Ryan Pellett and Candice Ruthven The story so far?

15 Boyd Ave, Royal Oak 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 carparks

Pellett and Ruthven’s four-bedroom, 1920s bungalow sits on a 597sq m block with large outdoor decks. It is close to One Tree Hill, the Royal Oak shopping centre and Royal Oak primary and intermediate schools. The pair bought the home about seven years ago for $510,000, Pellett said. Then just over two years ago, they spent six weeks living in a tent as they renovated it inside and out. It now has a council valuation of $1.425m. They listed the property for sale on November 16, before holding an unsuccessful auction on December 5. They now have an asking price of $1.675m.

Why sell your home yourself?

When Pellett was made redundant in October, the family made a snap decision to sell and look for a bigger home. Pellet is a digital marketer and thought he could use his time between jobs to market and sell the family home.

Pellett and Ruthven had more than five open homes across four weekends with about 15 groups through the first weekend and 11 the next in “atrocious weather”. The home failed to sell or attract a bid at auction on December 5, despite a healthy crowd. Pellet said he was happy to leave the home on the market and wait for the right offer.

What work has Pellett done?

● Aside from using an auctioneer at the auction and lawyer to draft his

legal documents, Pellett took care of everything else.

● He has done all the marketing, including listing his home on Trade Me and other websites and printing leaflets to drop in the letterboxes of families selling smaller homes in the area in case they want to upgrade.

● He ran the open homes and tidied and cleaned the house.

How are the stress levels?

Initially, Pellett was “freaking out” because it had been hard to gauge interest in his home. He felt deflated when the home failed to sell at auction. But he said he’s feeling more upbeat now and has time to wait for a good offer.

What have you learned?

Selling your house is a lot of work, but it’s mostly work you have to do regardless of whether you use an agent or not.

Top tips?

● Talk to real estate agents even if you plan to sell your home yourself, because they have plenty of knowledge and are often willing to chat and share advice.

● Declutter your house before open homes, such as by hiding kettles and toasters, and finish cleaning jobs such as water-blasting the driveway.

● Take good photos of your home. Pay someone to do it if you’re not a good photographer.

● If you want to auction consider using an agent because they are best at working in tandem with an auctioneer and other agents to get buyers in the mood to buy.

● Give potential buyers confidence. This is where you have a massive advantage selling your own home because you know it inside and out and can share personal stories about why it’s amazing.