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Can You Sell Your Home without an Estate Agent?

  • August 27, 2015
  • By Grace
  • 0 Comments
Can You Sell Your Home without an Estate Agent?

Online shopping has taken the UK by full force and it shows no signs of slowing down as both young people grow up with the technology and older generations become more accustomed to it. This isn’t just limited to clothes and other typical high street goods either. Over the last few years we’ve also seen a dramatic increase in the number of people shopping for homes online rather than at traditional real estate agents. By cutting out the middleman and selling your home yourself you stand to make significant savings, but is it worth the risk?

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How Does It Work?

Selling your own home has become increasingly popular as it allows you to completely cut out the commission fees that you’d usually pay. However, it also means that you’ll be limited to where you can advertise it. Popular listing website Zoopla, for instance, will only accept listings from licensed agencies, which makes drawing attention to your property a problem. While some sellers have turned to sites like eBay and Gumtree, these still include large seller fees. Some sellers have become more creative and adopted social media platforms, like Facebook, instead as these are completely free. By joining local fan groups, you can advertise the availability of the property while an attached YouTube video lets people get an idea what the home is like.  Sites like Quick Move Now can be easy if you use these steps to get you started.

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What are My Other Options?

However, going completely alone isn’t for everybody and, in many cases, the savings you can expect to make time will be offset by the time you’ll spend advertising the property yourself. This is why online estate agencies that have become the go-to choice, as they provide the best aspects of both solutions. While commission fees from traditional estate agents can range from as low as 0.75% to as high as 3.5% plus VAT, the new breed of online agencies can offer prices closer to the 0.5% mark. House Network, the UK’s largest established online agency, offers plans starting from just £599 including VAT. This includes 12 months of marketing as well as professionally taken photos, property valuation, and any assistance you might need either online or over the phone.

While it might be popular to discredit estate agents, the truth is that the right one can actually go a long way when it comes to selling your home. Not only can they have a comprehensive knowledge of the local area and the current state of the market, but the very best also know the fine art of negotiation and it’s this that could be the difference between a property selling for its full asking price or not. Fortunately, none of these options are mutually exclusive. Take a look at all of the options available and see which works best for you.

By Grace, August 27, 2015
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