Selling a house privately has both positives and negatives and in order to determine whether or not your home is best sold privately or through an estate agent you need to consider very carefully the possible pitfalls.

Option 1

Selling your home privately through an existing private sale channel like privateproperty.co.za is an option for those who are prepared to spend about R3000 on advertising but in return get assistance with paperwork in the form of bond approvals for the buyer and having access to documents for the sale of your property.

You are able to set your price expectation and negotiate the deal with the buyer directly in the knowledge that your documentation is correctly drawn and the bond will be handled professionally.

Option 2

Selling your home directly by placing your own adverts in the newspaper and taking advantage of agents selling in your area by putting up your for sale boards in positions which will take advantage of the agents advertised properties is a good way to get feet through your show house.

Private sale agreements for property, be it freehold property or sectional title, are available at most Waltons stores and good stationary suppliers. It is viatlly important that you have an attorney at your disposal who is aware of your property for sale who will be able to accept the deposit from the buyer into his trust account once your private sale has been successfully negotiated.

Bear in mind that while you will be saving the 5% to 7% in agents commission, the risks are fairly significant and you will be required to spend a lot of time  preparing advertising material, negotiating with the buyer and of course dealing with the banks regarding the bond and attorneys. Think carefully before you decide to go the private sale route and be sure that you have the time and energy to devote to the sale.

Before you place your home on the market privately or have a show day, read the tips and tricks to get your home sold.