What is a private sale?

A private sale is also called “Private Treaty”. A house is advertised in newspapers by estate agents, whoever is interested comes to the agency and makes his offer, the seller considers the offered price and then buyer can do some negotiation about the conditions of sale etc. When they agree on everything, contracts are written, signed and buyer pays a deposit. Unlike in auction, several states have “cooling off period” which means that buyer has X days to change his mind and if he decides not to buy – seller must give the deposit back.

Good points of private sale in buyer’s eyes are:

  • He can take the time, no pressure involved
  • The price and the conditions of sale can be negotiated
  • Cooling off period is your way out in case problems were found in the house
  • To sellers private sales cost less than an auction, which can result in lower asking price

To be continued…

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