Advice on selling - 2 others on road also on market

franklee

andidb wrote: »

And yes, we are slightly terrified at the prospect of having 2 houses, but could rent one out if we get desperate.

You sound really nice so no offence meant but really I don't think this is a good idea, it really sounds like you can't afford it and that you haven't thought it through. Letting out isn't an easy option, have you fully researched getting consent to let, agent's fees, voids, or if you get tenants who are late or non payers etc. IMO you will be too stretched and should sell yours before you buy. If that means losing dream home then so be it another one will be along and it's far better for your children to live a bit cramped than have parents totally stressed out over money worries. You can't guarantee a sale any time soon without significant price drops, you really can't.

dizziblonde

We did make the choice between 2 bed+bathroom upstairs, and 3 bed+bathroom downstairs and went for bathroom upstairs btw... having lived in a 3 bed and downstairs bathroom house - the moonlight streak to the loo got incredibly incredibly annoying over the years! (Obv it's a hard one to rectify though and we had prior experience of similar arrangements)

andidb

For those of you who are following this thread and had asked to see details on Rightmove for all 3 properties, here is the third. Any feedback or advice is, as ever, most welcome!

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-29872639.html

ali-t

andidb wrote: »

The EA took other photos but said that he didn't think we should use them as he wanted to leave something to the imagination. I haven't seen them though so maybe they didn't come out well. There aren't any issues to hide though - bedrooms are in good shape and nicely / simply decorated and newly carpeted so shouldn't put anyone off.

But the viewer doesn't know there is anything else there for their imagination to work on. Could you take extra flattering pics of the house and e-mail them to the agent asking for them to be included or for the agent to come and take more. I don't think the pics sell your house and the fire that looks like a baxi one would put me off a bit as they are so hard to change to something else.

satchmeister

franklee wrote: »

You sound really nice so no offence meant but really I don't think this is a good idea, it really sounds like you can't afford it and that you haven't thought it through. Letting out isn't an easy option, have you fully researched getting consent to let, agent's fees, voids, or if you get tenants who are late or non payers etc. IMO you will be too stretched and should sell yours before you buy. If that means losing dream home then so be it another one will be along and it's far better for your children to live a bit cramped than have parents totally stressed out over money worries. You can't guarantee a sale any time soon without significant price drops, you really can't.

I know someone who bought their 'dream' house but had not sold the old house, six months later with debts mounting both houses were up for sale and they decided they would move into whichever one was left ... dream house sold for less than they paid for it ... it didn't do their finances or health any good.

Cissi

andidb wrote: »

yes, we are slightly terrified at the prospect of having 2 houses, but could rent one out if we get desperate.

Are you sure? Have you checked this with your mortgage provider? Not so easy to get consent to let these days - especially if you don't have a lot of spare equity in the house, which it doesn't sound as if you do. And even if you did get consent, letting is a complicated and expensive business, not to be entered into lightly.

Unfortunately, until at least one of these houses sells at something near asking price I'd have to assume that the real value of all 3 is a lot lower. The absence of viewers seems to confirm this...

Catatonia

To be completely honest, I would go for the 2bed every time (as yours and the other '3bed' would just be 2beds plus hassle of moving the bathroom to me). It's also got great decor, wood-burning stoves etc.

I guess your one and the other '3bed' will appeal to families who really need 3 beds and can't afford that and an upstairs bathroom. Could you re-take your garden pic so it looks less shady?

zara*elise

Do agents in the area have something against putting photos of bedrooms in their RM listings?

andidb

Thanks! Will get better photos of garden, and get some photos of the bedrooms. I think perhaps the agents down here aren't great at taking photos of bedrooms - seriously! They took some photos but they seemed to make the rooms look much smaller, despite the fact that they are actually really quite spacious. And then we will keep our fingers and toes crossed for some keen viewers. The market down here seems very quiet at the moment.

dopester

Can't resist. The OP might want to read the words of one independent Estate Agent in their Taunton area.... before rushing into buying a new home, before selling their original home.

To buy before selling.. to me it's like having a big iron ball and heavy chain shackled to one ankle, and thinking you can sell that ball as if it were made of gold, and happily shackling another iron ball and chain to the other ankle. Then soon-after it begins to rain down hard, and you realise the ground you're stood on is rapidly softening quicksand.

Silly Offers or Silly Prices

14/04/2011

They’re flying in right now - ten, twenty, thirty, fifty thousand - even one hundred thousand less than some asking prices! But are they that silly? In many cases No - it’s get real time! The economy is in dire straits and doesn’t look like it’s going to recover anytime soon. Prospective buyers are coming into the office telling us they’ve taken a big hit on their asking price and they’re darn sure they’re going to get it back on their purchase!

At the risk of rattling some cages, there are many properties advertised within the pages of this newspaper that haven’t a hope in hell of attracting their advertised price.

continued here
http://www.chriswilley.co.uk/news2.aspx?id=10107