Is anyone else having a misreable time trying to sell their house?

[Roseflower]

Our house has been on the market since June and trying to sell it - it's so depressing. Our one offer fell through and since then it just been no more offers.

Buyers (this month we have only had FTB) seem to be getting more and more unrealistic in what they expect for their money around here.

I hate everything about selling a house- the horrible estate agents, the constant calls from rival estate agents touting, the time waster people, rushing around like mad tidying up after dd for hours, giving up our plans to get ready for viewings, people saying nasty things about our family home... but worse in the uncertainity of it all.

Be good to know other people feel as down as me for some support. Or even better people who did feel like me but now things have turned out well!

nowit i am in south west too! (waves)

not a sniff of a sale though ours is not family home and we would have struggled to sell anyway.

i'd love some feedback though if anoyone wants to see our place and be hnoest with me?>

hi sun not much fun is it :( think its a case of hang tight and remain positive

We've been on the market since the end of April and have only had one viewer We've reduced by 10k on an initial price of &249,000 and still no viewers. The brochure and pics on righmove are fab (better than it ever really looks to be honest!!!) so it can't be that putting people off! Our EA is having a huge open viewing event this weekend where most of their properties are open to view, so we may at least get somone throught the door!

Interesting to hear sellers' tales of woe in what people are calling a 'buyers' market' because I am one of those rare species out there at the moment - a chain-free buyer with funds to proceed - and I haven't exactly had the red carpet rolled out for me by agents either! It's a really strange market at the moment. Not much available but what is available is still highly priced considering credit conditions are a lot worse than what they were 2 years ago. As an example, someone who bought 2 years ago and just went onto their bank's SVR at the end of a tracker, will have their rate capped at 2% above the base rate whereas us new buyers are being charged 3.99% above the base rate instead so buying now is more expensive than it was.

We have just bought now after about six months of serious looking around but it wasn't easy. The estate agent was worse than useless for both us and the seller. When we made our offer (a reasonable 2% below the valuation), she told us it was turned down but didn't specify what the seller was looking for either. We inched it up a bit and were turned down again(!) - this for a property that is in a country location and had been on the market for over a year... we didn't up our bid and were ready to walk away at the stage so she almost lost the sale but funnily enough we got a very quick call within hours to accept our lower bid after all. She was clearly just trying to squeeze more cash out of us, not something I would do in a shaky market like this with chains falling through all over the place. We specified a second viewing as a missive of the sale (didn't want to waste the seller's time with a second viewing without making it clear we were serious about the place) and the EA suggested we view it with another couple who were due to view it that day also??!? Completely bizarre as the property was effectively Sold STC at that point as our offer had been accepted (we're in Scotland). We said no and went for another viewing instead with just the seller. In contrast to the EA, when we met them, they were clearly very keen to sell and ensure we would proceed asap. They had the place spick and span for our viewings and were really helpful with any questions etc. I felt bad that they had to waste money on an EA providing such poor service (bad photos, poor advertising and unable to close a deal).

Good luck to anyone still trying to sell - please remember that we buyers are just trying to get the best deal we can at the moment because credit conditions are tough and there's a risk prices will fall further, so we may be troubled sellers ourselves in a few years !

Another one here.

We joined the market at a crap time - 16th July, and have had only c 6 viewings and no ofers.

I know I am biased, but it is a fab house in a fab location. We have already dropped the price by 20k :(

DD1 is in a school out of catchment and dd2 is due to start Sept 2011. We need to move in to catchment by December to be able to apply as in catchment.

We had a second viewing today but have not had any feedback.

I to am tempted to change agents. Our neighbours are on with the same agent and their ohouse is v diferent to ours. However, we seem to be having the same people view our houses... just doesn't seem right to me.

Fed up with the tidying!!

Similar position here. Been on market since June but had to ditch first agent as they finally admitted that their entire sales team had walked out

So been on properly since July, viewings steady at first but have really slowed down (to about 1 a fortnight). Had a couple of second viewings but no offers. People keep saying that a 2 bed in London is the easiest thing to sell but its just not happening.

I'm due DC2 in 2 weeks (eek) so have resigned myself to staying put for a bit. Keep telling myself that 2 children in a 2 bed will be fine but am dreading it a bit. Not so worried about the early days but what if we just can't sell and we're stuck here for ages??

Oh god its just not worth thinking about. Just hoping for a sudden miracle...

Hijack - spiritmum - can I ask how much that cost to do as at some point we want to convert part of our grage to a small downstairs study.

This is for the posters who are struggling to sell.

We are just moving onto our second property development, we are in the process of doing all the paperwork to get the purchase completed.

The first property we did sold reasonably quickly (around 3/4 months) and we made a profit. Here were some of the things we did to make the property saleable:

• new kitchen
• new bathroom
• complete rewire
• new central heating
• brand new carpets throughout

I know that these are difficult to achieve when living in the property but do consider (if you arent already):

• cleaning the kitchen to within an inch of its life. Clear the work surfaces completely for viewings.
• as above for the bathroom. Have some house viewing fluffy towels which are not used normally. Clear everything personal out of view.
• get the central heating serviced and have copies of certificates to hand for viewers.
• clean, clean, clean. Consider new neutral carpets.

The old de-personalise & de-clutter rules apply now more than ever. Invest in plastic crates and sweep everything into these then hide them in the car if a viewing is booked.

Stop thinking about the house as your home and start thinking about it as an asset to be disposed of. It doesnt matter if people are rude about the decor, you wont be living in the property with them.

Look at the estate agent as a buyer will. Are the details good and welcoming? Same for the estate agent him or herself.

Once you have found the right agent ride them like the devil. Demand feedback after each and every viewing. We have bought and sold many houses here and abroad and I do ask the agent awkward questions like 'does my house smell?'. Some agents dont like to give bad news or tell you the things that even your best friend wouldnt.

Keep positive, there are still buyers out there.

Hi, Northern, it was about £12k but that includes double-glazed windows and doors and a cloakroom with a toilet and basin. It was a mate of dh so we probably got a good deal, but even so if you just want a room created I don't think it should cost any more, depending on where you are of course. Friends of ours have done the same thing to make a playroom.

You need to do it on building regs but the bonus of that is that as it's converted lots of insulation is added - it's by far the toastiest/coolest room in the house and it's all mine! (I use it for work)

I think that's very good advice suzi. I sold my flat within 3 weeks but I put new wood flooring in, new kitchen and bathroom, made the garden beautiful, redecorated the whole flat, pressure washed all the outside hard landscaping and put 1/2 a garage worth's of stuff into storage. I even bought a new sofa to make the living room look bigger (our 'real' sofa is enormous). It's been a huge hassle but really worth it.

suzi - excellent advice but our place is a 3 year old conversion which is pretty much immaculate and i do the massive declutter for every viewing -seriously you wouldnt know anyone lived here let alone a baby! new estate agent wants to take different route and make it more personal and less stark. am lost lost lost as whats the best thing to do :-(

Suntangirl - bowls of fruit? Flowers? Baskets? Pictures?

There's a fine line between decluttered and sterile. Have a look at design magazines maybe?

But also - who are your buyers? Mine were most likely early 30s couples so I dressed my place for them. Annoyingly the person who bought it has two boys so I needn't have hidden most of the toys away :o

Tbh I think it is probably the market at the moment that is the problem rather than presentation.

We put our house on the market in April (3 bed, central London, ex LA) after redecorating, putting masses of stuff in storage, clear work surfaces, toothbrushes living in storage under the spare bed etc. In the first week we had 4 viewings, 2 came back for a second viewing within the week and we got an offer from a cash buyer that we accepted.

Then we found something we liked, had our offer accepted and started on surveys solicitors etc.

First our seller pulled out just before exchange so we looked again, found a new place, offer accepted and the next day (my birthday) our buyer pulled out. Apparently, she'd decided she didn't want exLA after all...

So at the end of June we put it back on the market, same position we'd been in in April but several thousand pounds poorer for survey, solicitors etc. Since then we have had about 6 viewings and all think bedrooms are too small. The market just feels really different to a few months ago, we are still frantically tidying etc which as others have said is not easy with a toddler on the loose.

However, maybe there is light at the end of the tunnel - before going on holiday 2 weeks ago we told the agent to reduce the price by 10k and try for 3 more weeks after which we'd call it a day until next spring as dc2 is due December. We've now had another offer from a cash buyer so maybe if it all works out we might get in somewhere new before Christmas. Don't want to get my hopes up though!

LadyBiscuit that sounds like you got it exactly right, congratulations.

ladybiscuit - well so far retired couples and one city type who wanted a 'city base' but the retired couples all freaked because there is a step to get on to the big balcony

its got white walls, oak floors - its quite neutral

The company that were building my house went into administration. groan

I need to move out of our home as we have sold it but I cannot find anywhere with decent schools.

I hate the recession.

Buy and selling is a nightmare whenever you do it and whatever the state of the economy.

I moved in 2005. Sold to the first viewer withn days (the house was a boxy 60's built end of terrace which we'd done up) and then struggled to find somewhere to buy. Ended up buying a small place and sleeping in the living room until we extended - kids had the bedrooms. Well worth it but nt much fun at the time!

Thanks suzi but I do think it's luck as much as anything. I have a massive garden which is very unusual in inner London and live really near the tube. I just bought a very saleable flat (which I admit was a large part of why I bought it). The house I am buying is all about the love I have for it. I don't care if anyone else ever wants to buy it - they can carry me out of there in a box :o

Sungirltan - knowing your market is important. I guess that you bought without a baby? However, what really is the market for your property? Discuss this with the estate agent. Does the property appeal to that market?

93pjb are the bedrooms small (looking at other local properties)? If not then consider how viewers see the room. Is the furniture laid out to emphasise space (though not necessarily practicality). In a single room I would only have a bed, a small chest of drawers and a small wardrobe, nothing else. All in light colours with very pale bedding (perfectly smooth). The purpose of this is for the furniture to melt away in the viewers eyes.

Dulux do a range of paint called 'light and space' (dont worry, I dont work for them). These do exactly what it says on the tin. It is worth painting the ceilings (in white) - I was amazed how much that raised them and made the whole room feel lighter.

Dont neglect kerb appeal. We do drive-by viewings so I assume everyone else does. This means that kerb appeal needs to be maintained. Look at the outside of the property critically. Deal with weeds and touch up paint work.

There are buyers out there (I am one).

Glad DwayneDibbley stated the glaringly obvious; that first time buyers are priced out. The market needs FTBs!

We can only get a mortgage of £175k and the smallest 2 bed flat, no outside space, in our area is being marketed at £220k at the very least. So we cannot afford to buy unless we move out of town.

I'm sorry for anyone who bought at the height of the market, but I think that there has to be a considerable downward adjustment in prices to allow people to start getting mortgages again.

Thanks Spiritmum - that gives me an idea. We would want to keep part of the garage as a store so it would be one new wall internally and a window on the side and sort out the floor level and that's about it.

IMO people's expectations have been too high. A property is only worth what people can pay (or borrow). Property prices have been too inflated, in comparison with average incomes. I am sorry for your situation, but frankly, is was high time that prices went down, and they still really need to go down a lot more to become realistic.

Average family incomes in my area are £21,000 (most working people earn a lot less, but incomes include retirees from london with large pensions), average house prices are about £280,000!

Can I join ? We've been on the market for a year now. We reduced the price by 10% and went on with new agents 4 monthns ago, who have been brilliant up to now (apart from last week but that's another story).

Looking at the area, our rightmove details etc I feel we're realistically priced, we've had about 8 viewings in total - most of those since we dropped the price. One offer, which we accepted but then they mysteriously disappeared.

Our problem is our location, West Midlands village - it's a niche area, you've got to want to live here or have grown up here. It's so depressing. There's not much more we can do to sell

The good news is, that if you are looking to sell your place and buy another, you won't really be losing out, because the property you buy should be going down in value too. The only people who will lose out will be those looking to capitalise on their investment.