Save fees and sell the house by yourself
DISSATISFIED house owners are cutting estate agents out of the loop by selling their own homes directly - saving thousands in the process.
With agents charging an average 1.5 per cent in fees the cost of selling a ?500,000 property through them is ?9,075 including VAT.
Now home owners are fighting back and keeping the extra cash themselves by marketing their homes directly in newspapers and on the internet. Following the success of property websites daft.ie and myhome.ie, a new website, sellityourself.ie, has been set up to facilitate the growing number of people who want to sell their homes without having to deal with auctioneers.
Director Neil Doherty said: "It's the way things are going, as people become more confident with the internet. Five years ago everyone used travel agents, now most people just book their flights and hotels themselves online. Now 70 per cent of Irish house buyers go to the internet to look for properties."
Selling a home directly without an agent may be a new concept in Ireland but it is a standard practice in America, where 20 per cent of homes are sold that way. While most homes in Britain are still sold through estate agents, the sellers usually show potential buyers around the property themselves, and it is this contact that some Irish sellers miss.
Community trainer Kate Ennals has just posted her ?585,000 nine-bedroom Co Cavan home on sellityourself.ie and is adamant that she knows her home's value and is perfectly able to achieve its price without the involvement of an auctioneer. For a flat fee of ?195 she can advertise pictures of her home on the website for 12 months, and she gets a 'for sale' sign and advice on placing newspaper advertisements.
The mother of two said: "This is my fourth time selling a house, but the first time I have sold one myself. I will save money, but that is not my main reason for doing it. I think it eases the stress of it all if you sit down with the buyer over a cup of tea and both air your concerns and issues.
"You know your own home and area the best and when you talk directly to someone you get a feel for whether they are serious about buying or just prevaricating.This is a very special house and I care about who buys it."
But it is just such emotional involvement that the Irish Auctioneers and Valuers Institute (IAVI) says its members are skilled at avoiding.
CEO Alan Cook said: "It is easy to underestimate the importance of an agent as an emotional buffer. A good agent keeps the parties apart until the contract is signed. I've seen serious deals fall apart over the value of a pair of curtains. Emotions run very high when houses are being bought and sold."
Solicitors increasingly now charge a fixed fee on house sales, but a similar charging structure has not been adopted by auctioneers, who charge between 0.5 per cent and three per cent of the price the house reaches.
Mr Cook said: "You wouldn't choose a heart surgeon based on price, and any agent that can't add more than his fee to the price of your house shouldn't be in the business. The solicitor gets paid whether the contract is signed or not, but the agent works on a no-foal-no-fee basis."
