30 Months on the market

Kez100

Phirefly wrote: »

This highlights an interesting new debate. Mr Phirefly was telling me about once of his motoring cyber aquaintences (yes we are a sad pair) who bought the most outrageously huge pile in the highlands for a snip as theres no employment in the area so no locals could afford to buy. He's a composer and can sucessfully carry out all his business via broadband, so has no need for good transport links. The interesting thing is, is that recently, he has seen a big increase in similar folk buying nearby.

Mr P and I fully intend to be 100% self employed working from home (or ideally from our converted outbuilding) in the next 5 years and are feeling the pull of the south coast and I'm pretty sure we're not alone. I think this phenomenon may have quite an interesting effect on the housing market in these areas...

It's already had an effect. A lot of people have already done this. I'm not sure it will get any worse now although I have a feeling whatever property market correction comes ours won't be as bad for that reason. What I am trying to say is there used to be a huge % difference in Cornwall property prices to the South East. I think, once stabilised, that % difference will be higher than it was before the boom. Just my feeling based on the way Cornwall is viewed nowadays compared to the way it was viewed in the past.

aardvaak

Romani_Ite_Domum wrote: »

We have now been on the market for 30 months!

The last purchaser just disappeared. His solicitor hasn't heard from him since the end of November.

During the last 30 months we have dropped the price by 7% and have made improvements.

Has anybody here taken longer to sell a house?

Back in the late 80's I had a property that was on the market for four and a half years and sold eventurally after sending the 13th contact (one at a time).

So you see you certainly have not broken an records yet!

aardvaak

firsttimetom wrote: »

Me and my partner have got Cornwall high on our list of places to live and have been keeping a close eye on the market.

My initial thoughts were how much cheaper you could buy a house in Cornwall than a comparable one to where we currently live (Small town in Gloucestershire).

Are wages really that bad? North Devon is my preferred location as it is a little closer to home, but my OH loves Cornwall. I do appreciate the seasonality whihc is why we have been working hard to get a large a deposit as possible.

I was told some time ago the reason why property is that much cheaper in Cornwall is it is a little out on a limb with one all be it main road in and out.

Kez100

aardvaak wrote: »

I was told some time ago the reason why property is that much cheaper in Cornwall is it is a little out on a limb with one all be it main road in and out.

That *was* a problem but is much, much, less so now and that has been factored into property prices already - especially in certain areas. I doubt, if you looked on RM, that you'd call coastal property as cheap anymore.

Yes, it takes me, 3 hours to get to Bristol so, if the car is your choice of transport, or you need to fly on business a lot then it's perhaps not the best location.

However, if I want to go to London, I can catch the sleeper or a fast train if I buy a house in a sensible place. If I want to travel cross country, I can do, again if I am close to a mainline station. If I want to fly to certain places I can from Newquay, or Plymouth. If my work is broadband based I can live almost anywhere.

It really depends on individual circumstances and where you are likely to want to go to and how often. Some places are much easier to get to than others! I suppose one has to also factor in the fact that flight companies/routes/train frequency may change in the future if they prove unprofitable.

I've always lived in Cornwall or North Devon and I work locally with two contracts that take me to the Midlands and London. The biggest transport hassle I find though is foreign family holidays! Hence the camper so we can take holidays locally and not bother with huge flight supplements or the long track up/back to Gatwick.

wymondham

Romani_Ite_Domum wrote: »

Not a chance. The majority of people on this site are quite sane but it does have its fair share of nutters.

so you're asking people to give you advice on something they can't see ....... maybe this is partly why it's not sold yet ? If you're serious about this then give us a RM link and I think you'll get a flood of help giving useful advice rather than us just guessing....

vetfred

Put my 2-bed on the market in summer 2004 and sold in December 2007.

Initial valuations were around the £200,000 mark and we did agree £192,500 in 2006 only for the buyer to pull out.

Went on with another agent who was based in a slightly more upmarket area 1/2 mile away in 2007 at £219,950 (he valued at £225,000 though) and sold in December for £208,000.

We just kept it in the same order it had always been on the market at (ready to move into, neutral decor) and didn't invest anything else. I guess it was down to the type of agent we had more than anything and the type of people they got looking in their windows?

Have you been checking out the local competition as to what people can get for a similar price to what you're on at and what prices houses have been selling at (use the rightmove site to see past and present prices).