Gran cuts out the estate agents
Wednesday 4th March 2009, 4:45PM GMT.
Barbara Birch ouside her house in Edgebolton which she is selling independently. Picture by Laura Dutfield
A grandmother-of-two is beating the economic gloom by selling her north Shropshire home without using an estate agent in a bid to save money.
Barbara Birch, 70, of Edgebolton, near Shawbury, has put her four-bedroom country home on the market using a for sale sign in the garden lovingly crafted by her son-in-law.
In a bid to cut corners and pocket an estimated £3,000 in estate agent fees, Mrs Birch said her plan was to sell the house while keeping her costs to a minimum as the recession bites.
“My son-in-law put the sign together himself using bits of wood and a hammer,” she said. I’m just trying to cut corners because it was worth a certain amount of money last September then the market collapsed so the value dropped. We only put up the sign last week and there is no strict asking price because we are just testing the market.
“I want to sell because it’s getting to be a bit much to manage and because of my health.
“I need to downsize and would like to avoid estate agent fees which can be about one per cent or more of the sale price.”
She added she hopes to attract bids in the region of £295,000 but is willing to consider offers.
The home, which was “almost derelict” when Mrs Birch bought it in 1991, boasts four double bedrooms.
Anyone interested can call Mrs Birch on (01939) 250044.
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Hope she’s got her legally-required HIPS ready for the buyer.
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Not much of a story here .There are 3/4 in this paper every night trying to flog it with out an etsate agent.
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you don’t need a HIPs if you sell privatly.
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I sold a three bed semi without estate agents a few years back. Saved £1500 of agents fees by simply making and taking phone calls ourselves and organising a colour photo advert in the journal. There isn’t much to it. Ok, we’re in a recession, but if you think how much advertising you can get before you reach the amount of money agents expect for doing not_very_much_at_all, many months will have passed by, if not years.
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