Selling Property Privately

[taichiperson]

I've posted before about inheriting my mother's house, and at last we are close to clearing the house out to sell.

I asked neighbours to ask around if anyone was interested in buying, and a couple turned up yesterday - the woman's father lives two door down, and she and her partner work within walking distance. I was about to put the house on the market for £150k, though realistically expecting £140k - £145k at the most. It's a bungalow with an upstairs bedroom, and a lot of space to extend into the eaves. If I had been planning to rent out the house, I would have had to at least strip out and redecorate the upstairs room, redo the bathroom and tame the jungle of a garden outside, but as I'm selling, that would be better done by whoever bought it.

The couple are offering £120k - in my opinion that is far too low, but I'd be willing to come down to £130k - but I do need to crunch some numbers before I tell them that. They would (they say) be able to get a decision from their bank by the end of the week, so I would be spared current expenses like utilities and council tax straight away.

I need an idea of the costs involved in selling the house as is - they are even willing to clear the contents themselves, which would only save around £500 at most. She is a keen gardener, so we would not have to do anything in that respect either. We won't have to use an estate agent but how much might they charge so we can balance out the pros and cons? How about solicitor's costs? My son has recently qualified to issue an energy certificate so that is taken care of. Any other things I might expect?

I'm about to step out of the house so won't be able to reply for a while, but all answers gratefully received, thanks.

[AuntLydia]

Hi.

An Estate agency fees could be anything from £900 -£2500 . These fees are for finding a buyer negotiating a price, accepting offers and that's normally where they stop. Wasted money if you have a keen buyer yourself.

Conveyancing, where you instruct a Solicitor or conveyancing clerk will cost between £600 -£900 again depending where you live. You can do the conveyancing yourself but frankly for peace of mind it's worth the fees.

As for accepting a private offer -well only you can decide if you are happy with the private offer. If they have come in with £120K I would think they will have factored in at least a 10% wiggle room so my advice would be haggle a bit then get Solicitors Instructed asap when you've come to a mutual decision.

[Buenchico]

Quote:
"The average estate agency fee for selling your home in 2017 was 1.2% of the final sale price, according to a survey by Property Academy.

However, this figure can vary from less than 1% to as much as 3.5%, depending on a number of factors - including how many estate agents are selling your property."

Source:
https://www.which.co.uk/money/mortgages-and-property/home-movers/selling-a-house/estate-agent-fees-and-contracts-an2n90t09n2g

1.2% of £130,000 = £1560

Remember that, even when selling privately, you must obtain an EPC for the property:
https://www.gov.uk/buy-sell-your-home/energy-performance-certificates

[DarceyK123]

The OPs son is qualified to do the energy Cert.

[Buenchico]

^^^ I must learn to read posts more carefully!

Thanks, DK ;-)

[DarceyK123]

Sorry, that came across more abrupt than I meant xxx

[naomi24]

The first question that entered my head is have you had the house valued by an estate agent? That doesn't sound like much money at all to me. Are you sure you're selling it for what it's worth?

[taichiperson]

Hi Naomi. I did get an EA agent in, although I'd asked for a valuation, she seemed surprised when I asked her how much! Of course it all depends on the market, and where we live, £150k is pretty reasonable. The only down points are the upstairs, which my parents did nothing to in all the 25 years they lived there, and the garden, which went to wilderness as Mum didn't like us touching it. The upstairs room(s) and storage space have, depending on your viewpoint, potential, or need a lot of work. That could bring the price down, possibly around 5k, so £145k would be acceptable. Thinking it over today, £135k would be too low.

[Peter Pedant]

I would use a licensed conveyancer - they do this full time
and are usually attached to a solicitor

£500 seems OK - the conveyancer will have to bring the title up to date - it would still be in your mother's name but that is grist to the mill to them.

[naomi24]

taichiperson, it was just a thought. Would hate to think of you losing out.

[ladybirder]

Surely the estate agent took into account the work that needs doing when they gave you the valuation figure? How much did they value it at?

[RobNorth]

Having recently done exactly this myself I can say with certainty that the most important factor is this - are these houses selling easily? It's ok to ask the going rate when they are selling, but it's another thing altogether if it's going to stand for a year or two while you try to keep it saleable...through the winter....and maybe the next one. In my case there were three similar places in the area on the market and not moving, one of them for 18 months. So if you don't fancy nagging Estate Agents for months (and maybe have other relatives nagging you) it may well be best to do a private deal with your neighbours, accepting that the reduced price is justified due to the work required. Flogging a house can be very stressful, with potential purchasers that don't turn up, or offer daft prices, or worse still drop you in at the last gasp. Consider very carefully what you are prepared to pay to avoid all this, it could well be a bargain..

[AuntLydia]

RobNorth
Very very sound advice and I hope the OP takes this on board. Also if I can just add; often Estate agents will overestimate value to get you on their books . You can search the land registry PAID price here:
http://landregistry.data.gov.uk/app/ppd/
This is not conjecture on my part but based on many years working in an Estate Agents.