Property for Sale in the UK

Are you looking for property for sale in the UK? Or perhaps you are looking to sell your own property?

Either way, you can do it the traditional way, or perhaps you might like to consider a new unconventional approach and save money in the process?

The Internet has become a big part of everyone's lives nowadays, and this medium has opened up all sorts of possibilities; one of the most important of these is the opportunity to sell your own property and save on the fees (usually many thousands of pounds!) usually charged by estate agents...

Why Sell Your Home Privately?

When you first choose to sell your home privately (without the help of an estate agent), it's most likely primarily because you have decided that you want to save some money. However, it's not only about saving money; selling your own home actually puts you in control too. If you've ever used an estate agent to sell a property in the UK you will know that feeling of "not knowing what is going on" and having to phone them everyday to find out what is happening! If you take on the process yourself, and it's not that difficult, you will always know exactly what is happening AND you will save money.

Some people think that they can’t compete with the expertise of an estate agent, but all estate agents in the UK actually do when selling for you is to advertise your property for you and then act as a “go between” when negotiating the price. So, what are you actually spending your money on here? Someone to place adverts that cost very little and then to talk on your behalf. Think about it!

Where to Advertise?

Where do estate agents advertise? Well once upon a time they would advertise your property for sale in the UK in newspapers and magazines, but that is quite expensive nowadays when they are advertising lots of properties, and anyway they nearly all belong to some form of network which has an online marketing system where they place your advert on the Internet (at very little cost to them) so this is now their MAIN advertising method for selling property throughout the UK; they still do advertise in local papers occasionally, but trust me, not as much as they used to. So, do they charge less for their services than they used to in light of the fact that they have a smaller advertising budget? No, don’t be silly! Indeed, although commission % rates may have stayed the same, whilst the property prices were increasing and property was selling easier they were actually getting MORE for doing less!

How Do I Do It?

Selling a property yourself is not that difficult nowadays, you just need to use the same process as the estate agents do. Anyone with a computer can easily set up a “property description”, which you could send to anyone who responded to adverts which you could put in the local paper, but more importantly than this, why not take advantage of the Internet to list your property on there?

There are websites on the Internet where someone selling their own property in the UK can advertise it at very little cost and get an incredible coverage. For example, take a look at the HomeDirectUK website (http://www.homedirectuk.co.uk) you can advertise your property on there for a very small registration fee; you can register for one month, two months or three months (if you register for 3 months, for just £25 you get the rest of the YEAR for nothing; that’s up to 9 months free advertising!) and that's ALL you pay! No commission, etc., BUT, here’s the exciting bit… at the moment they have a SPECIAL OFFER; they are currently registering properties completely free of charge! This is a limited time special offer and I don’t know when it will end, so if you want to sell your property why not visit them today. You can enter a description of each room and feature of your property and upload photographs too.

Check them out here: HomeDirectUK

Research shows that selling a property privately can save as much as £5,000 on an average price property. However, you may not feel that you would be able to get the same amount of coverage that an estate agent can get, and you may decide therefore to go with one anyway; this is not such a bad idea. But I should point out that this still doesn’t stop you trying to sell your own property as well!

As long as you don’t agree to “Sole Selling Rights” when you sign up with an agent, you can still sell your property yourself, and as long as you don’t sell it to someone introduced by them you won’t owe them a penny! Don’t confuse “Sole Selling Rights” with “Sole Agency”; when you grant a “Sole Agency” to an estate agent you are giving them the rights as the only AGENT (i.e., person acting on your behalf, to find a buyer for your property in return for a fee), but you still have the right to sell your home yourself without having to pay them anything. Don’t EVER agree to “Sole Selling Rights”, because if you did and then found someone through your own advertising methods; even if it was just a neighbour or friend who decided to buy your property off you, you would still have to pay the commission, even though the estate agent had done nothing! So beware of “Sole Selling Rights”!

There are some good reasons to list your property with an agent, whilst also trying to sell the property yourself. An estate agent charges a lot because they work full-time trying to find buyers for properties; a good estate agent will be proactively marketing your property and may find a buyer more quickly that you can alone. They are also usually a part of a larger network which can reach more potential buyers using the more traditional methods of advertising. However, if you enlist the help of an estate agent I suggest that you contact them on a regular basis, perhaps weekly, to ask what efforts they have been making to sell your property and also what success they have had with enquiries. And, if you use them in ADDITION to your own efforts, then you have the best of both worlds!

Of course, when you find a buyer through your own efforts the buyer will probably realise that you are selling your home privately and will therefore probably offer a lower price, because they know you’re already saving money from not hiring an agent. So bear this in mind when you consider the asking price and what you are prepared to accept from a buyer through either of these two avenues. Well I wish you good luck with selling your property...

By the way, if you are looking for a property to buy, you could check out the listings at HomeDirectUK you might find your dream home there! Note that HomeDirectUK do not advertise for estate agents, so this means that all properties found on there are being sold by their owners, and because of this you may find you can more easily negotiate a better price, as I mentioned above. So, if you are interested in property for sale in the UK, or want to sell your own, look for a website like HomeDirectUK and get going!


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