Our experience using Private Property to sell

Yesterday I heard a radio ad for Private Property and I decided to share our experience using them when I sold my flat 8 years ago.  Prior to that I sold 2 properties using estate agents and really felt that for the enormous chunk which they take I did not get proportional value.  When selling my flat I signed up with Private Property which was the best decision.

I can’t remember how I arrived at the market value to set my price on, I may have asked estate agents for a value, I would have looked at similar properties for sale in the same area, maybe the Private Property representative helped me to arrive at the asking price.  When we signed up with private property we paid R1000 (it’s sure to be more these days), for that I got a “For Sale” board, my property was put on their web site and they provided paperwork such as the “offer to purchase” form.  The representative talked me through the process and answered any questions which I had.  He advised me that most of my offers would come through estate agents but as I was not bound to them in any way I had full control.  Many agents brought people to see the flat, I told them the figure which I wanted and instead of a percentage cut they could take whatever amount of a potential sale which  was over the amount which I wanted in my pocket.

In the end I sold privately not through one of the estate agents.  The nephew of another flat owner in the complex bought the property from me.  Selling privately benefited both myself and the buyer, because I did not have to factor in estate agents fees I could afford to sell at a lower price and still be better off than if I was paying estate agents commission.

Private Property provided the necessary documents and when the ‘offer to purchase’ was signed the rest of the documentation was handled by the attorneys.

I guess one potential problem would be security.  When selling privately you are inviting strangers into your home.  I’m sure that the representatives offer advice on how to handle the security.  In my case most potential buyers were brought by estate agents and those which weren’t I vetted.  I guess one must never just let a person in off the street, they should make an appointment and you therefore have the opportunity to be more careful.  Perhaps it would be a good idea to ask your security company to be present if you have one or to ask a friend to be there.

When we one day sell the house which we are in I’m sure that we will sell privately, it just makes good financial sense

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3 comments

  1. akismet-f8f60a73e15e00b472ce9fe9491b14d3

    Cool Paul who works with us Ballito used to run their marketing and was very involved, he has now started http://www.designbook.co.za and we are helping him get off the ground. Kind regards

    Visit our website: http://www.wildweb.co.za Durban Office – Tel: 031 303 5700 Fax: 086 5924223 Ballito Office – Tel / Fax: 032 946 1933 Cell: 082 7734375 PO Box 6508 Zimbali 4418

  2. Hi Ursula
    Thanks for your great feedback on selling Privately. It is so great that one has the choice to decide how to sell the way that best fits your individual needs. I am in the Marketing team at Privateproperty.co.za and I love the fact that a radio advert prompted you to have a good memory of your experience with Private Property, so much so that you decided to share it with us. Awesome! You are just the type of person I would like to review our new site. We are in beta phase of putting the new site to the test and would love your feedback. If you up for it we would encourage you to blog for us! Next time our want to list a house… it’s on the house!
    Warm regards
    Sue

    • Awww thanks, may be a few years but I may just hold you to that 🙂 I would also love the opportunity to look at your site and blog for you.

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