Most of the general
public still don't appreciate that there are choices other than to use an
estate agent to sell a property. The internet has matured
to the point that it is highly viable to advertise a property privately online
and sell successfully rather than use an agent - but without the commission
costs and without all the much publicised problems of dodgy agents and their
practices, poor service and value.
Thanks to widespread cheap internet and broadband access most people
(surveys point to 80% or more of all UK buyers) now use the internet to search
for their next home, but the same people don't seem to make the connection that
they can *advertise* and sell their own home online, without going through an
agent. Sure, the well-known
major property websites where agents advertise their homes don't accept
advertising from homeowners direct - you have to go through a commercial
subscriber - but this doesn't *have* to be an agent.
The Little House Company is one of the few professional private
marketing services for homeowners where online advertising on the same sites
that agents use can be purchased at very low cost (typically a one-off charge
of £100-£150 for unlimited property advertising on over 550
websites, until sold).
If people price their property competitively (again good free research
sources are all available online now), write a clear concise description and
use good photographs (quick and easy with digital cameras), modern internet
services offer homeowners just as much chance of selling a home themselves as
with an agent, whilst maintaining much more control over the process, but
without the commission overhead - which makes up by far the largest element of
the cost of moving.
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