Bad luck?

Wewanttosell

Hi

I'm hoping for some advice and encouragement please.

We put our house on the market in June last year, had 2 offers within a week and accepted one of them, then 2 and a half months into proceedings our buyers buyer changed their mind and the chain collapsed which cost us a lot of money. We put our house back on the market with same estate agent and after lots of viewings we found another buyer and again started proceedings. A week later our buyers buyer dropped out of the sale and so again we lost our buyer. They put their house back on the market with another agent and then a week after that they changed their minds and took their house off the market altogether. We had a break over Christmas and then put our house back on the market, we had a few viewings but we're getting thoroughly fed up with the agent by this time and our trust in them was nonexistent. We decided to change agents 2 weeks ago and since then have had 6 viewings but no offers.

No-one has said the price is too high, feedback comments are things like 'garden would be too much for me' (from an elderly lady) or 'nothing to improve' or 'need a separate dining room', that sort of thing, nothing derogatory. Pretty much everyone says 'you have a lovely home' when they are leaving so we wonder what else we could do to entice people to buy.

It would be good to know if other people have had similar experiences, whether we are expecting too much from any agent, if there is anything we could do to improve our chances of selling. We are just really fed up with the whole process and wonder if we are ever going to sell. We are not buying another property so the chain stops with us which you would think is appealing. Do you think we have just been unlucky with 2 chains collapsing or do you think it could be something else?

Thanks

[Deleted User]

It's the carpet in your second bedroom. It's horrible.

You need to change that.

Wewanttosell

Ha! If only it was something that simple I'd be happy too

The whole house has neutral carpets and neutral walls so nothing offensive

ellie27

Folk who are serious buyers and have been looking will know that your house has been on and off the market (for whatever reasons) for the last 9 months. That will ring alarm bells for some folk.

We were in exact same position as you, had to drop price to get offers again.

Dropping price is the only thing that will entice folk.

Sorry if thats not what you want to hear!

6am

We are in similar situation to you. We lost 3 buyers. The first buyer walked out after 3 month of waiting for us to find a property (mind you we thought they had a cash in the bank, but actually they needed to sell), the second buyer simply disappeared and stopped answering the phone, the third buyer were unable to get a mortgage (though they had an agreement in principle). Today we had another very good offer which we are going to accept. I do not care anymore.

I say your price is right, you have viewings and had offers. Stick to it.

dlmcr

You will know better than us whether there are problems with the house that have caused buyers to pull out. It is unusual to have happened twice. Neighbour problems? Mortgage lenders under valuing it? Subsidence in the area? etc. As mentioned this fact will ring alarm bells with any future viewings / potential offers when they find out about this.

If you are feeling brave then put up a rightmove link so that we can b*tch about, I mean, critique, your property and offer constructive suggestions on how to get you under offer and then make your sale go through to completion.

Wewanttosell

ellie27 wrote: »

Folk who are serious buyers and have been looking will know that your house has been on and off the market (for whatever reasons) for the last 9 months. That will ring alarm bells for some folk.

We were in exact same position as you, had to drop price to get offers again.

Dropping price is the only thing that will entice folk.

Sorry if thats not what you want to hear!

I don't mind hearing anything that will help sell and have wondered if potential buyers might wonder why we have been on and off the market but I don't think price would entice them if they have doubts. None of the viewers we have had have mentioned price and we are getting regular viewings. Thanks for your reply

Wewanttosell

6am wrote: »

We are in similar situation to you. We lost 3 buyers. The first buyer walked out after 3 month of waiting for us to find a property (mind you we thought they had a cash in the bank, but actually they needed to sell), the second buyer simply disappeared and stopped answering the phone, the third buyer were unable to get a mortgage (though they had an agreement in principle). Today we had another very good offer which we are going to accept. I do not care anymore.

I say your price is right, you have viewings and had offers. Stick to it.

Sounds like you have had a frustrating time of it too! Good luck with today's offer and hope all goes well. I know what you mean about not caring anymore, you sort of give up in a way don't you. Thanks for replying

Wewanttosell

dlmcr wrote: »

You will know better than us whether there are problems with the house that have caused buyers to pull out. It is unusual to have happened twice. Neighbour problems? Mortgage lenders under valuing it? Subsidence in the area? etc. As mentioned this fact will ring alarm bells with any future viewings / potential offers when they find out about this.

If you are feeling brave then put up a rightmove link so that we can b*tch about, I mean, critique, your property and offer constructive suggestions on how to get you under offer and then make your sale go through to completion.

There are no problems with the house at all, they have had to pull out as they have lost their buyers. Our neighbours are lovely, really helpful and look out for each other kind of people. We had a mortgage valuer round and didn't get a report back that it was over priced. If it was the price that would be a quick fix. No subsidence in the area that I am aware of.

I'm not sure I should put my house up but thanks for the suggestion, I'm a bit cautious about those sorts of things :cool:

I am very sceptical about agents and have heard lots of stories about fake viewings and offers and of being used as a marketing tool to get new properties on their books but I wonder if any of that is true? Having not bought or sold for many years and last time it being what I remember as a simple process this experience has been horrible and if I could find any other way of selling it I would. I don't ever want to buy another house purely because I don't want to have to go through selling it again. Thanks for your reply

Cakeguts

It is unlikely that anyone will tell you that the house is too expensive. They are more likely to find something that they don't like and tell you that even though they are thinking to themselves that it is too expensive for them,

Hoploz

Remember also that between november and now is just about the worst time for selling. There are fewer viewers and of course a beautiful garden full of flowers and leaves will always help you sell.

If you aren't in any hurry then why not take it off rightmove for a while until the market refreshes, then burst back on in March/April with new sunny photos, when things look a bit greener and jollier. This is the busiest time for the market usually so it could well sell straightaway once a few more people are looking.