House Sale by Owner

Liluvsydney on 12/06/2017 - 13:16
Last edited 26/06/2017 - 10:46

I want to sell my home. I have interviewed some local agents but I am interested in selling it by owner.

After doing some research online in other forums like whirlpool I have found some buyers prefer to purchase agents listed properties. I would be able to save agents fees if I sell it myself. I have also read that agents can get negotiate a higher price which can mean more amount in my pocket after their fees. If people prefer dealing with agents then I would stand to lose money despite more efforts.

Most of the agents I saw were crooks however I have shortlisted two who I can trust.

IMO in Sydney region there is more demand than regional areas. As a result listing as owner using available sites like fsbo I can get people to view my home. As long as I know the market value based on previous sales in my area I should be able to make this sale.

I plan to get a solicitor to handle all the paperwork. I think solicitors/conveyancers are very important for peace of mind about legal work & settlement. Apart from this I will also get professional photos & floor plan in listing.

I would like to hear from others opinions to make decision about this.

Please feel free to leave comments. Thanks in advance

Update: I have gone ahead with an agent, they are charging 1.6% that includes marketing fees. No sale no fees. Thanks everyone for chipping in with their opinion.

Poll Options

  • 51
    Sell it myself
  • 92
    Use an trusted agent
Home & Garden

Comments

        • Foxtail on 20/06/2017 - 07:31

          Im yet to meet one that hasn't tied to knock the price down where I ma in Qld reason Ive not used one in 9 sales in 20 years and sold most first open at max price bar one.

  • TheBilly on 15/06/2017 - 15:56

    Seeming as you are going to sell your house anyway and put it out to the public. Why don't you list the address here for starts to see if there is any interest and also list what you think you want for it - it could sell.

    • iluvsydney on 15/06/2017 - 16:14

      Thanks for the offer mate. There is no point in selling without a contract of sale(it is illegal). I don't think such a significant transaction should be done on a forum.

      Also I won't give away my house for a bargain. When I do it I will do it properly(with or without agent).

    • iluvsydney on 16/06/2017 - 10:20

      Since you are so eager to know the address as a goodwill gesture I am providing address here https://tinyurl.com/yc62ypls.

  • Johhny 2 balls on 15/06/2017 - 16:36

    I believe that you can D.I.Y some things in life, but if you can get a good recommendation use an agent, the cost of stuffing it up yourself (not saying you would) could far outweigh agents fees. But on the other hand if you have experience in the area and know what you are doing go for it!
    I'm not a mechanic, I don't try to fix my car.
    Just remember people charge for experience, it might be simple but if you don't have experience the risk goes up.
    I hope you get a great result on your sale.

  • [Deactivated] on 15/06/2017 - 16:48
    -1

    Option 3 - "For sale by owner" vendors are tightass fruitloops, watch out for illegal wiring and poor quality DIY work throughout the house

    • snook on 15/06/2017 - 17:58
      +4

      yeah, like an agent protects you from that.

    • iluvsydney on 16/06/2017 - 10:14
      +1

      Agents are saints while all vendors are scamsters. I really like your way of thinking :)

  • snook on 15/06/2017 - 17:58
    +1

    All i have to do is pick a price I'm happy with, advertise, get contract drawn up by conveyancer, show property twice a week for an hour, accept offer, send them to my conveyancer, done.

    On a 500k property this is worth at least $15,000. I'm doing this for $15,000.
    The end.

    I have sold, I have bought, some agents have been nice - all have been dicks only interested in the cash they're getting out of the deal.

  • MichaelV on 15/06/2017 - 18:33
    +1

    +1 for Forsalebyowner.com.au - had a bunch of agents quote $1.1m expected result for a home to sell in Sydney, less their $20K commission and advertising, ended up selling for $1.15m and costs below $2k for FSBO and solicitor. As long as you can do photos and blurb yourself, and take the time for inspections, it's easy $$.

  • chillwok on 16/06/2017 - 08:58

    my folks bought their home back in 2000 via private sale which was on a flyer in a shop next to my old mans work place. currently i have listed it for private sale. in the add i bluntly put agents don't contact me and guess what… they still do. there are some that are very persistent and have called up to 3 times a day, weekly. it's funny they don't understand the blocked MSG coming from my phone. the reason why i want to sell it privately is because i can't hack the thought of the agent getting a cut of my parents hard work. if you're in a hurry to sell an agent may be the way to go. if you have time to spare as we do then i would give private sale a try. i've only listed our property on 2 websites, how ever when i'm a bit more committed to sell i may try forsalebyowner.com.au to get it listed on realestate.com

  • saxlady on 16/06/2017 - 11:40
    +1

    We bought our house from the owner. It was a pain. The negotiation over price was actually the easiest part. We knew what we could afford and what other houses in the area where worth, he knew what he'd accept. We did a walk through and left a written offer, and then negotiated the rest by phone when he'd had a chance to think about it. Only took a couple of calls. To do the deposit we opened a bank account in both names, where both signatures were required for any actions. I deposited the amount which sat there until settlement (and yes there was a dispute about who got the interest - I thought it should have just been split, he thought it should all go to him) at which point we signed off and he withdrew it all. The settlement date was changed several times (he didn't have all the paperwork necessary ready on time). We were planning on using a basic conveyancing company to do the work for us, but had to switch to a solicitor due to the complexities so it cost a bit more (but not that much).

    But we'd do it again. As far as I'm concerned if it's the right house at a price you're willing to pay then a bit of hassle (even a lot) pales in significance to the amount of years you're going to own it. As long as you can get the house exposed to the right demographic and it's a fair price, or has something great going for it then I'd say give it a go and try selling it yourself. I'm pretty sure you couldn't do a worse job than the guy we bought from!

  • Foxtail on 16/06/2017 - 12:30

    My advise when I've sold properties by myself, never have anything to do with a deposit leave it up to solicitor/conveyancer at contract time and save yourself a lot of possible trouble.

  • stingy-oz on 16/06/2017 - 13:21
    +1

    REA here.

    Hope it helps.

    I agree that many REA are crooks. They are sales people and they sell both ways, they gain commission from you as a vendor and gain business from buyer (they wanted to follow on sell their current home). Either way, salesperson in general are basically have impression that they are tricky and cunning.

    Don't get me wrong the right strategy will make your property sells better, right price right time. Many owner-vendor sells made first mistake by assuming their property worth higher/lower than it worth. Either you drive millions of time wasters or none at all. First of all, get some idea what your property is worth by

    1. Free appraisals by local agent - you can ignore their rhetoric
    2. Free property appraisal tools all over internet. Realestate.com.au etc.
    3. Check out sold prices on your immediate vicinity, especially those that were sold recently and similar number of bedrooms etc.

    I'm not sure which part of Sydney you're in. Some parts works better with Auction but others works better with just private sell. Check if those sold within your vicinity goes with auctions and sells well but also depends to your property types.
    DO NOT ATTEMPT to auction your home by yourself…..If you are not in a hurry, subscribe to domain/realestate.com.au weekly report - should gives you some clearance rate

    as some indicated above, many owner overpriced their property. I have seen it myself many times and one recently in a very good suburb with typical mistake of overpricing. In the end, he put it up in the market for 3 months with many time wasters - then re-listed with an agent. But those looking to buy knows the property was in the market for too long and had impression it's not a good property. It's still in the market today (5 months since day-1 he listed himself)

    Anyway, the key note here is; sell yourself but do your own research. Sell via Agent if you want to utilize their experience or local knowledge. BUT never do your own auction…..

    Hope it helps….

    • dealbreaker on 17/06/2017 - 14:20

      I am going to sell my property myself. Going to use propertynow because of the reviews they have. Going to get someone via air tasker to run the opens. Get a good Conveyancer who can help you. Mine gave me their trust account details for the deposit. Would be interested to hear any other good ideas?

      • stingy-oz on 18/06/2017 - 14:57

        I'd suggest a solicitor instead of a Conveyancer, especially this is owner-vendor.

        Not sure what's a air tasker (like airbnb????) anyway, make sure they know what they are to do or have experienced. If you have friends that have experiences as a sales rep in property sales - they'd be idea. sales rep normally asks the right questions and experienced in filtering time wasters.

  • Foxtail on 17/06/2017 - 15:02

    Property Now are $694 and FISBO who also get excellent reviews are $79.

    they used to have stacks of reviews looks like its not working only one can be seen:

    http://fisbo.com.au/#client

  • Chubbsmcfatflabs on 28/06/2017 - 09:50

    Have bought and sold privately. Agents are paid on commission. Logic tells you (and experience tells me) that it is in the AGENTS best interest to get the best price possible. The larger the price the larger the commission.

    In both instances when I have bought/sold without agents I have had valuations done, reviewed the publicly available data on sales etc in the area (https://www.corelogic.com.au/) and finally agreed the price after some negotiation. Corelogic is the same data that agents use.

    Its just another financial transaction and it should be treated as such.

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join