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

shirlgirl2004

Fortheloveofmoney wrote: »

The open day went ahead yesterday and it wasn't that sucessful. I wasn't there but the EA told me that only 1 person showed up. He said they were an investment buyer and sounded quite keen. Who knows. I'm quite disappointed but I suppose 2 viewings in less than a week isn't too bad in the current market

You only need one buyer so try not to feel too bad.

shirlgirl2004

Hope you have a change of luck Emmzi. You will get there in the end.

ognum

kymie wrote: »

Sorry to hear that Emmzi, hope you find something better.
Thanks to everyone for the kind words. I think if the lady had 6 kids and a dog,with hubby working away and only visiting occaisionally,and her house was immaculate too then she is a better person than me! Got 2 EA's coming out this week to do valuations (hoping we are still priced right) and will choose one to go with as giving current EA notice from tomorrow---Woohoo!

I can feel how difficult this is for you so this is just a suggestion noy a critisism.
Is there any way before the new ea,s arrive you could go through the house and pack up some things that are not essentials and put them into storage. I know that it would be difficult for the children to give up alf their stuff but perhaps if you explained to them that it was for a short time and got them a bog each they could choose some things that could take a holiday. The same with clothes, you would want to save clothes to hand down but could some of these go short term into self storage? I also have tons of stuff in my kitchen that I only use now and then maybe you could rationalize that as well.
I have lived with a house packed up, not with 6 kids though and realised that actually I only need a quater of what I have.
If you have less in the house there will be more space and less chaos and less to tidy before viewings.
I hope this helps.

My other thought is I know as sellers we are desperate to get viewers but I think you should be clear with you ea what days you will take viewings, give yourself 2 or 3 days a week when you never have viewings that way you never have that gut reaching feeling on those days that the house isnt tidy and the kids have a break, use those days to do the washing, change the bed sheets, all the basic stuff then you only have to tidy if you get a viewing.
If the viewers can wait a day to view then they are unlikely to buy.

I,_Geek

I think feedback is fine as long as it's polite, constructive criticism. After getting lots of positive "oos" and "aahs" first time around and no 2nd viewings, I was desperate to know exactly why the flat wasn't what people wanted. If people didn't mention anything our EA didn't seem to coax an answer out of them.

Some feedback is to do with things you just can't change so don't take it personally. My OH and I had: "2nd bedroom is too small" (it did say it was 1mx4m in the particulars - we've included a picture this time just to be sure), "Want private entrance" (on a flat - good luck with that), "Don't want a flat."

Our welcome letter from the estate agents said that someone once said they didn't want a property because they didn't like the wallpaper. Daft stuff like that is frustrating. So, the building was great, the rooms were good sizes, the location was great, the price was right... but oh dear the wallpaper isn't to our tastes. When people pick on a small, easily changed detail like that they must have either not been serious in the first place, or there is another reason they don't want the property (and the sellers want to know what that is!). I can't believe that people will let a house slip away that they otherwise like, just because of a cosmetic detail. The only time this could be understood is when you have 2 identical houses on the same street on the market - one is a mess, the other is perfect.

People's ideas of "perfect" and "good taste" vary so much you can't possibly do up your house to suit everyone. My grandparents were advised to put in a new kitchen, but every viewer had a different idea of what kitchen they wanted to put in. My grandma didn't want to choose a kitchen for someone then have them rip it out a few months later. They sold anyway with the house as it was, which was by no means a mess.

When my OH and I are looking we're put off by cheap, newly-installed kitchens and carpets because they're not quite to our taste and we'd remove them straight away. I'd hope to find a charity/sell them on eBay but it still seems wasteful. People also add, for example, 10k to the price of a house for doing 5k worth of poor-quality improvements. I'm not paying a 5k premium for that.

Please buyers, be polite but honest when the EA asks why no 2nd viewing. It's better than leaving sellers none-the-wiser.

Jewel_2

I've bought and sold quite a lot in my life (I'm 40 now) and we have just had structural survey done (we are the vendors), awaiting results. We're not desperate to move (esp pychologically, we love our house), but financially it will make sense for all kinds of reasons.

However, I am just leaving it to fate. I cannot get stressed anymore by housebuying and selling, so I am just going to accept either way. I'm lucky to be in that position, but for any of you out there who do not HAVE to sell, then take a step back, breathe, and relax. Everytime I try to look too far ahead I recheck, have a glass of wine, and enjoy today!:T

Tibbie's_mum

Jewel wrote: »

......... Everytime I try to look too far ahead I recheck, have a glass of wine, and enjoy today!:T

I'll go along with that, wholeheartedly:beer:

thifty

So sorry to hear that you still haven't got any further forward pawpurrs. I cant imagine how fed up you are feeling.
Kymie dont let peoples comments get to you, they are just plain rude and have no manners, not worthy of your time or your home!
Emzie sorry to hear you are back in the world of anal housekeeping. I feel your pain as I have had enough of it all too and we have only been on 9 weeks, had 10 viewings, 3 offers and are now in a potentially long chain. We are no.3 of a chain of 5.
Now the FTB are moaning that they will have to wait for the rest of the chain to buy houses, we are all families with small children so do not have the option of just foisetering (sp) ourselves on relatives, nor do we want to go into rented as we don't want to have to move twice, so they will just have to go and stamp their feet or pull out. :mad:
I am so fed up I dont really care now either way. They are using the old " well we like property 1 better but property 2 has no chain" so we may just go for the other unless you sell yours cheaply game. Glad the FTB aren't OUR buyers but it does annoy me that some people think they can just dictate to everyone else and everyone else will jump.:eek: Why is selling a house such a pain the in the proverbial?

Hailstorm

I,_Geek wrote: »

I think feedback is fine as long as it's polite, constructive criticism. After getting lots of positive "oos" and "aahs" first time around and no 2nd viewings, I was desperate to know exactly why the flat wasn't what people wanted. If people didn't mention anything our EA didn't seem to coax an answer out of them.

Some feedback is to do with things you just can't change so don't take it personally. My OH and I had: "2nd bedroom is too small" (it did say it was 1mx4m in the particulars - we've included a picture this time just to be sure), "Want private entrance" (on a flat - good luck with that), "Don't want a flat."

Our welcome letter from the estate agents said that someone once said they didn't want a property because they didn't like the wallpaper. Daft stuff like that is frustrating. So, the building was great, the rooms were good sizes, the location was great, the price was right... but oh dear the wallpaper isn't to our tastes. When people pick on a small, easily changed detail like that they must have either not been serious in the first place, or there is another reason they don't want the property (and the sellers want to know what that is!). I can't believe that people will let a house slip away that they otherwise like, just because of a cosmetic detail. The only time this could be understood is when you have 2 identical houses on the same street on the market - one is a mess, the other is perfect.

People's ideas of "perfect" and "good taste" vary so much you can't possibly do up your house to suit everyone. My grandparents were advised to put in a new kitchen, but every viewer had a different idea of what kitchen they wanted to put in. My grandma didn't want to choose a kitchen for someone then have them rip it out a few months later. They sold anyway with the house as it was, which was by no means a mess.

When my OH and I are looking we're put off by cheap, newly-installed kitchens and carpets because they're not quite to our taste and we'd remove them straight away. I'd hope to find a charity/sell them on eBay but it still seems wasteful. People also add, for example, 10k to the price of a house for doing 5k worth of poor-quality improvements. I'm not paying a 5k premium for that.

Please buyers, be polite but honest when the EA asks why no 2nd viewing. It's better than leaving sellers none-the-wiser.

As a buyer I gave estate agents constructive feedback. Not only do I feel it is polite but also because I felt it could be beneficial for me. It gives the agents a better idea of what I am looking for. If I didn't want to take things further I would say why but I would also say what I liked about a property.

Regarding viewing properties where rooms are too small and asking why buyers viewed. That isn't always the buyers fault. An example is the very first property I viewed (to be honest I probably made a mistake in telling the agents I hadn't viewed anywhere yet). I phoned agents telling them my requirements which included two double bedrooms. When I got there I found the second bedroom was only big enough for a single bed. I did feedback to the agent that I wanted two double bedrooms and they gave me spiel that I wouldn't get that for my budget (the property was right at the top end of my budget). When I saw other houses I realised this one was overpriced by some margin. I believe because I said I hadn't viewed anything yet the EA thought I wouldn't realise it was overpriced and they could fob me off into believing I had to settle for a single second bedroom.

Interesting also that picky comments might be down to choosing to make an offer on another property. When I found the property I am in the process of buying I viewed three on the same day I would have been happy to have made offers on. I put in an offer on my preferred property which was accepted. When I gave feedback on the other two I did say I would have put in an offer had it not been for another property.

pawpurrs

Right well, we may have got to the bottom of the problem hopefully, and apparently we could exchange today or tomorrow, but my buyer is refusing to move the completion date giving me next to no time to pack now, she really is a pain in the provobial, normally I leave a nice card, bottle of champange etc, this time I dont think I will. Have had to start packing as otherwise there is no way it would all get done! So I am praying it doesnt fall through now, as its sheer chaos!

Davesnave

pawpurrs wrote: »

.... my buyer is refusing to move the completion date giving me next to no time to pack now, she really is a pain in the provobial, normally I leave a nice card, bottle of champange etc, this time I dont think I will.

Kipper under the floorboards, perhaps?

Our seller left us a mousetrap just inside the loft hatch and an account from the man who they'd recently called in to jet the drains. As buyers, it's these little details that make one feel so appreciated!:rotfl: