No 'For Sale Sign' red flag?

Edi81

Sapindus said:

user1977 said:

goodwithsaving said:

I intentionally didn't want one because I didn't want conversations with the neighbours. Never really thought about it being offputting and not sure how it would be

Well, why do you "not want conversations with the neighbours"? I expect some buyers prefer to live somewhere the neighbours are happy to talk to each other.

Surely the fact that a hypothetical seller (not the OP) might not want to talk to the neighbours is potentially more a reflection on the seller than the actual neighbours. 

Plenty of reasons to not want to talk about the sale - break of relationship, financial problems meaning they need to sell. 

FaceHead

GDB2222 said:

They are not really advertising the property. They are advertising the agent.

What's more, they're not really even advertising the agent to buyers. Buyers will find properties via rightmove etc. For Sale boards are really about advertising the agent to would-be sellers. Sold boards in particular. 

thriftytracey

We requested no board.  Agent didn't mind at all and said - it is only advertising for them.  Like everyone else I didn't want loads of questions from people and everyone knowing my business.  As it was people came up to us and said they had seen our property on Right Move!  It is so wearying to be asked every time you see a neighbour whether we have found a property yet especially from a certain neighbour who never made any effort to speak to us for 25 years!  

Slinky

A house went up for sale in our close last week with a board outside. I went out for a nosey and found another neighbour chatting to somebody they knew who had just spotted it and rang the agent for a viewing. The neighbour in a rental opposite the for sale house also came out and phoned the number. The board had only been in the ground 10 minutes and had 2 viewings from the board. It sold in 5 days well over asking but jungle drums haven't worked out who to yet (but not the people in the rental who were outbid).  It took 2 days for it to appear on Rightmove so there could well have been people who missed out before it sold.

Thrugelmir

Slinky said:

A house went up for sale in our close last week with a board outside. I went out for a nosey and found another neighbour chatting to somebody they knew who had just spotted it and rang the agent for a viewing. The neighbour in a rental opposite the for sale house also came out and phoned the number. The board had only been in the ground 10 minutes and had 2 viewings from the board. It sold in 5 days well over asking but jungle drums haven't worked out who to yet (but not the people in the rental who were outbid).  It took 2 days for it to appear on Rightmove so there could well have been people who missed out before it sold.

Agents have a list of potential buyers. Around us always a steady demand from those looking at particular schools. 

Slinky

Thrugelmir said:

Slinky said:

A house went up for sale in our close last week with a board outside. I went out for a nosey and found another neighbour chatting to somebody they knew who had just spotted it and rang the agent for a viewing. The neighbour in a rental opposite the for sale house also came out and phoned the number. The board had only been in the ground 10 minutes and had 2 viewings from the board. It sold in 5 days well over asking but jungle drums haven't worked out who to yet (but not the people in the rental who were outbid).  It took 2 days for it to appear on Rightmove so there could well have been people who missed out before it sold.

Agents have a list of potential buyers. Around us always a steady demand from those looking at particular schools. 

We were surprised about the agent chosen by the vendor as it's in a neighbouring town about 12 miles away and not somewhere people would generally be registered with when looking for our town.

Phil4432

No need for the sign nowadays, its all done online. 

Take it easy, its good to be cautious but not too cautious.  Buying a house is nail biting, but don't worry too much.

lesalanos

For sale boards are used to promote the EA as much as the property.  They are used so people see the sign, see how quickly it sold and then decide to use them themselves

luckbox

As long as my house is online with a floorplan, that's all I need. Have always refused a board. 

ic

Lack of a for sale sign will only reduce the chances of selling - I only bought my current house because I was walking past and saw it up for sale, then went online and took things from there - I wasn't actively looking otherwise, and thought I had many more years to go in my previous house!

As others have said, plenty of reasons not to have a sign - sloppy EA, refusal by the seller, some EAs charge for a board, etc etc.  When my house went up for sale, the board was put up after we'd received offers, things can move fast.