To those selling in these difficult times

sarah_elton

FeeFee - how much are other properties the same as yours on the market for?

For me, two flats the same as mine were on at £125k and £120k and had been on the market for almost a year each. I advertised mine at £112,500, aiming to get £105k. I then almost had the cheapest 2-bed flat in town (there was one other on at offers over £110k).

I've just accepted an offer that works out to £103,500. I'm actually going to rent the flat back off the buyer so he's paying £100k and giving us six months rent free - works out to £103,500 and suits us.

The point being, if you drop the price to say £112k, you might tempt viewers in and if someone falls in love with it you may still get your £105k - depends entirely on what others in the area are on at and selling for.

And I know how you feel on both fronts (1) mortgage wise - I owe £109k so now have to hand £9k over to HSBC :eek: , (2) but I'm selling anyway as OH and I want to move on and start thinking about buying a family home.

Feefee_4

Hi Sarah,

There is only one other two bed up for sale in my cul da sac & it's on for the same price. I've looked round the other roads & can't see many for sale only bigger ones. Lots have gone up for rent & been let very quick.

I know what your saying, will have to have a serious think about reducing it. I just though it would still get the viewings.

Feefee

sarah_elton

I know how you feel. I've spent £5k on mine since buying it for £115k three years ago and there is nothing that a buyer needs to do to the place. The pics of the place were good, it was one of the cheapest around but not because it was in a bad state. And I only had one viewer other than the guy whose offer I accepted.

When the market's good, flats in my development fly off the shelves. It's just sod's law that we want to move on with our lives during this time.

LouBlue

sarah_elton wrote: »

When the market's good, flats in my development fly off the shelves. It's just sod's law that we want to move on with our lives during this time.

I know how you feel, our flat went up in price every year since we had it, and similar flats went within a month. We put our flat on the market last March, completely the wrong time and it has now dropped £40k in a year....over 30% drop! And we can't afford to lower it anymore to sell it, so have to sit it out and just save up, so frustrating!

Davesnave

Hello again; I'm back! Now fully STR, on-line and ready to.....well, have a rest, I think.

Unlike Lotto, (post 1116) we had no problems with mail re-direction, which kicked-in 4 days after we applied, and BT were totally on-schedule too. Even the local council (when I'd finally subverted their automatic system and reached a live human) knew how to handle the council tax issue of moving into one house while still living in the other.

Wisely or not, we did lots of the removal ourselves, because it was a bit of an art moving our stuff from the self-store and the house and then shoe-horning it all in to this rental. However, Pickfords was deserted, which helped, and without them + a few other house-owning expenses, we'll have £250 a month to offset against paying rent. Anyway, what with furniture removal, frantic cleaning & general worry, DW and I have lost almost half a stone each!

Despite leaving ourselves plenty of time to vacate the old place, this house was so grubby, we used valuable days sorting it out. As a result, we only just cleaned ours to a decent standard before the new folk arrived..about 45 minutes later.

So far, we have no regrets about dropping our price substantially to sustain interest and get sold, though savings rates are nowhere near where they were when we took that decision. We could still put all the money into our 'already-full' fixed rate accounts to get 6.25% until next December, but that would be a very risky thing to do. I calculate that staying safe with the house money will cost us about £5k in 'lost' interest, but knowing what a roller-coaster 2008 was, it's a price probably worth paying.

Anyway, nice to be back. I will try to catch-up in the next few days.

lotto-dreamer

Davesnave wrote: »

Hello again; I'm back! Now fully STR, on-line and ready to.....well, have a rest, I think

Oh, welcome back Davesnave! Glad to hear your move wasn't too bad. It's a nice feeling when you start to get back to normal again. Welcome to the STR brigade.

Unlike Lotto, (post 1116) we had no problems with mail re-direction, which kicked-in 4 days after we applied, and BT were totally on-schedule too

Lucky you! I think moving just before Christmas on my part was a big mistake - but I didn't really have much choice.

I do keep coming back to check this thread - still rooting for everyone else on here and hoping it goes well.

Feefee_4

Morning all,

I'm really fed up now & just want to get the house sold so that I can get moved in with my partner & we can start our new lift together. At the moment i'm doing like 4 days a week at his & 3 days at mine & it's getting us both down.

I'm thinking it may be a good idea to reduced the house but i just don't know. It went on the market in November at £119,950 so I guess if what they say is true then it is now over priced There is only one other up for sale the same as mine & it's at the same price. I've had one viewing at the beginning of Jan & she liked it but then found another. I can't decide if reducing now would have any impact or if I would be better waiting to around Easter time when things usually pick up - who knows this year. I just worry if i reduce it too much & someone offer even a lot lower than that I won't be able to accept it as I owe £100,000 on the mortgage & I can't afford to have to top it up as others say they have done. I spoke to the EA the other day & he said they are selling but only the one priced really well - implying that mine is not now, but as I was busy at work i didn't have time to push it. What are your views?

sarah_elton

Fee - if you can get around £103k for it, you should be able to clear the mortgage and pay your solicitor and EA fee - is that right?

I priced mine at £112,500 when my neighbours were on at £125k and £120k and am selling for about what you need to achieve. There are some muppets out there who want 20% off asking price whether the same property is priced at £120k or £110k, but there are some people with their heads screwed on straight who understand the difference in the asking price and would offer the same amount on each property. BUT, they're more likely to view the one at £110k as they think the seller is keen to do a deal.

I wanted to sell my property too - OH has already moved in with me but we want to think about a family home and the flat I loved when I was single was beginning to feel like a millstone around my neck.

I honestly think you should drop the asking price to tempt in the viewers - you only need one person to fall in love with it. If you don't want to drop asking price as low as I did, how about £114,995? In my view, go in punchy for a quick sale and drop a bit lower, but you can drop it in stages if you feel more comfortable that way.

Like I said, about £103k should leave you all square financially, and if you're priced at £110-115k, I don't think it's unrealistic to aim for offers at that level.

I know you won't have made anything on this property, but my view (and I've lost a LOT on mine - it's cost me £22k more than renting over the same three year period would have :eek:) is that I'm young, the housing market is cyclical, and over the course of my life I will make a bit of money out of houses. My parents lost on their first house as they had to buy in a high market. But they did alright on practically every other house. If you can get out all square and move on with your life then I say do it.

If you do drop, make sure your agent is on the case - tell him that as soon as you drop you want him back on the phone to everyone he's called about it already. If it's been on the market a while you need to re-energize the agent about the property. If you're outside your EA contract period, you could consider switching agents if this one doesn't seem enthused? When I had valuations done, I picked the hyperactive EA who was literally bouncing round my flat saying how nice it was. I could imagine him really selling it to buyers.

janey_uk

sarah_elton wrote: »

I know you won't have made anything on this property, but my view (and I've lost a LOT on mine - it's cost me £22k more than renting over the same three year period would have :eek:) is that I'm young, the housing market is cyclical, and over the course of my life I will make a bit of money out of houses. My parents lost on their first house as they had to buy in a high market. But they did alright on practically every other house. If you can get out all square and move on with your life then I say do it.

This is the kind of common sense the market sorely needs. We have technically 'lost' on our house as we have spent a lot on new heating, kitchen and bathroom, but as you say, you have to move on with your life. There's more to life than houses and money. I have spent four very happy years in my current home, something a rental could never have been. I would rather move out with my happy memories and look forward to the future than lose sleep over what could have been if I'd sold it a year ago etc.

sarah_elton

janey_uk wrote: »

We have technically 'lost' on our house as we have spent a lot on new heating, kitchen and bathroom, but as you say, you have to move on with your life.

Yeah - my figure includes negative equity, money spent on the place, buying and selling costs, and the extra that the mortgage cost per month compared to what renting cost me.

It's hard to say it was worth it (I don't know why I calculated the total - a masochistic (sp?) moment lol), but I have absolutely loved living there. And things change - it was perfect when I was on my own and if I hadn't met OH I'd be happily living there a good few years yet. But I'm so excited about the next stage of my life and grateful that I'm in a better job than when I bought the flat which is going to allow me to clear the negative equity debt by July. At that point, I'll have absolutely no debt for the first time since starting university (cleared my student loan last year). :T Until I get a mortgage with OH anyway. :rolleyes: