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Ever sold a property privately?

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    Ever sold a property privately?

    I have a flat that I've decided to sell. It's a one bedroom flat in Edinburgh and it'll sell itself - it is what it is.

    Have you ever sold a property without using an estate agent?

    I know I'd need a solicitor for a few bits, but I'm trying to work out whether it's too much hassle to whack it on gumtree and do it myself, rather than pay an estate agent £3.5k for, largely, the same thing.

    #2
    Originally posted by JRCT View Post
    I have a flat that I've decided to sell. It's a one bedroom flat in Edinburgh and it'll sell itself - it is what it is.

    Have you ever sold a property without using an estate agent?

    I know I'd need a solicitor for a few bits, but I'm trying to work out whether it's too much hassle to whack it on gumtree and do it myself, rather than pay an estate agent £3.5k for, largely, the same thing.
    I sold my last house privately, the council went ballistic!
    I'm not even an atheist so much as I am an antitheist; I not only maintain that all religions are versions of the same untruth, but I hold that the influence of churches, and the effect of religious belief, is positively harmful. [Christopher Hitchens]

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      #3
      I bought something in a private shop once.

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        #4
        Done it last year, used a Solicitor to handle all the legal stuff and paid a mortgage advisor to sort the awkwards bits

        We were a bit lucky, we kept getting people knocking on doors in the street asking if anyone wanted to sell

        We set a price we wanted to sell at the high end of the market for comparable properties where we lived, and knocked back any offers until we got it

        The only grief we had was getting a mortgage, that took ages
        Socialism is inseparably interwoven with totalitarianism and the abject worship of the state.

        No Socialist Government conducting the entire life and industry of the country could afford to allow free, sharp, or violently-worded expressions of public discontent.

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          #5
          Bought privately (from my parents)
          Sold the same house privately (my share to my ex after splitting up)
          Bought new development directly from developers no estate agent involved.

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            #6
            Not here, but I have done in New Zealand.

            It mostly went well, but the biggest pain in the ass was people putting in ridiculously low offers on the basis that "You're not having to pay agents fees after all"

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              #7
              Originally posted by JRCT View Post
              I have a flat that I've decided to sell. It's a one bedroom flat in Edinburgh and it'll sell itself - it is what it is.

              Have you ever sold a property without using an estate agent?

              I know I'd need a solicitor for a few bits, but I'm trying to work out whether it's too much hassle to whack it on gumtree and do it myself, rather than pay an estate agent £3.5k for, largely, the same thing.
              Yes. Nothing really complicated about it. As it's in Scotland, just inform potential buyers to make an offer through your solicitor. No need for anyone else to be involved. The only thing that is a slight pain, is having smelly 'lookers' turning up at your door if you have a for sale sign in the garden, but you get that when you have an agent involved too.
              When freedom comes along, don't PISH in the water supply.....

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                #8
                Originally posted by JRCT View Post
                I have a flat that I've decided to sell. It's a one bedroom flat in Edinburgh and it'll sell itself - it is what it is.

                Have you ever sold a property without using an estate agent?

                I know I'd need a solicitor for a few bits, but I'm trying to work out whether it's too much hassle to whack it on gumtree and do it myself, rather than pay an estate agent £3.5k for, largely, the same thing.
                If you already have a committed buyer it's a doddle, nothing different to using an estate agent, with the exception that you don't need to pay anyone a whacking great fee on completion!

                If you need to arrange viewings, I'd strongly advise you to avoid "open days", as these have several disadvantages over privatre viewings (although I have no time to list these now).
                Work in the public sector? Read the IR35 FAQ here

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                  #9
                  One thing a good estate agent does these days is vet prospective buyers, check they have a mortgage sorted or that they truly are a cash buyer by asking to see their finances.

                  Otherwise you end up with a million nosey dreamers on your doorstep.

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                    #10
                    The other thing an estate agent does is handle difficult/emotional negotiations, show the property to people you don't want to talk to, get a feeling for when the buyers are stalling, etc.

                    Having moved house 5 times, there's no way I would sell without an agent.
                    'Orwell's 1984 was supposed to be a warning, not an instruction manual'. -
                    Nick Pickles, director of Big Brother Watch.

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