DIY sales 'save money'

Posted: 20 Jun 2007 10:43:33 GMT

Homeowners who carry out do-it-yourself (DIY) house sales could be saving themselves significant amounts of time and money, according to a new report.

Homeowners who carry out do-it-yourself (DIY) house sales could be saving themselves significant amounts of time and money, according to a new report.

Research carried out by Alliance and Leicester has revealed that using DIY methods to bypass the use of estate agents and similar expensive services could result in major savings and can help the house to be sold a month quicker than using traditional methods.

While the study found that 85 per cent of property owners would choose to hire an estate agent to deal with the sale of their property, those that simply post their property on websites and put up homemade 'For Sale' signs on average sell their home in two months, while those that employ an estate agent take an average of three months to find a buyer.

Alliance and Leicester also revealed that 55 per cent of all homeowners relied on a single valuation from one estate agent when selling their property, rather than shopping around to see what other agents think is an appropriate value.

As many as nine per cent relied on nothing more than a website to get a property valuation.

"This seems rather surprising given that when making other significant purchases, people will shop around and carefully look at what's on offer to get the best bargain," said Stephen Leonard, director of mortgages at Alliance and Leicester.


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