PROPERTY NEWS - Samuel Seeff, chairman of the Seeff property group gives selling your own home in order to give an estate agent a miss, some food for thought. 

The advent of the internet and astronomical pace of digital development has inevitably introduced a new element into the house hunting and buying process. 

Almost daily, new online sites pop up offering to assist home sellers to advertise and sell their property themselves.

This taps into the desire to save some money on agency commission and possibly pocket a bit of extra money on the selling price. Buyers may even be thinking that they could save some money by buying directly, although this is seldom the case.  

Some sites now even offer an online agency service at a discounted commission, but with add-on costs to cover the various legal and procedural aspects involved in a property transaction. 

While there are obviously some instances where you could quite easily sell your home directly, either via an online site or by simply marketing your home, advertising it in the local newspapers and perhaps even doing house viewings yourself, the challenges can be daunting. 

While the internet now by and large is the first stop for prospective house hunters, bear in mind, that the buying and selling of property is a complex transaction that involves significant knowledge, complicated legislation and clearance requirements, not to mention the risks associated. 

Your attempt to save and pocket a bit more money can quite easily result in a rather onerous and costly exercise.

Estate agents fulfil a vital role, one that amounts to much more than just advertising or marketing your property. Their job starts long before they have even seen your property. They keep up to date on property and legal matters, track development and market trends where they operate, and have expert knowledge about price ranges. 

This means they can provide critical insight on whether it is a good time to sell and how to set your asking price at the right level to attract an optimum selling price. Never try and start at too high a price as this could lead to buyer fatigue and you then have to bring your price down. Once that starts to happen, buyers become very hesitant. 

The next important aspect is the actual marketing of your property. Bear in mind that online portals now carry thousands of properties and your property can quite easily get lost in all the clutter. Here, a top real estate brand tends to have the advantage of higher brand visibility which helps your property stand out. 

Your agent will also take photographs and list your property on their agency website and other relevant sites with a description and photographs aimed at highlighting key selling points and features. Some, even provide a full virtual tour of your home. Your agent should also advise you on any steps that you can take to make your property more presentable and attractive to buyers and should include recommending home staging ideas. 

Estate agencies have buyer databases along with other tools that are used to market your property. This includes for example hosting show houses or open days, one of the most effective tools to attract buyers.

Your agent also vets potential buyers. Given the amount of cyber and property crime, this is an important consideration.  

Once you have found a buyer, the complex negotiating process starts, especially if the offer comes in below your asking price.  

Once both parties are satisfied and the offer is accepted, the real hard work starts. This includes tracking the process and acting in your best interest to ensure a speedy and efficient transaction. This is also where all of the transactional and legislative nuances come into play.  

These include various clearances, the type of title deed and type of transfer involved and application and securing a home loan if necessary. It may also be a double transaction where the buyer also needed to sell and there is thus two sets of transactions in play. 

It can take months to sell, so a private sale could end up costing you dearly.  

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