With the average value of a home around £200,000 and estate agency fees ranging from 1 per cent to 2.5 per cent, an increasing number of people are turning to the internet to sell their homes for lower fixed fees. Here Times Money explains how to sell your home online without an estate agent

1. Choose the right website

There are about 40 different private-sale websites, each offering different levels of service at prices ranging from nothing to £500. Most of the free sites offer only a brief advert, while the more expensive operators will take photos of your home and provide a “for sale” board with a phone line to answer queries. A list of the different websites and their services is available at www.private-house-sales.info.

2. Maximise your exposure

For a small premium, most of the sites will upload your home’s details to one or more of the big property portals such as propertyfinder.com and fish4homes.com. The additional could be worth the investment because these websites attract millions of visitors each month, increasing the chances that your home will be spotted. For a fee of £35 you can also advertise you home on eBay.co.uk.

3. Choose the right price

The lower your asking price, the more viewings you will generate, so decide on a price that is not too far from what you are prepared to accept. You can always refuse any lower offers. The best way to work out how much your home is worth is to look at the price of similar properties in your area. Many estate agents will offer a free, no-obligation valuation service.

4. Act professionally

Because it is still unusual to sell a home without an estate agent, buyers may be wary of dealing with you. It is essential, therefore, to be helpful and friendly to all inquiries, no matter how inconvenient or annoying. Be flexible over when people can view your property and never cancel an appointment.

5. Be security conscious

Each website has a different way for buyers to contact you, depending on how much personal information you are prepared to reveal on your advertisement. Although reported cases of unscrupulous people viewing properties are rare, it is not unheard of, so be on your guard and, if possible, have someone else in your home during each visit.

6. Be prepared to negotiate

This can be daunting, but the first and most important rule is to keep calm. Know the minimum price that you are prepared to accept and make sure that you do not go below it under any circumstances. Do not give away any detail that may offer an insight to the potential purchaser about how keen you are to sell.

7. Do not be rushed

It is always better to say no than yes if you are unsure. You can always go back to someone and accept an offer that you rejected previously, but it is much harder to agree a price and then try to increase it later. Remember that if someone is prepared to make an offer in the first place, he or she must be interested, so it is worth driving a hard bargain.

9. Estate agent classification

A ruling by the Office of Fair Trading means that some private-sale websites are now classified as estate agents rather than advertisers. This means that if you have a sole-agency agreement with a conventional estate agent, you might be liable to pay that agent a commission even if you sell your home privately. However, the OFT ruling has yet to be tested in court.

10. Instruct a solicitor

Once you have agreed a price, you must instruct a solicitor to complete all the necessary legal work. Without an estate agent, you may be required to do more of the chasing up yourself.