Selling house...am I too impatient?

E853

Hi  I've never sold a house before so advice appreciated on timeliness.
My (pretty useless) nationwide estate agent (EA) told me so much guff to get me sign up that I'm now kicking myself.
My house (a mid terrace in a block of 4  in a good area) has been on the market for for 8 weeks with just 5 viewings. The house is competitively priced and 3 EAs gave me exactly the same  guide price for the house.   The branch manager assured me it would sell in 7 days, then she said she would eat her hat if it was still on the market at 4 weeks...yet here we are! 
The staff treat me like a nuisance when I phone for an update...I have inexperienced staff assigned to me who ask me what they need to do!  The only time I get viewings is if I call to chase...and miraculously I receive a viewing appointment within the hour...only for it to be cancelled on the day with no explanation unless I call the EA.

Houses are selling so quickly in this town but I am not receiving great service. Friends have used Purple Bricks and have sold in 2 hours or have had 8 viewing appointments in a 24 hour period.

Unfortunately I am tied in for 20 weeks, which I did query at the time...only to be assured the house would sell I  7 days maximum...and it would be part of 2 open weekends planned..which would start a bidding war!!  Didnt happen.

Any advice?  Am I being too impatient?

Hoenir

Is your property advertised on Rightmove ? 

Bigphil1474

As above, make sure it's on Rightmove. 5 viewings in 8 weeks is poor, so there's a problem. You should expect to get most viewings in the first month, then peter out. Have a look at your listing, have a look at other similar houses (why do you think it's competitively priced?), and have a good read of the description - if something is wrong, get it changed. Did the viewings give any particular feedback? Generally, it's either price, or not living up tot expectations, or it's not being widely enough advertised. 

The price the EA come up with is a marketing price, it isn't a value. Most buyers will see it as a rough guide, they will probably offer less, you may get more if there is a lot of interest, but the marketing price is about getting people interesting in looking at and offering on your property.

FlyMeSomewhere79

Purple bricks have a shocking reputation and many people have posted on here that they were having issues selling through purple bricks.

Purple bricks don't tend to bother putting houses on Rightmove or putting down dimensions etc so buyers are harder to come by 

I honestly don't believe they sell houses within 2 hours or line up 8 viewings in a day - honestly, read their reviews before you remotely consider them an option.

propertyrental

E853 said:

Unfortunately I am tied in for 20 weeks, which I did query at the time...only to be assured the house would sell I  7 days maximum...and it would be part of 2 open weekends planned..which would start a bidding war!!  Didnt happen.

Any advice?  Am I being too impatient?

Advice for next time, and for others. If the EA is saying it will sell in 7 days, why do they need a 20 week contract?

Insist on 4-5 weeks max. Then if the EA turns out to be cr*p you can easily change.

(oh and make sure the notice period is max 2 weeks, not 4 or 6 or....)

BarelySentientAI

propertyrental said:

E853 said:

Unfortunately I am tied in for 20 weeks, which I did query at the time...only to be assured the house would sell I  7 days maximum...and it would be part of 2 open weekends planned..which would start a bidding war!!  Didnt happen.

Any advice?  Am I being too impatient?

Advice for next time, and for others. If the EA is saying it will sell in 7 days, why do they need a 20 week contract?

Insist on 4-5 weeks max. Then if the EA turns out to be cr*p you can easily change.

(oh and make sure the notice period is max 2 weeks, not 4 or 6 or....)

Do you get many EAs that will agree 4 week contracts?

mark_cycling00

Yes. Mine agreed to a 4wk contact. We also went with 2% fee if achieved asking price or above and 1.5% if under. I have family members who have done the same. 

If they're doing well then obviously you let them keep going with them. It's like a probation period I guess.

Seriously do deals. Saying "I'll give you £1,000 for every £10,000 extra you get on the price" is basically a 1000% investment return. 

Estate agents love this stuff 

gwynlas

Will you provide a link to the listing iso that others with knowledge and experience can look and maybe see why it is not attracting viewings? The other thing to note is that buyers might be waiting to see what happens with the election.

BarelySentientAI

gwynlas said:

Will you provide a link to the listing iso that others with knowledge and experience can look and maybe see why it is not attracting viewings? The other thing to note is that buyers might be waiting to see what happens with the election.

Isn't that against forum rules?

slackgarry

BarelySentientAI said:

gwynlas said:

Will you provide a link to the listing iso that others with knowledge and experience can look and maybe see why it is not attracting viewings? The other thing to note is that buyers might be waiting to see what happens with the election.

Isn't that against forum rules?

Could you just post pictures then ?