Discrete Marketing of a house

peterhjohnson

I want to sell a tatty house in a good area. The house "needs modernisation". A near identical house very close by was sold earlier in the year so I invited the agent in that case to look at mine.
Based on his experience with that house, he thought it unlikely that my place would be bought by a private individual wanting to do it up, it would be more likely to go to one of his many local investor/builder contacts who would do it up/extend, etc.

Hi suggested plan is to "discretely" market it with a guide price of £X for a couple of weeks and then review the situation with me. He expects a lot of interest and we might go to sealed bids.

He proposes a flat fee which is 1% of £X +VAT

His agency is long established and has multiple branches within 10 miles (and nowhere else) so it seems plausible to me that his contacts might well be good.

Comments?

PasturesNew

Ignore what he said to you.

Ask yourself this: If he has no leads after 2-3 weeks will you then be happy at openly marketing?

He's saying discrete to get your business, but if his potential buyers don't bite you'd have to "go public" in any case. You don't need to have a board up, but you would show up in search results if people were looking.

What are you trying to avoid? Embarrassment? Neighbours knowing? Or what?

Ultimately, you have to think that you will end up having to openly market it, to be seen to be marketing it - because if stealth calls to an investor list yield no results that's what you'll have to do.

At the moment, in my area, I bet fewer are in a position to buy as they're still "stuck with" the last one they bought and tarted up.

AdrianC

Discreet marketing has its place - if you don't want the neighbours to know you're selling, for whatever reason. But if you don't much care about that, then there's no reason at all to limit the market.

If the developers think it's worth paying £X, then they'll think it's worth paying £X even if Joe Public also knows about it. Joe Public, otoh, may think it's worth paying £Y, where Y>X.

No reason at all why he can't pitch it to his contacts at the same time as putting it on RM and/or in the window.

1.2% of price is not exactly a bargain-bucket discount rate for not having to do much work.

kazwookie

I'd go fully public from the start and then see what interest, start at a reasonable price ££ you can always come down.


Good luck

AdrianC

BTW, discrete and discreet are different words.

Discreet = quiet, not public
Discrete = separate

https://www.dictionary.com/e/discreet-and-discrete/

It's possible that he's suggesting discrete marketing for developers and the public, but...

ToasterScheme

It's possible that what the agent means by discreet is "I'll do you a cheap deal if we can avoid all the hassle of drawing up particulars, advertising fees, etc. etc."

He may ask for more money if ask him not to take short cuts.

caprikid1

Discrete = I am hoping to punt it to one of my favourite clients for a good price plus personal kick back.


I don't want Sarah Beaney motivated public bids because they will take for ever , be far more than my mate will pay and most likely fall through.

caprikid1

He proposes a flat fee which is 1% of £X +VAT


I don't view that as cheap these days.

AdrianC

caprikid1 wrote: »

He proposes a flat fee which is 1% of £X +VAT

I don't view that as cheap these days.

Not very flat, either.

£1,500 is a flat fee.
1.2% inc VAT is a variable fee.

TBagpuss

OP, I would ask him what specifc advantages / bemefits he thinks there are for you in marketing discreetly to a limited number of possible buyers.

I can't see any immediate benefit for you:

If you market in the usual way, publically, the developers can still make an offer. And your agent can still let them know specifcically that there is a property which may interest them.

If you don't, and only offer it discreetly to developersyou'll never know whether there would have been more inerest from 'ordinary' buyers.

Plus, unless the house is in such a bad condition that it is unmortgagable, I would be very sceptical of the suggestion that no 'normal' buyer would want it. Buy the cheapest / worst house in the best area is a fairly well-known piece of advice for buyers, as you can't ater the location butyou can improve a property, so I would in kost cases expect a tatty house in goodarea to be attractive to a lot of buyers trying to get the most house for their money!

That said, there may be specifc local reasons why that wouldn't apply in your case (maybe if the house / area is predominantly likely to appeal to retirees, or if it is millionaire's rw - in which case the agent will be able to explian their reasoning.

it may however be that that is not the best agent for you - if they mstly sell to well-heeled people who want move-in ready homes, then they may struggle to sell your house, but a diferent agent with a slightly different client base may be a better choice.

I would also suggest that you get at least 2 other lcal agetns to come and value he proprty and give their advice and quotes then make a decision.

Bossypants

EA wants to limit your pool of buyers and offers you a flat fee which isn't flat at all.

Time to invite a couple of other EAs round for a look, methinks.