House price & valuation

dwill1503

We own a property that we are looking to sell shortly. To test the water I put the house as a private advert online at a price of £200k (which is based on my non-professional but rightmove searching option!!) and we have had loads of interest. However when I do a Zoopla or RM online valuation or even on the Nationwide mortgage section it comes up as £160k. I think this is based on the fact that the last person to sell a house in my close 3 years ago sold for £165. However within 3 miles of my postcode it is not possible to buy a 3 bed for less than £200k.

My question is this - if we use and estate agent, will they use my common sense theory (do they want to get as much as possible)?

If we don't use an EA, when the purchasers surveyor/valuer does their estimate would they think £200k is over priced?

G_M

The online 'valuations' are pretty meaningless. They just take averages for the postcode. No acount of the individual property.

An estate agent (better still, get 3) valuation will be based on actual local sales prices, compared against the condition/size precise circumstances of your property, the agents knowledge of the market an demand, and other factors.

And of course at the end of the day even if you use an EA, it is still you who sets the price. You can be guided by the EA, but you can simply say "market it at £200K"

Buyers and their surveyors will do the same. If they want the property enough, they'll pay. If they think it's over-piced, they won'.

stukno

My son is selling his house at the moment. The EA method of valuing their house is to look at similar houses in the area - compare prices and then say ' yours should be about that'. sorry but no expertise needed there.

They took photos that were awful and had to be redone and wrote a poor description AND have indicated that they will charge per viewing if they show people round, I am left just wondering what exactly they do do to justify the 1.25% fee?

If your private ad has generated some interest then, if it were mine, I'd steer well clear of EA's, deal direct and then move to Solicitors

kinger101

stukno wrote: »

My son is selling his house at the moment. The EA method of valuing their house is to look at similar houses in the area - compare prices and then say ' yours should be about that'. sorry but no expertise needed there.

How else do you suggest they value the house? Basing it on what people are likely to pay seems quite sensible.

stukno wrote: »

They took photos that were awful and had to be redone and wrote a poor description AND have indicated that they will charge per viewing if they show people round, I am left just wondering what exactly they do do to justify the 1.25% fee?

Didn't your son check the EA's live adds for quality of photos and descriptions? I ask this as there are frequently posts on here about housing not selling and the photos and descriptions are often poor. The thing is, it's evident that the EA is question is terrible from all their other ads, but they don't notice this.

stukno wrote: »

If your private ad has generated some interest then, if it were mine, I'd steer well clear of EA's, deal direct and then move to Solicitors

Not a bad idea, if you understand everything involved and are happy to do the negotiating yourself. If you're not good at this, then the EA fee might actually pay for itself.

AdrianC

stukno wrote: »

(The EA) took photos that were awful and had to be redone and wrote a poor description AND have indicated that they will charge per viewing if they show people round

So why on _earth_ did he use that EA?

googler

Any EA of any size and experience should know not only what's sold in their area, but what DIDN'T sell, both with them and their competitors. This should form part of the valuation assessment, as there's little point in valuing a house of a particular size and type at £20k more than the asking price for a similar one which didn't sell at that price.

They're also in a better position to judge, having been inside and around many more houses than the general public, how each one stacks up against the others in terms of condition.

Homeowners and sellers like the OP don't seem to consider the former, and can't consider the latter.

dwill1503

Thank you all. We are fully aware of the work that the EA's do. We have bought and sold a few times. We have just never had great service so we thought we would try ourselves.