This article from Lawpack's Sell your own Home Kit contrasts the merits of selling a property through an estate agent with those of selling privately.
There is some resentment at the amount of money estate agents can earn and people are not always satisfied with the service they offer. Even so, nine-out-of-ten people choose to use an estate agent to sell their property, and less than one-in-five people shop around to get the best deal. So what are the pros and cons of using an estate agent versus going down the do-it-yourself route?
Estate agent |
DIY private sale |
| Charges large fee. | Costs of selling lower. |
| Writes property details; takes prefessional photographs; measures up and produces particulars. | Seller prepares own particulars. |
| Arranges a For Sale board. | Buys and prepares own For Sale board. |
| Arranges and pays for the advertising (i.e. no sale fee); seller has little control over where it goes. | Arranges and pays for advertising; costs likely to be higher to achieve same presence as estate agent. |
| High street visibility. | No high street presence. |
| Vets potential buyers, but information not normally passed on to sellers. | Personal contact with buyers may lead to better opinion. |
| Maximises selling price by opening up property to pool of potential buyers already on its books. | No ready pool of buyers, so may have to work harder to achieve best selling price. |
| Can conduct viewings but may not have detailed knowledge of the property and its selling points. | Conducts own viewings; knows the selling points of the property better than anyone else (emotional attachment could be a disadvantage); has good local knowledge. |
| Feedback from viewers can be sporadic and inconsistent; can get frank opinion from viewers. | Can get feedback directly; viewers may be reticent to give frank opinion directly to seller. |
| Receives offers and negotiates with buyers. | Seller handles his own negotiating. |
| Deals with many buyers and sellers, so may not keep up with progress of sale once an offer is accepted. | Seller can keep on top of progress. |