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Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

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Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

Property/DIY

Would it be OK to ask an estate agent to value your with no intention of selling in the next 5 years without being chased forever

35 replies

BoundandRebound · 12/09/2013 19:54

One if those had building works want to know how much it might have added

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BoundandRebound · 12/09/2013 19:55

Oh man title is totally nonsensical

Would it be OK to ask an estate agent to visit and value house if no plans to sell? And could we do so without them chasing us for years do you think?

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mummaemma · 12/09/2013 20:16

just tell them your thinking of selling. we've done this before. Why do you want to know its value? Have a look at Zoopla and see what similar houses nearby have gone for.

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BoundandRebound · 12/09/2013 21:01

Just added 2 beds and a bathroom and want to guestimate difference in value

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Mintyy · 12/09/2013 21:03

Well you want a professional opinion but are not interested in paying for it. That's what you're saying, yes?

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MummytoMog · 12/09/2013 21:10

I did. They were fine about it but did ask to come back and look when we'd finished the work just to have a nosy.

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pootlebug · 12/09/2013 21:12

Why? What difference does it make if you're not selling? Either you can be nice and smug you've made a theoretical 'profit' but since it's not a real profit and the market could change it's irrelevant; or really pissed off you haven't made a 'profit', despite the fact that it's much more relevant whether the work has made the house into more of the kind of house you want and need, since you have no plans to leave.

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Vakant · 12/09/2013 21:17

We're about to do this and have no intention of selling. The reason for this is that we need to know how much the house is now worth after adding a bedroom and bathroom, as we will be able to fix into a better mortgage interest rate if our LTV is over a certain amount.

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BrianTheMole · 12/09/2013 21:19

I don't think they would chase you. I've had my house valued in the past but decided not to sell, I got no hassle at all.

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lljkk · 12/09/2013 21:23

They are tenacious ime. We asked for a few details last yr (about other people's houses) & I'm still getting occasional phone calls & questions about when will I be ready to sell!

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BoundandRebound · 12/09/2013 22:16

Mintty I wouldn't call an estate agent a professional to be honest but I would be interested in a more educated guesstimate based on greater knowledge of current ludicrous house values in the area than I possess

Pootlebug yes that's exactly it I want to know if what we have done has added more nominal value on to our main capital investment than it has cost us. I am happy to be smug.

I don't know if I want to know enough to deal with tenacity of sales people which is why I haven't bothered yet and most possibly won't bother

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Mintyy · 12/09/2013 22:41

You wouldn't say they were professional?

Why not go to a professional then, a fully qualified surveyor? They can provide you with the valuation you require except it probably won't be quite as high as you want to hear and, oh yes, they will probably expect to be paid for their time too, cheeky feckers.

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BoundandRebound · 12/09/2013 22:51

Well to be a professional one should be formally certified by a professional body or have completed a required course and whose competence can be measured against established standards. So no I am not aware of any way in which estate agents fit the definition.

I am fully aware of surveyors thank you.

I'm sorry if i insulted your career or if you have reason to be bitter about the housing market.

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Mintyy · 12/09/2013 22:52

Heh heh!

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Floggingmolly · 12/09/2013 22:59

I'd do it. You certainly wouldn't be the first. The EA are not going to camp out on your doorstep trying to force you to let them market your house; you'll maybe get one or two phone calls at most.
Tell them you've changed your mind; happens all the time.

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BillStickersIsInnocent · 12/09/2013 23:11

A local estate agent is offering this service. I guess they're being proactive and building future business. We took them up on it, got a great service. We'll go with them I expect if we ever come to sell, and I've told several people how good they were. Win win, surely?

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nicelyneurotic · 12/09/2013 23:42

And don't forget, many people get their house valued genuinely hoping to sell but the valuation is too low to make it worthwhile

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SunnyUpNorth · 13/09/2013 09:13

Go for it. Of course it is natural to want/hope to make a profit if you've done major work even if you're planning to stay and benefit from it.

When we were moving from our last place we got about 2 or 3 quotes for selling and letting as weren't sure which to do. I never got chased at all apart from a follow up call from one of the letting people.

Always worth getting 3 quotes I think to get a realistic view as some quotes can be wildly different.

Good luck!

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Moche · 13/09/2013 09:29

Mintyyyy - nooooo! Re "oh yes, they will probably expect to be paid for their time too, cheeky feckers."

Why is it cheeky? Why should you not pay a professional to do work for you?

I am self-employed and people often seem to think I am some sort of a charity. Fully qualified surveyors (who are often one man bands or small businesses) need to make a living just the same as everyone else. In their case, what a waste of their time to come with zero expectation of their visit leading to a job. If no job, then OF COURSE you should say this to them, and pay for their time.

The case for estate agents is different since they tend to be part of a bigger set-up and I think there's a certain expectation that people will use them in such ways as described by the OP etc. It's not some poor old 'fully qualified' person coming over and wasting a morning (or at the very least an hour) of their time visiting or surveying your house for nowt.

Sorry Mintyy, rant over. But yep, I don't think any problem with doing what the OP suggests and using an estate agent in this way.

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thesaurusgirl · 13/09/2013 09:38

You will get hassled endlessly once you are on a EA's books, whether you're a prospective buyer or seller as they have to make a certain number of calls daily and these are logged.

Foxton's even has a system that ensures all their calls come up as 'unknown number' on your call-screening to make sure you don't avoid them.

They may also tell you a price way more than your house is really worth in order to get you to 'bite' and sell after all. My poor elderly neighbour suffered exactly this - they valued her place 15% higher than I paid for mine earlier this year, so she had all the stress of house-selling with none of the reward when there were no offers. Of course then the agents wanted her to drop the price, but it wouldn't have got her the price she needed to fund her move.

There's no harm in feeling smug about "adding value" but don't forget the money you spent was gross, not net, and if you remortgaged to fund the build it will cost 3-4 times what you paid for the work over the term. My surveyor told me the best way to make money in property is to buy a run down house in a gentrifying area and then do absolutely nothing whilst all the neighbours spend a fortune .

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HabitualLurker · 13/09/2013 09:41

I think Mintyy was being sarcastic, Moche.

In answer to the OP, I don't think you'd be hounded by an EA, after all even if you were selling they'd expect you to have contacted several EAs to get a range of valuations. I don't really understand why you'd want to if you're not actually selling though, given that it's a completely theoretical value that may or may not materialise if you do come to sell!

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noddyholder · 13/09/2013 12:03

Can'y you work it our by local sales? EA will hound you until the ends of the earth!

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CuteDesigns · 13/09/2013 13:33

If you can't work it out using rightmove, I would organise a valuation surveyor to come around.

I think you will be hounded too, by email, post, knocks on the door and phone calls, maybe it is worth it to save the money only you know.

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BoundandRebound · 13/09/2013 13:34

Thanks

Not going to as pretty sure that the hounded to the ends of the earth would happen

I don't care that much because we are, to coin a phrase, relatively smug through luck, not skill.

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loraflora · 13/09/2013 21:48

I've done it with intention to sell, but changed my mind soon after as the valuation was worse than I expected and I didn't have a pressing need to move. I found it valuable having someone see the house with fresh eyes and point out its most obvious faults, which in our case were flooring and kitchen, both now much improved. Apart from a follow up email, the estate agent didn't hassle us at all but it was a local, non-chain agent.

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poocatcherchampion · 14/09/2013 10:43

I'd do it without any concern. when they follow up just tell them you are considering your options. part of their role is speculative to get business. if they provide a good service you might use them when you do choose to sell.

having said that I think you should probably get at least 2 quotes.