Can anyone offer advice or share experiences with selling property in the uk recenty?
We’ve decided to sell our house as we dont use it when we visit, not planning to move back and dont want the hassle of letting. Its the first house we bought as kids so never sold property before. Its been on the market just a couple of weeks and has had quite a bit of interest and one offer already. But the interest seems to be only/mostly from investors, and the offer was less than 75% of the asking price. Is this normal, am i supposed to haggle or something?? Or is it just something that happens in the early days, or what :s
not really looking to make profits, its mostly still mortgaged anyway. But i dont want to accept offers so low that we make a loss. Is it wise to wait for something more reasonable, or are my expectations too high?
Depends on so many things - location (location, location...) - type of house and price bracket, size, period, decor, garden, and for me- orientation (South- South-West), noise, parking- and so much more. But mainly, location. Your post is far too vague for anyone to answer really. The market is so different depending on the above.
The estate agent insisted on putting it on the market at less than the market value which I suggested was wrong but he was adamant.
He then arranged all the viewings on the same day with no time between them and he said he wouldn't turn up himself to show people round.
This is all going to go horribly wrong, I thought.
On the viewing day, there were so many people that I showed people downstairs whilst my wife showed people upstairs and our 3-year old showed people the garden.
There was a bidding war and I got well over the asking price. The estate agent was an old chap and he knew exactly what he was doing.
I suppose the moral of this story is get an estate agent who knows what he is doing.
The house was also cleaned and tidied to Swiss standards (thanks to my wife) which helped.
I had painted the window frames just before and we also decluttered and de-personalised it too.
You do not want to sell at a loss, but it is the market dictating if you finally have to or not (unless you do not sell)
You need to answer some questions for yourself.
- What does the house currently cost you per month?
- How much maintenance is coming up in a year, or in 3 years, and what does it do to the value if you do not invest in it, and how much do you have to invest?
- What is the actual market value?
I sold mine under the advised price, but I got rid of it within weeks in an area where market is absolutely down the drain, the house across the street is 3 years later still for sale for what is seen as maximum market value, keeping the house would have cost me 700,- a month including insurance and all, while I either had to drop the price over time anyway or invest thousands to keep it in shape.
If 20K cheaper sells your house quickly instead of having to keep it for a long time on the market, than the lower price might be the better deal.
From your description it sounds like yours is a starter property... first run on the property ladder.
If so, then the problem today is lack of mortgage lending to your potential buyers. The good old ftb-er of yore can find it incredibly difficult under the new rules to actually get a mortgage offer. And they have to save up a big deposit first. Its not they don't want to buy. They can't.
Btl-ers used to take up the slack but since the goverment decided to tax us out of existence and slap on the 3% extra stamp duty, lots have pulled out or are only buying bargains (hence your low offers).
My personal view is you are better off renting it out. Its not that much hassle if you can find a good agent, and it means you can sell later on if the market ever picks up.
My strong advice is to sit tight on the price for the moment.
You've obviously had the property for some time, and are not desperate to sell right now. Many sellers ARE desperate because they are part of a chain. You aren't in a chain, so should be in no rush.
That said, a bit of haggling is normal. I'm no Sarah Beeny but I have bought and sold five UK properties in my time. None of them has gone for the advertised price -- but a 25% reduction is taking the p1ss and should be treated with contempt. No estate agent acting for me (and remember that you are their client, not the buyer) would have had the nerve to ask if I wanted to accept a 25% drop. Apart from anything else, such an offer would greatly undermine the agent's valuation and credibility, so seems unlikely that s/he would entertain the idea.
Stick to your guns. Perhaps a 5% reduction might be OK if the property has been on the market for a long time and you're getting twitchy. But ignore the 25% nonsense. It doesn't even merit a proper refusal. They are testing you out. Don't play that game.
It's now accepted that general London property has fallen 15% & will fall further.
Outside London will catch up.
A 75% offer sounds low, but it all depends on the original estate valuation. Looking at rightmove many properties have reduced their asking prices more than once.
I've been closely watching the market in a tiny area for a few years now, and have spotted at least one estate agent that is routinely selling houses for a 25+% reduction on the initial asking price and well below the prices in the area and the Zoopla estimate for the property before it was listed. In January, my next door neighbour in the UK was fuming that his sister had placed their late mother's house with this agency, so I showed him the research I'd done, and the house has now been relisted with another agency at a more appropriate price.
If the house sells at close to the asking price, you will know you were right, if it fails to sell & as the market is indeed falling you could end up with less than the 'under pricing' agent recommended.
A property is worth what someone will pay, that's it in a nutshell.
My wifes UK house sold in the last month, 3 acres, 3 stables 5 Bedrooms, it went for under the asking price & took 9 months to sell.
You're talking about an expensive, niche property with a somewhat limited target market. I'm talking about a standard 3 bed semi in the No.1 school catchment area, in that it uniquely falls within the catchment areas of the 3 best Ofsted rated primary schools and the 2 best Ofsted rated secondary schools in the town. There is no way that property should be marketed for 25% less than the identical house facing it which was sold in November.
Had the house that sold in November been redecorated, new carpets & bathrooms updated? People always pay a premium for ready to move in like new properties.
You will have the answer in a week, month or year, please update once contracts are exchanged.
New rules for BTL investors who have been the marginal buyers, gives maximum finance of 120 months rent with a 25% deposit, so ordinary property will end up at 160 months rent.
As I said, identical properties. They were in an identical state of recent refurbishment at the time they were listed. The only difference is that with the one which sold in November, the rear garden is on a lower level that the ground floor of the house, whereas the other has the rear garden on the same level. If anything, that's an advantage.
I'll have the answer on 3 April when I meet with the estate agent who will be marketing my property. As she's an old school friend, I'll be having a frank and open chat with her, and I'll be very curious to see if the projected sale and rental estimates she gave me in September 2016, before our refurb programme, match up to the current market values.
P.S. Thanks for the prompt FMF. I updated the zoopla profile for my house 4 weeks ago based upon the refurb completion. I've just checked it again and the zoopla estimated market value has increased by 4%, and the average rental value has increased by 8.34% in just this last 4 weeks
I would suggest opening a Zoopla account and updating the details for your property to get a current valuation estimate. In my experience, the estimates shown are generally too low as they are averaged over property sales in the area. By updating it to include anything you have done to the property, it shows a more accurate value, possibly a liitle optimistic though.
This is useful when negotiating with an estate agent of considering offers
We had 3 buyers who wanted to buy at 3 different prices, however all had to sell their house first. As it happens the highest bidder who first viewed tg house last June was finally able to sell her house & the sale completed when I was in Hospital. It’s amazing how far people will go to get out of clearing a house
A smaller FTB property will be easier to sell in today’s market.
25 % reduction isn't normal, no. But it is region / property specific. Where we are, a 6% reduction or "hit" is both reasonable and likely. Sounds like the investor folk will just be chancing their arm.
Sorry if this repeats any other posts: didn't read them.
Maybe wait a couple of weeks longer and reduce the price (a smidge) after consulting with the estate agent. It's their job to understand the market. Good luck!
THank you all so much for your replies! The estate agent has not been in touch since... they had been messaging me every day about interest in the house, implying it was red hot but now nothing? The last message seemed to be “on side” though, assuring me they would “see what [we] can do”
For those asking location, its just outside Salford, towards Warrington. Its a large victorian mid terrace on a busy main road, 3 bedrooms, modest back garden idk
If it's any help, we met with our estate agent yesterday to put the house on the rental market. She's quoted the valuation and rental price that matched the info on Zoopla, and said there's no sign of the residential market slowing down in the north west. Where there is a slowdown is in the corporate side of her business.
If I were you, I'd be tempted to get a few more valuations, check Zoopla to see how much similar houses are selling for within a quarter mile of your house, note which agents are actually selling in the area, and think of changing agents. I know it's a pain, but if your agent isn't representing you well enough, it might be time to switch.
I'm really lucky that our agent is an old classmate, and her accountant is another of our classmates. I know and trust them.