probably daft question re selling

penny100

Hi

This is probably a really daft question but bear with me as i am looking to sell for the first time ever.

I have spoken with an estate agent today who keeps posting cards through my door stating they have buyers waiting for a property like mine. So i bit the bullett and rang them today. I am looking to put my house on the market asap and wanted to find out exactly how quick they think they can sell. Apparently they have 300:eek: buyers on their books looking for their ideal property (seems a bit fishy to me re the figures given the present climate but hey-ho i will ask them to do a valuation etc and probe further) but i wanted to know is if anyone knows of any websites out there that people can use to register their interest for the types of properties they are looking to buy and await a suitable property coming on the market and be contacted? The reason i ask is that i live in an area which is possibly 40% buy to lets to Polish workers etc and know it is kind of a desirable area in terms of that. I have googled but come up with nothing.

Any help greatly received and if it's a negative response then anyone fancy setting up a website with me for this reason:rotfl:

thank you in advance

Davesnave

I fear you are a bit naive regarding estate agents and haven't taken the best route towards finding the right one. Of course every agent you speak to will have dozens of eager buyers looking for a property just like yours, just like the government has a policy to cover every eventuality.......

There may be a lot of BTL in your area already, but the general consensus on here is that landlords are not flocking to purchase at this moment. However, it is a good idea to think about the primary market for your type of property and select an agent that is good at marketing that. This will involve you in some serious research on Rightmove, identifying & evaluating not only rival properties in your locality, but also the way agents present them. Some are, frankly, carp at handling a camera, and more than a few seem to have English as a second language.

When you have identified say 4 or 5 agents that are basically competent, get them to come and value your house. By then you should have more than an inkling of what it's worth, so you'll have an idea of who may be telling porkies to get your business. Go with your gut feelings to a certain extent, because if you don't like an agent at the first meeting, you will find it hard to work with them later. Ask about the local market and see how much BS they feed you as a test.

Using Firefox as your browser, you can get a plug-in called Property Bee which will help you to identify the sales histories of rival properties on Rightmove. This will help you get up to speed relatively quickly.

In conclusion, not a daft question at all, but if you aren't prepared to put in work like the above, then just get a telephone directory and select with a pin.

poppysarah

They need people selling their homes to also buy homes...

going2die_rich

Just because someone is on the books doesn't mean they are going to buy your property at your price. Most would buy if it was 50% of the value, and then a few less if it was 60% and even less at 70% and so and so on. Many of the buyers sitting on books simply couldn't afford to buy a year ago, thats why they are left on the books. So you are going to have to have a lower price in order to make it afforable to these buyers. I wouldn't be surprised if anyone on their books is even looking now, half wont want to buy in a declining market and the other half wont be able to get the deposit together to get a mortgage in the first place, now that the minimum deposit has increased.

Mutton_Geoff

300 buyers on their books

I doubt that very much. What they mean is they have a database of just over 250 people whom they can mailshot, including all the addresses they drove past and saw a "For Sale" board up in their catchment area.

I would be surprised if they could count on one hand the number of "willing and able" buyers across their whole budget. Translate that to one or two viewings if you list your property with them.

penny100

thanks everyone. I have made a list of a few with a good reputation that i will approach first for a valuation and go from there to gauge their attiitudes, fees etc. I have been to one which has a lot of properties in the town and is marketing one across the road from me which has been up for around 6 months. I was trying to work out whether it hadn't been sold due to them or the owner as she is going through a divorce and forced to sell up so wondered whether she was also not pushing them to sell etc. I could have clocked the lad i spoke to who you would swear they had dragged off the streets only seconds earlier he was that unhelpful!

I gues this could be a long journey with a few like him and finding the best one for me.:j

wish me luck:beer:

Gary_Connor_1955

if you can find a buyer then now is a great time to sell.

however, dont get excited until it has all gone through. you never know when it might fall through.