To those selling in these difficult times Part Deux. AKA sellers support network!

23rdspiral

bravo to all who have moved! comiserations to all those who will now face stamp duty/more duty somewhere in their chain, including me!

goldengirl - that's a fantastic rate of viewers, you must have a fab house/demanded street and/or brilliant agents. good luck!

well, we're still here and the price drop hasnt shaken anyone out of the water. though our neighbour just died so we are expecting that house to come on the market asap. whether that is a good thing or not we will just have to see...

(gosh! i didnt mean that as calously as it sounded! obviously my neighbour just dying is a very sad thing and i'm very sorry for them and the family.)

goldengirl28

Hi 23rdspiral,

I thinks its a bit of everything.
The agents where one of the lower valuers, but they gave me a good feeling and they are very popular
The street if fab for first time buyers very quiet and communal so i think that helps and i took advise on here, moved clutter into storage and also brightend the place up with a lick of paint

Our next door neighbour has also died, i think that has helped with the volume of viewings, they had a offer the first week on the market, but turned it down.

How long have you been on the market for?

not_loaded

goldengirl28 wrote: »

Hi Not_loaded, thanks for your responce
we live in the north a town called huddersfield
When do you think the market will start to build?
I'm thinking late Jan early feb, whats your thoughts?

Ah yes, I know it well.

I don’t think there’s a definite point where the market ‘is built’, it’s just that you almost certainly need the competition of more than one or two viewers getting round to an offer.

Overall I feel that February/March is when we will first begin to see an adequate quantity of viewers down here. Obviously IF you get an offer that meets your requirements, AND you feel you want to proceed, then you do.

On the matter of probate property, it took the best part of six months for our neighbour’s house to get to market in those circumstances. Probate can of course take longer than that at times. Also, is the neighbouring property really in competition with yours? Round here probate property tends to be somewhat run down – not atrocious, but in need of some tlc. Usually a good opportunity for someone of course!

goldengirl28

Thanks for your responce not_loaded

your right about next door, it was old by an old chap who was born there and he died at 78 )lovely bloke), it had central heating put in about 10 years ago and double glazing, but thats all thats ever been done

and thanks for your advice

23rdspiral

Thanks Not loaded and Golden girl,

We've been on since the end of september i think. Had 5 viewings I think, and all but 1 of those said they wanted to buy, they just werent able! Sorry, have tried not to invest too much emotion into it as we've seen the perfect house, my best mate wants to buy ours but cant move due to new bank rules (even though it would lessen the mortgage!! ~ sorry, i'm a ranting stuck record on that!)

Interesting what you've said about probate - i dont know anything about that at all. Odly, our neighbours house went on the market today. It was on 6 months ago, before he got ill, so i gues he left instructions to help the process happen quicker. The price on it has gone UP 3 grand, as ours has gone down 3 grand, so they are now on at the same price!

Concerning competition, thanks, I think you're right. One of our viewers saw his aswell, and said ours was a first time family home, and his was a batchelor pad. Our bathroom and kitchen are countrystyle and done, his were modern style in need of work. Though it's all down to taste isnt it? But I think the family has done some work to the place so perhaps it is cheerier now, although, there's only one photo on rightmove. That always makes me suspicious. So all i can say is that the extra signs and a different agent than ours marketing it might just help with web traffic and possible viewings. fingers crossed. (gosh, sorry for the essay!)

goldengirl28

No essay, i like to read others experiences etc. Next door to us is 10k cheaper.

Old chap's sister is sorting everything else and we are kinda working together to get the max viewings she had a offer of 80, but can't accept as in probate (sorry i don't know much about probate) she needs to hold out for 88 apparently

I had to cancel a viewing the day before new years eve as the snow as really bad STILL IS, so i'll ring the estate agent and see if they want to come next week when its a bit better.

Why were the interested people not able to proceed? sorry if you say somewhere else, just point me in that direction

23rdspiral

it's nice you are helping your neighbouts sister - the more interest for one house, the more for both i hope!

- one interested person was a ftb who liked the property but we got the impression that mum didnt, so she was too scared to go ahead according to the EA.
- one party insisted we were to buy their house and that it was all arranged aparently. shame we didn't know anything about that and nor did our agent!?! and we dont want a 1980s house anyway!!
- one couple were interested in ours and another, and we guess they chose the other (downsize but not too much). but we can't really count these and really interested i think.
- the others were banking issues. grrr. those problems would not have existed before the crunch. not that i'd advocate people stretching themselves of course, but the banks do seem to be especially tight and picky right now!

i hope the snow doesnt get too much worse for you. oh, and i'm amused that looking at your '2010 challenges' list, mine are pretty much the same!

not_loaded

Probate is where, once it is granted, a person (or persons) are able to legally act in processing the deceased person’s estate. So, you pay off debts, possibly sell property, settle the wishes expressed in the will etc, etc.

One of the executors may apply for the grant of probate, or more commonly a solicitor. The executor/solicitor applies for a grant of probate from the probate registry. The grant is a document confirming that that person has the authority to legally deal with everything.

I’m just in the middle of applying for probate for my mother’s estate. At £205 per hour for a solicitor we decided (having been ripped off big time by solicitors before now) that we’d do it ourselves. It’s just an admin job really.

To get back on topic (at last!) the property of a deceased person, plus their assets and debts, are ‘frozen’ on their death. The grant of probate ‘unfreezes’ things, assuming the grantee gets on with things in a timely manner. hth

2 stone would be a good start for me!

Contessa

Reading this thread has made me think about my friend's situation. She is selling a house that she let out. It hasn't been looked after and needs a lot of work doing to it. It was put on the market at the beginning of December. There were four viewings and one low offer, which she has accepted. My friend is pleased. I don't want to burst her bubble but I think she may be making a mistake. Is the market likely to pick up in a couple of months? Would she be better off doing the house up and selling for a lot more? I'm a bit suspicious because her agent has a flat fee, rather than a percentage, so I suspect he won't be working in her best interests, but is just going for a quick sale. What do others think about this?

goldengirl28

hi contessa,

my agency has a flat fee if the house in upto a certain value, then they start charging %s

its difficult know what to advise as there is no guarantee that doing it up will get more money or put people off with the higher price.

sorry i couldn't be more help, just starting out on the selling lark