ANyone care to join me in a mutual propping up thread for those attempting to sell their houses?

[nickytwotimes]

For whatever reason?

Ours is on the market and we are desperate to move. Unfortunately, all the people who would be interested in our house can't sell theirs...

[sob]

COme, join me in a mutual whinge.

[newpup]

I am not in the same position as you, we moved 2 years ago luckily but my friend is. They have all the paperwork/visas ready to emmigrate, husband has a job lined up but they can not sell their house or a property they own and rent out. They need to sell at least one to go. They can not even rent out the rental property at the moment it is empty. Feel really bad for them, this was their big dream. Hoping that it will still work out at some point.

Miserable isn't it, I guess it will improve but not much help if you need to move now.

Good Luck

[nickytwotimes]

Thanks!
It isn't as bad here in Scotland as it is in parts of England - prices are still rising, but you have to be very patient! Also, we are lucky in that we have a small mortagage on this place so we can 'afford' to lose a bit if necessary.

it is sauch a drag waiting and wondering though...

[JandLandG]

i'm joining in!

we've got a great house...wish i could just pick it up and take it with us. we have already moved and are renting expensively.

might have to let our house out but would rather sell even for a heavy discount on original asking price.

had a positive viewing the other day with a nice couple. but they haven't rung back; don't they know how nasty they're being?!

hey ho...

[MizZan]

not to rain on anyone's parade here, and I realise that as a renter I am one of a tiny minority on mumsnet, but if you can't sell your house, and you need to or really want to, then I think you know what you need to do, right? lower the price. it's not rocket science. if my investments have lost 30% in the last year (and they have), and the cash I have in the bank is in pounds and therefore worth a lot less than it was 6 months ago and isn't earning any interest, do you really think I'm going to pay you a peak price for your house?

and it's not like we're the only family in this situation...in fact we are better off than many, with no place we need to sell, a big deposit and one of us with a stable job. even so, there's absolutely no chance we will be buying a house for more than the 2004 price, if that. house prices are still insane, relative to incomes. we can wait, though we won't if we find something nice which is reasonably priced.

and as for someone who "can't" let out a rental property or sell it - I find it a little hard to feel sorry for them. most of us can only dream of having enough money to buy a second home to let out. if it works out for them, great, but no one guarantees buy-to-letters win every time, any more than they guarantee those who put money into stocks or any other investment. timing is everything.

that said, good luck and I hope you all do manage to sell when you need to - but a dose of realism, please!

[expatinscotland]

I hear ya, Miz, even more so because we're finding that now, as private renters, it's a renters paradise out there!

A lot of people can't flog their houses off because they want or need more money for them than people have or can borrow to pay, so they're willing to negotiate longer tenancies trying to ride out the recession (LOL- good luck! But hey ho, that's not my lookout).

My dad snaps up foreclosures at auction. He turns them round and sells them on for a reasonable price to people who probably wouldn't be able to buy if they needed pre-crash prices for it.

[RedFraggle]

I think most of us home-sellers are aware of that! Especially since you cannot turn on the TV, open a paper, or have a chat with someone on the bus without being told that house prices have dropped 21% in the last year. (I'm sure that's the most recent figure)

Nickytwotimes - We have just accepted an offer on our house. For about 10% less than the asking price. Feel like we've done quite well with that in the current climate. We are planning to knock a similar percentage (at least) off whatever house we buy. As long as you are moving to a bigger house the fall in prices is in your favour to some extent. Certainly we can afford to move to the area I really want now which we couldn't do a year ago.

I just hope this works out as we have had multiple sales fall through due to the buyers being either unable to sell or unable to get a mortgage. I have all my fingers crossed but I just cannot get positive about it in case it all falls through again.

JanlandG - I love my current house too - have said often that I wish I could just move the house to the road I want (closer to family).

[RedFraggle]

Sorry - that came out a bit tarter than I was aiming for. Myexcuse is I'm ill and I'm always a bit shrewish when I'm poorly!

[kayspace]

I posted a thread a while back wondering when sellers and landlords would 'get real' about their asking price/rent- and someone posed that I had to understand that 'Many people can't afford to lower their asking price or the rent due to amount they owe...' (wot?!) I too thought The Obvious!

Re %ages- well, it's not really about what percentage cut one offers or accepts, it's surely about absolute value. If you market a property for what it will fetch in the current situation, you will sell it- for the asking price!

And yes, I'm with you MizZ- the buy-to-let brigade who were encouraged to snap up the first-time buyers type housing then rent it back to them really don't deserve sympathy! I am constantly amazed at how the greedy and foolhardy have been indulged in this financial shenanigan- the OUTRAGE! The DISBELIEF! The total inability to see that if you buy a home for 10x your income, you are PAYING TOO MUCH.

So the hot advice is: Put your property on the market for a sensible price and you are far more likely to sell it. For all the 24 year olds who feel cheated that their 5,000 pound deposit saved WON'T get them a mortgage right now, there are plenty of 35 year olds sitting on 50,000 pounds, waiting for The Right Price to come along who WILL.

[RedFraggle]

You rarely see a house sell for the asking price around my way. If you put your house on at the price it is worth everyone wants to knock money off. So no matter what it is worth you have to put it on for slightly more than you think you will get to account for the cheeky buggers who always expect to knock people down because "It's a buyers market".

Unfortunate fact. Therefore estate agents I have spoken to talk about % knock downs as everyone expects to get a certain % off the asking price.

It's a mad, mad world....

[goldenpeach]

We put ours with a realistic price and got nearly all the asking price, there was a house in the street that was unrealistic and months later they had to sell for a pittance. I think it's best not to overprice. As a buyer an overpriced house would put me off. We are considering leaving where we are renting because people are doing exactly that and moving somewhere where people are a bit real.

[GaspodTheWonderDog]

OOOOOOOOOOOoooh me (started a similar thread a few weeks ago!) We have had exactly the same situation of having people interested but they can't sell. We haven't had any viewers at all for a couple of weeks.

Do others who are selling have more than one estate agent. We initially went for a sole agency agreement. We live right between two areas and the initial agent concentrates on one area and we're out of out 8 week contract period, I'm now wondering if we should change agents. Is it worth the hassle or is everything done on the internet now so areas don't really matter? How do I chose another agent? This whole process is incredibly frustrating.

MizZan's post just highlights half the problem. Buyers are in such a confident position that you daren't price your house too low as you are expecting to be haggled down, if you priced your house at what you want to get, where do you go from there?

ARGHHHHHHH!!! Any advice you lot may have is most welcome

[ABetaDad]

The problem with much of the housing market is that most people with a mortgage cannot afford to sell for less than the value of the mortgage, most people retiring and downsizing cannot sell for less than peak asking price otherwise they will have too little money left to retire on and most people who are looking to trade up are seeking the maximum value for their own home in order to be able to afford the next one up the ladder.

The net reuslt is no one can afford to take a big reduction in the price they get and no one can get a mortgege to bridge the gap so the whole market has locked up.

However, the Daily Mail today has pretty much got it right. If you are willing and able to cut 25% of the peak asking price for your house you wil be able to sell it:

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1147702/The-25-tipping-point-Thats-need-cut-asking-pr ice-sell-home.htmlrot

[GaspodTheWonderDog]

Agree 100% ABetaDad

[Sorrento]

"most people who are looking to trade up are seeking the maximum value for their own home in order to be able to afford the next one up the ladder."

That's totally illogical though not the first time I've heard it said.
I couldn't careless if my current house sells for 50% less, I'm going up the ladder so my paper losses will be passed up the chain.
The houses that are forced sales ie the owner has died and the kids want their cash and repossessions will set the market prices and we have a good 6/9 months before that starts to take effect.
Once vendor see the house down the road from them sell for 25/30% less the penny will drop that's what their house is now worth too.

[GaspodTheWonderDog]

'Once vendor see the house down the road from them sell for 25/30% less the penny will drop that's what their house is now worth too'

that's what I'm counting on Sorrento!

[ABetaDad]

Sorrento - I know its illogical.

What I think happens is the people who are trading up expect maximum value and expect al the houses above them on the ladder to fall in price by 25%. That way they can buy an even better house when they trade up than they had expected. Its mad.

I do not own my house.... erm but I do rent two of them so maybe thats even madder.

[TheRedSalamander]

I'm in. We have found the house of our dreams. We weren't looking to move before we saw it but now just want rid so we can put an offer in on the one we have our hearts set on! House been on the market 2 weeks and not a sniff. We've even significantly lowered the price from what the estate agents valued it at (their valuation was utterly ludicrous and I can't figure out why on earth they would want to value a property at at least £50k more than is believable- it's so far out as to be laughable. Nothing else similar to ours even comes close to their figure, v confusing.)

We are open to offers on the price, have made this clear to the estate agents- and I must confess we are fast losing faith in them. The only reason we put the house on the market with them is because the house we want to buy is also marketed through them and by selling ours they would effectively get the commission from two sales (ours, plus the one we would buy) so it might act as a big incentive. Mistaaaaaake! Only just had brochure to approve.

So worried we might lose the house we are already living in in our heads

[twinsetandpearls]

We are trying to sell and our house is priced very cheaply and we are about to reduce again but not getting anywhere. We have moved so we are paying for new rent. My sister was in their contributing to the rent but she is about to leave so we will be paying out both again.

Our is about 25% of the peak prices.

[twinsetandpearls]

We have been on the market for 9 months.

[TheRedSalamander]

I can understand why moving is touted as being one of the most stressful things in life! And I've only been in this situation for 2 weeks, twinset you must be doing your nut.

[EsmeWeatherwax]

"What I think happens is the people who are trading up expect maximum value and expect al the houses above them on the ladder to fall in price by 25%. That way they can buy an even better house when they trade up than they had expected. Its mad"

One of my friends is in this situation, and just refuses, point blank, to see how completely illogical and out of touch with reality she is being. But then again, she will insist that her flat is the cheapest in her street, when in fact all the others for sale are two bedroom, whilst hers is in fact the most expensive one bedroomed flat in her whole area!

[EsmeWeatherwax]

What a hideous last sentence that was. My apologies!

[GaspodTheWonderDog]

how's Nanny Ogg doing?

[EsmeWeatherwax]

at Gaspode! We really should start a named after Pratchett club here...

[GaspodeTheWonderDog]

OOOh, I am spelt wrong, oh the shame Hang on, will correct that. There's definitely an Angua around, haven't seen anyone else.
I love TP's books, actually I might go for a name change in honour of one of my fav characters...