We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.
This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.
PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING: Hello Forumites! In order to help keep the Forum a useful, safe and friendly place for our users, discussions around non-MoneySaving matters are not permitted per the Forum rules. While we understand that mentioning house prices may sometimes be relevant to a user's specific MoneySaving situation, we ask that you please avoid veering into broad, general debates about the market, the economy and politics, as these can unfortunately lead to abusive or hateful behaviour. Threads that are found to have derailed into wider discussions may be removed. Users who repeatedly disregard this may have their Forum account banned. Please also avoid posting personally identifiable information, including links to your own online property listing which may reveal your address. Thank you for your understanding.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
The Forum now has a brand new text editor, adding a bunch of handy features to use when creating posts. Read more in our how-to guide
No viewers at all!
Comments
-
i meant sell @ £90k
it took me ages to recognise this, but its a horrible market at the moment; why wait six months to drop the price when clearly it is currently too much right now?
if it werent it would be under offer by now.....
Oh right sorry. Couldn't say for sure at this stage as I owe more than £90k, it would be easier to judge if I'd had say two or three offers at that level as I could then deduce that it must be worth £90k but at the moment I've nothing to go on, apart from it's clearly not worth £100k...0 -
Dropping to £90k would mean offers in the £80's which to be honest is giving it away, not to mention negative equity. It's got to be worth something in the £90's surely.
I don't know the area, but there seems to be a lot of competition around of both 2 and 3 beds properties (and a 3rd bedroom however small makes a difference), very little seems to be selling and those properties that are aren't necessarily cheaper than yours - bungalows seem to be quite popular.
Property on average seems to be on the market for 250+ days - so quite a while.
How many estate agents did you get in to value the house? I ask because someone who came to look at our house really liked it but weren't proceedable - the EA rang us with the feedback - loved the house it ticked all their boxes then he said that they would never sell their house and they were living in cloud cuckoo land if they thought they would - he had valued the house at 420k, another agent had valued it at 430k and it went on with a 3rd agent for £500k.
Did you ask the EA what other properties are actually going for? Ours was quite upfront and told us - he was good when another house in our street was for sale for less than ours before we put ours on the market and I was worried no one would want to look at ours - he said it wouldn't sell - it was over priced and only had one decent room - the living room the rest was scruffy - though it looked nice from the photos. It didn't sell - they rented it out instead.
So speak to your agent and find out from them what you can - if they're any good they will tell you the truth, realistically what your chances are of selling at your current price, are you too expensive, how long are properties taking to sell - they are supposed to be working for you.
Lots of people have said your house is over priced - ask your estate agent - is it the price or is it the market - if they have been actively marketing the house by ringing potential buyers they must have had some form of feed back - even if it was just "I don't like the house/area/pond/kitchen/too expensive - is there something you can do to make your house stand out from the rest? Is there room for a garage? If there is get the agent to say so in the particulars. How many cars can you park in the drive? Is there room for a dining table in the house? If not could you make the conservatory a dining room? You seem to have a very small front garden - is that putting people off - do people think the back garden is too big/too small/too high maintenance/overlooked etc.The kitchen is narrow - does that put people off viewing?
Get your agent to earn his money - sorry for the long post.0 -
I don't know the area, but there seems to be a lot of competition around of both 2 and 3 beds properties (and a 3rd bedroom however small makes a difference), very little seems to be selling and those properties that are aren't necessarily cheaper than yours - bungalows seem to be quite popular.
Property on average seems to be on the market for 250+ days - so quite a while.
How many estate agents did you get in to value the house? I ask because someone who came to look at our house really liked it but weren't proceedable - the EA rang us with the feedback - loved the house it ticked all their boxes then he said that they would never sell their house and they were living in cloud cuckoo land if they thought they would - he had valued the house at 420k, another agent had valued it at 430k and it went on with a 3rd agent for £500k.
Did you ask the EA what other properties are actually going for? Ours was quite upfront and told us - he was good when another house in our street was for sale for less than ours before we put ours on the market and I was worried no one would want to look at ours - he said it wouldn't sell - it was over priced and only had one decent room - the living room the rest was scruffy - though it looked nice from the photos. It didn't sell - they rented it out instead.
So speak to your agent and find out from them what you can - if they're any good they will tell you the truth, realistically what your chances are of selling at your current price, are you too expensive, how long are properties taking to sell - they are supposed to be working for you.
Lots of people have said your house is over priced - ask your estate agent - is it the price or is it the market - if they have been actively marketing the house by ringing potential buyers they must have had some form of feed back - even if it was just "I don't like the house/area/pond/kitchen/too expensive - is there something you can do to make your house stand out from the rest? Is there room for a garage? If there is get the agent to say so in the particulars. How many cars can you park in the drive? Is there room for a dining table in the house? If not could you make the conservatory a dining room? You seem to have a very small front garden - is that putting people off - do people think the back garden is too big/too small/too high maintenance/overlooked etc.The kitchen is narrow - does that put people off viewing?
Get your agent to earn his money - sorry for the long post.
Wow lots to answer there, thanks for taking such an interest, here goes -
I had all three agents that operate in my area in, this was back in June. There was a wide range of fees but the valautions were consistant. I ended up going for the middle one in terms of fees on the basis that they were a national chain who had been through at least two recessions whereas the cheaper one was relatively new and had only sold in the good times. The valuations were -
Your Move - £99,999 - £102,000 - £1,800 fee
William H Brown - £104,950 - £108,950 - £1,400 fee
Local Agent - £105,000 - 1% fee
At the time there were four other houses on the street for sale, none sold. The houses on my road are set back from the roads by different amounts so some have small front gardens like mine but a big back garden, others are the other way around. The most similar one to mine was a two bed with conservatory and a lean-to garage, but no back garden as all the land is at the front and the conservatory had taken up what little garden there was, this house was on for £105,000 and subsequently sold although I do not know how much for.
There was another 2 bed with a garage but no conservatory and again not much of a back garden for auction with a guide price of £95k - £100k, this has sold but again I don't know how much for.
There were also two 3-beds, one with a garage and conservatory for £110k and another quite scruffy one for £105k.
The first 3 bed was later dropped to £102k then taken off the market, the second one has been dropped to £100k but is currently rented.
I have taken the agent's advice both on the original price and the current price. To be honest I'm not that happy with them, they never call me for updates, it's always me calling them. They seem confident it is not overpriced and whenever I query why there have been no viewers they tell me either that the market is slow or everyone wants 3 bedrooms. I know this is not true as I have since learned that a house also for sale with them - a 2 bed mid terrace which is £12k more than mine - has been viewed. Admittedly it is classed as a different area to mine but in reality it is half a mile away from mine so surely they should have shown them mine too, unless they specifically wanted to live in that village only. My girlfriend mystery-shopped them about a month ago and they did not mention my house. They claim to have rung people about my house but have had no feedback which as you've said, they must have given some kind of reason why they did not want to view so I suspect they either haven't rung anyone about it or they are not telling me the full story. Trouble is, if I challenge them about any of these things then I will wreck any working relationship we have. I am tied into them until November.
Is there room for a garage? Yes there is although I wouldn't want to put one on myself as I need rear access, but it is certainly worth mentioning in the ad
How many cars can you park in the drive? The ad already states it has 'ample parking' - I guess this could be quantified but really it's got parking for two comfortably or three small ones at a squeeze.
Is there room for a dining table in the house? If not could you make the conservatory a dining room? The conservatory has a dining table in already
You seem to have a very small front garden - is that putting people off - do people think the back garden is too big/too small/too high maintenance/overlooked etc.The kitchen is narrow - does that put people off viewing?
Not much I can do about any of these things but out of curiosity why would a small front garden put people off?0 -
Wow lots to answer there, thanks for taking such an interest, here goes -
I had all three agents that operate in my area in, this was back in June. There was a wide range of fees but the valautions were consistant. I ended up going for the middle one in terms of fees on the basis that they were a national chain who had been through at least two recessions whereas the cheaper one was relatively new and had only sold in the good times. The valuations were -
Your Move - £99,999 - £102,000 - £1,800 fee
William H Brown - £104,950 - £108,950 - £1,400 fee
Local Agent - £105,000 - 1% fee
At the time there were four other houses on the street for sale, none sold. The houses on my road are set back from the roads by different amounts so some have small front gardens like mine but a big back garden, others are the other way around. The most similar one to mine was a two bed with conservatory and a lean-to garage, but no back garden as all the land is at the front and the conservatory had taken up what little garden there was, this house was on for £105,000 and subsequently sold although I do not know how much for.
There was another 2 bed with a garage but no conservatory and again not much of a back garden for auction with a guide price of £95k - £100k, this has sold but again I don't know how much for.
There were also two 3-beds, one with a garage and conservatory for £110k and another quite scruffy one for £105k.
The first 3 bed was later dropped to £102k then taken off the market, the second one has been dropped to £100k but is currently rented.
I have taken the agent's advice both on the original price and the current price. To be honest I'm not that happy with them, they never call me for updates, it's always me calling them. They seem confident it is not overpriced and whenever I query why there have been no viewers they tell me either that the market is slow or everyone wants 3 bedrooms. I know this is not true as I have since learned that a house also for sale with them - a 2 bed mid terrace which is £12k more than mine - has been viewed. Admittedly it is classed as a different area to mine but in reality it is half a mile away from mine so surely they should have shown them mine too, unless they specifically wanted to live in that village only. My girlfriend mystery-shopped them about a month ago and they did not mention my house. They claim to have rung people about my house but have had no feedback which as you've said, they must have given some kind of reason why they did not want to view so I suspect they either haven't rung anyone about it or they are not telling me the full story. Trouble is, if I challenge them about any of these things then I will wreck any working relationship we have. I am tied into them until November.
Is there room for a garage? Yes there is although I wouldn't want to put one on myself as I need rear access, but it is certainly worth mentioning in the ad
How many cars can you park in the drive? The ad already states it has 'ample parking' - I guess this could be quantified but really it's got parking for two comfortably or three small ones at a squeeze.
Is there room for a dining table in the house? If not could you make the conservatory a dining room? The conservatory has a dining table in already
You seem to have a very small front garden - is that putting people off - do people think the back garden is too big/too small/too high maintenance/overlooked etc.The kitchen is narrow - does that put people off viewing?
Not much I can do about any of these things but out of curiosity why would a small front garden put people off?
Regarding the agents you might find the local agent has a greater desire/need to sell your house as they don't have the support of nationwide company..... we used a local agent to sell our house - they rang us regularly, kept us informed, and really did market the house - they have been really good - to be honest my best experience of using an estate agent I've had - so don't rule them out. If your girlfriend mystery shopped and wasn't given details of your property then that's worrying - they should be giving out details at every opportunity - sending them out in mailshots to registered customers etc.
I've just looked on nethouse prices and according to them 3 houses have sold in your street snce 2009 - May 2009 number 4 for £85k, November 2010 number 32 for £104,950 and January 2011 number 29 for £114k - are any of those the same style and size as your house?
A garage or room for one can be a good selling point - some people need or want them for storage or workshops etc and they can always be incorporated into the house to increase living space.
There isn't a good picture of your driveway and looking at the photo I would have thought you could only get 1 car in the drive and comfortably access the front door because of it's position - so if you can park 2 - say so and get the photo to reflect the size of the drive.
The small front garden would put me off - I like to be a bit back from the footpath or road - but it won't bother a lot of people.
The table in the conservatory I thought was a card table or similar - not a family dining table like this one - http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-19092840.html - most people like to be able to think they can sit at a table (even if they never use it) instead of sitting in a row facing the wall in the kitchen. I wouldn't suggest you buy one or anything like that - it's just most people want a "proper" eating space - with or without children.
It's all about the lifestyle people think they want - our house has a room behind the garage which is integral - we used it as store room for OHs hobby related stuff - when we put the house on the market we cleared it out and put in a bed and some bedroom furniture - rooms that do nothing don't sell your house. It made our 4 bed house into a 5 bed - instead of a 4 bed with storeroom behind the garage, if you see what I mean.
Anyway good luck, I hope you have some joy with the viewings soon.0 -
Chasing the market down.How many estate agents did you get in to value the house? I ask because someone who came to look at our house really liked it but weren't proceedable - the EA rang us with the feedback - loved the house it ticked all their boxes then he said that they would never sell their house and they were living in cloud cuckoo land if they thought they would - he had valued the house at 420k, another agent had valued it at 430k and it went on with a 3rd agent for £500k.
History
date event
07 September 2011
* Brief Description changed: 16th Century detached thatched cottage for improvement in pretty south facing gardens. New Forest National Park with detached garaging/studio/annexe set quarter acre plot and garage/studio annexe. AUCTION 21st September 2011
* Price changed: Guide Price £350,000
31 August 2011
* Brief Description changed: A delightful 16th Century detached thatched cottage with detached garaging/studio/annexe set in pretty south facing gardens. AUCTION 21st September 2011
* Price changed: from '£495,000' to '£350,000'
01 February 2011
* Price changed: from '£520,000' to '£495,000'
11 September 2010
* Price changed: from '£550,000' to '£520,000'
18 February 2010
* Price changed: from '£625,000' to '£550,000'
26 January 2010
* Status changed: from 'Sold STC' to 'Available'
18 January 2010
* Status changed: from 'Available' to 'Sold STC'
03 April 2009
* Price changed: from '£650,000' to '£625,000'
31 December 2008
* Subtitle changed: 4 bedroom detached house
10 May 2008
* Initial entry found.
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-10402386.html0 -
Regarding the agents you might find the local agent has a greater desire/need to sell your house as they don't have the support of nationwide company..... we used a local agent to sell our house - they rang us regularly, kept us informed, and really did market the house - they have been really good - to be honest my best experience of using an estate agent I've had - so don't rule them out. If your girlfriend mystery shopped and wasn't given details of your property then that's worrying - they should be giving out details at every opportunity - sending them out in mailshots to registered customers etc.
I've just looked on nethouse prices and according to them 3 houses have sold in your street snce 2009 - May 2009 number 4 for £85k, November 2010 number 32 for £104,950 and January 2011 number 29 for £114k - are any of those the same style and size as your house?
A garage or room for one can be a good selling point - some people need or want them for storage or workshops etc and they can always be incorporated into the house to increase living space.
There isn't a good picture of your driveway and looking at the photo I would have thought you could only get 1 car in the drive and comfortably access the front door because of it's position - so if you can park 2 - say so and get the photo to reflect the size of the drive.
The small front garden would put me off - I like to be a bit back from the footpath or road - but it won't bother a lot of people.
The table in the conservatory I thought was a card table or similar - not a family dining table like this one - - most people like to be able to think they can sit at a table (even if they never use it) instead of sitting in a row facing the wall in the kitchen. I wouldn't suggest you buy one or anything like that - it's just most people want a "proper" eating space - with or without children.
It's all about the lifestyle people think they want - our house has a room behind the garage which is integral - we used it as store room for OHs hobby related stuff - when we put the house on the market we cleared it out and put in a bed and some bedroom furniture - rooms that do nothing don't sell your house. It made our 4 bed house into a 5 bed - instead of a 4 bed with storeroom behind the garage, if you see what I mean.
Anyway good luck, I hope you have some joy with the viewings soon.
I think I might be switching agents when the tie-in is up then...
The house that sold for £85k is a 2 bed but has no conservatory and was a bit of a wreck, whoever bought that got a bargain but it does skew the average somewhat. The other two are a 3 bed and an extended 2 bed, like mine but a different layout and they've extended the kitchen so it is a full dining kitchen rather than a breakfast kitchen, so same number of rooms just more space. I forget which one is which but I assume the 3 bed was the one that went for £114k and the 2 bed the one that went for £104k.0 -
jamie here is your postcode look how long it is taking to sell houses near you. have a look at sold prices also...
http://www.home.co.uk/guides/house_prices.htm?location=s25It is nice to see the value of your house going up'' Why ?
Unless you are planning to sell up and not live anywhere, I can;t see the advantage.
If you are planning to upsize the new house will cost more.
If you are planning to downsize your new house will cost more than it should
If you are trying to buy your first house its almost impossible.0 -
Wish I could buy a house like that for that price where I live!0
-
Update -
I have passed all the comments onto the agents, and they have made the amendments that everyone has suggested.
The price is now £99,950, which I think is fair as although it is still the same price as some of the smaller 3 beds in the area, it is the same price or less than a lot of the 2 beds of similar size, and in fact on £5k more than a 2 bed mid terrace that has just come on the market. Of course I am willing to listen to offers but at the same time I can't afford to give it away.
The main description has been changed to say '2 double bedrooms', parking for two cars and garage space, and the reference to the pond has been removed from the main description. It is mentioned in the finer details but with a clause to say I will fill it in if required.
The agents are coming tomorrow to take new photos of the 2nd bedroom which now has two single beds in it (actually it's the bunk beds dismantled and balanced on books but who would know...)
They have offered to do a floor plan or virtual tour at a cost of £94 + VAT and £99 + VAT respectively. Does this sound about right? Looking at the other properties on their books, none of them have floor plans so it's clearly not something they normally do, but what I'm wondering is, do I definately need one, or am I throwing good money after bad? I can see myself paying out for this and then a further £200 to change agents in November, which I'm very tempted to do if the lack of viewers continues.0 -
I'd say if they won't do the floorplan for free, then you are going to change agents. And if you are going to change agents, ask them to include the floorplan for free.
The house description and photos look great to me. I did pause on the pond in the garden picture and wonder if that was putting off buyers with young children, but you've already discussed this one. Perhaps the agents could alter the description to specifically state that the downstairs space is bigger than most comparable 2 beds / 3 beds in the area?0
This discussion has been closed.
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply
Categories
- All Categories
- 354.1K Banking & Borrowing
- 254.3K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 455.3K Spending & Discounts
- 247.1K Work, Benefits & Business
- 603.7K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 178.3K Life & Family
- 261.2K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
- 37.7K Read-Only Boards