Undervalued House by Estate Agent?

China2

Asking for 16k more than you paid for the house 5 years ago is ambitious to say the least

daz100

China2 wrote: »

Asking for 16k more than you paid for the house 5 years ago is ambitious to say the least

Why is that ambitious?

abankerbutnotafatcat

These are my observations, I deliberately made them before reading what others have written so some points have already been made:

Pictures look dark

Most of the pictures have a narrow, corridor feel about them. I realise there is a limit to what you can do about this but perhaps some furniture re-shuffling and different angles for photos?

Decor good especially kitchen.

Dining table looks a bit sad and shunted into a corner which gives the impression of lack of space.

Needs a floor plan and room sizes in metric.

Caveat_Mortgagor

daz100 wrote: »

Why is that ambitious?

According to Land registry, prices in Stafford are back to Nov/Dec 2004 levels.

As such, if i wanted to buy your place I would consider £120k to be 'todays price' ie the max it is worth right now.

To get 'todays price', you will have to find someone who is happy to ignore the fact the same house will be worth less this time next year.

Good luck.

daz100

Caveat_Mortgagor wrote: »

According to Land registry, prioces in Stafford are back to Nov/Dec 2004 levels.

As such, if i wanted to buy your place I would consider £120k to be 'todays price' ie the max it is worth right now.

To get 'todays price', you will have to find someone who is happy to ignore the fact the same house will be worth less this time next year.

Good luck.

You seem to be ignoring the fact that it has been extended and modernised. 120k is what 2 beds are on for in the area.

Caveat_Mortgagor

daz100 wrote: »

You seem to be ignoring the fact that it has been extended and modernised. 120k is what 2 beds are on for in the area.

The land registry figures i quoted are sold prices. I should have made clear that I was advising what I think you will achieve. When you state 'on for' I assume you mean the asking prices. Of course, there is a whole world of difference between the two different types of price.

I hazarded a guess at £120K because it is about 4% below what you paid and the market in your area is selling houses at 4% below the prices at the time you bought.

However you state that the extensions and modernisation make a difference. I hadnt realised you had done them - i was working under the assumption it had been done before you bought (Not sure why because you havent said so! - my apologies for that)

Whilst this will have some effect on the price, it makes the price more difficult to gauge.

It will come down to whether someone likes what you have done. It looks like the extension is the tiny room where your dining table is. For me this adds no value. Sorry!

That sort of thing will polarise opinion. I guess i am a bit old fashioned in my taste in this respect, but be prepared that some potential buyers will have the same viewpoint.

You need to find someone who looks for that. The huge lounge and tiny dining room make it look like a house designed for a single bloke. Is that your target market? If not you might want to think about how your house is presented and what it says about who it is suited to.

daz100

Caveat_Mortgagor wrote: »

The land registry figures i quoted are sold prices. I should have made clear that I was advising what I think you will achieve. When you state 'on for' I assume you mean the asking prices. Of course, there is a whole world of difference between the two different types of price.

I hazarded a guess at £120K because it is about 4% below what you paid and the market in your area is selling houses at 4% below the prices at the time you bought.

However you state that the extensions and modernisation make a difference. I hadnt realised you had done them - i was working under the assumption it had been done before you bought (Not sure why because you havent said so! - my apologies for that)

Whilst this will have some effect on the price, it makes the price more difficult to gauge.

It will come down to whether someone likes what you have done. It looks like the extension is the tiny room where your dining table is. For me this adds no value. Sorry!

That sort of thing will polarise opinion. I guess i am a bit old fashioned in my taste in this respect, but be prepared that some potential buyers will have the same viewpoint.

You need to find someone who looks for that. The huge lounge and tiny dining room make it look like a house designed for a single bloke. Is that your target market? If not you might want to think about how your house is presented and what it says about who it is suited to.

The extension is the entire kitchen/dining room. I agree it would be clearer when the EA get a floorplan on.

daz100

3 viewing tonight and have not even had the chance to get the EA to make the alterations you have so helpfully suggested. All seemed really, really keen but will have to wait and see.

Shun_di

As a prospective FTB living in Stafford, in my opinion your house is over priced at £139,950.

I have been looking at the Wildwood and Weeping Cross areas of Stafford which are in general more expensive than the Rising Brook/Moss Pitt area that your house is located in. There are 3 bed semi's in the area that I am looking at that are the same and if not cheaper (asking prices) than your house.

Also looking at the other house that has gone under offer in Crinan Grove, the house maybe smaller (which it doesn't appear to be looking at the pictures) but it has a lot more LAND.

To me as a FTB LAND IS EVERYTHING. I couldn't care less what a house looked like inside as I would want to put my own stamp on the place, however i would want as much LAND as possible so that I could expand/extend if I wanted. The Crinan Grove house has a much bigger garden and has a big driveway which IMO is very important when buying a house.

If I was looking to buy in your area I would offer around £105-110,000 at the most for your house as we are down to 2004 levels with regards to house prices in Stafford (and falling) and I wouldn't want to be in negative equity going forwards.

Its probably not what you want to hear but I thought it might be worth putting my opinion across as a FTB living in Stafford.

I see that you have had three viewings already so good luck with them, but be prepared that you might have to lower your price expectations.

undetterred

Shun_di wrote: »

As a prospective FTB living in Stafford, in my opinion your house is over priced at £139,950.

I have been looking at the Wildwood and Weeping Cross areas of Stafford which are in general more expensive than the Rising Brook/Moss Pitt area that your house is located in. There are 3 bed semi's in the area that I am looking at that are the same and if not cheaper (asking prices) than your house.

Also looking at the other house that has gone under offer in Crinan Grove, the house maybe smaller (which it doesn't appear to be looking at the pictures) but it has a lot more LAND.

To me as a FTB LAND IS EVERYTHING. I couldn't care less what a house looked like inside as I would want to put my own stamp on the place, however i would want as much LAND as possible so that I could expand/extend if I wanted. The Crinan Grove house has a much bigger garden and has a big driveway which IMO is very important when buying a house.

If I was looking to buy in your area I would offer around £105-110,000 at the most for your house as we are down to 2004 levels with regards to house prices in Stafford (and falling) and I wouldn't want to be in negative equity going forwards.

Its probably not what you want to hear but I thought it might be worth putting my opinion across as a FTB living in Stafford.

I see that you have had three viewings already so good luck with them, but be prepared that you might have to lower your price expectations.

Nice reply CAVEAT MORTGAGER