Bricks and mortar estate agent fees are arguably high. The national average is 1.8% + VAT; so on a property worth £250,000 that works out at £5,400 inclusive of VAT.  But with RightMove and Zoopla now doing most of the work in terms of finding a buyer more and more people are going it alone and selling their own homes. 

But do you actually save money by cutting out the middleman estate agent? Or is the draw of saving money in the short-term costly in the long-term? 

Here we run through the pros and cons of selling your own home. 

Pros of selling your own home

• No Selling Fees — 
  
  • No estate agent = no selling fees. The trick, however, is securing a sale for your home. If you don’t then, you’re no better off and stuck dreaming about your next move rather than making it. 
    

Cons of selling your own home

• On Your Own —  Selling your house DIY means exactly that. From taking professional photos, organising EPC certificates and arranging viewings, to negotiating a price and completing the sale, the responsibility rests solely on your shoulders. For those that understand the process and are seasoned pros in selling homes (we’re thinking investors rather than first-timers), then it’s no issue (albeit time-consuming). For everyone else, it can feel very daunting.

•  No Experience — The property game is historically slow and that’s when you’re working with ‘experts’. To put it into context, it takes on average 10 viewings to achieve an acceptable offer and over 50% of homes fail to sell within 10 months. ‘Selling’ your home (in terms of agreeing a price) is just one part of the jigsaw. The value in estate agents goes beyond the actual deal. It’s in securing the best price, assessing buyers and their intentions, and effectively managing the process to the end.

• Price — Some people can sell and some people can’t. It’s a skill — and if you don’t have it, then securing a price that you’re happy with for your home is going to be nigh on impossible. Removing the estate agent fees and saving yourself £2,000 might sound good, unless you miss out on an extra £15,000 on the price of your home through a lack of negotiating experience.

•  No Contacts — You can’t sell your home without a buyer. And if you’ve never done this before then it’s unlikely that you have a database of contacts to call upon. So where do you start? On the ground, you need a for sale board to drum up interest from passers-by at the very least.  Getting listed on major property portals (like RightMove) is also advised — but that costs money as you need to go through an online agent (but they aren’t the golden ticket solution either, just read below).

So what about online agents? 

Clever marketing makes these new(ish) kids on the block stand out from the crowd: fixed fees, access to the major property portals, and help if needed, what’s not to like? 

Well, as always, the devil is in the detail: 

• The upfront fee model has no benefit for you, the seller. Essentially, once you’ve signed up then their job is done. There’s no incentive for them to proactively find you a buyer or get you a better price; in reality, it doesn’t actually matter to them whether you sell your home or not, so you could be hundreds of pounds out of pocket and in no better position. 
  

• Watch out for extras — Anything beyond listing your home on the main property portals is considered an extra that you’ll have to pay for. That includes photos, arranging viewings, and negotiating offers. So you’re still completely on your own. Only you’ve paid a couple of hundred pounds in up-front fees for the privilege. 
  

• The reality is that properties often never sell. According to a study by GetAgent, 50% of online agent listings still haven’t sold after 14 months. So, your life stays on hold and the big move you’ve been dreaming of stays just that — a dream. 
  

Are there any other options? 

• No fee estate agents — Not all things are too good to be true. We are proud to be Hull’s only genuine no fee estate agent. Instead of charging selling fees, we charge the buyer a non-refundable reservation fee to secure the property and prevent it from falling through. We manage the selling process for you from start to finish and work hard to make sure that you get the price you want from a committed, motivated buyer. Call our team on 01482 762166 for more information. 
  

• Property cash buying companies — A great option if speed is top of your list and you’re prepared to be a little flexible on price. There are no estate agents involved so no selling fees, plus it’s a guaranteed sale. Just make sure you do your due diligence and choose a local company with good reviews. 
  

• Auction —There are no selling fees but it is a gamble on the night in terms of what price you’ll achieve for your home. Beware though: buyers have to pay a high fee to purchase a property at auction and they will factor this into the price that they offer for your home.