New pics on Rightmove!!

coupleuk

Does it cost 10K to do a loft conversion then?

Ive no idea, but Im sure it could do.

What I was trying to say was that a good DIYer might be able to do the conversion WORTH £10,000 for much less and they then have a similar property to next door.

If they wanted to spend money adding the loft conversion and it eventually costs the same as your neighbours would have cost then they might as well have purchased your neighbours and saved any hassle.

You have to offer an incentive and a "dream" to buyers if you expect to sell when your neighbours property is better and cheaper than yours.


TBH you certainly don't take advice too well and I fear you will end up regretting that.

You don't have to agree with what people are saying, but you should remember that you have come onto the forum to get advice - or maybe you are just using it to promote your house for sale in the hope that the vast numbers who visit here will lead to a sale.

Finally, remember that any viewings you have are extremely unlikely to be honest with you and tell you what they think - they will just report back to the agent "oh, it's a lovely property but not quite what we're looking for" and you will be none the wiser.

At least people on here are giving your their opinions - even if it does seem a bit brutal.

Anyway, good luck with what you decide to do.

redhead123

I originally started this mainly to get feedback on the new pics (!!!!!!!!!) but comments seem to have descended into personal insults between some people that doesn't really help. I assume this situtation (2 houses for sale next to each other) probably happens all the time - so what would be beneficial is to hear from those who have actually BEEN in that situation and what did they do, did they sell their house, how long did they leave it before reducing the price, did they rent out for a year or what?

I think it would be a waste of time and money doing a loft conversion when it isn't going to make much difference.

I'm also not happy with my agents so I think i'll get advice from a few others before making a final decision on what to do..but in all likelihood I'll probably end up renting it out. That's what next door (the other side) did!!

Just wanted to ask tho - will the HIP still be valid next year or will I have to do a new one??


Thanks everyone. Over and out.

Harry_Powell

redhead123 wrote: »

I originally started this mainly to get feedback on the new pics (!!!!!!!!!) but comments seem to have descended into personal insults between some people that doesn't really help. I assume this situtation (2 houses for sale next to each other) probably happens all the time - so what would be beneficial is to hear from those who have actually BEEN in that situation and what did they do, did they sell their house, how long did they leave it before reducing the price, did they rent out for a year or what?

I think it would be a waste of time and money doing a loft conversion when it isn't going to make much difference.

I'm also not happy with my agents so I think i'll get advice from a few others before making a final decision on what to do..but in all likelihood I'll probably end up renting it out. That's what next door (the other side) did!!

Just wanted to ask tho - will the HIP still be valid next year or will I have to do a new one??


Thanks everyone. Over and out.

Agree with you about the insults. People seem to have their own hobby horse to push and rarely fully read the original post.

I continue to find it astonishing that people give such specific advice based on absolutely zero information. For all we know, the attic room in the other house could have been done without planning permission and done in a DIY fashion with zero structural engineering (Steel beams to carry the additional weight), zero regard to fire safety (building regs insist on a certain amount of fireproofing insulation, fireproof doors, etc), the access to the loft room might also not meet building regs.

Far from adding £10k to a propety, a botched and unauthorised loft conversion can damage the fabric of the house and reduce its value considerably. In this situation, you're not allowed to use the loft room as living accomodation and definitely not sleeping accomodation, all you have is a lovely junk room.

To answer your HIPS question:

http://www.movingahead.co.uk/ourservices/hip-faqs.asp

"A HIP remains valid for as long as the property is continuously marketed for sale. Allowance is also made for periods when the property might be taken off the market whilst, for example, it is under offer. The main time-sensitive items in the Home Information Pack are the local searches. These are generally acknowledged to be valid for six months. As the majority of sales complete within six months this should not usually be a problem but if you are selling and your searches do go out of date, you will NOT be compelled to renew them after this period."

Cannon_Fodder

Right next to the original post, Post 2 commented; "depends on how good a job, how near to being a usable bedroom".

CloudCuckooLand wrote: »

85 may sell for nearer to asking price, having the loft room - depends on how good a job, how near to being a usable bedroom.

Why would the rest of us repeat the obvious, ad infinitum?

Harry_Powell wrote: »

...rarely fully read the original post.

I continue to find it astonishing that people give such specific advice...

All of us are working within the limitations of distance and partial information.

Should they close down the forums because we can never really understand the whole picture, for any subject/question ?

As for the insults, it was you who first threw down the "bear" gauntlet, mostly to childishly try and provoke a response. So don't do DDs usual trick of trying to be holier than thou after the fact.

dopester

Uh-Oh, We're In Trouble, Something's Come Along And It's Burst Our Bubble

Maybe the new pics and the willpower to ride it out and not cut asking price (don't give it away according to Harry), will ensure the seller gets her price, despite what others are doing in the market, impacting on values.

Pesky neighbour eh.
23 April 2010 02:53:17
* Price changed: from '£129,500' to '£126,500'
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-25369621.html

redhead123 wrote: »

She tried to sell last year for 134,995 had a lot of offers but apparently rejected them. I think she wants to move as her young son is due to start school and she wants to move to an area with a better school.

I'm not sure what to do (I guess not much!)...hers is slightly bigger and has the addition of the loft conversion and a summer house in the back garden and upstairs bathroom.

I guess I'm resigned to the fact that anyone who does come to see mine will be interested in hers more - so I just hope hers sells quick. I'm tied in to sole agent but for 6 weeks and 1 per cent fee.

ginvzt

To be honest, by looking at those two pictures, there is no way I would buy yours compared with your neighbours. As someone said, bigger kitchen, more rooms (ok, loft room - still can use it as a study or a guest room, I guess), I prefer the d!cor as well, and 'garden room' looks better than your shed (I think more useful for me too).

Even if it still was at the original £129500, (which was still less than you asking), I would take theirs.

Just a question - where do you eat? At that tine table squeezed in the kitchen?

Ulfar

Back to the pictures, where is the picture of the bathroom ?

No picture of either the bathroom or kitchen always makes me think I am in for a nasty surprise when viewing.

GDB2222

dopester wrote: »

Uh-Oh, We're In Trouble, Something's Come Along And It's Burst Our Bubble

I thought your post was a bit mean, really, but I just wanted to say that I really enjoyed the video!

You'll like this one too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jkkx0FNJrk4&feature=related

dopester

GDB2222 wrote: »

I thought your post was a bit mean, really, but I just wanted to say that I really enjoyed the video!

You'll like this one too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jkkx0FNJrk4&feature=related

Yep the Primitives' is a much better track than Shampoo's. My post wasn't intended to be mean. Not to the OP. Just putting across cold logic out of kindness, not meanness.

Would you rather I say, "hold out for your desired asking price" despite it not looking competitive, or "wait for your neighbour to sell and then raise your asking price?" I don't see those kind of posts being very kind. More harmful imo.

If the seller wants to sell in this market, I think they'd have a better chance of doing so by being prepared to cut their asking price. Who knows? If the OP had cut from her '£129,500' asking price (which was £500 more than her neighbour's house), to '£126,500' (undercutting her neighbour's £129,000) a few weeks ago, she may have had a viewer and sold.

It might just have been enough to trigger viewings and offer from a person who could only afford that much £126,500 as their maximum budget. Both houses are towards the lower end of the market in price for that area. Now unless she really lucks out, she has an even tougher time against the market, with her neighbour cutting their asking price even further. And even if her neighbour's house soon sells at a new lower asking price, it doesn't necessarily give a clear run to sell their own at their desired asking price as the OP has suggested it might. There are more coming on to market in the area, and some nicer 3 beds falling in asking price within a 1/4-1/2 mile range.

A person on an associated thread recently claimed their logic not to cut asking price can't lose sellers money, whilst attacking my position of suggesting sellers sometimes cut their asking price as losing sellers money. It just seems to me that by holding out for some unrealistic asking prices might be a ticket to ride the market right down by being stubborn, and can lose sellers big money.

poppy10_2

dopester wrote: »

A person on an associated thread recently claimed their logic not to cut asking price can't lose sellers money, whilst attacking my position of suggesting sellers sometimes cut their asking price as losing sellers money. It just seems to me that by holding out for some unrealistic asking prices might be a ticket to ride the market right down by being stubborn, and can lose sellers big money.

Yep. Shame some people are so fixated on their emotional inflated estimate of their house's value that they can't make objective decisions on setting a realistic price. As you say, they will end up losing even more money as they ride the market down. In this case the neighbour has stolen a march on the OP, and will probably sell her own home first as well as destroying any chance the OP has of fetching her desired price.