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

rosered100

Yes the EA should filter, but if they are too strict the buyer will get fed up with no viewings & move elsewhere so I'm sure that it's a fine line to tread for good EAs.
Quite often buyers say they are 'cash buyers' but when it comes down to it they have a house under offer (not exchanged) & a mortgage to sort out - just what do they think a cash buyer is exactly? I'm fed up with the term. I think it's just a ruse to strike a cheaper deal by implying they can close the deal quickly.
This time around we are not taking the house off the market until some real money is spent ie a full survey.

not_loaded

rosered100 wrote: »

…Quite often buyers say they are 'cash buyers' but when it comes down to it they have a house under offer (not exchanged) & a mortgage to sort out - just what do they think a cash buyer is exactly? I'm fed up with the term. I think it's just a ruse to strike a cheaper deal by implying they can close the deal quickly…

I quite agree. They rely on the truth not coming out for a long time.

westlondonbuyer wrote: »

…When someone tells you the house is "lovely" but doesn't elaborate or make an offer, this is code for "too expensive for what it is.";)

Can’t agree with that. Sightseers and tyre kickers will say this all the time.

westlondonbuyer wrote: »

A few of you seem to be blaming "nosey" buyers or chains that are struggling to complete. Shouldn't your agent be filtering these people out well before they're booking appointments to view? They need to establish that the viewer has financing in place and/or has already got their property under offer at the very least.

Not really. I sold my property to an unproceedable buyer.

Davesnave

not_loaded wrote: »

I sold my property to an unproceedable buyer.

Me too. In this market, one should not be fussy, nor attempt to pass judgement on others.

People are complex. Some will not show their hand, while others tell porkies. We found it best to assume as little as possible and expect the unexpected.

As it turned out, that was a not a bad strategy, both when selling, and later, when buying again. We had one or two surprises on exchange.....say no more! :eek:

westlondonbuyer

not_loaded wrote: »

Sightseers and tyre kickers .

If your agent is not filtering these people out, they are not doing the job for which you're paying them.

Even if the buyer is 'unproceedable' (personally I avoided these like the plague when I sold, because I couldn't afford to wait a year to sell), they should at least have the brains to recognise real interest.

By the way, there are very few people who have ZERO intention of moving but spend their Saturday mornings looking at houses, fielding calls at work almost daily from obnoxious estate agents, or running from the office at lunchtime to view a house and be back at their desk before the boss notices.

Still, if a *buyer's time* is wasted looking at a house with revolting presentation and a pie-in-the-sky price because the vendor isn't actually prepared to sell, just trying it on at an experimental high price, who cares???

westlondonbuyer

rosered100 wrote: »

Quite often buyers say they are 'cash buyers' but when it comes down to it they have a house under offer (not exchanged) & a mortgage to sort out - just what do they think a cash buyer is exactly?

Why haven't you asked your estate agent to verify proof of funds *before* being allowed to view?

No motivated buyer is going to be offended by being asked to provide a letter from their bank.

westlondonbuyer

I've posted in my other thread about the 6 houses for sale in the road where I'm renting. All of them are identical Victorian cottages, though some have been extended and gentrified and others haven't. They've all come on the market since March.

The most expensive house ever sold in this road sold in 2007 for XXXk; it belongs to my neighbour opposite. It had been extended into the garden and into the loft, and was beautifully presented on the inside (developer job). I would pay the same again today, because my husband and I sold our pre-marriage flats at a decent price, and we're happy to pay someone else a decent price, because we want to get on with the rest of our lives.

But the 6 houses on sale today, in 2010, none of them extended, none of them as well presented, are all priced at XXXk+15%. None of them have sold, and as I live in the street I can see they barely get any viewings on a Saturday (which is the peak viewing time in London).

I'm sure, after all this time, none of these vendors can understand why their house isn't selling. Yet none of them will reduce the asking price to even 2007 selling price.

Whenever I query this with the agents, I'm told, "She already thinks it's good value versus Number __ because she has a conservatory/downstairs loo/nicer kitchen".

tiny_tear

rosered100 wrote: »

I personally would rather have the truth - at least you could make some changes/improvements to the property based on the feedback. To be told the house is 'lovely' is not very helpful or that the 'garden is too small' that's something that cant be changed & so is really frustrating. I'd rather the truth any day!

I agree, I would rather have the truth so I could do something to it!

In my case I am hoping (please please please) for an offer next tuesday.

Got a call yesterday saying this couple viewed the flat for the second time and really liked it and the agent thinks an offer will be forthcoming... Considering I have been in the market since December, I am keeping everything crossed!

westlondonbuyer

tiny_tear wrote: »

I agree, I would rather have the truth so I could do something to it!

It's not just a question of the truth though, sometimes we seem to inhabit different planets.

Say I see a house with two manky bathrooms.

When I'm viewing a house, I'm mentally adding up the cost of replacing them.

The price I've got in my head is what it would cost today to replace them with a bathroom commensurate to the overall price of the house today.

The vendor, who last replaced the bathroom in 1989, when her house cost about a quarter of what it costs today, is horrified when the estate agent tells her I want five figures off to replace the two bathrooms. "What does she want," the vendor says of me, "solid gold taps?"

I don't want solid gold taps. But neither do I want a £300 B&Q bathroom in a house that now costs 2000 times the price of such a bathroom.

Squish_21

NyimaR wrote: »

Sounds like a Kirstie wannabe!
Hope the potential makes it the right one for her and you get an offer:).

I've just fallen in love with (another) property that's appeared on rightmove today. I have to stop doing this as my heart keeps getting broken

Its frustrating falling in love with places that you cant buy because selling your current home holds you back - it happens to me.

It seems when i start imaging what i'd do to the rooms and where the furniture would go that it becomes 'Sold'.:(

westlondonbuyer

On buyer planet, I'm also having difficulty with those estate agents telling you everything will pick up in September because people are back from holiday, kids back at school etc.

I'm not being funny, but who goes away for the whole of the summer? Bar our two week holiday, we've been around all the time. So have all our other friends who want to buy, including the ones with kids

And even on holiday, we were on Rightmove daily to see if anything new had come on. The beauty of technology!