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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

House NOT selling... AIBU?

342 replies

AllTheGin84 · 20/06/2019 10:43

HELP.

Our house has been on the market for 15 weeks... had an offer 4 weeks in at full asking price (woah!), then their chain collapsed and they are no longer selling.

Then we changed agent, went back on the market and dropped price by £30,000 (575,000 - £545,000).

5 viewings in a week, no offers, no interest in buying... WHY? WHY DOES NO ONE WANT MY HOUSE?

Its clean, ridiculously tidy, plain and neutral, lovely comments... but no on wants to even put an offer in!!!!! We have a viewing today, tomorrow and Saturday. What can I do?????

HELP ME MN, I AM DESPERATE TO SELL. This is seriously affecting my mental health.

OP posts:
flamingjune123 · 20/06/2019 16:39

I wonder if the Estate agents aren’t actually doing any selling. My house was on the market around a year ago. I did the viewings as I know this house better than anyone, I love it more and can explain things like where the brick flooring originated from who the neighbours are, where we park etc. I know not everyone agrees and the Estate agents certainly didn’t until I had two offers from the second and third viewers ( long story but I had to drop out of the sale)
When I was viewing in the area I wanted to live in some of the Estate agents were so utterly appalling at their job that I thought any minute it would be a ‘ you’ve been framed’ moment. They just couldn’t be bothered and around half my questions were left unanswered, even when they promised to get back to me. Simple questions such as ‘ is it a working fireplace with an open chimney’ couldn’t be answered. Or the Estate agents were late which pissed me off to start with when I’d travelled miles to get there and parked on time.
Would you consider doing your own viewings? It doesn’t sound as if you have. A lot to lose right now

Alsohuman · 20/06/2019 16:40

It’s not on Rightmove? Dear God.

And it’s not a God given right to make a profit, OP, let alone a 35% one. There have been times when people have sold properties at a loss. Plenty of people did in the 90s. Get it on Rightmove, check out the prices similar properties have SOLD for in the last six months and go from there.

Oliversmumsarmy · 20/06/2019 16:42

If it isn’t on Rightmove how do you expect people to know it’s for sale.

RedToothBrush · 20/06/2019 16:45

I wouldn't go into an estate agent to see what's available there. That's from a bygone age!

If it's not on right move, you are missing most buyers these days.

Agents don't do a huge amount.

I certainly would not have seen your house.

surely making a profit is good investment as time goes on? If everyone thought like that, then my Grandad who bought his house in the 60s would be happy selling it for £30k, regardless of inflation?

Buying a house, is buying security and somewhere to live. If you are only thinking about a house as an investment then you haven't read the market well, and didn't when you moved and you don't understand what 'negative equity' is. Which frankly you should do, when making a huge purchase like a house!

The current market isn't what it was like in the 1960s,70s, 80s,90 or 00s.

Fewer people can get a mortgage, they are buying their first home later, the multipliers they need are higher...

... Basically the problem is that prices have reached something of a ceiling in many places. There are no big equity gains to be had. And this is having a huge impact on the market, with buyers having power because they are in short supply.

RocketPockets · 20/06/2019 16:48

It's taken us 10 months from going on the market to completing. Our flat is lovely, everyone who comes here says how nice it is! It has parking, a balcony, town centre location.
We put it on for a really competitive price and dropped it further. We accepted 4 offers which all fell through before we got to the point of exchange and are finally completing next week.
I'd definitely get it back on RM it's the only place I looked unless I saw a for sale board of a house I liked the look of.
We always made sure we were out when we had viewings, everything was really clean and tidy, we also lit a couple of candles (vanilla & lavender) and sprayed the carpet before we left to make it smell nice. Our EA also made up a really nice brochure which was included in their price it was one of those nice laminated type ones not just a print out, it also had a little bit that we wrote about why we loved the flat. The photos were also really professional and well done.
Parking could be part of the issue, I know it would be round here and for me personally. Also if you have a small garden, we said no to a few places because the garden just wasn't big enough for what we wanted.
I hope you get some proper interest soon, I know how frustrating it can be when there seems to be little or no actual interest in anyone making an offer!

LakieLady · 20/06/2019 16:55

My BIL, who develops property and is very savvy, is renting out the most recent property he's done because he says the market in their area is dead (commuter town in Surrey, just outside the M25).

When people have lots of choice, there are a couple of things that may make it less attractive to people looking in that price band: 3 storeys and permit parking. You can't do anything about those, so the only thing you can do to make it more attractive is to drop the price.

Of course it could the massage parlour across the road or the cemetery next door that are putting people off ...

Borntobedifferent · 20/06/2019 16:56

Not a lot of profit!!

I bought my house 11 years ago at £118 and it's now approx £135 and I'm happy with that !

PCohle · 20/06/2019 16:59

There's a lot of outrage about your property not being on Rightmove but I don't think your new agent is totally mad.

If your property is taken down for a certain period of time it can be re-listed as new and will jump to the top of the listings again.

That said, I wouldn't be expecting a lot of interest in the period when your property isn't listed on RM, Zoopla etc.

billysboy · 20/06/2019 17:00

If its priced right it will sell

If I was looking and saw a house that had been on rightmove for ages I would consider a lower offer than one that had just come on , hence your EA wanting to give it a break

Original poster
AllTheGin84 · 20/06/2019 17:00

UPDATE... WE HAD A VIEWING TODAY that apparently went v well, the lady is coming back for a second viewing tomorrow with his mum!!!! CASH BUYER currently renting!!!!!!!! baaaaaaaah

FINGERS CROSSED!!!!!

OP posts:
Original poster
AllTheGin84 · 20/06/2019 17:00

her mum*

OP posts:
ChicCroissant · 20/06/2019 17:01

Crossing many body parts for you, OP!

bigKiteFlying · 20/06/2019 17:02

It really needs to be on rightmove and zoopla - that's the only places we looked when we were buying.

We did step into estate agents but they were kind of useless - faster to find properties on-line and arrange a viewing by phone or e-mail.

We ended up doing the viewings - estate agents did first one then after that they were never available.

Honestly they were supposedly the best in area and I’ve no idea what they did other argue against price drop that did get us our buyers and piss our buyer off constantly trying to book them into the wrong house. We were upfront about our deadline – school admissions which they consistently failed to take on board.

bigKiteFlying · 20/06/2019 17:02

x-posts - well good luck hope you get a sale.

Original poster
AllTheGin84 · 20/06/2019 17:02

I mentioned RM too and we have 3 viewings booked in for Saturday, so he has said can we wait till Monday to go back on RM?

He doesn't want everyone to know its been price dropped and wants to give it a rest from the market by doing database marking, country magazine, etc?

OP posts:
Original poster
AllTheGin84 · 20/06/2019 17:04

I only asked about RM after the second viewing feedback...

OP posts:
ChicCroissant · 20/06/2019 17:04

I'm not convinced by the EA arguments about RM tbh - is he one of the agents who has committed to putting their properties on a different website first (on the market) before putting them on RM?

Original poster
AllTheGin84 · 20/06/2019 17:06

He's concerned that these are all new interested people and doesnt want them to think we are desperate.

Niggling feeling that we had soooo many viewings with the other agent, maybe he doesnt want one of them to see the price drop, come back and offer and they lose the fee????

OP posts:
Original poster
AllTheGin84 · 20/06/2019 17:07

Anyway, I am absolutely delighted we have a second viewing for tomorrow. Thank Goodness. Apparently she was saying 'this can go here' and 'that can go there'... positive?

OP posts:
billysboy · 20/06/2019 17:09

well done fingers crossed

BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 20/06/2019 17:10

Are you on with Purple Bricks?

pollypenguin01 · 20/06/2019 17:12

OMG Hmm your EA are shit!

Are you really sure it’s not on RM and you just don’t want us searching for it, cause I cannot believe your EA wouldn’t have it on there.

SunnyInGrimsby · 20/06/2019 17:14

I've sold 5 properties in 5 years, all reasonably quickly.

You need to be on with 2 agents; the element of competition seems to help.

Also, pose as a mystery shopper to find out how efficient your proposed agent is. It's amazing how lazy most of them are and some hardly bother to follow up interest via the online portals.

Always 'dress' the property before viewings. That is, make sure all the lights are on and the hearing/fire if cold. Many agents can't be bothered to do this!

I'm not a fan of sellers doing viewings themselves. I once saw in retrospect, my perfect property but the seller put me off, banging on about his boiler, telling me when he planted every tree, he ruined it. If your agent can't show a property properly find one who can. Selling is a skill and this is what you're paying for.

Emilyontmoor · 20/06/2019 17:18

Your husband has accepted a job in Switzerland? Service industry? Four neighbouring families have moved out of our road to take up jobs abroad, 3 in services, 1in development. Three had to rent because they could not sell. Inside the M25, a lot of people working in services. Lots of companies in the service sector are moving jobs out of the country, you are part of a trend and so lots of people like you are moving away and putting their homes on the market.

No houses have sold over £800k in our postcode area since May last year, none, (and this is an area where a 4 bed house goes for a million) and very few from 500k to £800k. Lots of young families now squeezed into flats, bikes on balconies. Of course this is not due to Brexit 🤔 (it is, I work with the companies who have activated these plans)

I have been an expat, with a Swiss company, there are few more unpopular postings than Switzerland itself, especially if you have or plan children. It’s expensive, everything is regulated, even putting out the rubbish is traumatic in case you get it wrong, the school system is designed to make parents lives difficult, school drop off and pick up times wildly staggered and different for each year etc. I have known plenty of couples decide that the husband would commute there from a U.K. base.

If it were me I would certainly rent out the house at the moment rather than sell in a shitty market......

Banana770 · 20/06/2019 17:20

Agree with everyone else, I never checked estate agents pages, only Right Move.