When it comes to real estate agents, there are a few common stereotypes floating around: they don't do much, they're overpaid, and they're obnoxious. Just like any profession, there are definitely bad eggs that give all real estate agents a bad name. Maybe you've met a few of them, or you'd rather eliminate the chance of doing so.

Some real estate agents are incredible and will work their butt off to get you the best result you could ever imagine, while others can't even type up a basic contract. Unfortunately, when it comes to selling your biggest asset, you may not want to run the risk.

But is selling a home without an agent all sunshine and roses? No! There are still risks (and rewards) when selling your home privately.

"In a hot real estate market with high levels of buyer demand, people may be tempted to try to DIY the sale of their property to save on agent fees, but it's important to think very carefully about the risks and pitfalls of forgoing the expertise of a real estate professional," Antonia Mercorella, Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) CEO, told Savings.com.au.

"Even if you consider yourself to be skilled in marketing and negotiation, engaging an experienced real estate agent can make a considerable difference to your final sale result, and is money well spent to maximise the return on what is likely to be your single most valuable asset."

When it comes to marketing, Ms Mercorella said it's crucial to get as many eyeballs on your property as possible.

"After all, you can't sell a secret, and you may find yourself alone come open day if you haven't reached the right people with your marketing mix," she said.

"Real estate agents tend to have greater buying power with regards to marketing channels, due to the amount of marketing and promotion they conduct, meaning they can cast a wider net."

On the negotiation front, Ms Mercorella said a real estate agent can act as an important, objective facilitator between the buyers and sellers.

"Real estate agents can be much more objective, rational and well informed when receiving feedback from prospective buyers. Ultimately, agents are experienced in navigating buyer objections and securing the best and highest price for the seller," she said.

"Engaging a real estate agent also ensures you minimise your exposure to risk and given it is a highly regulated industry, that your property is being sold in a legally compliant manner."

At the end of the day, selling a home requires knowledge of various legislation, how to complete a contract of sale, negotiation skills, time management and availability (to name a few), on top of all the other things you'd need to organise when moving elsewhere.

"Even in a seller's market, selling a property is no walk in the park and is a big undertaking," Ms Mercorella said.

"If you take into account the time, energy, stress, and the real risk of underselling your most significant asset or breaching legislation if you attempt to sell your property yourself, most people would agree that engaging a real estate professional is well worth their fees."

There are many aspects to consider when you're preparing to sell your own home. Let's take a look at what's involved.

How to sell your home without a real estate agent

There's a lot more involved in selling your own home than sticking a 'for sale' sign in the ground and crossing your fingers that a buyer will show up to purchase it. Here are some of the steps involved in selling your own home.

1. Get the property ready for sale

This is something you should do, regardless of whether or not you have a real estate agent. If you want potential buyers to leave with the best impression of your home, you should do the following:

  • Repairs: You should fix anything that's broken, from cracks in the walls to broken appliances, etc.
  • Renovations: If you think a renovation will add value to your home (or is necessary) you should aim to have it done well before you put the house on the market. But you want to make sure it's a renovation that will actually boost the property's value, and that you're not over capitalising.
  • Cleaning: No one wants to buy a dilapidated, dirty house so clean the property from top to bottom.
  • Painting: If you have the time and the property needs it, consider giving the place a fresh lick of paint.

2. Decide on the property's value

You should research the property market thoroughly to get a realistic idea of your property's value. You can do this by looking at recent sales prices in your area, but make sure you compare similar properties to your own.

To do this, look at the:

  • Overall space
  • Number and size of bedrooms and living spaces
  • Street location and size of the land
  • Age and quality of the building
  • Quality of fixtures and fittings

It may be worthwhile to get a professional property valuation so you can be sure you're selling your property at the right price. Most home appraisals from local agents are free of charge; the only price is they may hassle you to try and secure the listing afterwards. However, you may find this slight annoyance worth their expertise. Generally, getting two to three appraisals can be helpful, as each agent may value your home slightly differently.

Having a good idea of the value of your home will help you advertise your property correctly, attract the right buyers, and put you in a good position to negotiate when it's time to accept offers from buyers.

3. Prepare the listing

Now that you're ready to sell your home, you need a way for buyers to find your property. You could always just stick a handmade sign out the front, but it's probably more effective if you also get your property listed online. In Australia, there are plenty of websites and businesses that will list your property.

For Sale By Owner

If you've got the gift of the gab and the right personality, For Sale By Owner lets you bypass a real estate agent altogether and sell your home yourself.

For Sale By Owner is one of the largest private sale businesses with around 2,000 listings at any given time. They offer two packages (Essentials $699* and Essentials Plus $799*) to help vendors sell their own home.

Both packages include advertisements on the major property portals such as realestate.com.au and Domain, as well as 'for sale' boards, marketing collateral and extra support if needed. The Essentials package covers listings for up to six months, while the Essentials Plus has no time limit on the listing, allowing the property to be listed until sold.

*Prices correct at the time of writing

buymyplace

If you want to sell your house yourself but want the option of having some help, buymyplace lets you do just that.

You simply select one of their packages, write your property description, upload the images and buymyplace puts your listing on their website as well as the big guns realestate.com.au and domain.com.au.

Their 'ultimate' package includes a for sale signboard and double sided professionally printed property brochures.

No Agent Property

Lists on all the major listing portals and offers professional services, like professional copywriting, photography and a video 'walk' through the property.

Packages for residential property start from $848*.

*Prices correct at the time of writing

Real Estate Your Way

You can list your property for free on the Real Estate Your Way website and keep it there until it's sold. It allows up to 14 photos and provides a personalised property flyer. However, the property listing will not appear on other real estate websites such as realestate.com.au or Domain.

Utilising such websites (except Real Estate Your Way) can be the only way to get your property added to the larger property sites like realestate.com.au and Domain, as they don't allow individual members of the public to upload properties on the site.

To make your listing stand out, you will need high-quality images of the property and a clear, detailed written description of the benefits and features of the property.

4. Organise inspections

If your property listing has attracted buyers, you will need to organise times for people to come and view your home. You may also want to arrange some general 'open for inspection' times.

Be prepared to have information about the property ready to answer any questions, and make sure the house is clean and tidy before every inspection.

5. Negotiate with a buyer

Once you've found a buyer, they will offer you a price.

Be prepared to negotiate on price with the buyer if you're not happy with it on the first go. This will be easier if you go in with a clear idea of your home's value and a firm minimum price in mind.

This is where an agent will usually come in handy. Obviously, you have a personal stake in the matter of the sale as it's your home. An agent can be impartial and level headed when negotiating, and may know how to get the offer and conditions where you want it.

It's important to do your best to not let emotions cloud your judgement. Maybe you want an offer of $1.5 million, but your home is realistically only worth $1 million from your research. Do your best to get the price over the line, but sometimes, understand that you may not get there. Either accept a lower offer, or know when to walk away from an offer.

It's also important to look at the conditions of the offer and understand what they mean. For example, is the offer subject to finance or subject to sale? Would you prefer a cash sale? Pay attention to these details when negotiating with your buyer.

6. Get a lawyer to finalise the contract

Once you've found a buyer and settled on a price, it's highly recommended that you enlist the help of a solicitor or conveyancer to organise the contract.

"Once a contract has been facilitated and finalised, a lawyer can guide the buyer and seller through the conveyancing process. This is the process of transferring ownership from the seller to the new buyer," Ms Mercorella said.

"Although some sellers and buyers may attempt DIY conveyancing to save money, the REIQ does not recommend this."

Ms Mercorella said that while it might seem easy at first glace, conveyancing is "very technical and complex".

"Various legislative requirements must be met and strict deadlines must be adhered to. Conveyancing also involves contract interpretation and recommended searches should be conducted and advised on," she said.

"The buyer and seller should each be represented independently to ensure their contractual and legal rights are protected."

It's important to note that in Queensland and the ACT, you'll need to hire a solicitor when selling or buying a home. In all other states and territories, you can choose between a conveyancer and solicitor to finalise your sale.

How much money could you save by selling your house privately?

The most obvious attraction to selling your home without a real estate agent is saving on the agent's commission.

The commission rate is generally about 2.5% of the sale price in Australia. But it can commonly fluctuate anywhere from 2% to 3.5%.

According to CoreLogic's latest figures, the national median house price is sitting at around $870,000- this equates to a commission cost of approximately $21,750.

If you do manage to successfully sell your own home without an agent, that $21,750 could easily fund an overseas family holiday, or go towards your next property purchase.

Pros and cons of selling your home privately

There are big advantages and disadvantages of selling your own home. There's the potential savings on agent commission, the fact you know your own home better than anyone, and that offers can be made online. But it's a big job, and it can be risky.

Pros

Cons

Saving tens of thousands of dollars in agent's commission

You open yourself up to risk if you don't understand the legal requirements

You know your home and the neighbourhood better than most, so you're well placed to point out the benefits

You may not have time to do the job properly

You can save money on the costs of marketing and advertising the property

You risk not selling your home for what it's worth

You are in control of one of the most important financial transactions you'll ever make

You're emotionally invested, and therefore may not be able to be objective when selling

You don't have the database of potential buyers that a real estate agent has

Buyers might try and negotiate you down because they know you're inexperienced

Success story #1: Greg Crail sells home in eight days

Greg Crail, who sold his Upper Kedron home in Brisbane without an agent after having it on the market with an agent for four months, said people considering selling their own home should do their research first.

"Research on pricing in the area and be realistic on price as some real estate agents will give you an inflated price to get your business," Mr Crail told Savings.com.au.

He sold the home in eight days at the price he wanted to achieve with the agent and saved about $16,000 in the process.

Success story #2: Abbey Cameron saves an estimated $17,000

Abbey Cameron sold her South Brisbane home at list price, saving an estimated $17,000. She said the whole concept appealed to her right from the get-go.

"I don't really believe the traditional real estate model sees agents really working hard enough for the percentage commission they receive (not all, but many) and because as a busy parent and business owner I honestly just didn't want the human interaction that comes with the traditional model," Ms Cameron told Savings.com.au.

"We really had no expectations going in, but the whole process was very simple and straightforward, and I loved that we could customise it to what we wanted (e.g. sometimes we wanted someone to host the open homes, and sometimes we wanted to do it ourselves).

"Honestly, our biggest challenge was just how much interest there was in the property - we had over 130 people through."

She said being able to describe what the home and neighbourhood is really like appealed to buyers.

"We ran a lot of our own private inspections, initially people found it a bit awkward knowing I was the owner, but I found once they started opening up we could have a really great conversation about what it was actually like to live in the area - none of it was made up agent spin, it was just our real experience, which really resonated with buyers."

Savings.com.au's two cents

There are a lot of things to consider before taking the plunge and deciding to sell your own home.

Cutting out the middleman by selling your home yourself could save you thousands of dollars in agent fees. On the flip side, scrimping on using a real estate agent could cost you if you end up selling your house for less than what it's worth.

Selling your house on your own definitely isn't everyone's cup of tea. Perhaps you feel paying the commission is worth it if it saves you the hassle of selling your home yourself. Or you may decide the potential savings are worth the hassle and risk that can come with going solo. Either way, it's totally up to you.

Before making the decision to sell your own home, you should do your research and weigh up all your options first. The reality of selling a house yourself is often much more complex than most sellers realise, but it's definitely not an impossibility.



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