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Ditch the price range?

2

Comments

  • jenner wrote: »
    i think its a nice house but lack of a full bathroom would put me right off, you might be more realistic wanting 165ish

    why not stick it on at 170 and hope to get close to that.

    We bought it as a shower room and for the size of the room 5ft x 5ft-ish decided when we re-did it to keep it that way to utilise the space more. When we bought most of the houses in the road had converted the bathrooms to showers rooms. I was always dead against a shower, but compromised as I loved the house.

    Thanks for your input.
  • jenner wrote: »
    if you;re handy with tile paint and masking tape you could paint the green tiles magnolia or cream and then your kitchen would be cream and blue, much more pleasing,,, or try to find some cream coloured tile stickers that go right over the tile

    That's a good idea. Will suggest that to hubby.
  • Idiophreak
    Idiophreak Posts: 12,024 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    casper_g wrote: »
    Personally, I've never understood the point of a price range on a house. If you've advertised the fact that you'll accept £165k, who will offer £185k? I'd say if the minimum you can possibly accept is £165k just add a bit onto that and offer a single price.

    I quite agree...Who's going to say "I know the house has been on for 8 weeks, but I've just won the lottery...I'm going to be *that guy* that offers the maximum...I'm Mr 185!"...it's just not going to happen. 165-185 = 165. As above, nobody wants to pay full asking at the mo, so you won't get many offers above 160. Stick it on at 175 (in the middle) then people who're interested may well realise they have to offer 165+
  • As someone who's about to exchange on a house in Dartford, but looked in Barnehurst and Crayford, can I make the following points:

    - You have no photo of bedroom 2. This would make me think that it's maybe slightly cramped
    - You have two photos of the garden, but realistically this needs work doing
    - No photo of dining area, so I can't visualise the space for my guests
    - Blue & green kitchen is a no no.
    - I wouldn't offer anywhere near your upper price
    - Shower room would put me off, I'm afraid.
    - Going by your rightmove page (without the details) I'd probably hit the back button straight away (sorry!)
    Don't worry about typing out my username - Call me COMP
    (Unless you know my real name - in which case, feel free to use that just to confuse people!)
  • the curse of ward and partners has ruined all the prices in my area! I spent about 6 months looking at houses i couldn't afford!

    Unfortunately because ward and partners was getting tonnes of viewings all the estate agents started putting stupid ranges on their properties.

    I can understand the marketing reasons behind using a range, but when looking at house sub 100K - most had a range of between 20 and 30%.

    I got so frustrated getting a mortgage approved (IP) and then viewing and offering and then getting the offer rejected.
    when i asked what they'd accept i would find that they wouldn't take less than 5% from the top end of the range!

    Really when pricing you're home i would forget what other houses are apparently worth and look at your own figures first.

    Work out your price to move, the minimum figure that you could afford to take. Then from there, work out what profit you want (if any). Then add a couple of % as your room for negotiation.

    Once you've worked out that figure, look at the other houses in the area and see where they are priced. If you think it looks competitive you're sorted. If it looks massively expensive or cheap you can adjust it accordingly - I wouldn;t waste anytime over the figure that a salesman from an estate agency has come up with to get you on their books.
  • adg1
    adg1 Posts: 670 Forumite
    edited 7 December 2009 at 6:30PM
    My house has been on the market for approx 8 weeks and is up for £165-185K which is in line with other similar properties in the road.

    I've never quite understood this whole price range thing. Is it £165k or is it £185K? Who knows? A potential buyer with £160k wouldn't, but whereas you may very well accept that value as an offer, he may be thinking that you are looking for nearer to £185k and not even enquire.

    Set a price you want, add a bit so you can negotiate, but base this on sold houses in your area that are comparable to your own.

    I would be put off looking as it seems that you don't know what you want for your house and I could be left hanging whilst you thought about an offer.

    I just don't get why an agent can't list this at £165K, or another value, but show people who can afford it and also those that could maybe stretch whose requirements it matches. Most people will end up paying about 10% over their initial budget anyway. One price and lots of viewings through the door.
  • adg1
    adg1 Posts: 670 Forumite
    liggins wrote: »
    Unfortunately because ward and partners was getting tonnes of viewings

    Which is exactly what you would want as a vendor - remember that the vendor is the client.
  • lincroft1710
    lincroft1710 Posts: 19,093 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    Externally like many 1930s terrace 2 beds, not overly attractive. Good size lounge, kit and bed 1, but bed 2 is v small as is shwr rm. Kit decor not ideal, shwr rather than bath wouldn't personally put me off, but a lot of people like a bath.

    Garden needs a lot of time/money spending on it and a lot of people won't want a 100ft garden (short sighted - ideal for grow your own).

    As everyone else says, EA's pricing policy is ridiculous.
    If you are querying your Council Tax band would you please state whether you are in England, Scotland or Wales
  • adg1 wrote: »
    Which is exactly what you would want as a vendor - remember that the vendor is the client.

    the vendor does not want people who cannot afford the house.. foot traffic yes, but foot traffic that cannot afford to buy is a pointless waste of everyones time.

    if the range is 165-185.. people who can afford 185 are going to look at houses priced at 185 - 205.. people who can afford 165 are going to look at the 165 - 185 - they will offer 160 - 165 and will have their offer rejected.

    If i refer you back to the original post

    "So far we have a had in the region of 25 viewings and 2 offers, one at £150K & the other at £160K"

  • roger196
    roger196 Posts: 610 Forumite
    500 Posts
    I would get rid of one of the sofas and one of the chest of drawers in the bedroom...they make the place look cluttered. Lawn needs mowing and a number of potted plants to liven up...photo looks boring. Kitchen needs neutral colours...you can get tile paint for the floor. I do not understand " 1 mile radius to station"...sounds like an obscure question in a maths exam. Would be interested to know where rail lines leed to eg a London terminus or the local quarry. Price range is a turn off....if you cant make up your mind what the offer price is, will you be forever changing your mind during the sale process. Remember the EA is there to work for you, you are paying him so he does what you want.
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