tting through to you. The practice of a few corrupt estate agents in not passing on offers, so as to steer sellers towards a low offer made by an accomplice posing as a member of the public, is one of the reasons the Government has indicated they want compulsory regulation of the profession.

One of the big barriers encountered by property websites handling private sales has been getting enough properties on their sites. This has been less of a problem for Primelocation, Rightmove and Propertyfinder, which have been able to add thousands of pro

Why use an estate agent when you can save money by using the internet to sell your property?

To be fair to estate agents, they do sell properties but they do charge large fees. There is no question that many sellers would love to cut out the estate agent. Estate agents often come bottom in polls rating the amount we trust professionals, prompting the Government to propose, in the Queen's Speech, a compulsory ombudsman scheme for all estate agents.

The problem is that, although most sellers do not trust estate agents, it seems they trust each other even less. Websites advertising property for sale are springing up like tulips in the spring.

One of the most popular websites for investors is www.investalist.co.uk, which has been in business for some time. It offers investors the chance to advertise their properties for sale. It hasn't been easy persuading Britons to buy and sell online, admits its directors. It seems that most people are still unaware that there is any way of buying and selling a property other than through an estate agent.

The market for the average property for sale within the UK has been cornered by three websites - www.rightmove.co.uk, www.primelocation.com and www.propertyfinder.co.uk - all of which advertise property that is already on the books of established estate agents.

Nicholas Leeming, who founded Propertyfinder with his brother James in 1995, is convinced he knows why the public has not taken to websites handling private sales: "Private vendors are not bound by the Property Misdescriptions Act," he says. "Buyers have a mistrust of vendors. Often a vendor selling a property himself will have high aspirations as to its value. And, contrary to what many people imagine, estate agents in Britain are cheap compared with their counterparts abroad. In some European countries, you have to pay an estate agent 5% or more to sell your home." This could be set to change.

"Estate agents have had a a good run for far too long. They have created this impression that their job is very complicated, but that isn't true. In fact, you are far better off dealing directly with a buyer. You can be sure, of one thing, that all the offers are getting through to you. The practice of a few corrupt estate agents in not passing on offers, so as to steer sellers towards a low offer made by an accomplice posing as a member of the public, is one of the reasons the Government has indicated they want compulsory regulation of the profession.

One of the big barriers encountered by property websites handling private sales has been getting enough properties on their sites. This has been less of a problem for Primelocation, Rightmove and Propertyfinder, which have been able to add thousands of prop

each other even less. Websites advertising property for sale are springing up like tulips in the spring.

One of the most popular websites for investors is www.investalist.co.uk, which has been in business for some time. It offers investors the chance to advertise their properties for sale. It hasn't been easy persuading Britons to buy and sell online, admits its directors. It seems that most people are still unaware that there is any way of buying and selling a property other than through an estate agent.

The market for the average property for sale within the UK has been cornered by three websites - www.rightmove.co.uk, www.primelocation.com and www.propertyfinder.co.uk - all of which advertise property that is already on the books of established estate agents.

Nicholas Leeming, who founded Propertyfinder with his brother James in 1995, is convinced he knows why the public has not taken to websites handling private sales: "Private vendors are not bound by the Property Misdescriptions Act," he says. "Buyers have a mistrust of vendors. Often a vendor selling a property himself will have high aspirations as to its value. And, contrary to what many people imagine, estate agents in Britain are cheap compared with their counterparts abroad. In some European countries, you have to pay an estate agent 5% or more to sell your home." This could be set to change.

"Estate agents have had a a good run for far too long. They have created this impression that their job is very complicated, but that isn't true. In fact, you are far better off dealing directly with a buyer. You can be sure, of one thing, that all the offers are getting through to you. The practice of a few corrupt estate agents in not passing on offers, so as to steer sellers towards a low offer made by an accomplice posing as a member of the public, is one of the reasons the Government has indicated they want compulsory regulation of the profession.

One of the big barriers encountered by property websites handling private sales has been getting enough properties on their sites. This has been less of a problem for Primelocation, Rightmove and Propertyfinder, which have been able to add thousands of pro

ty for sale within the UK has been cornered by three websites - www.rightmove.co.uk, www.primelocation.com and www.propertyfinder.co.uk - all of which advertise property that is already on the books of established estate agents.

Nicholas Leeming, who founded Propertyfinder with his brother James in 1995, is convinced he knows why the public has not taken to websites handling private sales: "Private vendors are not bound by the Property Misdescriptions Act," he says. "Buyers have a mistrust of vendors. Often a vendor selling a property himself will have high aspirations as to its value. And, contrary to what many people imagine, estate agents in Britain are cheap compared with their counterparts abroad. In some European countries, you have to pay an estate agent 5% or more to sell your home." This could be set to change.

"Estate agents have had a a good run for far too long. They have created this impression that their job is very complicated, but that isn't true. In fact, you are far better off dealing directly with a buyer. You can be sure, of one thing, that all the offers are getting through to you. The practice of a few corrupt estate agents in not passing on offers, so as to steer sellers towards a low offer made by an accomplice posing as a member of the public, is one of the reasons the Government has indicated they want compulsory regulation of the profession.

One of the big barriers encountered by property websites handling private sales has been getting enough properties on their sites. This has been less of a problem for Primelocation, Rightmove and Propertyfinder, which have been able to add thousands of pro

ill have high aspirations as to its value. And, contrary to what many people imagine, estate agents in Britain are cheap compared with their counterparts abroad. In some European countries, you have to pay an estate agent 5% or more to sell your home." This could be set to change.

"Estate agents have had a a good run for far too long. They have created this impression that their job is very complicated, but that isn't true. In fact, you are far better off dealing directly with a buyer. You can be sure, of one thing, that all the offers are getting through to you. The practice of a few corrupt estate agents in not passing on offers, so as to steer sellers towards a low offer made by an accomplice posing as a member of the public, is one of the reasons the Government has indicated they want compulsory regulation of the profession.

One of the big barriers encountered by property websites handling private sales has been getting enough properties on their sites. This has been less of a problem for Primelocation, Rightmove and Propertyfinder, which have been able to add thousands of pro

tting through to you. The practice of a few corrupt estate agents in not passing on offers, so as to steer sellers towards a low offer made by an accomplice posing as a member of the public, is one of the reasons the Government has indicated they want compulsory regulation of the profession.

One of the big barriers encountered by property websites handling private sales has been getting enough properties on their sites. This has been less of a problem for Primelocation, Rightmove and Propertyfinder, which have been able to add thousands of properties to their sites every time they sign up an estate agency chain. Go to Propertyfinder and you can view the details of 300,000 properties. Go to Investalist on the other hand, and you will find only 2000. However all of the properties on sites like Investalist are highly specialised and have the potential to earn their buyers thousands of pounds. In addition new opportunities are added every day, making their website one of the most visited by investors.

However the market for property websites is not helped by the fact there are about 100 of them trying to get business. Most are plain rubbish. You can see why most people don’t want to advertise their home on the internet. It would be very easy for an internet company to take ?200 off a customer then, apart from putting a small advertisement on the web, make no attempt to sell the property. Traditional estate agents may take large fees when they sell a property, but at least they tend not to charge if they fail to sell a home.

So, there are websites out there that are worth dealing with. Some advertise general properties and others are more specialised such as www.investalist.co.uk who cater mainly for investors. But choose carefully and you could save yourself a lot of money.