“It was
definitely easier to sell privately!”
Sally and
Bill Smith from Yorkshire tell us about their fourth private
sale.
”We’ve
been living in London for many years now but are originally from
the South West, and have long wanted to move back home to
Cornwall. So, when the time seemed right to leave, we put the
house up for sale, the fourth that we’ve sold without the help
of an estate agent. It was the first time we’d used HouseWeb
though, and we decided to give them a go after seeing one of
their “For Sale” boards on a nearby road.
The
web site was easy to use and we chose the most comprehensive
advert package, the Platinum at £199, mainly for the 20 photos
and the personalised board, which was definitely the right thing
to do as the Board did generate additional enquiries.
We had the house valued by an agent, then
reduced the price by £2,500 from valuation because we had no
agent fees to pay. We had to reduce further to get the sale but
that seems about right for today's market and sold within 7
months and saved just under £4,000.
It was definitely easier to sell
privately. No frustrations or irritations and we dealt directly
with all viewers. We have dealt with estate agents before, tried
3 over 18 months when selling Dad's house then tried ourselves
online and sold in 3 months. I really think agents are a waste
of time, though I do think you need self confidence when selling
privately particularly when doing the viewings and negotiating
on price. Its always best we find to work as a pair in those
situations, and it also helps if you are honest and upfront,
don't hide defects, are open and friendly but keep it
businesslike for the money side of things.
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