This article is from page 46 of the 2008-12-23 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 46 JPG
IN a market where prices continue to decline, many property owners are cutting estate agents out of the equa- tion to save on costs. Consequently the ‘Sell it Yourself’, or ‘SITY’ sector, as it is known, is gathering momen- tum.
The company trading as Sellity- ourself.ie has been the major success story across Ireland in this arena, and it has its head office in Ennis.
Niamh O’Meara-Daly explained the company’s offer. “Sellityourself. ie provides property sellers with a complete selling package, everything from an online property listing, “For Sale’ signboard, pointer board and a newspaper advertising service.
“What’s more, the €195 fee on Sellityourself.ie is a one-time fee and your property is listed on the site until it’s sold.”
The key difference between this and high street estate agency serv- ices is that it’s down to the sellers to show their house to potential buyers and they handle the price discussions themselves, before handing the sale over to a Solicitor to deal with all the legal aspects and to close the sale.
While Sellityourself.ie do not val- ue property, they can advise on how to value property as well as recom- mending independent valuers if re- quired.
According to Niamh, “One of the main advantages of selling property
without an agent is the financial ben- efit. When you sell your property yourself you do not incur the cost of an agents commission. The average commission charged by agents in Ireland is 1.5 per cent, to which VAT is added at 21.5 per cent, so the sav- ing can be substantial.
As she sees it, “The other main ad- vantage of SITY property sales is that you have total control over the sell- ing process. Property owners sell-
ing direct know the exact number of buyers viewing their property online. They also know the precise number of phone and email enquiries they are receiving and they can speak directly to the buyers to gauge their level of interest.
If interest is low they can take meas- ures to increase it, whether through readjusting the price or through advertising. With an estate agent, you’re relying on their feedback. In
some cases, this feedback may not be entirely accurate, as the agent has their own reputation to protect”.
Many property owners choose to sell on Sellityourself.ie because they feel that they can do a better job of promoting their property to potential buyers, as they know it so much bet- ter than any agent could.
A recent survey by Sellityourself.ie showed that this is the main reason why people choose to sell on their
own.
Sellityourselfie is growing from strength to strength since its launch in 2006 and Niamh believes, “Prop- erty sellers are delighted at the pros- pect of having an alternative option to an estate agent, both in terms of saving money and dealing directly with the buyers. Also, because of the low cost, sellers have the option to advertise on Sellityourself.ie along- side an estate agent, provided they have not given sole selling rights to the agent.”
They also have the option of reduc- ing the price considerably if pushing for a quick sale as no commission will be incurred at the end of the sale. Many sellers have commented on the greater flexibility associated with selling themselves.”
There are currently 26 property listings in the County Clare area on the sellityourself.1e website. Two of the most recent properties are a three bed, semi-detached home in the Riv- erside Development of Ard Caoin, Gort Road, Ennis while in Tulla an impressive country house set on a half acre site has recently been add- ed.
Visit http://www.sellityourself.ie and select Clare from the search drop down in order to view all property listings in the county.
Sellityourselfie support staff are available to deal with enquiries, on Lo-Call 1850 663333 or on 065 6868630.