AIBU to be cynical over estate agent valuation

[sunshinesandwaves]

Prepared to get flamed for being a little naive here!

After a really difficult few years personally, my husband and I have made the decision to look for another home.

During these years (infertility, IVF, miscarriage, stillborn) we have carried out a lot of work to our home (having a project has been key to our sanity) including a loft conversion, new bathroom, new kitchen, garden landscaping and various redecoration projects. So our house is in very good condition with no works required for any new buyers. (All of this is relevant) it's in a nice location in an area that sells well.

We are looking to buy a house being marketed by the same agent in the same village. The owners are also buying a house from the same estate agent, so he stands to make 3 lots of commission if our houses all sell.

Today ours has been valued and I feel our house has been undervalued in comparison to other houses of the same size (or smaller) in the vicinity. I'm looking on Rightmove and there are houses that are the same size as ours up for 20-25k more.

There was lots of estate agency talk and to be honest I found it quite overwhelming and kept asking whether he thought it was worth going a little higher, to which he said no he doesn't think it would be.

I am now wondering whether he is intentionally undervaluing ours to guarantee a quick sale, thus meaning his other two properties up the chain can move on with their sale, both generating him a profit.

AIBU to be cynical about this? As I say... prepared to be flamed for my naivety here... I'm disappointed with myself really!!!

Just tell the estate agent what price you want it marketed at, its your decision not theirs

@Lazypuppy we are on it!
I think I just didn't want to immediately appear to be under false illusions that our property was worth lots more than it really is. I spend a lot of time on rightmove so should have had the info on the top of my head(!!) but after he left I had another look. I am right he has certainly undervalued it.

I can deal with it if it's a genuine mistake, but don't like the idea that we might have been expected to lose out on money so that the sales above in the chain could happen.

Did you not get valuations from at least three agents and take a view somewhere in the middle?

Do what Kat said.

Get another valuation

@katmunchkin this is the first valuation we have had purely because the house we are interested in is marketed by the same estate agent.

My question is more around estate agents practices, and whether I'm being cynical about their intentions.

Get at least 3 valuations and include quotes for what they will charge in fees.
Fees can also be negotiated when you actually get to instructing an agent.

ooops posted too soon

When my mum dies and we sold her house - we got 3 valuations that came in £65k apart. We achieved a sum almost in the middle,

How long have those houses been on for sale? You need to look at sold prices. They may be up for 25k more but if they aren't selling, then that's not going to help you.

@Grumpyunleashed Thankyou- will do x

@Lunde sorry to hear of your loss, but wow that is a huge variation

Are the higher priced houses under offer or just on the market? He may just be being realistic about the current market. Estate agents are more likely to over value to get your custom.

@BitOftheSea both. But this estate agent seems to have a bit of a stronghold where we live and they are marketing most of them.

Don’t look at the marketing prices. If this estate agent is selling them, then he knows the kind of offers they’re actually getting. Ring him and ask what they’ve actually sold for or what offers they’ve turned down. If the figures are still higher then ask him why your house is worth less.

Yes, certainly get at least two other valuations, then decide.
Also bear in mind, if you haven’t already done, that there is often a ‘ceiling price’ in certain areas. Your house might well be ‘overdeveloped’ for the area.

First of all, get at least one other valuation from someone who knows the area. Try and check out properties in similar locations and of similar size that have recently sold, and find out what they went for. You're at the bottom of this chain, yes? So his 3 commissions rest on selling YOUR property … if you think you can definitely achieve £20k more, then you could ask him to market it at the higher price. Some agents might not be prepared to spend money advertising a property that they feel is overpriced, but you may have more chance of persuading this one as his other sales depend on getting your sale through. EAs can be shifty buggers, but a lot aren't and do know their market.

If you look on zoopla.co.uk it has a section that shows what properties actually completed for, in fact it often also includes a copy of some of the estate agent details.
This should help you better assess differences mention above between marketed price and completion etc.

Houses also have a ceiling price for an area. You could have put in a kitchen that cost you 40k and a bathroom at 20k, because at the time it suited you .
Sadly that doesn't always mean your house can go on the market at 60k more than your neighbours.
People will be prepared to pay the right amount for the house in the area, with a little more if the spec and decoration suits their need.

Definitely, estate agents go for low valuations to ensure quick sales. Which is fine if you're desperate for a quick, somewhat under-valued sale. I really cannot abide the sales talk. I just tend to cut through it because I do think, if they're expecting substantial commission for selling someone else's property, they should work for it.

I sold a house in Scotland a few years ago, it was a bit of a one off and didn't have any real comparators. In Scotland, you still have to get sellers's surveys. So I was rather naughty and got one firm of solicitors (in Scotland they often act as estate agents) out to value it. I can't remember the exact value but lets say they said £300,000. Then I got another firm of solicitors out but said to them that the first firm had valued it at £335,000 and I would go with them if they could value it a little higher and also tell me they had a good chance of getting their usual surveyors to value it at their suggested price. They did and it was valued in the seller's survey at £345,000, which is what it sold for. It did take 7 months to sell though. The first valuation was ridiculously low but they gave me the sales spiel about it being difficult to market, the market being slow, etc., etc..

Firstly never trust an estate agent op! Especially one so obviously biased due to the chain.

Get 3 independent valuations, then decide for yourself. You seem clued up on your home in relation to others, but don't forget to look at sold prices rather than asking prices. It rather depends on how quickly you want to sell too.

But this estate agent seems to have a bit of a stronghold where we live and they are marketing most of them.

Don't let that influence you.
You only need an agent so that you can get listed on Rightmove.
Get valuations from 2 others, & go with the one who seems realistic & capable of listening to you.

The price you market it at and the price you achieve can be disparate. Lots of reduced properties in the south east.

The they houses that are priced over yours may well be over priced. We had valuation which were so different.

We put it on at the higher price and nothing has happened. It’s clealry over priced and we will have to reduce it to the price of the other valuations, unfortunately we’ve wasted our time.

Have a look on Zoopla and see why at they actually went for rather than the advertised price.

Also though I think something the decoration doesn’t make that much difference to the price, as people like to put their own stamp on things

In my experience agents do the opposite op, they over value and they are happy for houses to remain on their books for months. It keeps market value up. If yours sells low, it sets a bench mark for other properties.

You can market it for any price you want, it doesn't mean it will sell for that price. Did you ask him when he felt it was worth less than others? Normally there is something, from size of plot, to the finish, taste of the decor, how it's presented the lot.

It's odd. But it is very common for people to look at their home and think it's fab and similar to other properties when it's no where near as well done.

I don't know if that is the case here, but it's way more likely than them under valuing it to get it off their books.

Go with another agent- it doesn't matter where they are everyone looks on rightmove.

Definitely get at least 3 different valuations. We did and there was a 50k difference between the lowest and the highest... 😳😱