Dec 28, 2012

Why You Shouldn't Sell Your House without an Estate Agent

With the global economic crisis, it has become second nature to a lot of us to try and save a few pennies wherever we can. The housing market is no exception.  
Using An Estate Agent 
One such way that has seen a huge increase in popularity is to sell your property privately, cutting out the middleman and in turn their commission charges, but does selling to someone directly cost you in other ways? We show you why you shouldn't self sell and should opt for an estate agent for whichever area you are looking to sell in or move to.  

Marketing 
All marketing and advertising costs fall onto your shoulders. This can be an expensive deal and whilst you can advertise online, you can't be sure that you are targeting the right buyers or the people that might usually use an estate agent Islington. 

You need to go with your own gut instincts. Without having the knowledgeable assistance of your estate agent Islington, you are left to meet with potential buyers alone and make a sound decision on whether they are serious about investing and if they are going to offer a smooth business transaction. 

By enlisting the services of an estate agent you will get a realistic market valuation for your home, by self selling you may find that you price your property too high to attract buyers or too low and lose out on some valuable equity. 

You will be responsible for showing potential buyers around your home so will need to make yourself available at inconvenient times. An agent takes this part of the job out of the equation ensuring that it doesn't encroach on your personal time more than necessary.  

Negotiations 
Negotiations can be tough, even more so when you have an emotional connection to what you are selling. A home is more than a house and it can be very difficult to look at a property objectively when you have put your heart and soul into developing and decorating a house. This tie can put you at a disadvantage when it comes to discussing a deal that an agent would be able to negotiate effectively. 

You may be self selling to save paying a commission to an agent, but buyers will use this as a negotiating tool and often expect to pay a lower price because of the money you are saving. You need to be prepared to hardball.

Whilst selling a house on paper sounds as if it would be a fairly straightforward transaction, it can run much deeper. You would need to have confidence in the legalities surrounding a house sale and have a clear understanding on the financial setup. You could seek professional help for this aspect of the deal but by hiring an agent, all this stress and hard work would be handled on your behalf. Moving home is one of the most stressful things we do in life and keeping it as simple as we can is only going to be a good thing!  

AUTHOR BIO S. James is a part of estate agent islington community and writes regularly for a number of property websites and publications. With a background in property development, James likes to draw on her personal experience to help other buyers and sellers.
Search Term :

No comments:

  © Blogger template 'A Click Apart' by Ourblogtemplates.com 2008

Back to TOP