Buying a house without an agent through private sale
ABCWhen Becky Irvine Stone decided to sell her investment property back in 2011, she was concerned by the $10,000 fee quoted by a prospective real estate agent. People tend to use real estate agents because they can make it easier to meet the legal requirements of selling a home as well as preparing the property for sale, listing it, marketing it, running viewings, dealing with prospective buyers and the actual sale bit. But "in the same way you're entitled to sell your sofa yourself, you're entitled to sell your house yourself", says Dr Cathy Sherry, an associate professor at UNSW who teaches property law. "If there's been a violent crime or anything else that's a latent defect in the property, a vendor doesn't have to disclose, but a real estate agent does."
History of this topic
Real estate projects - execute sale, purchase only through registered agents: UPRERA
Hindustan TimesPrivate home sales gain traction but industry says real estate agents still needed
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