Selling without EA to someone you know?

[Wildwood6]

We’re about to put our house on the market, with Estate Agents coming to value today and tomorrow. Upon hearing this someone we know has expressed an interest in buying our house, so we’re thinking of saying to them ‘it’s been valued at X and X amount. Make us an offer that we’re happy with and we’ll sell to you direct’. Has anyone done this and did it all work out ok? Are there any pitfalls we should be aware of or things we should put in place? We have been very badly stung in the past when buying and selling so I’m already pretty cautious about the whole process!

Marking my place as in the same boat - selling to my brother!

I like having a third party to go through rather than dealing direct with the buyers (or sellers). It could get a bit fraught especially if it is a friend or relative. Have you already got a conveyancer in mind?

You need to remember that valuations aren't necessarily a good indication of selling price. The buyers may well look at sold prices on zoopla, etc and make a lower offer. Guess it will depend on the local market.

As a buyer in this situation I would want you to get 3 valuations in writing. I'd probably then take the middle valuation as a "for sale" price and then base an offer off that.

@ChicCroissant yes we have, the solicitor who handled our last sale and purchase was great so we'd definitely use her again.

I did this only last month! I had planned to put it on the market, had EA round to value, signed on the dotted line and arranged for photos to be done 3 weeks later (I was going on holiday!). That very day I got a text from a friend expressing and interest but they had to sell their house. Had 1 viewing through agent with another potential buyer on a Saturday, that afternoon got an offer from friend and we agreed on a price £10k below asking. (then got two offers from other buyers ending at £7k above asking but had already given my word to friend )

I have asked EA to oversee purchase as they are selling friends house and his buyers house plus selling the house I am moving into and I've negotiated a reduction in fees of 50% as they didn't have to do any work with mine. Just hoping that they will live up to their name and keep things moving......................

You need to be realistic about what you want for your house and how much it is worth to sell to someone who won't mess you around. Yes I could have got more for mine, but I know my friend won't mess me around. I would recommend exchanging as soon as possible so you are tied in

@VivaLeBeaver, yes we're very wary of high valuations- some listed prices around where we live are ridiculous and houses linger on the market for months or even years. We've seen something we like so we definitely want to price to sell. But a third valuation is a definitely a good shout given the situation. There are some pretty similar houses for sale nearby so we've got a rough idea of a value, although some are very clearly overpriced!

Thanks @Blobby10, that's reassuring! Yes, I agree, having a buyer who won't mess you around is definitely the thing to focus on, especially at the moment. Like you I'd rather do that than quibble over a few grand!

@Blobby10 although frankly the thing that appeals the most is not doing the mad dash hide the laundry bin and ironing pile and clean like a Stepford Wife every time there's a viewing due!

*@Wildwood6 * not needing to prep for viewings was also a huge relief to me too! The flip side is that I'm now noticing all the little issues with the house that, if I didn't know the buyer, I would have no qualms about not mentioning but am now wondering if I ought to spend a few hundred pounds sorting out...............however they have got the house at a bargain price so maybe I will just keep quiet. Its nothing major, just things that you may expect from a 20 year old house with its original kitchen (sticky drawer) and en suite (slightly cracked door edging at the very top).

My parents did this, sold to a neighbour, all handled by one solicitor (who happened to live 2 doors down) only works if there's no issues though

I was the (first time) buyer in this situation. Buying from a family member, no EA. It was a smooth process, but we had to have separate solicitors, I think so there were no conflicts of interest?

Pitfalls: it took a while after purchase to assert my 'ownership' on the place because previous owner popped round a lot. Also, we paid full market rate for the house, as it was valued, but I do think there will be some ill-feelings if and when we choose to sell and make a profit.... Because there's still an underlying feeling of so and so helped us onto the property ladder iyswim?

We decided to use an agent even though we knew our house would be desirable (good school catchment, sought after road) and that we would likely know some of the interested parties. It was a hard decision to make because it sometimes feels like handing over £5k for nothing, but it was great to have an intermediary for the negotiations and also someone keeping tabs on the chain. We’ve known other people sell on the street privately with success but also some issues too - we wanted to avoid this. Plus our address book could only have given us a subsection of all the interested people. We could have put a notice on the school what’s app/Facebook group which I suspect would have been successful (buyer is another parent from school). I actually don’t like knowing our buyer as it blurs the lines a bit, having an agent changes that and gives me the option to say ‘deal with the agent’ if I think they are being pushy

Yes, I know what you mean @Longqueue; I think having an agent would probably keep it all 'official'. If it does actually come to pass I think @Blobby10 's idea of trying to negotiate a discounted rate with an estate agent to oversee the sale is a really great idea.

I did this by accident 20 years ago. I was viewing a property that I liked and saw some correspondence on the counter and it turned out I knew the girl who was selling. We didn't want to get into a bidding war so we approached her and put a price to her that she was happy with. She took it off the market and didn't have pay auctioneers fees so we all won (apart from the auctioneer).