First time seller - Did not imagine it could involve this sort of hassle

mezebu1

20400keith wrote: »

Noah in Luton have cheap second hand furniture. They're on Church Street.

Seems to me that you're priced okay, the agent is local to you and has a reasonable reputation, the photographs are fine.

In addition to the suggestions made about staging the house and garden, can I talk net curtains... it's a dull time of year and I wonder if they're blocking light?

I'd also have a 'For Sale' sign. It wont do any harm and you never know...

Good luck.

Aww thanks..:beer:

Will ask agency to put up board. And see if we could get non expensive stuff to decorate the conservatory.

Can only hope it'd make a difference..

moneyistooshorttomention

tabbyfish wrote: »

Thess are then followed by " will you take £xxK less than asking price" like that is going to make it nicer,bigger,less work or different location.

I rather they just say not for us or say like it but too expensive.

I too clean up and hide everything that could possibly put them off, like dog bowls, wash basket, bathroom items.
Then I go to view houses and are shocked at the state of some of them just like the have a look at this thread.

Have finally come to the conclusion it's sells when it sells and have stopped getting hopes up.

Havent got to being as philosophical as you:rotfl::rotfl:

Details of rival houses for sale started arriving by post this morning and I realised just how common it is for EA's to take photos with one of those "expander" lens when I check out the measurements of all those rooms that look like through lounges - but the measurements say its a small sitting room. Then there's all those kitchens that look as if they are decent size - but a check of the measurements indicates they are as small as mine. Wonders whether I did the right thing deliberately choosing an EA of the "straightforward" variety and whose photos look exactly the size the room actually is....

Got stopped by a neighbour asking me how my house sale is going. Told her about the underpriced vendor a couple of roads away and was thoroughly agreed with. Then told her the price my house is up for now and her jaw hit the ground and eyebrows shot skywards as she went "BARgain...../it should be more than that".

Wonders where I'm going wrong to not have sold after 4 weeks and...yep...it honestly doesn't seem to be down to my house/my price/my EA at all. As my EA says "It's a funny old market at the moment..:cool:". I guess it's just the case that so many people cant afford a house in this area but if I charged a price that I actually consider reasonable for this house I'd be at a price level one-third of what these houses actually sell for and totally unable to afford to buy the one I am getting (not that that would be a concern - as I would have just been killed in the rush to get a house that was so way under value.....).

mezebu1

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

Havent got to being as philosophical as you:rotfl::rotfl:

Details of rival houses for sale started arriving by post this morning and I realised just how common it is for EA's to take photos with one of those "expander" lens when I check out the measurements of all those rooms that look like through lounges - but the measurements say its a small sitting room. Then there's all those kitchens that look as if they are decent size - but a check of the measurements indicates they are as small as mine. Wonders whether I did the right thing deliberately choosing an EA of the "straightforward" variety and whose photos look exactly the size the room actually is....

Got stopped by a neighbour asking me how my house sale is going. Told her about the underpriced vendor a couple of roads away and was thoroughly agreed with. Then told her the price my house is up for now and her jaw hit the ground and eyebrows shot skywards as she went "BARgain...../it should be more than that".

Wonders where I'm going wrong to not have sold after 4 weeks and...yep...it honestly doesn't seem to be down to my house/my price/my EA at all. As my EA says "It's a funny old market at the moment..:cool:". I guess it's just the case that so many people cant afford a house in this area but if I charged a price that I actually consider reasonable for this house I'd be at a price level one-third of what these houses actually sell for and totally unable to afford to buy the one I am getting (not that that would be a concern - as I would have just been killed in the rush to get a house that was so way under value.....).

hmnn

Do you have a plan B, just in case you are unable to sell for your ideal price?

Tancred

mezebu1 wrote: »

So we put our house on the market 3 weeks ago, EA took photos and house was put on all relevant websites + local paper adverts. Our house is a 3 bed (1984) semi in a desirable family type neighborhood, close to the 2nd best school in the town (outstanding Ofsted), amenities and surgery.

We moved in literally a year ago to be closer to work (partner was on maternity leave at the time) but have now resumed and spends £450/ month on travel. We have now found we don't have the support network we require (been stranded a couple of times with childcare, other issues - we keep having to travel back to our previous area to see family and friends.. hence the decision to move...Hoping to sell for the amount we purchased it for a year ago.

7 viewings so far.

Viewer 1 - Viewed the day photos were taken, supposedly had a 50% deposit, proceed-able viewer... Really likes it but cant afford it (wonder why he came to view

Viewer 2 - Garden overlooked.

Viewer 3 - Not for him, sister may like. EA will chase but they haven't followed up.

Viewer 4 - A couple - the husband likes it but the wife doesn't. EA reported husband is trying to convince wife :cool: :rotfl:

Viewer 5 - They like it, have done 2nd viewing. No feedback yet.

Viewer 6 - No feed back yet

Viewer 7 - This to me is really funny. Same EA that showed Viewer 1 around. :eek: He drove the viewers round the area (they're not from the town), and they they didn't like the area they want 1930 period like semis :eek: and ended up not even getting into our door...

Is it just me or is this a regular kind of occurrence?

Was hoping for a faster sale. If we end up not selling, may have to remortgage to release our equity and maybe rent ???

Also, the EA has not been really forth coming with feedback, seem to always fob me off with his 'We usually don't like pressurizing our viewers' when I ring him for feedback...

I'm not surprised. You are lucky to have even got any feedback from these people. The trouble is that an awful lot of people out there are just 'tyre kicker' types who have no real intention of buying - they're just nosing around. Don't lose heart and carry on, I'm sure you'll sell it.

Tancred

No double glazing? A definite issue for me.

moneyistooshorttomention

Plan B equals = accept a selling price of about £2,000 less than the selling price I expect for this house.

After that - the only possible Plan C would be to strike very very lucky indeed and be able to buy a house where I am going that needs no work at all to speak of, so that I don't have to allow any money at all for said work. In which case I could possibly knock another couple of thousand £s off....but that would mean being very very lucky indeed - as there aren't any houses there currently that look like "move into level" (or, to be more accurate, there are but they cost tens of thousands £s more as they are brand new and there's that fact that they ARE brand new - which means they've been built since 2007 or whenever it was that a proportion of new estates have to be social housing).

The fallback position after that would be = cant move at all until someone pays me what my house is worth and cross fingers hard I wouldn't be stuck in my starter house for the rest of my life.

But I take confidence from the fact that there are very very few houses in my price range that have hung round here for more than a few months and only one solitary little "orphan" house that has hung round since 2011 and its very very obvious why it has...

moneyistooshorttomention

Tancred wrote: »

I'm not surprised. You are lucky to have even got any feedback from these people. The trouble is that an awful lot of people out there are just 'tyre kicker' types who have no real intention of buying - they're just nosing around. Don't lose heart and carry on, I'm sure you'll sell it.

I get where you are coming from Tancred on this...but I think it's not so much tyre-kicking as many people (certainly FTB's anyway) keep on looking for months and months for "the one" house. My generation couldn't do that - as we had stricter parents and rising houseprices and, between the two, we bought somewhere the very month we were at last in a position to do so.

I think that some FTB's certainly are still "living at home" with parents into their late 20s and maybe even into their thirties and these parents are my generation (and therefore a lot more indulgent than the people that were parents to my own generation and the "kids" don't feel nearly as restricted as we ourselves did at that age). With that and static house prices in many areas many of them feel its okay to carry on looking and looking and looking and demanding perfection/"a mansion for sixpence" until such time as either they (or their longsuffering parents) get fed-up and give up and buy the best one available for their budget (ie the same as we had to.....:cool:) or the parents help them out financially to make sure that they ever do move out...

mezebu1

:rotfl:

Tancred wrote: »

No double glazing? A definite issue for me.

It is double glazed. The windows are wooden and not the upvc type though

DaftyDuck

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

Plan B equals = accept a selling price of about £2,000 less than the selling price I expect for this house.

After that - the only possible Plan C would be to strike very very lucky indeed and be able to buy a house where I am going that needs no work at all to speak of, so that I don't have to allow any money at all for said work. In which case I could possibly knock another couple of thousand £s off....but that would mean being very very lucky indeed - as there aren't any houses there currently that look like "move into level" (or, to be more accurate, there are but they cost tens of thousands £s more as they are brand new and there's that fact that they ARE brand new - which means they've been built since 2007 or whenever it was that a proportion of new estates have to be social housing).

The fallback position after that would be = cant move at all until someone pays me what my house is worth and cross fingers hard I wouldn't be stuck in my starter house for the rest of my life.

But I take confidence from the fact that there are very very few houses in my price range that have hung round here for more than a few months and only one solitary little "orphan" house that has hung round since 2011 and its very very obvious why it has...

If that's your "Plan B", I fear you may need a Plan Q or Plan V as well.

Still wish you luck, but I still don't think you've really understood this home-selling lark.

bclark

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

(or, to be more accurate, there are but they cost tens of thousands £s more as they are brand new and there's that fact that they ARE brand new - which means they've been built since 2007 or whenever it was that a proportion of new estates have to be social housing).

I know, imagine living near to young professionals and key workers who are buying their houses via shared ownership schemes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It could lead to the place becoming like a virtual ghetto