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

tyllwyd

deeplyblue wrote: »

... So, query to sellers (and perhaps potential buyers) would you put the house on the market asap, or reckon to wait until real spring (which, in this part of the world - northern England - doesn't arrive until March)? Come spring we will probably not be frightened about burst pipes and could turn the water back on. I'm reckoning that having a house which is cold and has no running water would be a turn off. OTOH prices are falling all the time, and many buyers may have done their market surveys by the beginning of March. ...

My feeling is that probate sales are a bit different to 'normal' sales. I'm assuming the house is a bit run down and will need a lot of work to modernise? Those sorts of houses seem to be selling well in the current market - people are looking for a bargain or a project, and end up fighting over houses that really aren't that great. So if the house is empty and obviously needs work, I don't think the fact that it is cold will put off the kind of person who would be attracted to a house that needs work.

Just my opinion - as someone who bought a house in a probate sale!

deeplyblue

tyllwyd wrote: »

My feeling is that probate sales are a bit different to 'normal' sales. I'm assuming the house is a bit run down and will need a lot of work to modernise? Those sorts of houses seem to be selling well in the current market - people are looking for a bargain or a project, and end up fighting over houses that really aren't that great. So if the house is empty and obviously needs work, I don't think the fact that it is cold will put off the kind of person who would be attracted to a house that needs work.

Just my opinion - as someone who bought a house in a probate sale!

Not quite the standard 1960s never-been-touched semi look. We're talking 1980s 4-bed detached. Needs re-decorating, and doubtless some people would want to replace the kitchen, though it looks OK to me. Already got the en-suite, over-sized utility room and the pergola. But certainly not going to be beautifully presented with fresh flowers and the smell of coffee.

Query: would you bother with leaving some furniture in the house - dining table to show you can get one into the dining room etc.

db

tyllwyd

deeplyblue wrote: »

Not quite the standard 1960s never-been-touched semi look. We're talking 1980s 4-bed detached. Needs re-decorating, and doubtless some people would want to replace the kitchen, though it looks OK to me. Already got the en-suite, over-sized utility room and the pergola. But certainly not going to be beautifully presented with fresh flowers and the smell of coffee.

Query: would you bother with leaving some furniture in the house - dining table to show you can get one into the dining room etc.

db

Well, I'd say that it is never going to be warm and inviting if there is nobody living there, so I'd be inclined to put it on the market anyway - you can explain that it is standing empty and unheated, and I do think that it shouldn't put a serious buyer off. It's not going to be that much more inviting in March than it is now, even if the outside temp is a few degrees higher.

But if you live close enough to pop round regularly, have you thought about leaving the heating on but at a low temperature? I'd have thought that might be better to avoid the house getting damp (although I take no responsibility of course if it snows again and pipes freeze!!)

I don't know about the furniture - maybe a few bits & pieces would help give people an idea of how it might look.

Jackinbox99

tyllwyd wrote: »

Yes, it does seem to skew the market a bit at this price, with very few properties for sale between 300-325 because everyone is heading below £300K. But then if someone is looking up to £350K, then ours might look good value, but if they are looking up to £300K ours will be top of their budget.

It is strange how Rightmove is having an impact - when we bought our last house (going back 12 years), it was priced at £103K with the owner looking to achieve £100K (which was pretty much what we paid). That was way back before Rightmove, so if you told your EA that your budget was £100K, they'd automatically send you details for properties a bit higher as well as lower.

From my experience of the selling process its a difficult decision to make. Estate agents ALWAYS send you details of property slightly more expensive than you can afford. They assume you can probably stretch that bit more, and that the sellers may drop slightly.

The mistake I just made is that looking at sold prices in my street, houses like mine have been selling for 175k over the last month. I wanted a quick sale, so put mine on at 172k, thinking id get 165k->170k. Of course, EA`s then pitched it to people who really only wanted to spend 150k, and in the end the only offers I had were high 150`s and a 160k offer. So, my house is now selling for 15k less than any other house in the street has sold for over the last few weeks, even though its probably the best one in the street.

So it looks like in my case I shot myself in the foot by trying to pitch my house at a lower price. I am wondering now should I have put it up for 180k or 190k in order to get that 170k price.

tyllwyd

Jackinbox99 wrote: »

... So it looks like in my case I shot myself in the foot by trying to pitch my house at a lower price. I am wondering now should I have put it up for 180k or 190k in order to get that 170k price.

That's exactly the balance we are trying to strike - do we stick over £300K and try to say, look, this is a big £300K plus house selling for a low price, or price under £300K and maybe get lots of people who can only spend £260K looking round, which wastes our time and theirs because we won't (in the current market) sell at that price. Who knows!

Ju&Mel

My poor mum she had her 3rd 'no show' viewer today
She's had 4 arranged viewings since her house went on the market 3 months ago, and only one lot have pitched up :mad: (these really want it but can't sell their own as lost their buyer)
Most recent 'viewer' wouldnt answer phone to EA

Don't people appreciate how much tome and effort goes into getting the house nice for viewing, a simple 'i've changed my mind' phone call would have been better than nothing

Some people.....................

evoke

^ Find a decent estate agent. The ones I used (after I canned the useless one) emailed and phoned me beforehand to confirm the viewings and always accompanied the viewers.

It sounds like you EA is just ringing anyone up to show that he's doing something but a no-show viewer is worse than no viewing booked.

Tell your EA where to shove his viewings and find a proper EA.

broke2

sorry, think i ended up being on the wrong thread (assisted sale) so shifting my stuff to here:

alderneyestateagency . com property 144 (the Town House)

swoffers . co . uk property for sale in St Anne

sorry I can't post direct links as new user...

any suggestions on how / where to advertise?

We're listed with Alderney & Guernsey agents only at the moment & my view is that I need to be advertising on an international scale to attract the right kind of buyers....

...problem is, all international sites don't include Channel Islands as most people just lump them together as part of the UK so anyone searching for a specific UK area is not interested in my place.

I guess I'm looking to attract someone who is not sure what they want or where they want to be....

...this is a lifestyle business in a great location with offshore tax perks but how do I "get it out there"?

Any advice, pointers or re-directions would be much appreciated.

tyllwyd

broke2 wrote: »

sorry, think i ended up being on the wrong thread (assisted sale) so shifting my stuff to here:

alderneyestateagency . com property 144 (the Town House)

swoffers . co . uk property for sale in St Anne

sorry I can't post direct links as new user...

any suggestions on how / where to advertise?

We're listed with Alderney & Guernsey agents only at the moment & my view is that I need to be advertising on an international scale to attract the right kind of buyers....

...this is a lifestyle business in a great location with offshore tax perks but how do I "get it out there"?

Any advice, pointers or re-directions would be much appreciated.

Hi! Sorry you haven't had any replies before now - I don't think there are many people here with experience in selling your kind of property. You are probably best off starting your own thread, to be honest.

But the one thing that occured to me is that you seem to be advertising your house as a residential property? Why is it not also listed under commercial property?

If you want to attract someone who wants to run a business, have you tried any 'buy a guest house/b&b' / 'start your own business' kind of websites? Or somewhere that advertises development/investment opportunities?

kymie

Hey broke2 - I couldnt seem to access the swoffers page, or find property numbers on the other website. How long have you been on the market?