Is selling property always difficult?

chucknorris · 26 April 2017 at 12:17PM

Ray_Singh-Blue wrote: »

I have sold 5 properties, all with a minimum of fuss, and think the key is actually in the buying.

When you buy something which is attractive, spacious enough, in a good location, and with broad appeal then you are probably going to be able to sell it on when the time comes.

The trouble with having very tight specific criteria though is that it restricts your buying, we targeted buying 3 Victorian houses in Tottenham Hale in 2008. But we stuck to our guns about wanting 3 double bedrooms, which meant that we only ended up buying one, something that we now realise was a mistake, I think that only applies when buying your home.

Ray_Singh-Blue · 26 April 2017 at 12:20PM

economic wrote: »

agree. however it is usually very difficult to tick all the boxes. specially in london, there is almost always a sacrifice to be made unless you have millions.

Fair. Never had either of those pleasures (living in London, having millions). But I think the ideal property is one which does not yet tick all the boxes, but through luck, skill and effort can be transformed into one which does during you tenure.

Location I think is biggest issue, as all the property shows say. I have only once bought a house in a poor location (area of rural deprivation) and actually that was the only one I had some difficulty selling, was rescued by making the house pretty awesome. It was bought by a wealthy cash buyer who had a particular reason to want to live in that exact location. All the other houses have been average, but in very good locations - town centre, popular suburb of a big city, picturesque commuter village. If you pick up a house like this, and improve it a little, I think it will often go well for you.

Ray_Singh-Blue · 26 April 2017 at 12:29PM

Malthusian wrote: »

My mother did exactly this - went round the area she wanted to buy in and put letters underneath people's doors asking whether they would consider selling. One of them hadn't put their house on the market but they were thinking about it, and my mother's letter was enough to push them into selling it to her. A lovely house it was too.

We get a letter like this about once every 3 months. Had one yesterday in fact.

I have come to believe that location really is the key- if you can buy a house in a good place, then shifting it really is not a problem - even in the dark days of 2008/2009 well located houses round here were changing hands quickly, albeit for a lower price.

economic · 26 April 2017 at 12:59PM

Ray_Singh-Blue wrote: »

Fair. Never had either of those pleasures (living in London, having millions). But I think the ideal property is one which does not yet tick all the boxes, but through luck, skill and effort can be transformed into one which does during you tenure.

Location I think is biggest issue, as all the property shows say. I have only once bought a house in a poor location (area of rural deprivation) and actually that was the only one I had some difficulty selling, was rescued by making the house pretty awesome. It was bought by a wealthy cash buyer who had a particular reason to want to live in that exact location. All the other houses have been average, but in very good locations - town centre, popular suburb of a big city, picturesque commuter village. If you pick up a house like this, and improve it a little, I think it will often go well for you.

as the saying goes, buy the worse house on the best street/location.

Wenlock · 26 April 2017 at 3:31PM

Last year the tenant of my let bungalow gave notice to quit. A friend of his, who had seen the property, contacted the letting/estate agent asking if I was interested in selling to him.

I had intended to seek new tenants but I agreed to meet the agent at the property as soon as the tenant vacated. He valued the property at 3 pm, rang the potential buyer and we had agreed on a price by 4.30 pm. The property never went on the market.

The sale completed about 4 weeks later. I did of course have to pay a small commission to the estate agent but my costs were significantly lower than they would otherwise have been.

My other 2 house sales in 2007 and 2010 were fairly quick and simple, with the asking price being paid in full (in the West Midlands).

I suspect my current place will be more difficult to sell as it is a bit specialised: - it includes a granny annexe which can make mortgages awkward, plus the council tax issues.

chucknorris · 26 April 2017 at 4:59PM

Wenlock wrote: »

Last year the tenant of my let bungalow gave notice to quit. A friend of his, who had seen the property, contacted the letting/estate agent asking if I was interested in selling to him.

I had intended to seek new tenants but I agreed to meet the agent at the property as soon as the tenant vacated. He valued the property at 3 pm, rang the potential buyer and we had agreed on a price by 4.30 pm. The property never went on the market.

The sale completed about 4 weeks later. I did of course have to pay a small commission to the estate agent but my costs were significantly lower than they would otherwise have been.

My other 2 house sales in 2007 and 2010 were fairly quick and simple, with the asking price being paid in full (in the West Midlands).

I suspect my current place will be more difficult to sell as it is a bit specialised: - it includes a granny annexe which can make mortgages awkward, plus the council tax issues.

I got a call from an estate agent at 8 pm on a Friday evening, he said that he had just got back from taking details for the sale of a flat that he knew that I would want to buy (I already lived in one and let another in the same block). I told him that I was going on holiday to Florida for 2 weeks the following morning, so he arranged for me to view it straight away, 30 mins later I offered the asking price and it was accepted. Not a bad earner for the agent, he didn't even have to prepared the property details.