Frequently Asked Questions

Can I sell my home privately if I have given an agent a sole or joint agency?

You may sell your home yourself even if you have agreed a sole agency unless specified otherwise. You may not sell privately to a buyer introduced to you by the agent. If you decide to cancel an agreement with an agent, put it in writing and date it. Ensure you receive written proof of buyers introduced to your property by the auctioneer with whom you had the agreement.

I'm too nervous! I am not able to show my home to potential buyers!

Who knows your home best, you or an agent? You simply let buyers view your home and answer any questions they may have regarding your home.

I was under the impression that selling your own home is time consuming?

Selling your own home is easier than most people think. However it will take some work on your part. Showing your home can be scheduled to suit your schedule - clustered together at the weekend or spread out during the week...you decide!
It may take up some of your time, but the financial benefits are huge.

Will my home take longer to sell privately?

Your home should sell faster than comparable homes! We know from feedback and experience that buyers are attracted to private sellers. Also you are not paying commission so if you wish to sell very quickly you have the option to reduce your  price and attract more buyers. Your profit will still be the same as if you sold at a higher price and had to pay commission to an auctioneer.

Will selling my home with you get the exposure that an agent can give me?

Your home will get all the exposure that any other party could offer you. PrivateSeller.ie have a dedicated property website, can arrange newspaper adverts and will give you all the tools needed to sell and market your home privately. Research has shown that more than 70% of buyers use the Internet as their first point of reference when searching for new investments. Privateseller.ie is Ireland’s largest private sales website and has been shortlisted for a host of awards including “Best Property Website” for the Golden Spider Internet Industry Awards.  Privateseller.ie also has a very popular and regular property slot on TV3’s Ireland AM.

 Do I need an agent to advertise my home in the newspapers?

Not necessarily, in most cases if you use an agent you will be paying extra for the adverts. PrivateSeller.ie offers this add on service at cost. We design and manage your ad for FREE and pass on our discounts to you.

Can I advertise land?

Absolutely it is possible to put a site for sale on our website. You may be interested to know that sites in general anywhere in Ireland are particularly popular in terms of the hits they get on our website. Privateseller.ie helps sellers to sell all property, new, second-hand, land or houses, residential or commercial, domestic or international.

Legal Contracts

If I sell privately where do I get the necessary legal contracts for the buyer to sign if he comes to the house and wants to sign an offer to purchase? What does the buyer have to sign when he wants to go ahead with the sale?

Selling privately requires the same legal input as selling through an agent. If you have bought or sold through an estate agent before you will have had your solicitor involved in the process to ensure that the sale is completed legally. Our role at Privateseller.ie is to help you remove the cost of an agent from the process which is separate to the function of a solicitor in the selling process. We are happy to assist with any queries you may have during the selling process.  We do advise all our clients to engage a  solicitor. You should inform him at an early stage of your intention to sell.

How do I value my property?

It is important to note that your home is worth not what someone says it is worth, but what someone is willing to pay for it.

Research properties that have sold in your area and for how much. Compare objectively with your own property and price conservatively.

If for example houses similar to yours are selling for €300,000 in your area or you have been given various valuations, ranging from €290,000 to €310,000 for your property, we advise that you list at or below €300,000.

You want footfall and potential buyers viewing your property, if they like it, they will bid up. If they haven't seen it because it is guiding too high, they can't fall in love with it and bid on it.

How important is it to erect a For Sale board?

We supply you with a fully branded for-sale board as part of our service to you. This communicates to people that you are selling privately – a proven attraction to buyers.  Your phone number will be on the board.

Erecting your for-sale board is a very important step in selling your property for a number of reasons.

Even agents tell us, the majority of properties are sold locally with over half of sales leads generated by For-Sale boards. Typically local buyers/investors see our fully branded for-sale board outside your property and then visit www.privateseller.ie to view the details of your property. If they like what they see they will follow up with a call.  Others, particularly investors, will call the phone number directly on the for-sale board, before viewing the details on www.privateseller.ie

It is very important to erect your Privateseller.ie for-sale board to alert potential buyers/investors to the fact that you are a private seller. We know from feedback and experience that buyers are clearly attracted to private sellers for a list of reasons. They prefer to deal directly with the seller rather than entrusting communication and bids to an agent.  Buyers also know that you are the expert, not only on your home but on your neighbourhood, and that they will get accurate information about your property, the property they are interested in buying.  So, it's important to identify yourself as a private seller which our fully-branded Privateseller For-Sale board allows you to do.

Do I need directional boards?

If your property for-sale is away from a main road we advise you to erect directional boards that point the way to your property from the nearest road. The more people know your property is for sale the greater your chance of selling.

Is the presentation of my property that important when selling?

Presentation of your home is a key element of getting your property sold. Buyers only know what they see, not the way it could be!
When you order our associate service our associate will advise you on how best to Stage™ your home for sale.  However, there is much you can do and should do to enhance the presentation of your home yourself. Sometimes it’s not so easy to see what can be improved in your own home so either ask a friend for honest input about what could be changed and take heed of feedback from people who have viewed your property.
If after showing your property you are not getting bids it may be that your home is not showing itself well. If your asking price is fairly accurate and buyers have viewed your property but have not made any bids, it may indicate that you should look at the presentation of your home both inside and outside.

Ask yourself honestly; is it scrupulously clean, fresh smelling, de-cluttered and tidy? It may seem like a cliché but it does increase your chances of selling your home the more neutral and depersonalised it is.
It is important to ask yourself does it have a neutral colour scheme or do you have a colour scheme and décor that you know some people will love BUT others will dislike or even hate?
Remember, when it comes to selling your property you are trying to appeal to the broadest market possible in order to get your best price.Chances are if your property elicits a very strong reaction from people some of that reaction will be negative. Buyers decide very quickly whether they are going to buy a property or not.

By keeping your property clean and tidy, removing clutter, personal collections and extra furniture and by keeping your colour scheme as neutral as possible you are helping the buyer to visualize their furniture and their collections in your home.

You want the potential buyers to have "moved in" before they leave your property!

Can you tell me more about Staging™?

Staging™ is the skill of presenting your home for sale regardless of price or location, so that it sells more quickly and in many markets for more money. Using a proven professional set of guidelines we advise you about any changes we consider necessary, and only if necessary, to sell your property.
When you decide to place your property on the market for sale you need to be aware that it will have competition. Just as cars in a garage have competition or groceries in a supermarket your home is now a product that will be assessed for the benefits it has to offer over its competition - other houses. So, just as you would clean, polish and wax your car in preparation for selling it, for the maximum amount in the shortest time, so too, you need to present your home in the best possible light to potential buyers. The more buyers your property appeals to better your chances to sell.

Uploading your video onto You Tube

1. Once you have taken a video of your property and saved onto your computer, log into www.youtube.com & create a “you tube” account
2. Once account has been opened, click on “my videos and select “new video upload”
3. Select “browse” to find where you have stored your property video on your computer
4. Doubleclick to select your property video once you have found it.
5. Once video has uploaded into your “you tube” account, log back into your Privateseller.ie account using your username & password
6. Select “edit my property” and then select “ images” which will bring you into your photo gallery.
7. Copy & paste the URL address at the top of this page for the video you’ve just uploaded (eg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTCtKzasxNc) and select “save”.
8. Your property video is now live!