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

maya+2

sundin13 wrote: »

Don't panic Maya - we had the exact same issue. First two weeks, only one viewer booked, and she didn't even bother to turn up. Fast forward a month and although viewer 6 was a no show as well, viewer 5 has put an offer in, so I may never have to clean again!

congrats on the offer!

I was getting worried as the the EA who priced our house the lowest was saying it was important to not price the house too high as the first few weeks are the most important and if you don't sell then you probably wont, I presumed they maybe just wanted quick turnover of the properties so maybe he was exaggerating (not that EAs ever exaggerate). Rung our EA today any they said to wait it out a bit.

are viewings usually on weekends or weekdays? I keep feeling like i should stay in on weekends just in case and not make any plans in advance, as thats when I would've thought people would try to view

maya+2

Fingers_Crossed wrote: »

Well we finally got our offer accepted last Thursday afternoon and I completed a mortgage application with the Woolwich that same night. The last 90mins have been spent filling in all those forms you get from the solicitors about our property. All in all we finally seem to be getting there although I won't think that until we've actually moved in !!

Philippa36 - We had 25 viewings all done by us, over the last 8 months and the couple who's offer we've accepted, viewed our house the back end of Jan and hadn't even put theirs on the market until a week after viewing. So my answer would have to be yes it is worth it, but I won't ever forget how angry I'd get, to the point of tears after spending 7 hours prepping my house for 10 mins of a disinterested couple having a wander around.

well good luck with move, :beer:.
It took me about 7 hours to clean on friday, i couldn't understand why it took so long to get the house back to show home standards considering it was ready for the EA photos just a week ago. I keep thinking ill somehow keep it tidy, my no show viewers were meant to com one sat, and today i'd be embarrassed to let anyone in again, sigh.

Davesnave

For those of you spending lots of time cleaning, I think it's wise to develop a routine that gives a decent result in, say, 90 minutes and stick to that, rather than going overboard. We worked out a system and stuck to it.

Show home isn't how most of us live and, unless there is something remarkably bad, no one is going to remember the cleanliness, as they'll be too busy thinking of the structure, things they might want to alter, the way the house is orientated to the sunshine, the size of living spaces, overlooking, traffic noise, neighbours etc etc.

We must have viewed 50 properties and I couldn't comment on the cleanliness of many, because I didn't notice; they just didn't smell or look grubby! Clutter is a different matter, and there were certainly places we saw where the owners and their kids did themselves no favours by just having too much 'stuff.' In one extreme example, I remember pirhouetting in the garage between boxes piled floor to ceiling, with the owner calling from the utility room door, 'It's really a good sized space in there!' The rest of her house wasn't much better, either. :eek:

Philippa36

We have been on the market since last June and I can't count the viewings we've had. Two offers fallen through and the worst family I've ever encountered that caused more stress in the 2 months of them putting in offers then withdrawing them, changing their minds and making demands.

I really do want to sell the house, it is generally almost ready to view and doesn't take much more than an hour of cleaning - so long as my teenagers sort their rooms out.

I'm just fed up of 'its very nice, we really like it, maybe when we sell our house in x weeks/months/years, we'll come back and put an offer in' I'm sure one will come back.....eventually!

heffsta

Philippa36 wrote: »

We have been on the market since last June and I can't count the viewings we've had. Two offers fallen through and the worst family I've ever encountered that caused more stress in the 2 months of them putting in offers then withdrawing them, changing their minds and making demands.

I really do want to sell the house, it is generally almost ready to view and doesn't take much more than an hour of cleaning - so long as my teenagers sort their rooms out.

I'm just fed up of 'its very nice, we really like it, maybe when we sell our house in x weeks/months/years, we'll come back and put an offer in' I'm sure one will come back.....eventually!

So why don't you just drop the price and sell it? It's obviously to high or otherwise people would be buying.

23rdspiral

heffsta wrote: »

So why don't you just drop the price and sell it? It's obviously to high or otherwise people would be buying.

obviously i dont know Phillipa's situation, but with us it is just as she said. people love it, but if they havent sold yet there's no point going any further or getting excited. one couple would have bought but the bank said 'no' to downsizing thier mortgage. grumble.

as to 'just drop the price and sell it', our neighbours are now on at 10k lower than us for the same house (but a do-upper) and they've had less interest than us! :rotfl:

So sorry heffsta, it's not always that simple!

heygringo

heffsta wrote: »

So why don't you just drop the price and sell it? It's obviously to high or otherwise people would be buying.

Sorry! but you can't be serious. If propective buyers also have a property to sell.......

Our property is on sale with a "no chain" tag & 10K below the EAs valuation. What would you suggest we do?

Davesnave

heffsta wrote: »

So why don't you just drop the price and sell it? It's obviously to high or otherwise people would be buying.

There are three prices: unrealistic, competitive and fire-sale. Obviously, Phillippa doesn't fall into the last category and may not wish to get close to it, either for financial or emotional reasons, or both. Believe it or not, most people don't.

It's not necessarily a simple case of drop your price and you will sell. When I lopped £30k off mine, it generated lots of interest, from people who had something to sell. It was only when they realised that they weren't going to get it and keep their own high price that things started moving. Six months on and we had a deal, and a couple of back-ups too. Different time in the crash, but still relevant.

Yes, I could have dropped £50k and maybe sold to a cash buyer straight away, but how long does it take the average Joe to save £20k? More than 6 months for sure!

Still, giving total strangers advice on an Internet forum is cheap, innit.... and we all do it!;)

elona

Have two viewings booked today (seems strange for us to be the viewers).

Legal questions and form taken to lawyer by DH on Thursday and our house is being looked at by surveyor tomorrow morning.

Did some research and the house we loved and hoped would be coming onto the market soon was sold privately July last year.:(

Interesting that at the top of the market it was priced at £426,000 and actually sold for £355,000.

Really hope our sale goes through as yet another house has just come up for sale across the street. It is a small street for Heaven's sake:mad:

monkeys_bunny

Good luck everyone with your viewings and offers. Wish i could say we were anywhere near an offer or a viewing haha

im moving in with mum on Friday partly to get ready for the wedding and partly to be able to keep the house 'show' standard ready for the warmer weather, the election and what i hope will be some viewers

i agree with Davesnave on some points, i too spend hours cleaning even though it doesnt really need that much but mainly cos im that kinda person and feel if someone is coming to the house, whether its a viewer or friends it should look its best. But i also agree that as a seller you should dress nice to show people round, it make you feel better and also looks better for the viewer.

clear the kids/dogs out and dress nice