FAQ's - Frequently asked questions about MyKeys.co.uk and selling your home privately.
Selling Privately
Why sell my house privately?
How easy is it to sell privately?
So I'm not required to use an estate agent?
What if I'm already using an estate agent?
Is MyKeys.co.uk an estate agent?
Should I tell my agent that I'm advertising with you?
Using MyKeys.co.uk
Tell me more about MyKeys.co.uk?
How do I add my property to MyKeys.co.uk
Can MyKeys.co.uk write my advertisment for me?
How many photos can I add?
Can I add photos if I don't have a digital camera?
What if I have a problem when I'm adding my property?
Can I make changes to my advert?
How long will my advert run for?
Where will my property be advertised?
Why should I use MyKeys.co.uk instead of any other private sale website?
Do you take phone calls and messages for me?
If you have questions not covered then please contact us.
Selling Privately
Why sell my house privately?
There are three main reasons for doing this. Firstly the internet makes it just as easy for you to reach the majority of buyers as it is for your local estate agents. Indeed MyKeys.co.uk will probably advertise your property on more websites than your local agents will. Secondly, if you can reach the same buyers yourself then why pay thousands in estate agent commission? Thirdly, you know your house better than anyone - who's going to do the better job selling it? Please remember that in most cases estate agents only arrange viewings for you - it's down to you to show people around and do the selling anyway.
How easy is it to sell privately?
It's true to say that there is a bit more work involved than if you employed the services of an estate agent. You will need to decide the asking price; create your own advert and handle enquiries. We cover each of these questions in our Sellers Guide, which is available to read before you make any decisions.
But how much work is actually involved here? - deciding the asking price and creating an advert are one-off tasks that could easily be done by most people within an hour or two, and handling enquiries is straight forward too if you follow some simple guidelines.
However, this question is the one you need to answer first. Your home is a major asset - if you feel at all uncomfortable about selling it privately then perhaps you should opt for the services of an estate agent this time. You can always create your own advert on this website as well. If you end up finding a buyer before your agent then you'll know which route to take next time ... and you could save yourself a lot of commission this time.
I would like to place an advert
So I'm not required to use an estate agent?
Absolutely not. You can sell your home by whatever means you feel appropriate. It has been estimated that some 50,000 people will sell their house through a private sale this year - so you won't be alone!
What if I'm already using an estate agent?
The fact that you are reading this suggests you may be looking for ways to get more viewings? There will be no problem with you placing an advert for your property on MyKeys.co.uk but you will need to check which type of contract you have with your estate agent:
The most common estate agency contract is what is known as 'Sole Agency'. This means your appointed agent is the only estate agent allowed to sell your property. This does not however prevent you from selling it yourself, and if you find the buyer (who hasn't been introduced by your estate agent during your contract period) then you won't have to pay any commission.
A less common estate agency contract is known as 'Sole Selling Rights'. If you have one of these contracts then your estate agent is entitled to his commission even if you find the buyer. You could always ask for this to be changed to Sole Agency but this obviously won't be in the agents' interest so don't expect too much. Either way, there is still no reason why you can't take an advert with us. This could easily help you sell more quickly and, if your agent is going to expect his commission anyway, you might as well put his contact details on your advert and he can deal with any enquiries for you.
For more information on estate agent contracts please visit our Estate Agents page or visit the Office of Fair Trading website.
I would like to place an advert
Is MyKeys.co.uk an estate agent?
No. MyKeys.co.uk simply provides you with a means to advertise your property on a network of high profile websites across the internet. We are the online version of placing a private advert in your local newspaper. This allows for you selling privately alongside any estate agent who uses a Sole Agency agreement, and paying no commission if you find the buyer.
Should I tell my agent that I'm advertising with you?
Although you're not obliged to we would suggest it is common courtesy to do so. You don't need to be specific - just inform them that you are making personal efforts to sell your home. Doing this makes things clear from the start, and if you find a buyer before your agent does then there are no surprises in store for anyone.
Informing your estate agent could also be beneficial - the fact that you are actively selling the property yourself should focus their mind on finding you a buyer quickly if they want their commission.
Using MyKeys.co.uk
Tell me more about MyKeys.co.uk?
MyKeys.co.uk is a property website that allows home owners to sell their property privately. We also accept properties from landlords, letting agents, estate agents, builders and property developers. MyKeys.co.uk is entirely owned and run by MyKeys Limited, registered in England & Wales No. 5832155.
The owners and Directors have a wealth of knowledge in the marketing of properties on the internet. We have designed and managed a number of estate agent websites and also operate the UK Property Search network of property websites. One unique aspect of our service is that the only private sale adverts to appear on UK Property Search websites are those submitted to MyKeys.co.uk. Whilst we also advertise on the national websites that other private sale companies do, we provide you with access to the buyers who don't visit these websites. This is an important point when choosing which private sale website to advertise with and we strongly recommend that you read more about this by clicking here.
How do I add my property to MyKeys.co.uk
Placing an advert couldn't be simpler. Our process is intuitive, secure and allows for any number of updates to your advert. Here's an overview of the few short steps needed to place your advert in front of millions of potential buyers:
- Register with us and choose a password, allowing you to update your advert at any time.
- You will receive a confirmation email to your designated email address. Simply click the link in the email to confirm that the email address you submitted is correct. This will take you directly to the access point to place your advert.
- Use your password to access the online form and follow the simple instructions to place your advert. You can add up to 6 photos but if you would like assistance with this then we can always do it for you.
- Click 'Place your Advertisement' and your property will instantly be live on our own websites. It will be live on our partner websites within 24 hours.
- Take a look at your new advert on this website and, if you wish, log in again to make any changes.
Can MyKeys.co.uk write my advertisment for me?
No. All advertisements on MyKeys.co.uk are written by the private advertisers themselves. As Mykeys.co.uk will never see your property it would be inappropriate for us to provide any detail on it. However, our intuitive upload form provides prompts for all the key information you should include and our help pages are very comprehensive. We also suggest you read some of the current advertisements on MyKeys.co.uk for ideas.
How many photos can I add?
You can add up to six photos to your advert. This is sufficient to showcase the main attractions of your property and generate enquiries.
Can I add photos if I don't have a digital camera?
No problem. There are a number of ways to have photos uploaded to your advert. Firstly you could ask around friends, family and neighbours. Someone will probably have a digital camera that you could borrow. They may tell you that they will have to download your photos from the camera to their own computer. This is no problem as they can either email them to you, save them onto a CD for you or even upload them for you.
To upload them for you they will only need your MyKeys.co.uk login information and they can access your advert and upload the photos. For security purposes please ensure you are entirely happy with who you give your password to.
Another alternative is to take some photos using standard film. Many photo processing labs now offer a service to save your photos digitally onto a CD - you can then use this CD to add photos to your advert. If not then you can always send real photos to us and we will scan them and add them to your advert on your behalf. If you choose to do this then you will need to write your MyKeys.co.uk property reference number on the back of each photogragh and, if you want them returning, include a stamped addressed envelope. MyKeys.co.uk cannot accept any responsibility for any photographs lost in transit.
What if I have a problem when I'm adding my property?
We provide full instructions for you to read prior to starting your advert. As you complete the simple form there are hints and tips to guide you and if you require further information there are help screens that can be selected at any time. In the unlikely event that something doesn't seem to be working correctly we can be reached by telephone 9am to 9pm (UK time), seven days a week (out of office hours please use the mobile numbers provided on our Contact page. Outside these times we suggest you send us an email with a contact number and we will call you to resolve your problem as soon as possible.
Can I make changes to my advert?
You can make as many changes to your advert as you wish at any time by simply logging in with your email address and password on your individual advert.
How long will my advert run for?
All adverts run until the property is sold. To help us maintain an up-to-date database it is important that you support us by accessing your account and deleting your advert when your property sale has completed. If you forget to do this in the excitement of moving then please call or email us with your property reference number and we will do it for you.
Where will my property be advertised?
With MyKeys.co.uk your property advert is available to be viewed on literally hundreds of local, regional and national websites. These include Fish4Homes.co.uk, Home.co.uk, OnOneMap.com etc etc. In addition, we also advertise exclusively on the UK Property Search network of property websites.
No other private property sale website has access to these high ranking websites - it is this exclusive advertising that places us above the competition when it comes to selling your home quickly and efficiently. For a comprehensive list of where your property will be advertised please take a look at our 'Where We Advertise' page.
Why should I use MyKeys.co.uk instead of any other private sale website?
There are a number of private property sale websites to choose from with a variety of prices. There is very little difference between most as they all tend to market your property on the same range of national websites as well as their own - we also add your property to these high traffic websites.
Where we differ from other websites - where we provide you with the extra marketing that could sell your home quicker than other websites - is that MyKeys.co.uk exclusively advertise on www.uk-property-search.co.uk and it's network of property websites. These websites are optimised to reach the people using search engines to find local property for sale. For a very powerful example of how this will help you sell your home quicker please click here.
Do you take phone calls and messages for me?
Though we would love to do this we believe it would contravene the Office of Fair Trading's guidelines for online property retailers (websites such as MyKeys.co.uk). By offering extra services such as taking and passing on enquiries we would effectively be providing an estate agency service whilst claiming we aren't an estate agent. This could have repercussions for anyone who chooses to use an estate agent alongside their private advert.
It is clear that if you have a Sole Agency agreement with your estate agent then you are allowed to advertise your home privately and not pay any commission if you find the buyer. However, if the private sale website you use is deemed to be offering estate agency services then your estate agent can still claim his commission under the terms of your agreement. This is because he can quite rightly claim that another estate agent sold your property.
It is for this very reason that our For Sale boards don't carry our office telephone number. This way we stay out of the contact between buyer and seller.
Please be wary of any private sale website claiming not to be an estate agent yet offering services such as call answering, appointment making etc.
Any Other Questions?
If you still have unanswered questions then please call or
email them to us. We will reply as quickly as possible.