DIY house selling - any advice?
Discussion
Just written to our estate agents terminating their selling rights. We put our house on the market in September last year and in that time we've had a grand total of half a dozen viewings and one offer from someone who can't sell their house. They've been absolutely useless and I'm not convinced other agents are going to be much better, let alone worth the three grand they want for the privilege.
So, the options are to either forget moving altogether or do it ourselves. There's a sort of half-way option available through Move & Save where, for a fixed fee of £149 + VAT, they stick your house on RightMove, do you leaflets and pass on enquiries. Considering that's pretty much all our current agents did it seems like it's worth a go. As a designer I can easily knock up a brochure for the house that will do a far better job that anything I've seen from any estate agents. I can also put a website together with enquiry forms, PDF downloads etc. - so all that side is taken care of.
Anyone had any dealings with Move & Save or done the DIY house selling thing themselves care to offer words of wisdom?
So, the options are to either forget moving altogether or do it ourselves. There's a sort of half-way option available through Move & Save where, for a fixed fee of £149 + VAT, they stick your house on RightMove, do you leaflets and pass on enquiries. Considering that's pretty much all our current agents did it seems like it's worth a go. As a designer I can easily knock up a brochure for the house that will do a far better job that anything I've seen from any estate agents. I can also put a website together with enquiry forms, PDF downloads etc. - so all that side is taken care of.
Anyone had any dealings with Move & Save or done the DIY house selling thing themselves care to offer words of wisdom?
judas said:
Just written to our estate agents terminating their selling rights. We put our house on the market in September last year and in that time we've had a grand total of half a dozen viewings and one offer from someone who can't sell their house. They've been absolutely useless and I'm not convinced other agents are going to be much better, let alone worth the three grand they want for the privilege.
So, the options are to either forget moving altogether or do it ourselves. There's a sort of half-way option available through Move & Save where, for a fixed fee of £149 + VAT, they stick your house on RightMove, do you leaflets and pass on enquiries. Considering that's pretty much all our current agents did it seems like it's worth a go. As a designer I can easily knock up a brochure for the house that will do a far better job that anything I've seen from any estate agents. I can also put a website together with enquiry forms, PDF downloads etc. - so all that side is taken care of.
Anyone had any dealings with Move & Save or done the DIY house selling thing themselves care to offer words of wisdom?
move and save have quite a good rep among my clients who have used them, i'd give it a go and moreso since you can do all the above yourself
PS - you can always put it on the PH classifieds as well.
Example here:-
www.pistonheads.com/sales/61667.htm
Example here:-
www.pistonheads.com/sales/61667.htm
Agree with you there shnozz. I'm moving at the mo, and most of the agents I've spoken to say that about 70% of their sales are directly off the back of rightmove. So, they pay about 100 quid for that, but only one of them (Real life) ever sends on the statistics of the web hits & further enquiries. The rest put your ad in the local rag once a fortnight/3 weeks and a picture in their window. I know they nee to make a wage, but the markup seems a bit steep!
I've never heard of Move and Save but I'll follow that up.
The only thing is that most of the area I live in is lived in by people that have always lived there. (Does that make any sense?) So having a picture in the window of an estate agents is somthing I'd quite like to have too. Not sure about the costs & requirements of advertising in the local rag.
I've never heard of Move and Save but I'll follow that up.
The only thing is that most of the area I live in is lived in by people that have always lived there. (Does that make any sense?) So having a picture in the window of an estate agents is somthing I'd quite like to have too. Not sure about the costs & requirements of advertising in the local rag.
I did it once just by sticking a homemade sign in the garden. Saved a bundle. Sold over asking price and had three bidders fighting for it. The house was on the main drag into a very popular estate though - location, location, location.
I noticed last time I was in WH Smiths that they had a "Sell your own house" pack along with "Make your own will" etc - might be worth a butchers?
I noticed last time I was in WH Smiths that they had a "Sell your own house" pack along with "Make your own will" etc - might be worth a butchers?
Just remember that if you go the DIY route, you'll end up dealing directly with Joe Public. Do you really want to let strangers in to the house without knowing something about them beforehand? If you have a partner, are you going to be happy if they are at home showing someone round if you are not there?
mutt k said:
Just remember that if you go the DIY route, you'll end up dealing directly with Joe Public. Do you really want to let strangers in to the house without knowing something about them beforehand? If you have a partner, are you going to be happy if they are at home showing someone round if you are not there?
In reality though, how much do the estate agents know about the punter before showing them around?
mutt k said:Would I be happy with a sleazeball estate agent coming round when the missus is on her own?
Just remember that if you go the DIY route, you'll end up dealing directly with Joe Public. Do you really want to let strangers in to the house without knowing something about them beforehand? If you have a partner, are you going to be happy if they are at home showing someone round if you are not there?
shnozz said:
PS - you can always put it on the PH classifieds as well.
Example here:-
www.pistonheads.com/sales/61667.htm
O/T - cool barbeque!!
miniman said:Indeedy, but not so sure about the fish eye lens shots of the house interior.
PS - you can always put it on the PH classifieds as well.
Example here:-
www.pistonheads.com/sales/61667.htm
O/T - cool barbeque!!
shnozz said:
Just remember that if you go the DIY route, you'll end up dealing directly with Joe Public. Do you really want to let strangers in to the house without knowing something about them beforehand? If you have a partner, are you going to be happy if they are at home showing someone round if you are not there?
In reality though, how much do the estate agents know about the punter before showing them around?
not a great deal. if they are first time viewers pretty much name, address phone number that's it
victormeldrew said:
Indeedy, but not so sure about the fish eye lens shots of the house interior.
That's not a fisheye shot! [TwilightZone]It's a gateway to an alternate dimension where the laws of nature are turned on their head[/TwilightZone]
Thanks for the advice so far chaps! Just had a call from Minimax, who, being the top bloke he is, gave me a bit of inside help and advice. Cheers
Almost certain to try the Move & Save route now.
Half the estate agents job is to get you sold, the other half is to get you moved. If you do it yourself you'll have to chase the chain, talking to the solicitors involved, other estate agents, checking to make sure mortgage offers have been released & generally chasing everyone up to ensure thay are doing what they should, if your confident you know what needs to happen & when, especially if theres any survey problems & re-negotiation then give it a go... its good fun.
miniman said:
PS - you can always put it on the PH classifieds as well.
Example here:-
www.pistonheads.com/sales/61667.htm
O/T - cool barbeque!!
I don't know whether to laugh or cry - I hope that's not my old car
Still cool though
Splodge S4 said:
Half the estate agents job is to get you sold, the other half is to get you moved.
True, but given the current agent's track record on the first half, then I can't see the latter half being any less stressful or poorly handled. I'd rather do the job myself than pay someone else to do it badly, if at all. And given the number of kicks they've needed to get them moving so far then I may as well just tell 'em to sod off and get on with it myself!
victormeldrew said:
PS - you can always put it on the PH classifieds as well.
Example here:-
www.pistonheads.com/sales/61667.htm
O/T - cool barbeque!!
no? Obviously these are take your own rather than agent's shots but I thought using a fisheye would give a better perspective of size and 180 view rather than a photo of one wall!
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