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Original poster

Selling houses ... no lookers never mind offers...

15 replies

Gem13 · 13/10/2005 12:07

We have been trying to sell our two houses (one was rented out and is now empty) since May but have had little interest.

I know the market is flat at the moment but has anyone ever had any success with private ads in the Evening Standard, Sunday papers, or private websites (eBay?)?

We are in the south, commuting distance to London, parking, garden, excellent town, schools, sea, etc. 3 and 5 beds so similar size and price to the ones in the papers. I know the Telegraph listing is over £100 for a 3 line ad but is it worth it?

OP posts:
DaddyCool · 13/10/2005 12:12

the market really is dead. I've had my house on the market for over a month and I haven't had one single viewing! it's really getting me down.

don't know about private ads but tbh, i don't think it would do much. everyone just looks at estate agents listing, nothing else it seems.

Original poster
Gem13 · 13/10/2005 12:23

It is so miserable isn't it?

We did have people coming every 2 or 3 weeks - cue massive tidy up but no offers. Now we're not even getting any viewings.

Anyone know how you get your house featured in the property section (Saturday Telegraph, properties of the week)? Surely there must be some mumsnetter journalists with connections...

OP posts:
Gobbledispook · 13/10/2005 12:25

Ours has been on for 15 months - no offers yet.

New kitchen, new bathroom, walking distance to Metrolink (into Manchester), top state girls and boys grammar schools round the corner, 10 mins from Manchester airport, ....

The market is veeeery slow, although the houses a few doors down either side have recently sold. They both needed a lot of work doing but were on at the same price. Very odd.

Gobbledispook · 13/10/2005 12:26

I think in this market you need an agent to push viewers. I think you'd struggle even more selling privately.

M2T · 13/10/2005 12:28

Oh NO!! I am going to view a house tonight..... and will probably put an offer in next week. But my house isn't even on the market yet!! I thought I'd put it on the market at a fixed price and it would just...well..... sell! I had no idea the market was bad just now.

Original poster
Gem13 · 13/10/2005 12:34

I was thinking of leaving it with the agent but trying to push it myself too. It's just I hate that feeling of things being out of your hands. I have every faith in our agent but feel there is more I could do than sitting around waiting. DH has seen a couple of interesting jobs abroad, we want a change of scene, the children are a good age to travel, so we are staying put against our will now.

Mind you the houses are lovely and there are worse places to be. Still...

OP posts:
Chandra · 13/10/2005 12:34

I think it's a waste of money, the great majority of buyers don't look for houses in the private ads. What I would recommend is to change agents (houses that have been in the books for longer are relagated to the less visible advertising while new intructions are normally featured). When choosing the new agent, choose one that features the houses in Www.rightmove.co.uk as most people uses the internet to do the searches.

It would be wise to do a bit of checking to see the prices of similar properties that are in the market. IME many agencies over value the houses just to get the intruction (expecting that the client will be forced to a accept a more realistic lower offer). Just to illustrate the point, when we sold our previous house the difference between the estimates of the different agents was around 20% of the price of the house, we made an average of the valuations and still it took 6 weeks to get a viewer who thankfully put an offer straight away.

sweetkitty · 13/10/2005 12:37

M2T the market in Scotland is always different to down South, read somewhere that Scotland was one of the places that property prices were still rising.

Gem can totally sympathise with you our falt was in the market for 12 months before it sold, I did put it on some of those internet sites and had only one phonecall and that was after we sold it. I think it's better to have it on the big websites like rightmove etc.

yoyo · 13/10/2005 12:41

I would also ask the agent if he has a waiting list for that area. Ours is a local agent who lives in the town. We put it on the market and had three offers of the asking price immediately. When I was talking to him the other week he told me that he had 12 others who were interested. I panicked and rang others for a valuation but thankfully they all said the same. Our buyers pulled out last week but we had the same offer from another party that day.

Original poster
Gem13 · 13/10/2005 12:44

Both on Rightmove already. Apparently there's been lots of hits. Everyone who's been here thinks it's great - it's just the buyer has yet to find us!

OP posts:
M2T · 13/10/2005 12:44

Does anyone know of a website that I can advertise my house on without going through an agent?

Original poster
Gem13 · 13/10/2005 12:46

www.thelittlehousecompany.co.uk is one.

OP posts:
sweetkitty · 13/10/2005 12:48

When I was selling my flat I was think someone should set up an estate agents online and charge a fixed fee like £500 for selling a property.

Is is just me who think EAs are complete rip offs, I mean what do they do a bit of advertising?

seb1 · 13/10/2005 12:48

M2T Think you can do a private one on s1homes

Chandra · 13/10/2005 12:51

Sweetkitty, I'm sure there's a company doing that (i first knew about them about 5 yrs ago), they charged a flat fee (not sure if £200 or £500) which included going to your house and do 360 degrees pictures of some of the rooms and a regular one of the exterior. I can't remember their name though, but I believe they were based in London.

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