Private sale by owner website bids to raise its game

Private sale by owner website The Little House Company is to launch e-learning courses to teach individuals how to sell their own homes without an estate agent.

The courses, provided through technology firm Redtray, will help The Little House Company achieve its goal of becoming the top private homes sales website in the UK, said chief executive Nick Marr.

He said: “We anticipate that private home sales will expand as purchasers become more accustomed to searching both estate agent and private sales websites when looking for a new home.” 

 The Little House Company, established in 2000, claims to have thousands of homes listed for private sale. In March, it claimed a 30% increase in sales compared to March 2008 following the BBC TV Show “Axe the Agent?”

 Although sellers do not pay The Little House Company a commission, they do pay up-front costs. These are £89 for the standard service, £135 for a multi-list service, or £549.

The most expensive package includes a HIP, EPC and up to 20 professionally taken photographs, advertising on hundreds of websites and a bespoke For Sale board to put outside the property (with a national 0844 phone number if the vendor does not want their private phone number displayed).

Marr said: “Estate agents do offer a number of benefits to those selling a property, including arranging viewings and following up buyers for feedback, writing the property descriptive details and keeping tabs on the progress of exchange of contracts. But do people actually need someone else to provide these services?

“The law doesn’t require any of these functions to be carried out by an estate agent.

 “Our challenge is to change people’s mindset so they realise that they can sell their property themselves just like they would a car or a piece of furniture! Selling your own property is incredibly empowering and of course saves a huge amount of money on agents’ commission.

"All vendors need to consider is whether the amount they would have to pay an estate agent is worth what they may save in time, convenience and personal effort.” 

 Marr added that in most cases, individuals can list their properties with both The Little House Company and an estate agent. He said: “We advise all house sellers to add a clause to their estate agent’s contract, confirming that no agency commission is due on a private sale.

"This allows sellers the choice to try and sell their homes themselves and could also be an added incentive for an agent to work harder for their money.”