Sell your property yourself? Don’t do it!

That’s the advice of Peter Bill, distinguished former editor of Estates Gazette.

In an entertaining blog on OnTheMarket, he explains why.

“I’d rather tread through a snake pit than sell my home alone, unaided by an estate agent who is generally nice but who can play nasty when required.

“Would I rather play salesman to a succession of prying strangers? I don’t have the gall.

“Would I haggle over the price with a succession of bidders? I’d rather wrestle with a bear!

“Could I help keep a chain of buyers and sellers intact? I’d prefer to juggle flaming torches (and would probably be more likely to achieve this).”

He also points out that when the home buying process gets delayed, it’s usually the fault of “some nit-picking lawyer”. However, it tends to be the “sitting duck” estate agent that everyone shouts at, mainly because it’s so difficult to scream at a solicitor.

As for online-only agents, he describes these as: “A sub-set of the trade which offers to sell your home for hundreds rather than thousands of pounds – if you do the awkward face to face stuff.  Some sellers have the nerve to cope with this. But, for me, forget that, I’d rather pay the extra.”

http://blog.onthemarket.com/content/sell-your-property-yourself-dont-do-it/