A complete guide to selling your property without an estate agent.

Selling your house without going through an estate agent was impossible in the past. If you wanted to sell your house, you would first contact an estate agent, who would come in to determine the house’s asking price, get all the necessary legal documents needed, and carry out all the processes involved. This is no longer the case: a real estate agent or agency is no longer the best way to sell your property. Estate agents normally charge a percentage of the final sale of your home; this percentage is usually about 3% to 5% and this is ultimately a huge sum of money. If your house sells for £200,000, you will end up paying between £6000 to £10000 to the estate agent.

Your house sale can fall through for just about any reason, and there are no guarantees that your property will be sold. Many sellers have experiences where their flats and buildings spend months in the estate agent’s listings without it getting sold. Even when people indicate interest in your building, they can change their mind at anytime, or realize that they do not fancy your building, as an offer of interest to a real estate company is not binding. The buyers may not be able to get a mortgage loan approved, especially with the current mortgage laws. Selling your property or apartment through an estate agent takes time: if you are lucky, you can get an interested party or offer within 3 to 6 months, with several viewings in between. During this period, you have to keep your house spotless and in shipshape condition so as not to discourage potential buyers who come to view the property. Don’t forget the costs that you will have to bear during the period of time in which your house is on the market, such as mortgage payments, tax, maintenance, and utility bills, as well as lawyer’s costs.

So how can you sell your house without the aid of an estate agent?

You can decide to put your property up in online listings and auction websites, if you have the time and energy for the hassle that is. You will have to engage the services of a surveyor or valuer to carry out a valuation on your property so that you will have an idea of the going market price in the property market. You then have to make sure the house or building you want to sell is in top shape before photographing it. You might need to do a bit of research to find out if you need any documentation and how you can go about getting it before you can sell your house. There are several websites that offer this service, and this way you can totally cancel out the agent’s commission, although you might still need to pay some money, as some of these websites offer premium services for a fee.

Using property listing websites is a good idea if you are not in a hurry. Just like with real estate agencies, it can take anywhere from 6 months to a year before you sell off your house, and you also open up yourself to a plethora of strangers from all nooks and crannies who will come to view your apartment.

In the last couple of decades, the housing industry has seen the emergence of several selling alternatives, alternatives that are inherently better than the traditional real estate process, and this gives sellers different options to choose from. If you are looking for a way to secure a quick sale for your property, completely eliminating the role of the estate agents or middlemen, then you should consider the benefits of selling your house to cash buyers.

“Nearly 4 out of 10 homes were sold for cash, without the need for a mortgage in the first quarter of 2017,” says the Nationwide, the largest building society in the world, and the UK’s second biggest mortgage lender.

Cash buyers will buy up your house, flat, or apartment, and pay you cash outright. This process completely removes the estate agency or middlemen, saving you good money on an agent’s commission and expensive procedures.

You need to know what to look for when considering a cash buyer option and the few pointers below are a good place to start.

• Do your research: as with any business transaction, it is important you do your research before accepting an offer from a cash buyer. There are many cash buyer companies out there; it is also advisable to work with a buyer that has local connections, since they know the area and have firsthand knowledge of the neighborhood and regional home legislation.
• Check genuineness: Check and confirm that the cash buyer you have in mind has a good reputation; you can evaluate the company’s services by browsing the opinions of other people who have used them. You can get this on online review websites like feefo, yelp, and review UK. A reputable cash buyer will also have affiliations to regulatory associations like National Association of Property Buyers, Property Ombudsman, National Association of Estate Agents, and the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors. Members of these bodies follow a strict code of fairness and transparency when doing business.
• Be Open: One good thing about cash buyers is that, as a rule, they are not worried about the state of the house or building you want to sell. Be that as it may, it is wise to be as open as possible when talking about your property. Cash buyers are not turned off by signs of aging or disrepair, which would dissuade other prospective buyer. Property cash buyers see potential in every property, and are willing to make an offer and take it off the market just as it is.
• Make the call: Realistically, no one will know you want to sell your house unless you tell them. The first step in selling your house for cash without using estate agents is simple. Make the call. Cash buyers have made the process very easy: you can simply complete an online application on their website with details if your apartment or bungalow building. You can also send an email or make a phone call and they will respond with an offer, typically within 24 hours.

Apart from saving on agent’s commission, selling your house to a cash buyer has many benefits.

• It is free: I mean free as in no money will leave your hand to theirs. If you have dealt with estate agents before, you will know how expensive they can be. There are solicitor fees to be paid and expensive paperwork to be done. When you sell your home to property cash buyers, all of these are completely sidestepped. And even if there is any expense to be incurred, such as a valuation of the property to be sold, or solicitor’s fees or paperwork, the cash buyer will bear them, sparing you the burden of spending a penny.
• It is quick: If speed is of the essence when selling your home, then a cash buyer is your choice. Cash buyers are known to close a purchase within 14 days, unlike estate agents or property listings that will have your house on the market for months. Whatever your reason for putting your real estate on the market, selling your house for cash allows you to finish the process in little or no time and have your money in your hands (or bank account).
• Your sale won’t fall through: you no longer have to fight the frustration of having different potential buyers indicate interest in your house, only to get disappointed when they don’t buy, maybe they couldn’t meet the mortgage loan requirements or they just changed their mind for whatever reason. You don’t face this with cash buyers: be assured that they have the complete amount before making an offer for your property.
• Condition doesn’t matter: As I said earlier, you don’t even have to bother with the state of the property. Cash buyers are known for snapping up abandoned, dilapidated, and even derelict buildings. Even if your building has a problem, such as sitting tenants or short or troublesome leases, cash buyers are willing to offer you cash to take this problem off your hands.

Whether you are behind on your mortgage and your house is at the risk of being repossessed, or you want to move to a better location, property cash buyers offer a great alternative to selling your home and property for cash, by yourself, without the need of estate agents. You can complete your sale quickly and easily, with total privacy, and no fear of your property staying too long in the property market, or the sale falling through. And best of all, if you feel uncomfortable, you can walk away from the process at anytime, no matter how far into it you have gone.