Selling Your Home Privately: The Pros And Cons

You don’t have to use an estate agent when selling your home. Around 5% of home sales are carried out privately. Selling your home without the help of an estate agent can have many benefits, but also a few potential drawbacks. To help you decide whether to sell your home privately, here are some of the important pros and cons to consider

Pros

You don’t have to pay commission fees

When you sell a home through an estate agent, you have to pay them a cut. On average, you can expect a realtor to charge between 0.5% to 3% of your home’s value. When you sell privately, you don’t have to pay this fee – all the money you make from selling your home goes straight into your pocket. This is one of the biggest advantages of going solo.

You get to know each buyer fully

When selling a beloved home, you might want to make sure that it goes to a buyer that will love and cherish it. By handling all interactions with buyers, you get to fully assess each person. This can give you the peace of mind that you are selling to the right person.

You have complete control

Selling privately also gives you complete control over viewings, negotiations and how you market your property. While some sellers don’t want this responsibility, others prefer to be in total control over how they present their home and what price they are willing to settle for. 

Cons

It’s more time-consuming

You need to be able to take time out of your week to advertise your property, communicate with potential buyers and conduct viewings. For those who have very busy lives, this can all be too much to take on. Hiring an estate agent could prevent you having to take time off work or spend your weekends conducting viewings. 

You may not have the marketing skills

When you hire an estate agent, you’re hiring a trained and experiencing professional to promote and sell your home. They know the best practices for staging and advertising a home, and they know what to say during viewings to wow buyers. They can also handle negotiations for you. If you don’t feel you can match these skills, you may be better off using an agent rather than selling privately.

You may attract less buyers

Some buyers are put off by private sellers and prefer to be guided through the buying process by an agent. As a result, you may lose out on attracting some buyers by selling privately. You may also not have the time or resources to advertise your home as extensively, leading to fewer buyers discovering your property. Going through an agent can increase the exposure that your home gets – your home will be displayed in their shop window and via various online platforms that you might not have access to. 

Should you sell your home privately?

Selling your home privately is a good idea if you want to maximise the earnings you make from the sale. It’s also a good idea if you want complete control over the process.

You may want to avoid selling privately if you don’t have the time or skills to advertise your home and carry out viewings. Sticking with an agent could lead to a faster and smoother sale.