Selling without an agent

12 replies

InMemoryOfSleep · 08/02/2018 20:16

We’ve had an offer on our house (not yet on the market) from a friend of a friend, who has suggested we can bypass estate agents. Is this a good idea? TBH aim struggling to think of what agents do other than market it, and if we instruct solicitors ourselves then can we cut them out of the process without any issue?

OP posts:

Mybabystolemysanity · 08/02/2018 20:20

I'd have loved it if this happened.

Are you confident you've been offered a fair market price for your property?

Quick chat with a conveyancing solicitor would probably highlight any potential issues.

I'm sick of marketing ours and we've only been on 10days.

Original poster

InMemoryOfSleep · 08/02/2018 20:29

We had it valued a few months ago, and there are a couple of others that have sold recently on our street, so we’re happy with the price. Will have a look at solicitors tomorrow.

OP posts:

Mybabystolemysanity · 08/02/2018 20:34

I think that's all you can do. Sorry I'm not more help. Best of luck if it all works out though- lots of money saved!

Original poster

InMemoryOfSleep · 08/02/2018 20:38

No not at all - I just wanted to check in case I was missing something glaringly obvious! Good luck with selling yours!

OP posts:

GU24Mum · 08/02/2018 22:02

The only real glaring thing is that you're saving the agent's fee! Any deal can go wrong so there's no more reason yours should - well done and hope it goes well!

Mosaic123 · 09/02/2018 01:29

You need to be sure that the buyer has enough money to pay for the house.

lilz7788 · 09/02/2018 10:06

If you're worried about them having the money to pay for the house, perhaps ask them to provide an Agreement in Principle from a lender so they have something in place if they haven't already done so?

peteneras · 09/02/2018 13:04

You can most certainly sell your house directly to a buyer without an agent. I did just that myself about four years ago. Met the buyers by chance and through general conversation discovered they were looking for a property. I suggested they come over to have a look at mine as I was selling (no agents involved). They came the same evening and immediately fell in love with the property. They were so excited they even waited a few more hours for my other half to come home from work. An agreement was made the same night. Next stop - the solicitors! Both theirs and mine now taking over until completion.

Good luck!

nicknamehelp · 09/02/2018 13:17

It can be done but Agents dont just market properties get a sale job done. They act as a go between for holding the deal together when things are going wrong. A good agent does more work from getting a sale agreed to completion than they do getting the property sold.

Southwest12 · 09/02/2018 14:44

I sold mine without an agent. It was completely straightforward, and was handy having each other’s mobile numbers as they kept me updated on what was going on with their buyer (they sold via an agent) at the same time as their solicitor was telling mine. Saved us about £5k as well.

Redhound · 09/02/2018 16:13

I also sold without an agent, the solicitors dealt with the issues that arose and the sale went through fine.

ladybirdsarelovely33 · 10/02/2018 20:17

Yes as PP said, get them to give you an AIP from their lender. You should also be ensuring that you get a really good lawyer. A lot of solicitors who do conveyancing are beyond useless.
How serious are your friend's friends? Have they been looking in your area for a long time? Find out if they need to sell something themselves. If so, I would go to an agent to find someone who may be in a better position to move forward.

Flip