desperate to sell!!!Please help.

desperateforadvice_2

Desperate for advice from anyone with any bright ideas. We are trying to sell a house we owned before we moved into forces accomodation. We have rented it for a year but when the tenant left we decided to sell it as we are 41000in debt above our 195,000 mortgage. We were trying to sell the house for 300,000 thus allowing us settle the mortgage and the debts and reinvest the rest in a new house that would be easier and cheaper to rent than our 150 year old cottage. We have had 3 offers fall through. The house and debts are costing us 2000 a month and as of april, i will be unable to work as my husband is going to the falklands for 6 months. This is where the panic starts, firstly the 2000 a month is crippling us and secondly this money is simply not going to be there as of may as i will be left alone in northern ireland with 3 children and no family support so will be unable to work. The house needs some updating to be able to rent again so this is not an option as we have no spare cash. Have had some stupid offers from internet cash property buyers but these would not even courage the debts on top of the mortgage. We are desperate to create a clean sheet and at our wits end. Any advice would be most appreciated on alternative solutions to selling our home. Many thanks!!!!!

silvercar

speak to your estate agent and get a REALISTIC price to market for a quick sale.

Doozergirl

How much were your offers for and why did they fall through, desperate?

courtjester

Agreed, you need to establish what the likely *market* value is for the property - that is the price that a buyer is likely to buy the property or a comaprable property in your location.

The fact that you want to gain a certain 'return' from the sale to cover your debts is irrelevant to the value a buyer will pay - I know that you want to maximise your assets, but many people make a common mistake of setting a 'minimum price I will accept' that bears no relation to the reality of the market.

So firstly get your price in the right band to ensure maximum interest.

Then get the property advertised in as many places as possible. Local agents often have dismal internet coverage - you can advertise privately alongside a sole agents contract and if you sell to a private buyer, you will not have to pay the agents commission (under a sole agency contract). Try using one of the professional online private home marketing services - Google for "sell my house" or sell my house privately" for the main contenders (check out the main results, not the sponsored listings (adverts)).

Put some small text ads in your local newspaper - particularly if you have an online webpage set up that you can refer to in the ad - to keep the size and content small.

Try leafleting your local area for homeowners that might be interested to upscale to your size of house.

Check your agents exposure and ensure that they are making the most of your future commission charge... if necessary change to a different agent that has better local and online coverage.