Should we change Estate Agents

warwicktate

babiesmummy said:

We had 2 valuations both at 350k. At the time a house around the corner had just had an offer accepted at 315k and ours was considerably larger & not overlooked. I believe this was the basis of the valuation & other than a few new builds there wasn't much else on the market at our price point. Then the announcement of the stamp duty holiday was announced and ......boom everyone else wants to sell.

You have had two valuations at £350k. Next door (admittingly with no extension, but still a 5 bedroom on the same estate) is £70k less. You will always have people asking why yours is so more, and I'm not too sure the extension/work you have done, whilst it looks great, makes up the difference in price. (And as previously stated, a house sold recently for £100k less, again a 5 bedroom on the same estate)

Ultimately, as the saying goes, the house is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. If you can find that person, then fantastic for you. But, if you are getting no interest in your property, then maybe no-one is willing to pay the price you want.

I personally wouldn't put so much emphasis on the valuations. We had 4 (my wife likes to get info from every source possible!!) estate agents value her house, and they all came back at £97k - £99k. So, what happens next? The next door neighbour's house goes on the market for £90k. We ask her why. Because that's what it was valued at by another estate agent (one we didn't use for our valuations). The houses are identical (terraced road, all built at same time, only difference is internal décor/kitchen/bathroom fittings etc). So is ours over-priced, or is hers underpriced? No-one knows for sure, but we put the house on the market at what we thought was a realistic price. And now we wait to see if we can sell..... 

Put the house on the market at what you think someone will pay for it. Estate agent valuations are a guide, but don't have to be followed to the letter.

 

Neil49

Your extensive conversion work has made the house less saleable as you now have to find a buyer who has the same taste in design and requires a house of quite a dramatic layout. No one is going to pay the asking price and then pay even more to change it to their own desired specific requirements whereas they would with the one 2 doors away. Personally, I don't think your neighbours house has sold because the photos are pretty poor. Someone from Purple Bricks has used a smartphone rather than a decent camera. A better presentation by them would soon get it sold. As a recent house mover (and having viewed countless houses in the process) the first thing I noticed was that it is a 5 bedroom house with parking for one car! Is the street littered with cars parked on the pavements at evenings and weekends? It also comes down to location and you have developed and priced your house to a location somewhere else that is nicer. If you can get the buyer who offered £350k back on board then take the money and move into rented accommodation if you need to in order to get contracts exchanged.

Vestraun

Unfortunately it’s definitely the price, I don’t think changing the agent will make any difference as the listing already looks good. 

warby68

Its lovely but to very specific requirements and potentially over-developed for the location.
I wouldn't buy a house of that size without a garage - a non negotiable
I would also want decent parking and that doesn't look great.
Plus you have competition which is  probably what dried up your viewings - even people who love your home will see a chance to do it for themselves at a lower overall cost.
That all makes it about price if you want a quick move or a longer wait for another buyer who does want the specifics you offer without doing the work themselves. 
Pretty sure it WILL sell but you might need to compromise on price v timeframe.
I really doubt a new agent will change much

happysellerbuyer

It's gorgeous. Do you have to definitely   sell it. You can wait for a little longer.

Thrugelmir

babiesmummy said:

It isnt just a garage conversion, its also an extension that now links the conversion to the house. It had a new roof, a false chimney breast including a digital & electri fire & now has a full height ceiling. It is fully insulated & soundproofed. It also took 4 months to complete it all & involved alot more than moving a couple of doors. 
We knew when we moved in 10yrs ago that the living space downstairs wasn't in proportion to the number of bedrooms, hence the extension & conversion.

When customising a property the outlay often doesn't reflect in an equivalent uplift in value. All a buyer sees it what's there now. The blood sweat and tears mean nothing. 

saajan_12

babiesmummy said:

It isnt just a garage conversion, its also an extension that now links the conversion to the house. It had a new roof, a false chimney breast including a digital & electri fire & now has a full height ceiling. It is fully insulated & soundproofed. It also took 4 months to complete it all & involved alot more than moving a couple of doors. 
We knew when we moved in 10yrs ago that the living space downstairs wasn't in proportion to the number of bedrooms, hence the extension & conversion.

Its not about how much work You put in, its about how much value a buyer puts on it and how much they could spend to get the same basic effect (or the bits they actually want). So false chimney breasts and fires are a personal preference, wouldn't be necessary. The ceiling depends on how high other garages are, may not be necessary. Internal walls aren't always soundproofed, and you're detached anyway. So that leaves the cost of moving doors and insulation to for a buyer to get some form of a usable living room in place of a garage. 

Rambosmum

Adding bedrooms adds value (up to 5 beds anyway) adding downstairs floor space rarely recoups the money spent but will make a house easier to sell. it's the same with new kitchens and bathrooms - they rarely recoup the value spent but do make a house easier to sell. It's why property developers tend to put in the cheapest kitchens and bathrooms, as long as they look nice, they sell, so a £5k kitchen or a £25k kitchen and you'll get similar uplift in value. 

As for more people wanting to sell, well there are also more people wanting to buy. In our area properties are through the roof and prices rising - 5 houses on my street have sold this month the most recent for £25k more than the first, because demand is high. 

Long and short of it = it's too expensive. You should have accepted £320k. 

babiesmummy

.......just an update 
I changed the wording on our listing to offers over 345k. This created a 2nd viewing & we have accepted an offer of 350k today. They are completing on the sale of their house in 3wks & will move in with their daughter until we find something & they have no mortgage.
Happy days 

Titus_Wadd

Great news and your buyer will have an impressive home.