Selling property without an estate agent - anyone done it?

[d000hg]

I own a flat in a converted period property in a west-country holiday town; currently rented but I'm strongly leaning to sell.
The other flats are all owned by the same person, who has expressed interest in mine. On the face of it, this would be a win-win as I could avoid agency fees and she already knows all the quirks of the property.

But I've never bought or sold without agency; on the face of it they appear to do SFA once a buyer is found but is that true? I would for instance want to make sure the would-be owner actually has the means to purchase and isn't just trying to delay it going on the open market or some other pessimistic scenario (I don't think so but you never know).

I had thought that for convenience I might offer a slightly preferential price since it will save me maybe £5k in fees, and since we know each other a bit, but a more avaricious friend was of the opinion I should be charging her a premium on the basis that they want to own the whole property and I hold the keys(!) to that. Not how I would normally think, wondered how others might play it.

[Lance]

£5k for an estate agent???? They saw you coming....

You don't need an estate agent if you can find the buyer. Estate agents can be useful to help building a chain, but you don't need to worry about that.
All they'd do for you is a) value it, and b) as you say check the buyers funds but there's nothing to stop you doing that.

If you're worried about someone taking the p*** then don't take it off the market till they've engaged a solicitor.

[d000hg]

£5k for an estate agent???? They saw you coming....

This is an area with few, old-school agents who haven't had to fight back against PurpleBricks et al. I haven't pushed on it yet but 1.5% is the going advertised rate, +VAT of course. In reality I would hope to get it down quite a bit.

How would you go about checking their funds? Require a mortgage in principle (I think they would be mortgaging) or literally ask to see their bank balance?

[WTFH]

No need for an EA, but get a good conveyancing solicitor on board.

But the question of price is a bigger one. Option 1: Get 3 local EAs round to value the property. Take the average of the 3, unless one is considerably lower than the others, in which case ignore that one. The hassle is you (or someone) needs to be there to show them around
Option 2: Look at what is currently selling/sold in the area. Try to compare like with like, so if yours is a bedsit flat and there's a 5 bedroom penthouse apartment in the same area, they aren't the same
Option 3: Zoopla, etc. They will give you a guesstimate and let you see sold prices as well
Option 4: Pick a number you would be happy with.

...then expect the other guy to possibly try to haggle you down.
and consider other things such as furniture, fixtures & fittings

[Lance]

This is an area with few, old-school agents who haven't had to fight back against PurpleBricks et al. I haven't pushed on it yet but 1.5% is the going advertised rate, +VAT of course. In reality I would hope to get it down quite a bit.

How would you go about checking their funds? Require a mortgage in principle (I think they would be mortgaging) or literally ask to see their bank balance?

ask for MIP and bank balance to show the deposit. Same as an estate agent would ask for.

[tazdevil]

Busy selling a flat we have in Leeds and the agency fee is 0.6% or £1.5K if higher. Good value as they've done a really good set of photographs, brochure and so forth and have already booked in multiple viewings which they'll be conducting The agencies also get the property on the various web sites where most sales come from.

[d000hg]

Busy selling a flat we have in Leeds and the agency fee is 0.6% or £1.5K if higher. Good value as they've done a really good set of photographs, brochure and so forth and have already booked in multiple viewings which they'll be conducting The agencies also get the property on the various web sites where most sales come from.

Cool story bro. But I'd rather not spend even .6% if I already have a buyer lined up.

[eek]

Busy selling a flat we have in Leeds and the agency fee is 0.6% or £1.5K if higher. Good value as they've done a really good set of photographs, brochure and so forth and have already booked in multiple viewings which they'll be conducting The agencies also get the property on the various web sites where most sales come from.

Minimum £1.5k for a day or so’s work. Not bad if you can get it

[ladymuck]

I think what Taz is reinforcing is that d000gh doesn't need an EA. You could always ask your solicitor to do the checks to make sure they have the funds. If they're getting a mortgage then you'll want the MIP at the least. Deposit could be tricky if the MIP is based on leverage of other equity (not sure how that works having never owned more than one gaff).

I think your friend is onto something, however. This person has a lot to gain by getting control of the whole building so I would not be offering them a discount at all. Market rate for sure, as a minimum, which means getting some valuations and doing the research eek mentioned. Also consider whether you'd sell it furnished or not. The former saves you the hassle of clearing it out.

[TheDude]

It's easy - all you need is a shiny suit and a 3 series BMW.