Struggling to Sell - Hints and Tips

ognum

Mutton_Geoff wrote: »

I'm fortunate to live in a c £2m grade II listed house. I can assure you that this sort of description would have me cringing. I have found that with more expensive houses, the agent's descriptions can be a bit more "grown up" with the exception of one national firm who still likes to add the sickening "why we love it so much" homeowners speil.

Stealth boast alert!

Slinky

They may not be seen as 'fashionable', but I can't help thinking net curtains would be of huge benefit in this house.


I'd definitely dump photo 11, it's doing nothing for you.

StumpyPumpy

Silvertabby wrote: »

How much are similar new builds going for? You will be competing with the new build options of chosing your own options/decor and - the big one - Help to Buy.

Sadly, I think you'll either have to drop your price or wait until the estate is finished (or both).

2026 is when the estate is planned to be finished - so I doubt waiting is an option for the OP!

A couple of things I noticed that haven't been mentioned above as far as I can see: £75k increase in 3 years? In this market? From a new build? When new builds and all their incentives are still available and being built? I know Zoopla price estimates need to be taken with huge pinches of salt but they value your house at £375k and with the amount of sales data they have for your precise area, I wouldn't expect them to be £50k out.

Also, I note that it appears that both your immediate neighbours are rentals. Are many houses in the neighbourhood actually owner occupied like yours? I have nothing against renting, in fact I support it and think there should be lots more, but it often puts prospective buyers off if they think there might be a high turnover of "temporary" residents.

And finally, the elephant in the room. In 2019 the agreement with the council that Gatwick will not build a second runway ends. Plans are already afoot and the proposals include upgrading and increasing capacity on the Brighton Main Line (which is around 2,000ft from your front door as the crow flies) Nearly doubling the capacity of the Gatwick stretch of the M23 (Around 3,000ft away). And most of all: the favoured position of the end of the new runway will be about 3,000ft and the flight path around 2,000ft at its closest point from your house at which stage (if I remember my flying maths correctly) the plane will be approximately 500ft above the ground.

The final irony being that if the Gatwick proposals go ahead as planned, they are due to be finished in 2025 - a full year ahead of the estate.

Obviously, there is not much you can do about the things I've mentioned, but any sensible buyer will know about them, or find out before making a purchase. With everything up in the air at the moment with the market, future of Gatwick and Brexit this will all affect the saleability of your house.

I think you will need to either set yourself up for the long haul and hope to trap a less diligent buyer or make the price attractive enough for someone to take a punt on the uncertainties, especially around Gatwick's future. Your best hope might have been a buy-to-let landlord, but they are more difficult to find these days too. I believe that the Zoopla estimate might well be closer to the true value than you hope.


SP

Mutton_Geoff

ognum wrote: »

Stealth boast alert!

Absolutely not intended this way. I have deleted my original post and, if you don't mind, you might wish to edit/delete my quote.


My intention was to qualify my statement that the type of language used by this agent is not used to advantage in any segment of the market including the one supposed by two other posters to the thread.

Crashy_Time

dawyldthing wrote: »

It’s expensive and a mile away from Gatwick, it’s not going to be a quick seller. Plus if there still developing it might put folk off.

If you sell it to the developer they will under value it as they want to make a good buck from it too. Plus it’s winter.

It might be worth reducing it a bit now, plus have a look what recent ones have sold for. It’s not easy to tell on the site but I’m sure it’s somewhere

Handy if you need to get to the airport, but about 100k over-priced IMO.

fiisch

Thank you for the feedback - very useful and I will put some of it the estate agent's way, as I'm starting to think they haven't done a great job with the marketing.

Think a couple of you are massively undervaluing - it is definitely worth £375k+ going off other properties on Rightmove - I am basing this on the fact that the new build at £389k some people referenced is on a much smaller plot of land, is a three storey townhouse and has no garage.

Incidentally, is there a rule of thumb how much £ / % price-wise a garage adds??

Also, a friend sold a 2 bed (much smaller) for £335k last year - £300k would only get you a flat on this estate. Whilst we're near the airport, we're not on the flightpath, so never hear the sounds of the airport.

Waiting to see what the Smoothmove valuations return - expecting these to be low as they're looking to shift the property quickly, but having run our numbers, £400k (or just under) would be the lowest we'd go, which I think is fair given plot size etc.

Interesting comments re.: being overlooked - it is a bit, but that's inevitable on a sub £500k newish house, but not nearly as bad as the photographs suggest! I hadn't realised until some pointed this out, so thank you! Still no response from the EA about the map showing incorrectly.... Grr.

googler

Simply put, why would anyone buy yours in preference to a brand-new one from the builder?

fiisch

googler wrote: »

Simply put, why would anyone buy yours in preference to a brand-new one from the builder?

It's cheaper. This is only slightly bigger than our house design and I would say a closer fit than the four bed semi with no garage some people have cited at £389k: https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-77124116.html

We have a bedroom less, and the kitchen/diner smaller, but £100k cheaper.

There was a Taylor Wimpey house selling about 3-6 months ago very similar to our house style (but not as ugly from the outside) selling for £455k. I think we will inevitably have to drop our price, but I honestly don't see how a new build with no garage, smaller garden and built over three storeys could be worth more than ours.... Unless I'm missing something?

Cakeguts

fiisch wrote: »

It's cheaper. This is only slightly bigger than our house design and I would say a closer fit than the four bed semi with no garage some people have cited at £389k: https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-77124116.html

We have a bedroom less, and the kitchen/diner smaller, but £100k cheaper.

There was a Taylor Wimpey house selling about 3-6 months ago very similar to our house style (but not as ugly from the outside) selling for £455k. I think we will inevitably have to drop our price, but I honestly don't see how a new build with no garage, smaller garden and built over three storeys could be worth more than ours.... Unless I'm missing something?

New builds have a premium on them because they are new. Once someone moves in they become second hand and drop in value. New houses are like new cars they drop in value as soon as someone buys them and uses them. So a second hand house will not sell for as much as a new house. In a new house the kitchen and bathrooms are new. In your house they are second hand. Your house is now just like any other second hand house.


Your house is only worth what someone will pay you for it. It isn't worth the imaginary number the estate agent has given you or the amount that you need to move. It is only worth what someone else will pay you for it. At the moment no one wants to pay you what you are asking for it.

naomibm

I agree...the blurb by the agent annoys me so much i wouldn't go and see it due to that! Defo take down pic number 11...I'm just looking for binoculars!!