Is it Worth Selling Your Home on Your Own?
If you have decided to pull up stakes and move into a new home, you need to make an informed decision about whether or not to bring in an estate agent to do the work for you or are you capable of handling it on your own.
In general, an estate agent will cost you about 5-6% in commission brokerage fees based on the selling price of your home. While that amount seems like it is worth your time and energy to hang on to, the reality is you are more likely to only save 1-2% of that fee. There are several reasons why and situations will vary for individuals. If you already have an interested and qualified buyer however, these factors may not be relevant for you.
1. Some of the money you will be “saving” will actually need to be spent on advertising. You will need to pay for postings in the local newspaper, on the internet (on a property website like Fish4), or in other property related magazines. The longer it takes to garner interest and sell your house, the more money you will need to put out for marketing expenses.
2. Home buyers who are shopping without an agent themselves may expect to benefit from the saving not using a professional will bring. Educated buyers are aware of the money you will gain by doing it alone and may not be shy about wanting to split the savings.
3. A prospective buyer may choose to use a real estate agent to negotiate the price of the home. If the agent does in fact bring a qualified and interested buyer to the table, you may be responsible for paying the commission fees to the agent who presented a buyer, an expense that may end up costing you have of your expected savings.
5. You will need to invest a lot of time and energy involved in the do-it-yourself approach. You must be available to show the house at the convenience of potential buyers which may mean lost time at work or disruption of your household at odd hours. You must be available by phone to answer questions and to schedule appointments. If you plan on holding an open house, you may need to employ the services of a professional decorator to make the house as appealing as possible for potential buyers if you do not have them time. Additionally, your home must be presentable at all hours of the day, which is not always easy for busy people with a young family.
You must also consider the time it takes to fully understand contract terms and the ins and out of selling your property, including the legal aspect. Plus, negotiation skills are a very important factor in the ability to save money when selling on your own. If you cannot get an interested party to pay a large enough amount of money to sell, you may actually lose more money than you would have ended up saving.
If you’re looking to move house, then you’ll need to get the best mortgage deal available. Take a look at the mortgage rates available with Alliance and Leicester, which are currently some of the best available on the UK market. There is also the all-important question of home insurance, a factor that should be addressed both neatly and efficiently after property purchase. Legal and General are one of many financial providers offering this type of insurance to buy and to browse online so you can, again, make comparison and seek out the best deal.
