TV property expert Sarah Beeny says that selling a home without using an estate agent isn't as difficult as it sounds
TV property guru Sarah Beeny believes that it's possible for people to save as much as £10,000 when selling an ordinary home by doing it themselves rather than using an estate agent.
Sarah, who's best known as the presenter of TV's Property Ladder, says that a family home can easily cost £350,000, and with estate agents often charging two or three per cent, the cost of their service soon adds up.
She recently launched Tepilo.com, a free website that makes it easy for people to buy, sell and rent property themselves.
What's it worth?
"I think people have got better things to do with £10,000, like buying a new kitchen or a holiday to Mauritius," says Sarah. "I think it's just such a large amount of money that it can make a big difference to somebody when they're strapped for cash."
The first step is to value your property, but Sarah says that's not as tricky as it sounds. You simply find out how much a similar house has fetched and make a judgement as to whether your home is smaller, bigger, better or worse.
She says that the time when house hunters would stroll down the High Street to browse in estate agents' windows had passed. Now people tend to go online first and find properties they like before calling the agent.
Get on Google
"It occurred to me that if all the buyers and renters are heading straight online it was completely mad that you couldn't put your own house on Google," she says. "I don't think there was a tool available for a long time that enabled you to put your own home on the internet and now there is.
"Tepilo is a website where you can easily upload your home, either to sell it or rent it, and then people who are interested in it can find you and contact you directly."
She adds: "Every time I'm involved in a property purchase or let, I learn something else. That's partly why I love property, because you learn something new every time - every house is different."
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