THE PRIVATE SALE

There’s been a fair bit of press recently about the merits or otherwise of selling your home privately via the Internet. What I haven’t seen is a reasoned argument for and against the idea. All too often the subject seems to be based purely and simply on cost.
 
Here’s my definitive list of the pros and cons. I’ve had to assume that the choice is based between a private sale and a GOOD estate agent. If it was a poor estate agent, the balance of the argument changes.
 

THE PROS
 
Fees.
You’ll probably pay hundreds rather than thousands of pounds. It’s understandably tempting. This is however the one and only benefit (unless you consider not having to deal with estate agents a benefit!).
 

THE CONS
 
Marketing.
Apart from a picture of your home on a website, what other marketing will you be doing? If you do decide to do more, and the likelihood is that you’ll have to, you will pay, irrelevant of results for each and every advert you do.

Security.
How well do you know the people coming into your home? Are they genuine? Can they afford it? Nobody will ever tell you if they don’t have the right finances in place.
 
Reduced selling price.
Good estate agents will have an ever-changing database of potential buyers who’ve enquired on similar properties or a similar price range. You may save on fees but you’ll get a much smaller level of interest compared to an established estate agent doing a lot of marketing both locally and on the Internet to build their buyers database. As a result, you’ll get less people viewing and subsequently, less chance of getting the best price.
 
Reduced chance of a sale.
Less people viewing your home, gives you less chance of selling it.
 
Necessary sales skills.
When should you talk and when should you stay quiet? A good salesperson can make the difference between a sale happening or not. If sales aren’t your forte, then you’re reducing your chance of success.
 
Negotiating. 
Most people just aren’t very comfortable with it on the whole and as a result, aren’t particularly good at it. Simply digging your heels in isn’t the way forward and neither is folding like a cheap suit. Having a middleman to negotiate tends to make the process an awful lot easier for both sides.
 
After the sale.
How does the mortgage process work, the survey scenario and the legal process? What happens if your house is down valued or has issues arise at the survey stage? Solicitors are unlikely to get involved and the few who do will charge you extra for their time. They leave this to the estate agents to deal with. 
 
Following the chain.
This is the bane of an estate agent’s life. How long is your chain really? What symptoms should you look out for that would indicate whether it looks watertight or not? Sales that fall through can be extremely expensive and particularly galling if you could have spotted it before it happened. 
 
No sale = no fee.
1 in 3 sales fall through. In that scenario, you don’t pay an estate agent. Private sales through the Internet charge irrelevant of whether you get a sale, so there’s a guaranteed cost incurred that doesn’t exist the traditional way.
 

I hope this list was helpful. House selling isn’t easy but that doesn’t mean you couldn’t have a go yourself. I’m simply highlighting that like all things; if you have a go at something yourself on a DIY basis, without the relevant skills and knowledge, the results can often be more than a little disappointing and sometimes costly. It’s a bit like backing a big outsider in a horse race. It’s not that they never ever win, but the odds are stacked against you. You pays your money and takes your pick.