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Original poster

Oh Shit!! We're on and we're SOoooo not ready!

28 replies

Witchathulu · 10/10/2011 12:08

Just rang the EA this morning and booked for him to come round Weds to do the paperwork - he rang back less than an hour later to say he had someone who rang up straight after me looking for a 3 bed flat in our area and had Weds lined up for viewings - could he come and view at the meeting time and then we'd do the paperwork afterwards?
Blimey!!! That's a bit quick! DH spent all weekend decorating the communal hall, & I've been watching the kids - I'm not capable of much due to ME. But consequently we haven't done much decluttering since the agent came round. Fuck! Can't see that there's much I can do really, other than completely banning DS from playing with his toys for the next two days. Or pushing myself until then and collapsing on Thursday. Or hiring a cleaning company to come in tomorrow and shove all the bagged up washing in the attic, tidy up and scrub everything down.
Not quite sure what I'm asking of you here girls - maybe any advice from anyone who's sold a house in a complete state, despite having inner high standards? :o

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ElbowFan · 10/10/2011 12:28

Interesting!
What 'paperwork' is he going to do? Draw up the agreement so that he gets paid a % of the asking price?
If he brings a possible buyer with him and there is no contract in place - yours could be a private sale with no EA fee!

alabamawurley · 10/10/2011 13:14

Wow, that's a turn up! What did you eventually decide re asking price and tie-in (if you don't mind me asking )?

Original poster

Witchathulu · 10/10/2011 13:28

If you saw the other thread about this - then we went with EA 1, not purely because he gave the best price, but because he was the most eager, positive and professional. The others didn't convince me they could sell a teabag, so DH and I plumped for this guy. We're not really smart salesman type people ourselves, but he was also the only guy who backed up his valuation with printed comparisons of other properties in the area.
I'm not sure I'd be happy with a private sale - isn't it much less secure?

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Original poster

Witchathulu · 10/10/2011 13:33

Oh, sorry, alabama - I think we're going on at offers over 200 and seeing what happens. He said the tie-in would be less than six months, but that's ok, 'cause we would probably have given him that much time anyway, considering Christmas is coming up. As long as we get moved by next summer I'm not fussed tbh. I can't see that there's a huge amount of difference in advertising in papers and online, but it did make a difference for us that they have London offices, as we're prime commuter territory.
Is it good form to ring the others and say we're not going with them? I guess it would be polite wouldn't it?

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Original poster

Witchathulu · 10/10/2011 13:35

From what I've seen on their own website, I think our property does fit inbetween their valuations of 200-220, but I guess we'll see what the viewers say! I just feel panicky that I can't just get up and give the place a scrub and a sort out myself. DH worked so hard on the hallway and decorating the place, I just want to get it in order and tidy.

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ElderberrySyrup · 10/10/2011 13:45

well, I know one school of thought says you have to dress your home to within an inch of its life, but the experienced local agent who came round when I was thinking of putting my house on the market last year looked at me like I was crazy when I asked her if I ought to change the living room curtains, and said the only really important thing for me to do would be to make sure the kitchen worktops were clear. (And my house is neither immaculate nor stylish. And the curtains are vile, really.)
I can quite well believe that there are many buyers who can't see beyond the first impression so you would be widening your pool of potential buyers by doing the work, but I think there are also people who are more hard-headed about it.

Original poster

Witchathulu · 10/10/2011 13:49

Yeah, I was thinking we'd have to have a complete stripdown of the place, but most of the EA's said don't bother! I'm not quite sure what they know that we don't! :o

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CMOTdibbler · 10/10/2011 13:56

I'd see if you could get a cleaning company in for a one off clean, but otherwise, just get clean bedclothes on, tidy kitchen and bathroom and that'll do for someone viewing before the flat is on the market.

Original poster

Witchathulu · 10/10/2011 14:04

Should I be slightly concerned that we have someone viewing so soon, or am I being a pillock? (Have already suggested to DH that we get someone to do a one-off clean! Might ring this afternoon!)

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ElderberrySyrup · 10/10/2011 14:06

I also wouldn't wear yourself out and collapse afterwards - the thing about having a house on the market is, it's very emotionally draining with all the hopes and disappointments and rushing round getting things ready, and you will need to keep your physical stamina up to deal with it IYSWIM. Take it steady.

ElderberrySyrup · 10/10/2011 14:09

I think that's just your agent being keen and on-the-ball.

CMOTdibbler · 10/10/2011 14:39

Sometimes it just works out - I've viewed a house that was not yet on the market or details done as it was pretty much exactly what we wanted on paper and we had limited viewing time so the agent got us in to see it (we didn't buy it as it needed a lot of work to bring it to our standard, and was right at the top of our budget, but we still talk about it), and I was impressed with the agent for being proactive

Ladymuck · 10/10/2011 16:40

We went on the market last Tuesday, had first viewing at 4, husband wanted to come back at 7:30, and we had an offer first thing next day. 2nd offer by early afternoon which we accepted.

My tips:-
Clear all surfaces. Just get boxes and clear everything into them to be sorted later. Stuff boxes into attic/garage/car if necessary. (We did have to try to find ds's homework afterwards.

Let the viewer walk into the room first. Gives better impression of space.

If you can get rid of kids/pets etc, then do so. I did feel as if I was putting them into a cupboard, but they went to my friend's house for the 7:30 viewing, and I'd left them in afterschool club for the 4pm one.

Ladymuck · 10/10/2011 16:42

And we're now searching, Have put in offer on a house which has been rejected, and mulling over our options, but I am chasing agents daily, and waiting to hear back about one house that they've done a valuation on, and another where the family has moved abroad and they had been thinking about waiting until spring. Am making it clear to the agents that I am happy to overlook the state of tidiness of properties!

Original poster

Witchathulu · 10/10/2011 18:20

These are all good points ladies - I think after having my friend round to sort the place out a bit today, we might be just about passable. I'll post a link to it here when it's up on rightmove - maybe you'd be so kind as to have a nosey, but you HAVE to be kind with me and bear in mind I'm sofa/housebound & DH is working full time and looking after us all! :o

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Original poster

Witchathulu · 10/10/2011 18:21

But yes, I hadn't thought of getting us out of the house for Weds, but maybe I shall - does their cuteness not add to the potential of the house though? :o

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ElderberrySyrup · 10/10/2011 18:51

LadyMuck - wow, that's amazing! What do you think it was that made it happen so fast - price, house in very desirable area, something else....?

drcrab · 10/10/2011 20:12

We had a pretty fast second sale too. First sale fell through, got it back on market, details given out. Buyer from London came on Saturday at 12, first offer came at 2pm. Final offer which we accepted on Monday 10am.

What we did was let the ea do the viewings for us. We decluttered all obvious surfaces so got rid of big toys into shed,clothes in wardrobes, made bed, toilet clean, fresh. Made a show of space.

Good luck!

Ladymuck · 10/10/2011 21:04

For us, space, being in the right location for secondary school catchment, and the fact that almost no-one else is moving this year, so someone wanting to move to our pretty good comp, had a choice of about 10 4 bed houses in a 2 mile radius during the entirety of 2011. Which isn't much for a 360-entry school I guess.

I also went with the estate agent who had a local property on their books which was overpriced, and therefore they knew the details of everyone who wanted the area but didn't like that price (the other house had received 6 offers all at the same price which should have been a good indication!).

alabamawurley · 10/10/2011 21:12

Hi Witchathulu. I would be a little concerned about the tie-in period - 'less than 6 months' seems a little vague, and IME any more than 12 weeks is excessive. As I said (I think?) in the original thread, if the EA is so confident in achieving that price, then he should be happy for you not to be tied in for too long (and the tie-in period is often negotiable btw).

Assuming nothing comes from the viewing on Weds (and I really hope it does btw), alarm bells should be ringing if after 4-8 weeks, the EA starts softening you up for a drop in price. Firstly, on a moral basis, this would suggest they have won the instruction by the classic EA tactic of overvaluation. And secondly, potential buyers often spot reductions and assume a) You're desperate to sell b) There's an issue with the property that's been picked up - in both cases, this can well lead to lower offers than if the pricing was initially correct (and of course the EA still gets their commission).

I know I sound incredibly cynical (I am!) and, as I said, I genuinely hope for your sake I'm wrong. Hope it all goes well on Weds and really, don't stress about the tidying, if at all possible make yourselves scarce though

Original poster

Witchathulu · 13/10/2011 12:54

Well. we're on, and with that agent -we're only tied in for 16 weeks, which takes us up to January, so that's fine. I was a little concerned that the fee was a flat rate, set at 1.75% of the highest price, but I pointed that out, and he immediately took it down to 1.75% of the lowest price we'll accept, so that's fine. I ended up pushing it to help DH with the tidying, so I'm in bed today, but it was worth it, as the place looked much better. He mainly took shots of the views, one of the kitchen and one of the lounge, but as we've paid for a premium listing, we can add as many shots as we like to it later. All in all, we were quite pleased after we'd signed up.
The viewing didn't happen though - the bloke apparently had to work yesterday, so isn't coming round until Tuesday now. But hey, that's fine, gives us the weekend to do a few more bits and pieces. He said 'cause the floor plans need to be done that it won't be up until next Monday, but can I ask you all to take a look and tell me what you think? (But you have to be kind about it!) :o

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Ladymuck · 13/10/2011 13:55

16 weeks?! That's on the long side. What do other agents locally do? Round here the starting point is 12 weeks lock-in and 1.5% of final price, and of course you try to get both lower. If you signed the paperwork this week then you have a 7 days cooling off period - check these details again with the other agents, and renegotiate.

Always happy to pore over house pictures! where's the link?!

Akandra · 15/10/2011 14:55

Wow. My agent had a 2 week lock in and 1.25%. No joke. They were confident they could sell it quickly. It took slightly less than a week. But my market is a fast moving one. The property slump has skipped my area. Since the height of the market our property has gone up in value.

Original poster

Witchathulu · 15/10/2011 15:23

It's here - things seem to be shifting ok down here, and the prices don't seem to have dropped either, but then we're prime commuter turf. I'd be interested to see what you make of ours - but be kind, please! :o

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woodleydoodle · 16/10/2011 02:14

Great building. We share a similar taste in home decor.
Love to see musical instruments in a home!

You really need to have more interior shots. If I was a prospective buyer I'd wonder why they weren't there. I'd probably assume the worst.

As 'me' I'd like to see them to see if they are as nice as the other rooms. x

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