How you could net savings moving home

By Stephen Robb
BBC News Online

Selling a home can be a stressful business from start to finish - or for however long it is the estate agents are involved.

All smiles before they get your business, they leave you to handle most of the viewings yourself, vanish virtually without trace once you've accepted an offer - and collect a hefty commission for your trouble.

Online deals can help as a negotiation tool with estate agents

That's the popular perception, anyway, although research findings are scarcely more flattering.

The government earlier this year announced plans for a reform of rules governing estate agents, following a critical Office of Fair Trading report.

In 2002, there was a 16% rise in complaints to the industry ombudsman.

But if you're selling your home, what alternative is there to using an estate agent?

Low cost

A growing number of websites, most set up by people following their own bad experiences, are now offering another route.

At little or no cost, homeowners can advertise their property details online and handle the process of selling it themselves.

The internet now gives the homeowner the same marketing power as an agent Martin Charlick The Little House Company

Martin Charlick, managing director of The Little House Company, estimates there are between 100 and 200 private sale websites operating in the UK, though "little more than a handful" are dominant.

The 10,000 to 15,000 people he estimates are advertising on them at any one time remain a tiny part of a housing market that sees more than a million sales a year, he admits.

Nevertheless, around 60% of people looking to move home start their search online.

Keir Bancroft, director of privatehousemove.co.uk, estimates that on his website and its partner sites, properties reach two million potential buyers a month.

"You have just as much chance of selling privately through a properly-run website, as you have selling with an agent," Mr Charlick said.

"The internet now gives the homeowner the same marketing power as an agent, but with the cost of selling online a fraction of the agent's commission."

Negotiation

Margaret Hills, of Benfleet, Essex, recently sold her semi-detached home using privatehousemove.co.uk's £99 "Gold Package", which includes a "for sale" sign.

I don't know why anybody would want to use an estate agent Margaret Hills privatehousemove.co.uk seller

"I have moved house before and the experience wasn't very nice for me," Mrs Hills said.

"I felt that once I had swapped phone numbers with the buyer, the estate agent didn't do very much. I felt really aggrieved that I had to pay out all that money."

She turned to privatehousemove.co.uk after it was recommended by a friend.

"I had a lot of interest in the property and when it came to negotiating the price, I just did that with the buyers. You cut out the middle man," she said.

"I have saved £3,400. I don't know why anybody would want to use an estate agent, to be honest."

This £350,000 home in Wales was put up for auction on eBay

Internethomes director Dean Pybus said customers were also using private sale websites as a negotiation tool with estate agents, urging them to improve their deals.

The global reach of the web could also particularly aid the sale of more unusual or expensive properties, or homes in remote areas, where there may be few potential buyers locally.

Adrian Ault, of Pembrokeshire, Wales, who attempted to auction his home on eBay, said that if estate agents "cannot market the house somewhere else in the country, there is a distinct possibility you are not going to get the viewers, and if you don't get the viewers you don't get the sale".

Offers for the house failed to reach the £350,000 reserve price by the deadline, but Mr Ault is continuing negotiation with bidders.

Marketing

Despite the advantages, the consenus is that private sale websites are unlikely to make estate agents an endangered species.

You could end up losing far more than you gain, in money and time Peter Bolton King, National Association of Estate Agents

Mr Pybus said: "It needs capital injection and marketing and that is the main thing that is letting any private sale website down at the moment.

"It doesn't matter how good your website is, it's about marketing and letting people know you are there."

Mr Charlick said: "There will always be a body of customers who are prepared to pay for services to be handled for them."

"At least they now have an effective choice thanks to the internet and can decide to DIY if it suits them."

What's more, it's suggested the increased competition might make a few estate agents work a bit harder.

Mr Bancroft said: "They are starting to notice us, and they have to be on their toes. "If they want to compete, they have got to look at themselves and what they offer."

Safety warning

However, estate agents have warned of the hazards of trying to sell a home online.

Peter Bolton King, chief executive of the National Association of Estate Agents, warned there were "security and safety implications" relating to the fact buyers in private sales have not have been checked out by an estate agent.

"You need to know who you are letting into your home," he said.

He added: "The majority of members of the public are not experienced negotiators, therefore you could undersell your home.

"The private seller would also have great difficulty in tracking how the sale is going.

"There are an awful lot of pitfalls. You could end up losing far more than you gain, in money and time."