Am I underselling my flat?

Assa

Hello

I have this dilemma which is both about money and ethics. Trying to move from London to country for the sake of schools, garden etc… I have 3 children under 3 y.o. and a stressed husband, so I have to deal with it myself.

My London flat went under offer in March for 499k. 3 agents valued it around this amount. The flat was sold momentarily in 1 open day with 3 offers very close to each other (just under 500k). I got a cold feet and called another estate agent who valued the flat at whooping 550 - 575k. I bet you can guess their name!

The buyer was ok to wait. At the time I wanted to avoid moving houses more than once in a decade. It was hard to find a house but we finally found one. Its functional, ticks most boxes but I am not in love with it. I love my flat by the way and I am very sad to leave the city.

We expect to exchange in 2 weeks but I cant sleep thinking that I should have done more effort and at least try to sell the flat at higher price. I feel as if I am betraying my family interests – even 10 or 20k is a huge amount!

What I really want is to pull out of both deals, and do the whole thing “properly” this time – take time to sell the flat, move into rented, take time to buy a house etc…would it be a stupid thing to do? I spent so much of my own time which I could have spent with children! I would lose money (survey, mortgage application, solicitor – about 3k). It would be hugely unethical. I would have wasted everyone’s time (my buyer who has been waiting for this flat for 6 months, my vendor, estate agents, financial advisor, solicitor etc etc).

What would you people do? 3 years of severe sleep deprivation and my brain is just not ticking.

Sorry for a long post, probably TMI and thank you all for your feedback.

Doozergirl

I think that it's hard to push any property over a Stamp Duty threshold. I think that three offers of around the same price, under that Stamp Duty threshold is an indication of it's value.

I also think that the market at the moment is not really what it was in March. You won't have buyers tripping over themselves. I'm not sure that prices have changed all that much, but it's pretty clear that the number of potential buyers is dropping whilst there seem to be alot of new properties to the market. I don't think it's the greatest time to sell - and I have a house going to market imminently (and I have an offer in on something else which I'm waiting on)

Three agents valuations around the same price is really indicative. One Foxtons valuation wildly over 3 others is not a valuation.

And I think that if the house you are buying isn't right then maybe you should rent for a bit? I really, really hated renting and with three littlies - Landlords will treat you like you have disease which seems to be the way that letting agents behave in general towards tenants.

Are you happy with the area - do you have links to friends, family etc? You know it's normal to have cold feet as well. I don't think it would be normal not to be nervous of a big house move.

We moved from London 7 years ago. Best house move I ever made And I bet your new house is a lot bigger than the old one - it will be better. But you will be sad to leave somewhere with good memories, but home is where your babies are and you will create new memories and put your own stamp on your new home. And you will have green. Which you will come to love! I used to feel like I was going home when I visited London to start with, now I definitely feel like I'm leaving home to go there - and I would not change it. My children have a fantastic life. And so do I!

I think you have done things properly. You were able to take advantage of an open day, created competition and interest and the place found it's level. You've obviously spent quite some time looking for a new place too.

zzzLazyDaisy

The stamp duty threshold is the killer, you are unlikely to push anyone over the £499k mark because of this. Think carefully about what you really want, but don't get greedy and don't get cold feet unless you are certain that you want to stay put.

neverdespairgirl

I agree, the £500k jump in stamp duty means that you are either well over it, or will only get offers under it.

seraphina

Might I suggest you have read of the Sellers Support Thread? It might help put things in persepctive....if I was as good as sold in this climate there's no way I'd jeopardise that because I got greedy and fancied an extra 10-20k

Eric1

Assa wrote: »

We expect to exchange in 2 weeks but I cant sleep thinking that I should have done more effort and at least try to sell the flat at higher price. I feel as if I am betraying my family interests – even 10 or 20k is a huge amount!

as other posters have said, difficult to get £10-20k above £500k.

Assa wrote: »

What I really want is to pull out of both deals, and do the whole thing “properly” this time – take time to sell the flat, move into rented, take time to buy a house etc…would it be a stupid thing to do?

But taking more time to buy is not a stupid idea in the current climate. Are you only worried about underselling but not overpaying?

tyllwyd

Reading your post, it seems to me that this is more about worrying if you have done the right thing selling your lovely flat and moving away than about the money. Pulling out of your sale at this point would be a huge risk for you - and wouldn't get rid of the stress, you'd be putting your house back on the market at a difficult time, and you'd be trying to match your previous offer plus the money that you've wasted in fees. How would you feel if the next offer came in lower than the one you accepted? To be honest, the time for negotiating was when you had three offers on the table - instead of accepting straightaway, why didn't you go back and see if anyone wanted to go higher? If you have made the decision to move, it's just my opinion, but I think having come this far it is too late to try to do a u-turn.

Is it the house that you are buying that is the problem? You say you spent ages searching for it - again, why did you decide to make an offer on it? You must have had good reasons, and maybe trying to get three children settled in school/nursery was as good a reason as any. You don't want to move twice - you'd have to do that anyway if you moved into rented, so would it be a lot worse to buy and then make a decision whether or not to sell in a couple of years time?

It sounds like this is all getting on top of you a bit - try to take a breather, relax, and work what it is that is making you feel the way you do. Are you stressed about selling, buying, or is it the whole moving thing that is getting you down. Good luck with everything!

donnaessex

I felt similar in that I didnt want to leave the house I'd had my babies in (not literally but!) However, we had neighbours from hell and couldnt wait to get away from the area.

I remember walking around my empty home with my two babies in my arms and crying remembering them crawling for the first time, eating their first mushy food, feeding them in the living room at 4am like a zombie... You get the picture.

But since I moved I can honestly say that I have thought about the old house maybe once or twice and it doesnt have any hold over me whatsoever. My kids LOVE our new house and my 3 year old rode her bike out the front for the first time last weekend - I'll never forget her face when she did that.

Homes dont really hold memories - you do.

Good luck with the move - I'm sure you're just having wobbles like all mums of littl'uns do!

Jenniefour

The stress of moving is considerable, especially with little ones. I agree with what others are saying - too far along and too near big rise in stamp duty. If you feel you aren't going to be happy in the house - taking into account what others have said - then consider renting in the new area. I would advise strongly against putting your flat back on the market - a friend of mine did this recently with a house after another EA gave a much higher valuation. Seems like she's stuck now - only offer she's had is one a whopping 50k below what her first buyer had offered - and first buyer has now moved on. So, if you were to change your mind, you could find it much harder to sell now - and with the risk that you cannot sell at the price you've agreed now. And flats arthe hardest properties to sell in this market - lots of them and big shortage of mortgages. Good luck with your move. I imagine six months down the road you'll be looking back on all this - and pleased you've done it.

Catatonia

I think the three offers at that price means that it was well-priced, and not under-priced. I recently put an offer in on a house for £250k (same stamp duty situation as yours). It had only been on the market a couple of days, and had a 2/3 offers of £250k at the same time so I didn't get it. It was worth £250k, but I wouldn't have paid over that, and I doubt the other offerers would have done either. They could have put the house back on at £270k or something to try and get more, but I reckon they'd just be waiting months to still only end up with £250k.

I think it would be very foolish, and unfair to your buyer, to pull out now because you think you can get more money.

Pigster_2

It is quite a dilemma that you have but I am afraid that for me the ethical dimension would far outweigh the other considerations. The likelihood of you getting an extra £20k for your flat is rather slight, due to the distortion introduced by the stamp duty banding. Set against this - as you clearly recognise - is the fact that you will completely mess up your buyer and your vendor, after such a long time and almost at the last minute.

One of the problems of the protracted nature of the house-buying process is clearly that one's thoughts and priorities can change over the time period involved, but I think in this situation you must consider the impact on others and not just on yourself. I would stick with the transactions and hope that your move turns out to be a success.