This guide is for property developers. This only applies to new builds or change of use (Barn conversions etc) They currently don’t accept, for example, a property that has just been renovated.

Recently we got into a discussion with a couple of property developers. They had built a few houses and were just about ready to sell. Each house was estimated to be worth around £450,000. We asked about how they  were intending to sell the properties, who they were going to sell them with mainly and what the percentage was charged by the estate agent for selling a house. They were going to do what they do every time, ask 3-4 estate agents to come out, value the properties and then pick their favourite. Even though they already knew who they were going to pick. Now before we go more into this, if you want to read our guide on how to sell a property before continuing. It talks about the basics, this guide is purely about selling it without a typical estate agent.

1% was the fee charged by the estate agent for the sale of the house. So for the sale of a £450,000 that’s £4,500. 1% doesn’t seem like a lot but when you say £4,500 it does. These days £4,500 is a lot of money for what the estate agent actually does. It’s not like years ago where we didn’t have websites like Rightmove and Zoopla to look on. People used to go into estate agents looking for houses and estate agents would get in touch with them if they had found something that might be of interest. But today it’s not as common to walk into an estate agents, majority will go online and browse, so suddenly the draw of the estate agents contacts isn’t as valuable. Sure there might be the odd person that will still go into an estate agent and leave their details but is it really worth the 1% charge?

Basically what we want is a way to advertise on Rightmove, Zoopla, primelocation and more. If we can get listed on those websites then everything else you can do yourself. You can take the pictures, write a description, floor plans etc. You will most likely know a lot more about the house either you’ve built or just lived in than the estate agent will so showing potential buyers round won’t be a problem. You can even buy or even make a cheap for sale sign to put outside your house. So the question is, how do we get listed on these websites without being an estate agent?

1

If we look at the Rightmove website and go to the Advertising on Rightmove section it states, “To advertise UK properties for sale or rent on Rightmove, you’ll need to be an estate agent, lettings agent, or a new homes developer. You’ll also need to meet certain criteria. Get in touch to find out more.” Well we are defiantly not estate agent or letting agent, but could a property developer be classed as a New homes developer? They are brand new buildings but what is the criteria? Well after emailing Rightmove we found out. A quick phone call quickly cleared up what we could do. New homes developer doesn’t just mean these large property companies. A builder with a single house for sale can sell on Rightmove all the way to a large developer selling multiple houses.

2

We booked for the local Rightmove account manager to come out and see us to get an idea on pricing and what Rightmove can offer. We managed to get an appointment the next day. Our account manager was very good, explained everything they offer and went through a presentation to tell you more about Rightmove, It’s all quite interesting really. After all that he showed us the prices packages they offer. Now from what we were told they do two packages, Standard and Gold. To put it simply they charge you per month + vat. They look at each development not each property. So if you have just one house or 5 houses, as long as they are in the same development it will be the same price.

3

They go off the total value of all the properties. If it’s over 2 million then the price is £1195.00 + Vat, if they total below 2 million then the price is halved at £597.50 + Vat. Now that’s per month and you have to sign up to a 6 month contract. If you sell after the first two months it’s our understanding that you can give them notice and cancel after 30 days.

Standard Package: £597.50 +Vat per month (Total below 2 million). £1195.00 +Vat per month (Over 2 million)

For a single property or even a couple of properties below say £500,000 each it probably wouldn’t be worth going with Rightmove direct. It would be if you could sell them in a few months but unless you’re very confident about selling them quick we’d recommend looking else where. It’s perfect for a developer that has maybe 5+ houses, potentially even less but the more properties you have to sell the better off your going to be with it being priced per development and not per property.

So, what happens if you just have the one property to sell? Well you need to check out selling your property with an online estate agent with a fixed fee. There are tons of online estate agents that will list you on Rightmove along with other websites for 12 months starting at £399 + Vat. Take a look at our Online estate agent guide.