Selling a Property

[scraggy55]

Does anyone have any good ideas of a cost effective way of saving money on Estate Agents Fees?

[Buenchico]

The simple answer is "Don't use an estate agent"!

When my father died I sold his house myself. I paid for a few ads in the property section of the local paper, but without much success. What actually sold the house was simply designing some A4 posters, on ordinary white paper, giving the main details. ("For Sale - 3 bedrooms - Separate garage - No chain - OIRO £x - Phone [phone]"). I took those posters to a local copy shop, where I had them enlarged to A2 size, on brightly coloured paper, and then put them in the windows of the house. People viewing other houses in the area saw the posters and I soon had several interested parties, resulting in a quick sale.

I ensured that, when people enquired about the house, I had all of the details to hand (e.g. room sizes, council tax band, etc) on a printed sheet, so that potential buyers would get at least as much information directly from me as they would have done through an estate agent. If you try the same method you'll also need to provide a Home Information Pack (which wasn't a requirement when I sold my father's house):
http://www.direct.gov...mationpacks/index.htm

Chris

[thelewisgang]

there are loads & loads of websites where you can advertise your property completely free. To name a few: buyitprivately.com; estateagent.co.uk; homesell.co.uk; housekeys.co.uk; houseladder.co.uk; preloved.co.uk; & lots more. have a look at these & then google "sell my home free". You'll be surprised how many are out there. Whether they get results is another question but you could always try? Hope this helps

[smurfchops]

If youdon't want to go through the process of selling without an estate agent, make sure you haggle on their fee. Never never pay more than 1% plus VAT . There are plenty of other estate agents out there who will be only too happy to take your 1%.