Has anyone sold their own house rather than use estate agents?

[DANCESwithHughJackman]

I can't bear the thought of giving them all that money! I live in an area where sometimes houses sell before they even go on the market. I'm pretty sure it would sell quite quickly. So, where do I start?! Any advice gratefully received

We did it 20 years ago for the first time, and again 5 years ago.
We had the house valued by a couple of estate agents then, on the first occasion, put an ad in the local paper. The last time we did it was a slightly different situation as we already knew of a family who wanted to live in our particular house (it backed onto a field they owned).
It is possible to sell without an estate agent but just be careful if you have instructed one on this house at any time - they may claim breach of contract if you market the house yourself.

we sold our flat last year.
got 3 valuations from estate agents, set an asking price based on this, did a little email flyer thing and talked to lots of people we knew. sold within a week at full asking price. we sometimes wonder if we might have got a little more had we used an agent and got some competition going, but we had a pretty good idea of the kind of person who would want the place, and how to reach them.

As a buyer, I have looked at three places in the past year that were for sale by the owner. My tips would be thus:

1. Realistic pricing. One couple were obviously so enamoured with the renovation that they did on their house that they priced it I would say 100% higher than was realistic. I didn't care that they'd hand-selected each and every flagstone in the courtyard, I cared that it was next door to a methadone clinic ! I noticed the other week that the place is now back on the market, this time through an agent, and with a far more realistic price.

2. Pay for professional photos. The second place I looked at had the strangest photos. They were all of furniture, and none of the actual rooms. If you live in the place, you see the room as "my study". What's the salient element of your study? Your desk. So you take a photo of it. As a buyer, I want to see the rooms pretty much blank.

3. Don't panic and rush to closure. The third place I actually was ready to make a full asking price offer, but the silly woman had instantly accepted the first offer someone made her (below asking price), and exchanged contracts/deposit. I think an experienced agent might have advised her to wait for a week to see if any other buyers came out of the woodwork.

ABout ten years ago we owned a flat in a small village. We were inbetween tenants so decided to go over and do a few jobs tidying up. As we came outside a man approached us for a chat as I had previously taught his son. He said his niece was looking to buy and had seen a flat in the same building but couldn't contact the vendor to look around. Hb said would they like to look around ours instead and she fell in love with the place and said I don't expect you;d like to sell. We asked around for a guide to prices and sold it to her with no agent. This was in a falling market and so we were pleased to get a sale and for what we;d originally paid for the property. Ours was just a lucky chance encounter but I guess doing a leaflet drop might be worth a try. My parents wanted a house in a specific area and almost did this to see if anybody was thinking of putting their house on the market.
Good luck

Thanks everyone! Hadn't thought about professional photos. I might have a go at taking some myself but I think you might be right! I wonder where I would find someone to do that? Have any of you tried somewhere like this? They seem like quite a good idea too. What actually do estate agents do apart from advertising the propery? Would I need to pay a solicitor/conveyancer (is that even a word?!) extra fees for stuff the estate agent would have done?