Selling house in South Scotland

peapodmamma

We've had our property on for sale since May 2008 with a local agent and advertised with the Borders Solicitors Property Centre and Rightmove. We know the market is slow but to date we have only had two viewings - both very interested parties, one unable to purchase as their house is not even on the market:rolleyes: , and the other in no rush to purchase as renting lease doesn't expire until March 2009! As you can imagine we are very frustrated, and feel the agents aren't doing much to assist in our sale. We never get even a monthly report from them and there is no contact unless we chase them up. For two pins we would pull it from the market but for the £500 + VAT fee we have to pay (for their costs) :mad: . To compound things, there are also 4 other properties down our road for sale at the moment - two are 4/5 bed properties like ours, but with much less garden and very modern, whereas ours is very traditional. These two properties are both priced at around £325K, and the three bedroomed house is £295K, plus a three bedroomed bungalow at offers over £205K. We got a valuation of 'offers over £289K' but as we wanted to sell quickly, we thought it best to price downwards to below the 3% stamp duty threshold. We imagined at the price we have it (compared to the others), the house would have got an offer in already! So can anyone give any advice? We are very commutable, being half an hours drive away from Edinburgh (I commute every day). Area is a posh residential road of just 16 individually designed houses, in a rural village of 500 people, very quiet and pleasant. Wondered if the cheap price is putting folk off as we think it is very nicely presented indeed - truth be known we are not greedy!!
Link to our property: http://www.hastingslegal.co.uk/Houses/1668.htm

peapodmamma

Hi you lot out there! Since no-one responded, I wonder if there is anyone out there who wants to give me some advice about selling my house (link on this thread). It is priced at £100K or more below the asking price of 3 other individually designed detached houses down our road, as we wanted to sell quickly! I think we are being very realistic, and even selling ourselves short, although if we struggle to sell at this ridiculously low price, then the other hosues around us have no chance. Go on....what do you think? I reckon the housing market is rubbish at the moment and nothing is moving!

sad_dog_lady

well i think its lovely, and im sure you will get someoffers now its on this site, would you like to swap lol !

blantyrelass

Your house looks beautiful - but you may be right- perhaps it's too cheaply priced and people are wondering why. It's probably not the done thing to raise the asking price at this stage, I suppose, but what about putting it on Gumtree, with a link to the estate agents? Galling, I know, to have to do your own marketing, but I did this recently with a flat and it did get a good response.

I hate to admit that I sold the flat through the agents eventually, to the one potential buyer they'd attracted. By then, I'd found half a dozen through Gumtree, but they were too late. Like you, I had it on at fixed price, so I wasn't going to wait for other offers once we'd had the asking price.

geoffky

blantrelass are you really that stupid? i hope not ..trying to raise the price is suicide the problem it is not selling is because its not a bargin and if it was it would be sold now as houses that are priced right are selling....

peapodmamma

Dropped it to £205K fixed on Saturday and have 4 viewings this week! Yes I agree things need to be priced right to sell but I reckon that in the present market, buyers will only offer if it is a real bargain, after all we are £100K cheaper than the other two 5 bed houses down our road, and how cheap do you need to go? I know these other two houses will stay on at that inflated price until they sell (even if it is 3 yrs down the line, as they have been built by developers after a fat profit).It is crazy stuff! If you're not selling a property at the moment, you can't understand truly how tricky things are, and when folk keep on bleating about dropping the price, well if I put it on for £100K I would sell tomorrow, but that really would be taking the mick and I can't afford that. Round where we live you couldn't get a semi or terrace for less than £100-150K. We will happily accept near our offer if it means we can move on. Then we can drop the price of our next property, so no-one really loses and everyone gains. Simple....as long as folk are not greedy. Means I have a lower mortgage if I can get a reduction on my next purchase.

jennifernil

It's a lot of house for the money! I would say too cheap, but I am not used to Borders prices. Over here, on the outskirts of Glasgow it would go for twice that.

However..........why is there no floor plan? I think that is really important to give a better idea of the layout. Room sizes are all very well, but if the dining room is at the other end of the house to the kitchen, that does make a difference.

Not everyone can translate a layout description to a plan in their head.

dopester

Great story peapod.

Just a thought - is it on Rightmove, or does it rely on all potential purchasers scanning these local EA sites?

Good luck with the sale - you sound properly switched on for what is required to sell in this market.

sallyreena

Most of Scotland's best estate agents will strongly recommend advertising your property in Scotland's Homes. As a seller, you should insist on this combination. Select an area to find a local estate agent.

---

Sally
message Marketing
Email : [EMAIL="drivenwide@gmail.com"]drivenwide@gmail.com[/EMAIL]

peapodmamma

It is on Rightmove & BSPC! Floorplans - a great idea, will check with my Solicitor to see if they can put this up on the webpage. Many folk in Scotland know to search the Scottish Solicitors Property Centres for Scottish properties, however the Rightmove will sort out the English interest! It is a lot of house for the money and if we didn't have to sell then we would certainly stay as the kids are happy and it is a nice quiet area with great commuting links south and north. However needs must and it has to go! Still, 4 viewings this week and another one booked for next!

peapodmamma

Well, I give up! Had 4 viewers last week and not one offer. All loved the house, but one wanted it as a holiday home, one was an old couple for whom a 5 bed house was unsuitable, one not in a position to buy and the other a second viewing who adored the house but having neighbours worried her otherwise she said she would have put in an offer! It's not like our neighbours are on top of us; we have a huge space between us and the neighbours that you could get 3 cars in between, not overlooked at the back (no houses) and at the front a huge space, not like a typical crowded housing estate; only 16 properties on our road, all individually built, each very different! All at teh edge of a village, fields around us! To compound things, the 3 bed bungalow 2 doors down from us just sold to an old couple who viewed ours (they said they wanted a bungalow not a house), and all for the same price £205K. I have come to the decision that the housing market is madness with little or no consistency. And our Solicitors are useless, having given little or no pricing guidance, or appraisal of the market, minimal follow ups of viewings and no regular summaries of happening/interest etc. With this in mind we are going to pull it off the market until things pick up, as we are not prepared to give such a lovely house away for the price of a semi or flat! So chaps, don't even think of putting your house on the market in these crazy times. We were at most £130K cheaper than similar 4/5 bed detached properties on the same road and still we didn't get an offer!