Do I change agents?

cloo

So I had an open day at my house in NE London (lived there for 4 years, let it for 8) at the weekend. I had high(ish) hopes after it was valued at far more than I expected, and all agents suggested selling on a open day and that I'd get offers straight off. Obviously, one takes what agents said with a pinch of salt; my husband was excited about the price, though I felt it was possibly unrealistic, though they all gave the same one. But friends living in the area said there had been people practically queuing up every time something went on the market, so I had hopes for getting people through and selling on an open day as tenants are there until Easter and it would be great if I could get a sale agreed with minimum disruption to them.

Chose one agent, had open day on Saturday. By Thursday eve they said they had 13 viewers booked on, and should get more by Saturday.

In reality, I got 5 viewers, 3 of whom went straight in and out again. I was not pleased.

I think the prices are just too much and the hoards of buyers that were around last year are drying up as they get priced out. Plus, looking at Zoopla etc at SSTC houses in the area, there are 3 beds around in the same price range. Not as near the tube, but if I were a FTB and could get a 3 bed for the price of a 2, I'd get the bigger house every time, even if it meant 10 mins further walk to the tube.

The agents offered a very short contract with two weeks' notice and I'm inclined to give that to them, and, depending on feedback, maybe just wait until tenants are gone to market again with someone else. It might be that the tenants will agree for me to conduct viewings in brief slots for the next few weekends while I see it out with current agents, but I think if that doesn't work out I ought to leave the tenants in peace until they move.

I honestly didn't think agents would make that much difference to viewing numbers in these days of web search, but maybe they do? Obviously, the individual agent's skills come into play when there are offers in the table. But basically the area does, still, have more buyers than sellers so it shouldn't be that hard to get people through.

Conrad

Facebook is a good way of generating interest.


Funnily enough I have clients unable to secure a property under £250k because agents seem to have multiple offers on each property, so people like my clients are now trying to find ways to deal direct with sellers.


IF your property is priced correctly it will sell instantly if London or the home counties.

cloo

Yeah, that's what makes me think the price isn't right. I know the last sold price of a house of my street according to Zoopla, and the houses are all the same size and in similar condition. That sold in November at 20% less than what agents all said they'd get for my place. It seems a pretty precipitate rise and I have wondered whether mortgage valuers would accept it.

Other people have mentioned FB to me, so maybe I should give that a shot if nothing comes of these agents.

Jenniefour

Perhaps it's the fact that tenants are still there. Would put some people off unless they're looking for a BTL. Waiting till tenants have left and giving the place a good tidy up and clean might make a difference. However, I personally would not view a property with the tenants still there, mainly because I know that until the tenants have actually left it might not be a goer if they refuse to leave.

Did you get three agents round to value? It is possible, even in this market, to over price and this would put people off if they're also viewing similar local properties. So have a chat with agent about this. I personally think it's always better to market at a realistic price, including in hot markets, as you may then get several offers over.

BitterAndTwisted

If I was a serious buyer I wouldn't bother to view any tenanted properties. There's no guarantee that the tenats will leave when you think/hope they will and meanwhile the price will have risen by tens of thousands by the time it's vacant and they will have missed the boat IF THEY DON'T BUY SOMETHING RIGHT NOW. I expect that's what possible buyers re fearing

cloo

Yeah, I'm going to ask what people felt about tenants. They were all FTBs and may not necessarily be aware about the tenants maybe not leaving on time thing (I wouldn't have been when I was first buying)

The tenants are very clean and tidy, although they do have a lot of knicknacks/children's toys so it may be that everyone found it too cluttered.

I did have three valuations, and they all suggested an open day which I figured I'd try as it'd be a shot at selling before the tenants go (I know this is not guaranteed, but they've been very cooperative so far and we've had a good relationship, so it seems unlikely they'll make problems).

In the meantime, there's no massive hurry as there's nothing exciting on the market round our way at the moment anyway.

Jenniefour

I wouldn't assume FTB's don't know about possible issues with tenants because they're almost sure to have been warned by parents/others.

Open day is a good idea in a hot market and will very often result in an offer or several. Maybe wait till tenants leave and then do another open day, especially as you're not in a rush. Meantime, property will most likely be increasing in value so you won't lose out.

And you might still get an offer from the open day anyway as your open day was Saturday - I am assuming last Saturday!

cloo

Well, the one just gone. I kind of assumed offers would either come by end of Monday or not at all, but I might be wrong. I suppose it's possible that once some of the viewers find out there's not been a offer they might decide to put one in. 4/5 of the viewers were there at the same time, so they might have assumed there was lots of competition and they didn't have a chance. Or maybe someone will at least want to have another look.

KatieDee

cloo wrote: »

Well, the one just gone. I kind of assumed offers would either come by end of Monday or not at all, but I might be wrong. I suppose it's possible that once some of the viewers find out there's not been a offer they might decide to put one in. 4/5 of the viewers were there at the same time, so they might have assumed there was lots of competition and they didn't have a chance. Or maybe someone will at least want to have another look.

I once rented a house purely because it was a multiple viewing and I got a bit competitive. I was right to because the other viewers literally phoned up while I was on the phone to say they wanted it, but I didn't really enjoy the experience (I must add, it was a stunning converted warehouse flat so it wasn't *just* my competitive nature...) I think it can be rather off putting for a lot of potential buyers but unavoidable if your property is tenanted I suppose

On the other hand...it might work to your advantage if they're as competitive as I was!

cloo

Just missed a call from agents, but by the time I called back they had gone home, and they left no message, so assume nothing doing.

go_cat

When does the tenancy expire? You might be better letting them leave then selling it.