For Gobbledigook, Fimbo, LadyTophamHatt and anyone else embroiled in the housing market at the mo....

[NomDePlume]

WE'VE HAD 2 OFFERS !

Our Estate Agent called yesterday and the keen buyers made us a cheeky offer, which we refused. They immediately came back with a bid slightly higher but not quite enough, we refused that too. We only need to them to come up by another £2.5k, they will. I'm confident of it. We've also found THE house, which is a Grade II listed 3 storey Georgian townhouse, it is vacant possession and these buyers are cash buyers so with a bit of luck and a fair wind we could well be in for Christmas, (providing they take our offer) !

Gobbledigook, did anything come of your 2nd viewing ? I know it was aggggggggggges ago but I've been offline for weeks so haven't been able to catch up, and now I can't find the old thread. Grrrr.

LTH - You must be coming close to completion now, surely ? Excited ?

Oh, I'm gutted for you GDG, I really am.

Also noddy, it will depend on the position of the buyer making the offer. For instance you may be prepared to take a lower offer from a first-time buyer or someone who can complete quickly than you would if your buyer was in a chain.

Noddy - ours was on at £285K. We dropped to £279,950 with no luck at all for the whole of this year.

Now it's on with a new agent at offers around £270K. Really peed off actually because we've forked out for a new kitchen in it too so we are seriously out of pocket now.

Still, we will better off when we shift the bloody thing!

Thanks we have a figure in mind which we need IYSWIM as we plan to buy a slightly smaller house without a mortgage I agree it depends on the agents all of whom generally lie to get the sale and then back pedal when you have no offers Sorry for the hijack but the replies are really helpful

Not at all, Noddy . Be realistic about what your house is actually worth and market it with the right agent.

God, GDk I'm so shocked that it has gone for this long. We've all seen photos and it's a lovely house. I can't imagine how you feel about it.....what a bloody nightmare.

I'm gutted for you.

when it sells (and it will!!) I think we should all have a big MN cyber party.

I know this is a ridiculous idea but have you thought of taking it off for a few months, say until after xmas. I know thats like cutting your nose off to spite you face but I remeber reading (or hearing somewhere anyway) that whe a house has been on for ages peopel (possibly buyers) just pass it by in their mailshots because they've seen it so often and unfortunately just assume that theres something awful wrong with it without even looking. If you take it off for alittle while it will stop them thinking that.
Is that an option?

I'm going to send you a bottle of champers when your place sells, GDG . LTH is absolutely right, your place is cracking house in a great location, I can't understand why it hasn't sold.

OOH, I'm looking forward to the party and champers!

LTH - we did that last year () - took it off over Xmas and back on in the new yr. Ho hum...don't really know what to do!

Blimey...really stumped then.

NdP, I'll send one too!

Any more news yet girls?

we're still waiting for a date.

Guess what?!

Nowt.

bugger!

How do I decide which agent to go for?Three valuations now and 60k apart!Should I get all local agents round (there are 7)and choose the average?HELP

Nothing as yet for us. Heard that our prospective buyers have offered on another property that has been 'sort of accepted' (in the words of the Estate Agents). So we stand a chance of losing them. We have the found perfect house (different to the one described below which turned out to be too small on closer inspection), and so now we're repared to take their other offer (£2.5k less than the min we were orig prepared to take. I phoned our agent over the wekend and asked them to go back to our buyers and ask them if their offer still stood. The agent called me back to say that the husband had been taken into hospital and so everything was a bit up in the air at the mo.

Meanwhile we are slowly upping our offer on the house we love and if our buyers don;t come through then we'll drop our asking price to get a new buyer asap. If we lose the house we love, then we'll try to be philosophical.....

Noddy, I would advise you not to go with the highest valuation, especially given the current market is on go-slow. Chances are that the agent with the highest valuation would put it on the market at the high price to get your business and then when you've had no-one through the door to view, they'll suggest droppping the price. It is a total false economy

I have just rung the other agents and they are all coming and I will choose one in the moiddle.60k is a lot though