Brexit has broken our house chain - how do I help my agent sell our family home?

[CharlieSt]

I would be grateful for some advice please. Back in April we put our 4 bed Staines house on the market with an agent managed to get an offer from the second people that saw our house, even before it went on Rightmove. and only a little below the asking price. We were so impressed and immediately offered on a house we loved.

With exchange dates during the school holidays, our children said goodbye to their old school & we looked at state primaries that would have spaces for in-year applications.

Unfortunately our buyer lost their own investor buyer (due to Brexit). No matter, as they adored our house we said we'd hold on until they got a new buyer. Summer came & went and now we've had to remarket our house as our own (end of chain) vendor understandably doesn't want to wait.

Although our agent has taken it off their own website as sold stc & haven't yet relisted it, they've put it back on Rightmove at offers in excess of (at a lower asking price) which they said they're doing with many of their listings.

So my question is, what can I do to help our estate agent sell our house. We've said that we only need 20 minutes notice for a viewing (as I work from home I try to keep the place spotless), we've offered to do Sunday viewings and I've also created a web site charliestaerck.wixsite.com/32lammasclosestaines that links into our Rightmove page. Short from increasing the size of the kitchen, I would be grateful if anyone has any tips please on how you've helped your agent sell. I don't mind being proactive. Thank you!

[CatNip2]

Bloody hell, you are doing the agents job for them. I would put pressure on them to push the property, you could also consider an open day, I know two people that successfully sold their properties that way. Nothing like seeing other people interested in a house that you are interested in to make you put an offer in.

[CatNip2]

Nice house BTW!

[Gobbolinothewitchscat]

Yes - open day. Can you reduce the price more? Or go multi-agency?

What's the purpose of the website? Most people I know use rightmove.

Separately, if you do want a website, the agent's photos on rightmove are a lot better. The ones on the website are very gloomy. Can you ask the agent if you can use theirs?

[gamerchick]

Why are you doing the agents job for them? What are you paying them for?

Tell them to pull their finger out or sign up with another estate agent.

[CharlieSt]

Thanks for your replies. CatNip2 & Gamerchick - the way I see it is that I probably want our house to sell more than the agents do as we only have the one house to sell (unlike the agents), so why not work with them. I've thought of an open day but will that work if the house already went back on Righmove (a few days ago)?

As well as no listing on their own site, we also have never had a 'for sale' sign. As we live in a mews house which is also in a cul de sac, maybe the agent doesn't see the point (hardly any footfall or traffic)- even though we're only a 5 min walk from town.

Gobbolinothewitchscat - as we achieved almost our original asking price in April (this buyer's offer has still been accepted but we can't proceed if they can't sell their flat) & with our neighbour's almost identical house selling at their asking price (a good reason for us deciding to sell) the advertised price is now £35,000 less already - obviously multi agency is a consideration (although the 3% is pretty crippling). Do agents work harder / less hard if you go multi-agent as we've never tried this before? Does it work?

As you pointed out, many people use Rightmove anyway - I think the reason I took my own photos etc. was mainly for posterity, to make myself feel as though I was doing something to help sell our house - but I agree that the agents photos are much better and Rightmove gets far more traffic so, although it was fun to create, probably pretty pointless!

I think the fact that our house may not be a first time buyer property has not helped us - i.e any buyer is more likely to be part of a chain - as the agents know we would like to move quickly they've been trying to find a cash buyer. I'm sure in an ideal world though everyone would like a chain free cash buyer...

I think a call to our agent is in order & also maybe I need to think bigger and promote Staines-upon-Thames aka Ali G. country, OK, maybe not!

[Lindy2]

I think you need new agents. A nice house in Staines (upon Thames) should sell within a fairly short timescale. The housing market is very strong in that area.
Are you getting any viewings? You said it sold to your second viewers before so it clearly has appeal.
I would go to a new agent, have an open day and put the price back up to what it was before.

[lalalonglegs]

If I were you, I would put it back on the market for a month - possibly with new agents if you feel the original ones haven't really worked hard enough - and make sure that it is on RM for a week before you have an open house event (no viewings until then). If the open house is a flop and the agents simply can't generate enough viewings to get an offer, then I would take it off the market and wait and see what happens next year. I don't think you will do your property any favours by leaving it languishing on the market over the run-up to Christmas.

[YelloDraw]

Nice property, good location, realistic price.

No advice but just wanted to say I hope you get a sale.

[Gobbolinothewitchscat]

If you get a chain-free/cash buyer, then the likelihood is that they will want a discount to reflect that. So if you need a certain price that may not work.

Have you asked the agents how many active buyers they have on their books who are looking for a house like yours? If they have enough, an open day should work and can create a sense of urgency. The other thing they can do is schedule viewings one after and other (even if you only have 2). A sense of competition amongst buyers can sometimes encourage a quick offer

Presumably you have a no sale, no fee deal? If so, then having two agents on the job should make them work harder

[shovetheholly]

Your house is GORGEOUS! If you can't sell such a wonderful property, no-one can. I am sure a buyer will come along soon. Summer can be a weird time for house sales- it will probably pick up again in autumn. Wishing you all the best.

[CharlieSt]

Thanks YellowDraw & shovetheholly for your lovely comments about our house & hoping it sells. When we bought it we actually just missed out on a neighbours' property (almost a bidding war but the vendor went with the first family's offer - the decent thing to do). At the time we needed to move urgently (another chain) so it was only by doing a letter drop (me writing a nice letter & posting it through a couple of letterboxes) that we were able to get the house we're now selling - which wasn't even on the market at the time.

lalalonglegs & Gobbolinothewitchscat, Yes _ I agree re. a cash buyer - it's a great position for them to be in & they can almost dictate both price & timeframe. Also, this is exactly what our agents were banking on - their buyers' list. This what what helped us go 'under offer' back in April.
Although we mentioned that they reach out to this list again, they either haven't done so, or there's no new natural fit.

I really do like the idea of an open day, but you're right that it's about the number / timing of viewings that could create a sense of urgency amongst buyers. I also agree with your idea about removing from the market then relisting a few weeks later with a 'no viewings until open day'

I'm going to check the contract as if we were to move to a different agent I think there may be a clause that says our existing agent gets a percentage - as they've already marketed the property. But I could be wrong!

[CharlieSt]

Lindy2 - Good to hear that you think the housing market in Staines is buoyant and obviously changing agents makes it easier to market at our original asking price. When the agent said he was reducing the price of a lot of their properties, with 'offers in excess off' it did set alarm bells ringing. i.e. the market might not be what it was pre Brexit.