Estate agent - £25k reduction after a month

jimmyjammy001

Unfortunately house prices are a hot topic at the moment, mainly because they have gone up quite a bit in years gone by, you have stated that you want to sell to pay off your own mortgage and then (I presume) buy a smaller house outright with cash as you will not be able to get another mortgage, so that would indicate the price you brought for and are selling for is pritty significant, so a 25k reduction to many reading this will not seem like a lot seeing as you would of never had that 25k in the first place, if you were in negative equity on the other hand then I am sure people would be alot more sympathetic towards your situation

steampowered

To put it in context, £25k off a £400k property is a 6.25% price reduction.

Yes that is a meaningful reduction but its not unusual. People generally price property based on what they hope to get, but are willing to accept an offer for less.

If you think £400k is a fair price bearing in mind recent sold prices in the area, then you can hold at £400k. If someone thinks the property is only worth £375k they may still view and just offer below asking.

ClaireB182 wrote: »

We wont be able to get another mortgage due to my health.

Is it possible to get onto another deal with the same lender? If going onto a deal with the same lender they don't tend to re-do credit and incoming checks. Perhaps that's not possible but worth exploring.

peterhjohnson

The reason that family came to look at your totally unsuitable house could be that the agent lied to them and pressured them to view your "fantastic house". I was that viewer once when I was a lot younger. An agent would pull that stunt if he'd had very few viewings and was worried that you'd sack him.

I assume your property is on Rightmove, Zoopla and perhaps another large portal? If not, your agent is incompetent. And the listing has a full set of photos of both inside and outside?

If the property is not particularly unique and there's a steady turnover of near identical places very near, the agent should have been able to get the price right to about plus or minus about 3%. On the other hand, agents do struggle to price more unique houses correctly. In one case, I bought a unique house at a 17% discount on the asking price because I was the only person cheeky enough to offer that low

AdrianC

ClaireB182 wrote: »

I have no idea why the family came as I am not psychic. I suspect that the EA 'encouraged' them as our property has a big plot for the area and could accommodate a sizable extension.

There y'go, then. Viable buyer, because the house could be extended.

I dont expect an EA to come out and value the house and then want to drop the value by £25K four weeks later.

Start high, reduce a bit if no bites. It's hardly rocket science.

ClaireB182

AdrianC wrote: »

There y'go, then. Viable buyer, because the house could be extended.


Start high, reduce a bit if no bites. It's hardly rocket science.

Is there a particular reason you feel the need to patronise me and be condescending? If all you can do is make sarky comments then please go elsewhere.

ClaireB182

jimmyjammy001 wrote: »

Unfortunately house prices are a hot topic at the moment, mainly because they have gone up quite a bit in years gone by, you have stated that you want to sell to pay off your own mortgage and then (I presume) buy a smaller house outright with cash as you will not be able to get another mortgage, so that would indicate the price you brought for and are selling for is pritty significant, so a 25k reduction to many reading this will not seem like a lot seeing as you would of never had that 25k in the first place, if you were in negative equity on the other hand then I am sure people would be alot more sympathetic towards your situation

Who has asked for sympathy? The only reason I explained our circumstances was to give context and to illustrate that we have no choice but to move. I dont want or need anyones 'sympathy'. Everyone has their own challenges in life, this just happens to be ours at this time.

Yes thanks, I 'get' that its £25K we 'never had' but its a sharp (to us) reduction in just four weeks. It also rubs salt in the wound when a very similar house, although they didnt have a garage and we do, 20 doors down sold for £399,995 just two months ago.

We've now had a call from the head office of the EA who has said to 'forget' the £25k reduction, thats 'out the window'. They are now talking a smaller reduction and a 'refresh'. Due to how they have been to date I now dont trust anything they say. We have a viewing today and will decide how to go forward after than.

Thank you to those who have helped, I appreciate it. To those who felt the need to be sarky and derisory all I can say is that life can change beyond recognition in a heart beat as I have found out at 43. IF it happens to you, and I hope it doesnt, you will soon learn not to be so smug and condescending towards others who are just seeking advice because they are finding things difficult.

AdrianC

ClaireB182 wrote: »

Is there a particular reason you feel the need to patronise me and be condescending? If all you can do is make sarky comments then please go elsewhere.

I'm very sorry if you thought that was patronising condescension. It really wasn't - it was a straightforward way of pointing out what's clearly happened here.

Next door may well have sold for £400k. But you do not have anybody queueing up to pay that, do you? So... Do you want to hang around on the market, getting stale in the run up to Xmas, or do you want to sell?

I repeat - show us an RM link, and we can help you figure out what, if anything, is turning viewers off your place.

babyblade41

Op, you are being too sensitive , you asked advice and advice you have got, it is obviously very difficult to give a more in depth answer as you haven't shown the property.

Does the ad on RM have all the floor plans, are the photos good enough, are you with an actual EA or an online factory ?

What you have described is what a lot of EA's do.. start high and reduce after a month, that is why it's imperative you do your homework before going to market and with a price you know is achievable.

You now have lost a month because of it.

I would remove from the market for now as movement will be very slow now and the listing will go stale.

Get Xmas out the way and start again

The usual gauge is if you have lots of online views and no actual viewers it's over priced, if you have a few viewings but no offers then the price still needs reducing but not too far away

ClaireB182

AdrianC wrote: »

Start high, reduce a bit if no bites. It's hardly rocket science.

Thats not patronising?!

ClaireB182

babyblade41 wrote: »

Op, you are being too sensitive , you asked advice and advice you have got, it is obviously very difficult to give a more in depth answer as you haven't shown the property.

Does the ad on RM have all the floor plans, are the photos good enough, are you with an actual EA or an online factory ?

What you have described is what a lot of EA's do.. start high and reduce after a month, that is why it's imperative you do your homework before going to market and with a price you know is achievable.

You now have lost a month because of it.

I would remove from the market for now as movement will be very slow now and the listing will go stale.

Get Xmas out the way and start again

The usual gauge is if you have lots of online views and no actual viewers it's over priced, if you have a few viewings but no offers then the price still needs reducing but not too far away

Yes, I asked for advice, not sarky comments like it not being "rocket science".

Thank you for your advice.