House Viewings Gone Stale - Opinions Please

Scotbot

korabiowski said:

korabiowski said:

Scotbot said:

korabiowski said:

Cakeguts said:

When you spent money doing the house up you bought a new kitchen and bathroom.  The bathroom fittings that you bought were new to you and so was the kitchen.  However you are not selling a new kitchen and bathroom you are selling a second hand kitchen and bathroom and any other improvements you made.  So work out how much you would pay for your kitchen and bathrooms now they are second hand because that is what you are selling. They aren't new anymore you have used them.

You may have spent £80k doing the place up but that £80k is on items that were new retail prices. You are selling second hand.  No one is going to pay new price for second hand items. 

Decorations and what you have done to the garden are your taste.  There is no guarantee that anyone will pay extra for your taste. You may have retiled and painted the house but the next person could easily not like what you have done and want to change it all.  They aren't going to pay you a lot of money for your taste if they know that they are going to replace it all.

I find the fact that there is no downstairs toilet and two very strange bathroom arrangements upstairs a bit offputting.  It looks as if the main bathroom is a shower room and the ensuite is a bathroom but there is no door between the bathroom and the main bedroom so the house is not finished it needs some more money spent on it to sort the bathroom arrangement out. 

Thanks for the comments.

Appreciate the bathrooms aren't to everyone's taste, but it works for us

What I am really struggling to understand is that the majority of people are saying we are over valuing the upgrade works we have done since buying. The house was a mess when we bought it, believe me!!

If there was no previous records of what we paid for the house 2 years ago, would anyone be batting an eyelid? Probably not to the extreme that people have.

We have purely put the house on the market below the advised 'current' price provided by 3 reputable local estate agents. If this is too high, then we will find out in a few weeks time, and kick ourselves.

However, the price we paid 2 years ago, and the amount we have spent upgrading since, is irrelevant in my opinion.

Thanks again

But there are records, both price history and previous, listings. I looked at both and assumed a spend of around 25k. I would then add 10 to 15 % on which brings me to around 260 to 265k. That is what most buyers will do.

So the price seems on the high side, the house is quirky and thed layout won't work for a number of people. This explains why people are not rushing to buy it. Realistically the only thing you csn change is price everything else is tinkering round thdd edges and unlikely to influence whether people view it. Since you like it you may as well hold out and see what happens

So on that basis, if the house was actually worth 225k when we bought it (which everyone seems to be neglecting in favour of what we actually paid for it,) then you would have us at £285k.
NB. Before completion, we had an independent RICS valuation/survey done for our peace of mind, and he valued it at £230k in its condition. His opinion, but I paid good money for that professional opinion.

At the end of the day, its all a guessing game, and time will tell what the house is currently worth

Thanks again

If you managed to buy a £20k car for £19k because you haggled well, would you give the next buyer an automatic £1k discount when you sell the car 2 years later? No you wouldn't. 

Depends on how much you needed to sell. I did indeed sell a car at a heavy discount 6 months ago ( to one of those we buy anything outfits) as I wanted rid of it.

korabiowski

Scotbot said:

korabiowski said:

korabiowski said:

Scotbot said:

korabiowski said:

Cakeguts said:

When you spent money doing the house up you bought a new kitchen and bathroom.  The bathroom fittings that you bought were new to you and so was the kitchen.  However you are not selling a new kitchen and bathroom you are selling a second hand kitchen and bathroom and any other improvements you made.  So work out how much you would pay for your kitchen and bathrooms now they are second hand because that is what you are selling. They aren't new anymore you have used them.

You may have spent £80k doing the place up but that £80k is on items that were new retail prices. You are selling second hand.  No one is going to pay new price for second hand items. 

Decorations and what you have done to the garden are your taste.  There is no guarantee that anyone will pay extra for your taste. You may have retiled and painted the house but the next person could easily not like what you have done and want to change it all.  They aren't going to pay you a lot of money for your taste if they know that they are going to replace it all.

I find the fact that there is no downstairs toilet and two very strange bathroom arrangements upstairs a bit offputting.  It looks as if the main bathroom is a shower room and the ensuite is a bathroom but there is no door between the bathroom and the main bedroom so the house is not finished it needs some more money spent on it to sort the bathroom arrangement out. 

Thanks for the comments.

Appreciate the bathrooms aren't to everyone's taste, but it works for us

What I am really struggling to understand is that the majority of people are saying we are over valuing the upgrade works we have done since buying. The house was a mess when we bought it, believe me!!

If there was no previous records of what we paid for the house 2 years ago, would anyone be batting an eyelid? Probably not to the extreme that people have.

We have purely put the house on the market below the advised 'current' price provided by 3 reputable local estate agents. If this is too high, then we will find out in a few weeks time, and kick ourselves.

However, the price we paid 2 years ago, and the amount we have spent upgrading since, is irrelevant in my opinion.

Thanks again

But there are records, both price history and previous, listings. I looked at both and assumed a spend of around 25k. I would then add 10 to 15 % on which brings me to around 260 to 265k. That is what most buyers will do.

So the price seems on the high side, the house is quirky and thed layout won't work for a number of people. This explains why people are not rushing to buy it. Realistically the only thing you csn change is price everything else is tinkering round thdd edges and unlikely to influence whether people view it. Since you like it you may as well hold out and see what happens

So on that basis, if the house was actually worth 225k when we bought it (which everyone seems to be neglecting in favour of what we actually paid for it,) then you would have us at £285k.
NB. Before completion, we had an independent RICS valuation/survey done for our peace of mind, and he valued it at £230k in its condition. His opinion, but I paid good money for that professional opinion.

At the end of the day, its all a guessing game, and time will tell what the house is currently worth

Thanks again

If you managed to buy a £20k car for £19k because you haggled well, would you give the next buyer an automatic £1k discount when you sell the car 2 years later? No you wouldn't. 

Depends on how much you needed to sell. I did indeed sell a car at a heavy discount 6 months ago ( to one of those we buy anything outfits) as I wanted rid of it.

Ha ha, not what I was getting at, but obviously its all situational.

All i'm saying is that we haggled for weeks to get the price down to where we got it, so we have earned a better price for us.
We didn't do all that to effectively reduce the value of the house, and especially not for the benefit of any potential future purchaser after us.

GaleSF63

korabiowski said:

GaleSF63 said:

Forgive me if I've missed it - I can't get on with Rightmove's latest layout at all, but I can't find any room dimensions. 

Yes, that winds me up also. The room dimensions are in the full description of the house. I would prefer them to be on the floor plan so it is clearer

Thank you, I've found it now! Under that little note "read more" which I obviously didn't. 

But surely the measurements for the ensuite are wrong? Over 4 metres?

korabiowski

GaleSF63 said:

korabiowski said:

GaleSF63 said:

Forgive me if I've missed it - I can't get on with Rightmove's latest layout at all, but I can't find any room dimensions. 

Yes, that winds me up also. The room dimensions are in the full description of the house. I would prefer them to be on the floor plan so it is clearer

Thank you, I've found it now! Under that little note "read more" which I obviously didn't. 

But surely the measurements for the ensuite are wrong? Over 4 metres?

Do you know what, i've never noticed that thanks. Another reason that dimensions would help on the floor plan!! 
I'll mention to EA next time we speak

billy2shots

korabiowski said:

Scotbot said:

korabiowski said:

korabiowski said:

Scotbot said:

korabiowski said:

Cakeguts said:

When you spent money doing the house up you bought a new kitchen and bathroom.  The bathroom fittings that you bought were new to you and so was the kitchen.  However you are not selling a new kitchen and bathroom you are selling a second hand kitchen and bathroom and any other improvements you made.  So work out how much you would pay for your kitchen and bathrooms now they are second hand because that is what you are selling. They aren't new anymore you have used them.

You may have spent £80k doing the place up but that £80k is on items that were new retail prices. You are selling second hand.  No one is going to pay new price for second hand items. 

Decorations and what you have done to the garden are your taste.  There is no guarantee that anyone will pay extra for your taste. You may have retiled and painted the house but the next person could easily not like what you have done and want to change it all.  They aren't going to pay you a lot of money for your taste if they know that they are going to replace it all.

I find the fact that there is no downstairs toilet and two very strange bathroom arrangements upstairs a bit offputting.  It looks as if the main bathroom is a shower room and the ensuite is a bathroom but there is no door between the bathroom and the main bedroom so the house is not finished it needs some more money spent on it to sort the bathroom arrangement out. 

Thanks for the comments.

Appreciate the bathrooms aren't to everyone's taste, but it works for us

What I am really struggling to understand is that the majority of people are saying we are over valuing the upgrade works we have done since buying. The house was a mess when we bought it, believe me!!

If there was no previous records of what we paid for the house 2 years ago, would anyone be batting an eyelid? Probably not to the extreme that people have.

We have purely put the house on the market below the advised 'current' price provided by 3 reputable local estate agents. If this is too high, then we will find out in a few weeks time, and kick ourselves.

However, the price we paid 2 years ago, and the amount we have spent upgrading since, is irrelevant in my opinion.

Thanks again

But there are records, both price history and previous, listings. I looked at both and assumed a spend of around 25k. I would then add 10 to 15 % on which brings me to around 260 to 265k. That is what most buyers will do.

So the price seems on the high side, the house is quirky and thed layout won't work for a number of people. This explains why people are not rushing to buy it. Realistically the only thing you csn change is price everything else is tinkering round thdd edges and unlikely to influence whether people view it. Since you like it you may as well hold out and see what happens

So on that basis, if the house was actually worth 225k when we bought it (which everyone seems to be neglecting in favour of what we actually paid for it,) then you would have us at £285k.
NB. Before completion, we had an independent RICS valuation/survey done for our peace of mind, and he valued it at £230k in its condition. His opinion, but I paid good money for that professional opinion.

At the end of the day, its all a guessing game, and time will tell what the house is currently worth

Thanks again

If you managed to buy a £20k car for £19k because you haggled well, would you give the next buyer an automatic £1k discount when you sell the car 2 years later? No you wouldn't. 

Depends on how much you needed to sell. I did indeed sell a car at a heavy discount 6 months ago ( to one of those we buy anything outfits) as I wanted rid of it.

Ha ha, not what I was getting at, but obviously its all situational.

All i'm saying is that we haggled for weeks to get the price down to where we got it, so we have earned a better price for us.
We didn't do all that to effectively reduce the value of the house, and especially not for the benefit of any potential future purchaser after us.

I think this is your problem in a nutshell. You think you made the deal of the century when you bought so can now reap the rewards.  Unfortunately the truth is you probably paid what the house was worth back then. If it was such a stunning deal then you would have been one of multiple potential buyers.

The fact you negotiated for weeks suggests there wasn't much interest at any level for the house so the vendor had to accept your offer (obviously could have said no but you get my drift, their options were very limited).

Fast forward to present day and you are now struggling for offers. Forget what the house was originally priced at by the previous vendor, forget what the EAs are telling you to win your business. Focus on local houses being sold and the number of offers you have had or haven't had and go from there.

Re the attic room. If there are no building regs, shouldn't this just be classed as storage and not a 'room'?

The very best of luck, I know first hand how annoying the process can be when you think your asset is worth more than what others think. It's a hard pill to swallow

korabiowski

billy2shots said:

korabiowski said:

Scotbot said:

korabiowski said:

korabiowski said:

Scotbot said:

korabiowski said:

Cakeguts said:

When you spent money doing the house up you bought a new kitchen and bathroom.  The bathroom fittings that you bought were new to you and so was the kitchen.  However you are not selling a new kitchen and bathroom you are selling a second hand kitchen and bathroom and any other improvements you made.  So work out how much you would pay for your kitchen and bathrooms now they are second hand because that is what you are selling. They aren't new anymore you have used them.

You may have spent £80k doing the place up but that £80k is on items that were new retail prices. You are selling second hand.  No one is going to pay new price for second hand items. 

Decorations and what you have done to the garden are your taste.  There is no guarantee that anyone will pay extra for your taste. You may have retiled and painted the house but the next person could easily not like what you have done and want to change it all.  They aren't going to pay you a lot of money for your taste if they know that they are going to replace it all.

I find the fact that there is no downstairs toilet and two very strange bathroom arrangements upstairs a bit offputting.  It looks as if the main bathroom is a shower room and the ensuite is a bathroom but there is no door between the bathroom and the main bedroom so the house is not finished it needs some more money spent on it to sort the bathroom arrangement out. 

Thanks for the comments.

Appreciate the bathrooms aren't to everyone's taste, but it works for us

What I am really struggling to understand is that the majority of people are saying we are over valuing the upgrade works we have done since buying. The house was a mess when we bought it, believe me!!

If there was no previous records of what we paid for the house 2 years ago, would anyone be batting an eyelid? Probably not to the extreme that people have.

We have purely put the house on the market below the advised 'current' price provided by 3 reputable local estate agents. If this is too high, then we will find out in a few weeks time, and kick ourselves.

However, the price we paid 2 years ago, and the amount we have spent upgrading since, is irrelevant in my opinion.

Thanks again

But there are records, both price history and previous, listings. I looked at both and assumed a spend of around 25k. I would then add 10 to 15 % on which brings me to around 260 to 265k. That is what most buyers will do.

So the price seems on the high side, the house is quirky and thed layout won't work for a number of people. This explains why people are not rushing to buy it. Realistically the only thing you csn change is price everything else is tinkering round thdd edges and unlikely to influence whether people view it. Since you like it you may as well hold out and see what happens

So on that basis, if the house was actually worth 225k when we bought it (which everyone seems to be neglecting in favour of what we actually paid for it,) then you would have us at £285k.
NB. Before completion, we had an independent RICS valuation/survey done for our peace of mind, and he valued it at £230k in its condition. His opinion, but I paid good money for that professional opinion.

At the end of the day, its all a guessing game, and time will tell what the house is currently worth

Thanks again

If you managed to buy a £20k car for £19k because you haggled well, would you give the next buyer an automatic £1k discount when you sell the car 2 years later? No you wouldn't. 

Depends on how much you needed to sell. I did indeed sell a car at a heavy discount 6 months ago ( to one of those we buy anything outfits) as I wanted rid of it.

Ha ha, not what I was getting at, but obviously its all situational.

All i'm saying is that we haggled for weeks to get the price down to where we got it, so we have earned a better price for us.
We didn't do all that to effectively reduce the value of the house, and especially not for the benefit of any potential future purchaser after us.

I think this is your problem in a nutshell. You think you made the deal of the century when you bought so can now reap the rewards.  Unfortunately the truth is you probably paid what the house was worth back then. If it was such a stunning deal then you would have been one of multiple potential buyers.

The fact you negotiated for weeks suggests there wasn't much interest at any level for the house so the vendor had to accept your offer (obviously could have said no but you get my drift, their options were very limited).

Fast forward to present day and you are now struggling for offers. Forget what the house was originally priced at by the previous vendor, forget what the EAs are telling you to win your business. Focus on local houses being sold and the number of offers you have had or haven't had and go from there.

Re the attic room. If there are no building regs, shouldn't this just be classed as storage and not a 'room'?

The very best of luck, I know first hand how annoying the process can be when you think your asset is worth more than what others think. It's a hard pill to swallow

Fully take on board what you are saying, thanks for the comments.

I don't understand all the comments about EA's valuing high to try and win business, they don't get paid until it sells, so why price it out of the market? And as I have previously indicated, we are lower than 2 of the valuations originally offered.

The Attic Room shouldn't be shown as a Bedroom, another thing to mention to EA, however they do kind of explain that in the description further down in the advert (albeit its not crystal clear.)

We've just had another viewing booked today, so I don't think we are million miles away price wise, lets just hope they like quirky!!

Now for a weekend of sprucing the place up!!   

billy2shots

Best of luck for the viewings.

Re the EAs winning business.

The more houses they have on their books the more commission there ultimately is. Price them high to win the sale, house hangs around so the vendor reduces the price to a figure that sells, EA gets their comission. It's free advertising as well if people have a for sale board up.

GDB2222

I wasn't going to say any more, but I'm afraid I can't stop myself.

I agree with @billy2shots that estate agents need to get business, so they value high initially. Once they have the punter on a 12 week contract (or whatever) they pressure the punter to reduce the price to a saleable level. It's a tried and tested formula.

I actually think this house has two values. One is the value to the (possibly rather rare) buyer who likes all the features as it stands. And, then, there's a lower figure if you want to sell fairly quickly. 

One issue you may find is that the buyer's mortgage valuer will need to value on the basis of a reasonably rapid sale, ie the lower figure. 

ele_91

I thought the RICS surveyor always valued the property at max the agreed price?

korabiowski

ele_91 said:

I thought the RICS surveyor always valued the property at max the agreed price?

I think that's more what the mortgage lenders surveyor will do.

Ours was our own appointed surveyor for our own peace of mind, which fortunately he gave us