browser who may not have been consciously
searching for property. What to watch out for: Check the newspaper’s
circulation figures – and make sure it attracts the right kind of reader.
Success rate: 8/10 – good for blanket coverage and serendipitous sales
AUCTION
How it works: The auction house will take photographs and put together
details for a catalogue, which will appear three weeks before a sale, giving
prospective buyers time to look round and arrange surveys. It will also
value the house, giving a nonbinding guide price. Once the hammer has gone
down, the sale is binding on both sides. The buyer pays a 10% deposit and
the sale continues as it would through an agent.
What it costs: Not much less than an agent – auctioneers’ fees are
usually about 1.5% of the property’s value, and there is a catalogue entry
fee of £375-£700, depending on how much space you take. You will also need
to pay a solicitor to complete the sale.
Benefits: It can be a good way to get rid of a property that needs
modernising. Auctions also make for a quick sale. “The auction date gives
everyone focus,” says John Weatherall, head auctioneer at Andrews &
Robertson. And, he adds, sales are sometimes agreed prior to auction, which
makes it even quicker. What to watch out for: “Unless a property is
unmodernised, it’s not always the best place to go,” says Weatherall. “Most
auction buyers are looking for some kind of discount to attract them to it.”
If you receive an offer before auction, the contract must be signed before
the date of the sale, otherwise it will be auctioned anyway.
Success rate: 7/10 – if your house isn’t in great nick
YOUTUBE
How it works: Pearl McCafferty, 53, posted a video of her £310,000,
three-bedroom penthouse flat in Renfrewshire on YouTube,
the video-sharing website, in February. Prospective buyers can take a
two-minute virtual tour, accompanied by haunting music.
What it costs: Free.
Benefits: Access trendy web surfers who wouldn’t be seen dead on a
property portal. What to watch out for: YouTube isn’t usually the first stop
for people wanting to buy a house.
Success rate: 3/10 – full marks for ingenuity, but, despite more than
2,000 hits, McCafferty has yet to sell
EBAY
How it works: Post details and pictures of your property on the online
auction site, decide how long you want it to appear for and set a start
price. Play safe by including a reserve price.
What it costs: A fixed fee of £35 to post the property; £2 extra to fix
a reserve price.
Benefits: People love the idea of online auctions, which can drive
prices up. Catch bored office workers surfing the web in their lunch hours.
What to watch out for: Beware chancers: it’s a nonbinding sale.
Success rate: 5/10 – will appeal to nonconformists
EXCHANGE
How it works: Swap your house with someone else who wants to move. At www.swap-homes.com,
sellers register their home and list where they would like to move to and
the site searches for potential swaps. Money usually changes hands, as it’s
rare to find someone who wants to swap a property for one at the same price.
What it costs: From August 1, £34.99. Until then, it’s free.
What to watch out for: The website accepts no liability, so be sure to
get professional advice.
Success rate: 7/10 – the website has about 8,000 properties on it at present
BUYING AGENTS
How it works: You approach a local buying agent, who has a list of
clients looking for property in the area. If one likes the look of your
home, you can arrange a private sale.
What it costs: Nothing; the agent is paid by the buyer. Those looking
in this way are mainly high net-worth individuals not interested in anything
for less than £500,000.
Success rate: 7/10 – if you’ve got a nice pad
I was reading the paragraph about posting a property video on Youtube. I agree this is not the first stop for property buyers. I have actually stumbled across this portal (www.showyourhouse.co.uk) in the UK that deals with property property advertising for people wishing to save 1000s on fees. They give you an option to upload a video too. I think this is a good idea as you can see pictures and also use a video for more detailed viewings. This is definately the way forward
Rochel Mathews, Newcastle,
You DO NOT need a solicitor to do your conveyancing. I started conveyancing at the tender age of 24 and made a very good job of it and have done so ever since. The only time I have used a solicitor is when the lender insisted, which was on the purchase. I have always conducted my own conveyance on the sale and will continue to do so. Conveyancing is not rocket science. It just takes time, organisation and patience and a willingness to read up on some land laws smart solicitors may feel like adding into the contract. I have done all this and even researched laws as far back as 1896. With some much information available on the internet and in local libraries, anyone with a reasonable amount of intelligence can do it.
Ciaris Perry-Bowden, Devon, UK
For £225 plus VAT mousesale.co.uk will send someone round to your house to take photo's, prepare particulars and post it on to the Internet! They also provide a for sale board.
Richard Garland, Ipswich, Suffolk
A good range of ideas on saving estate agent fees, but before you put your house up for sale there are several important things you should consider. www.sell-my-house-privately.co.uk gives advice on how to successfully sell privately and get a good price.
Chris Bell, Nottingham, UK
An excellent article illustrating that traditional estate agents are now far from the only means of selling a property. However, now that the housing market cycle is entering it's downward price phase it is worth emphasising the one golden rule of business - if you undercut the price of your competitors you will get the business. Those who make the sale in the current market are those who research the asking prices of competitor properties and then offer their property at a price which will tempt buyers in their direction.
George, Brighton, UK
I also sold my house through propertysell within 3 weeks of listing.
Simon Johnson, Coventry,
We sold our property in Southport through a local company called Homes in Southport and it only cost us £39 saving us over £2000!
Their web address is www.homes-in-southport.co.uk
Zowi Marshall, Southport, Merseyside
We used propertysell www.propertysell.co.uk free to list and cool mapping.
Paul Webb, London, UK
I have been recommend a site called Triplepig.com. They are offering a free advert complete with a property brochure both on your advert and emailed to you to hand out to viewers as they come.
They are offering a FREE listing until the 25th Oct 2007.
The address for the free listing is:
http://www.triplepig.com/free.html
Derek Allan, East Kilbride,
Craigslist is probably a more powerful tool than any of those mentioned - and now many real estate agents use Craigslist to supplement, or replace, newspaper advertising.
It is possible to sell your own home, and it gives most sellers an appreciation of the skills brought to the process by a Realtor - who doesn't get paid until the listing is sold...
Tom McCue
St Louis Realty
Tom McCue, Chesterfield, MO USA