So angry at estate agent. Should I do anything?

[TerrysNo2]

We put our house on the market last week using the price the estate agent recommended and we have had about 20 viewings in the last week but no offers.

Today one of the agents said to me it might be priced a bit high, I replied that they told us what price to use

What should we do? Drop the price straight away or leave it a bit longer. Its currently on at £340k and so I assume we'd need to drop it to 320-325k.

We're not in a massive rush to move but DS is starting school in September and we're moving area so I would like to be moved before then.

sorry if this post is a bit messy, I need a rant and maybe some positive suggestions / thoughts. Its constantly on my mind at the moment and I am losing sleep over this

Thanks!

[SmellieWellies]

Oooh, that makes me so mad when agents tell you one thing and then say another! I put my little flat out to rent, and took the advice of the EA about the price, and then he came back and said in a sort of patronising manner 'it really is a little bit too high you know', like it was MY greed at fault!!!!! I went by HIS advice. TBH, I was so mad that i dumped them and went to another agent entirely in a rage. And yes, it is now on for about 15% less.

But agree with other posters- don't reduce after a week, give it a bit longer yet.

[shameless plea for a PM photo. I LOVE houses too. ]

[PaythePiper]

I haven't seen the "before" pictures or even the pics of the whole house but I am going to be brutally honest and say that I would consider the lounge to still be cluttered based on the photo you provided. Take ALL the DVDs off the shelf and other stuff and at least half the books and pack them away. You can always get them out again if you need to once you have sold. And most definitely put away all the family photos and pics of kids- people need to imagine themselves living there and seeing your photos interferes with that mental image straight away.

[TerrysNo2]

jayne and smellie I have PM-ed you

pay I don't want to take down all our photos as we are still living here but I do agree with you so I think I will remove some of them. I don't agree with removing the DVD's and books though, one of the things I liked when I viewed the house was that the shelves could be used for that and so I have tried to take away the big imposing items without leaving the shelves bare. Does anyone else think I should clear it all? If there is a consensus against me I will have a rethink

[thebestpossibletaste]

Terrys, I don't think you need to put away everything, it is still a home and you are giving viewers an idea of what it can look like. You just need to avoid the cluttered "this house is really small" look!

I agree, put away some of the photos but leave out some, just not an overpowering amount. Also agree that some DVDs on the shelves are fine, that's what shelves are for, just make sure they're not cluttered and untidy. I just think bright toy boxes in the living room indicate that you are lacking storage and the eye is drawn to them, they don't look good, you want a neutral calm look.

[TerrysNo2]

Thanks thebest I think we will have to leave the red toybox out as otherwise there will be no toys left in the living room for the DC. We are having some bulk viewings on Saturday though so I might just pop it in the car then!

[SoupDragon]

You are selling a family home and, IMO, you need to present it as a family home. So, some pictures toys etc are perfectly acceptable provided they are neatly stored and not over crowded. You don't need to completely blandify * it.

• made up word.

[karron]

We had a biggish box that we dumped some odds and ends before a viewing: photos, books we were reading, toys that wouldn't fit in draws and hid it in the boot of the car (along with the dirty washing).

I also moved some of the furniture around so that the rooms looked more spacious and then moved it back after the viewing. Bit of a bind before a viewing but we never had more than 3 in a week. We only had 7 viewings in total though. Can't imagine doing it 20 times!

[PaythePiper]

I guess one person's "blandify" is another person's blank canvas. I just know when I go into a house and see photos, it immediately suggests to me that the owner is somehow still staking a claim to it in some way and it always puts me off. I know it is a home and you are still living there but you are trying to sell it.

And yes, the obvious choice of what could go on the shelves is DVDs and books but I think by leaving stuff there you are effectively limiting the ability of people to imagine their own belongings there (what if for example they have a massive collection of tiny unicorn figurines they want to display?) This is just my opinion, of course, I totally understand your p.o.v.

[ILikeToMowIt]

echo the agents only work for themselves!

when we sold ours two years ago, we had 3 quotes, ended up going with the middle ground. national agent, but with strong local office. they were ok at the start, but also started whining about the price after a week. we had actually found a buyer on the 2nd day, but as they had to sell their own house, they were in no position to make an offer on ours. we ended up selling to our 3rd buyer, after having 2 chains collapse. along the process the agents tried several times to nudge us down. esp when their fees are set, they just want to sell asap. as i haven't seen your pics, and don't know where you are etc, i can't comment on whether your house is overpriced, but a week is ery short regardless, and i think i would stick it out for a while.
can i have a pm too? i love houses

[SoupDragon]

And yes, the obvious choice of what could go on the shelves is DVDs and books

Not necessarily - the number of times I've discovered that a shelf is slightly too small for a DVD/standard book is ridiculous.

I still maintain that there is no need to "blandify" it because the house has been on the market for just one week - different methods may be needed if it lingers for months and months.

[clam]

I think people can take the 'decluttering' too far sometimes, and end up with a house that looks cold and uninviting. I saw one recently that I assumed was empty - literally nothing on the surfaces in the kitchen, but it turned out they'd cleared everything away to sell. I hated it.

So I think a few photos and CDs/ornaments is fine. Show-homes for new-builds have fake possessions around for a reason.

[TerrysNo2]

Thanks pay I really do value other opinions so its useful to know yours, I think I will leave them up there for now but if things don't improve after this weekend then I will definitely reconsider!

The agent has said they have already booked a few viewings in for Saturday so I'm hoping to get everything done for then and then not have to do anymore

Iliketomowit have PM-ed you!

[Viviennemary]

I don't think dropping the price would make a huge difference because people will make a lower offer anyway. So unless somebody was going to take say £40,000 off which they probably wouldnt be I'd just leave it for a bit longer. And I agree that you wouldn't even get 20 people through the door if it was very overpriced. It's just a difficult market.

[ILikeToMowIt]

Thanks Terrys. Have sent reply! Lovely house!
WRT price. A house is obviously worth only what someone is willing to pay for it. I have heard that if you get viewers but no offers, you'd be overpriced by 5%, but I think that is not necessarily true- it is not like buyers always pay asking price...

[MarthasHarbour]

I think family photos are nice too, it certainly doesnt put me off a place. Agree that it shouldnt be overload (my friend has an entire wall of family pics - lovely if it is your home but a bit OTT if you are selling!)

Good luck for Saturday - that is sounding positive. Oh and are your EA's showing the buyers round? We sold ours within a week but had about 5/6 viewings. We only did one of the viewings ourselves - and guess who bought the house... I think it is because it had the personal touch, the buyers got to ask us lots of questions that the EA wouldnt know, and i gave them a feel of how the house had worked as a family home i-also had DS all cute and bathed in his jim jams watching the gruffalo with his teddy bear and hot chocolate just before bed

[cjel]

I wouldn't drop price yet.If people want it - and you have had lots of viewings at that price, I was told my last house would get about 700,000. I thought more and put is up for 780.000 and sold it for 760.000 first day on market. It hasn't been long and people will make offers if they want it for less.

[TerrysNo2]

Hello all!

We have moved the beds round, DH was utterly grumpy about it all (he always is when DIY is involved ) but we did it and DS's old room looks loads bigger.

We just need to take some boxes to storage now and have a little clear out of the cellar and I think we will be ready for Saturdays viewings!

I did one viewing today myself (agent cock up) and she wants to bring her husband back on Saturday, so thats positive!

Thanks everyone who commented for your help. MN can be a tough place sometimes but this reminds me just why I use it and will continue to do so.

[MaryBS]

Hope it all goes well :)

[SoupDragon]

Will that be your first "second viewing"? Sounds like the effort has been worth it.

[MarthasHarbour]

Ah thats brilliant - see i told you we could do it better than the Estate Agents!! As i say you get the homely feel when the vendors show you round. We bought from a viewing with the vendors rather than the EAs - she told me that she was getting pissed off with the EAs as the feedback was always something she could have dealt with on the day

[TerrysNo2]

soup this will be our 3rd second viewing, we had one last week and the guy just put an offer on another house nearby as he preferred that its a newer house and then 2 second viewings on Saturday.

I'm a bit gutted as the house we wanted to buy has gone under offer but there may be a glimmer of chance as the buyers are in a chain of 5 and I don't think chains are that stable these days. I don't want to wish badly upon them though, so lets see!

[TerrysNo2]

estate agent has retaken the photos, if I sent you the link, what do you think??

[SmellieWellies]

please send!!!!

[MarthasHarbour]

WHERE IS MY LINK???

[MarthasHarbour]

Arrggghhh that posted too soon! I meant to say...

WHERE IS MY LINK??