Page 32 | Anyone fancy starting a Sellers support thread?

JT05 · 09/03/2016 07:14

Marestail house pricing seems to depend on so many different factors.

Straight forward comparison for most properties, but for individual houses in specific locations it can be a bit of a guessing game, within a price range.

Our pricing was difficult because of the huge development potential within original footprint, an already unusual layout and a mature garden with several trees. All of this some people liked and others hated!

In the end we have sold at a price which found its own level, within the range we would accept. In the end a property is only worth what someone will pay. Good luck, I'm sure a buyer will come along soon.

StepAwayFromTheThesaurus · 09/03/2016 09:56

There seems to be quite a big variation in how good EAs are at predicting prices for the local market. You'd think that would be the core thing they'd need to be able to do, but some of them seem to be quite bad at it. Sure, it's a bit of an imprecise art, but it's is really the key to the whole thing.

We had several agents round to value our house and there was £45k between the highest and lowest valuation (which is a lot on a £270k house). The lowest one was weirdly low. I'm not convinced the guy knew his arse from his elbow, not least because he brought completely inappropriate 'comparables' with him to base his valuation off. He was looking at the sales prices of 3 bedroom houses with no kitchen extension rather than the sold prices of the houses with 4 bedrooms and/or kitchen extensions on this street. The other agents were quite close together but it turned out that the highest valuation was the best prediction.

I think it can be hard if viewers think the house needs new kitchens and bathrooms (and presumably other work too). It does put people off and lots of people don't necessarily have the cash to do anything other than move in when they buy.

Rowgtfc72 · 09/03/2016 10:28

Phonecall from the solicitor this morning to say can't complete Monday as buyers survey not back yet.

Phonecall from estate agent to say buyer would like to have the keys Monday but estate agent promises not to release them untill we complete.

Letting agent told to retrieve their to let sign from our garden and take listing off Facebook.

Were still moving Fri as van booked and time off work arranged. I'm now out of pocket an extra weeks mortgage and having to insure two properties.

JT05 · 09/03/2016 11:10

Sorry to hear that Row. They've left their survey a bit late? I'm not surprised you are angry.

StepAwayFromTheThesaurus · 09/03/2016 11:23

That's very annoying row. I can't believe they had the cheek to ask for the keys on Monday anyway. Clearly they don't care about the survey, since they're already (prematurely) advertising it for rent. So what are they playing at?

Rowgtfc72 · 09/03/2016 17:20

Estate agent thinks it may still complete Mon. Spoke to dh, it wasn't the survey but the searches and as they don't expect a problem they are trying to move it on a bit.
It's still on Facebook and there's a message on their page asking when it can be viewed

Palomb · 09/03/2016 20:12

We accepted our offer yesterday and the offer we had put on the one we loved was accepted this afternoon. I'm now absolutely terrified about all the things that can go wrong from here on!

StepAwayFromTheThesaurus · 09/03/2016 20:32

That's great Palomb. Sometimes these things actually go very smoothly, so it may not be hideous.

I hope it does all happen on Monday, row. it's the dragging out that's so awful. I'm Scottish so I still find the whole English house selling and buying system ridiculous. It's so much more stressful and fraught than it needs to be.

WhispersOfWickedness · 11/03/2016 17:16

Hi all, I'm tentatively lurking, after 12 years I have halfway persuaded my DH to consider moving. He struggles a bit with change understatement of the century, so far I have persuaded him to get the house valued and have a look at a few places just to see if we can afford to move. I'm not holding my breath yet, but this is the furthest I have ever managed to get him to go with moving house, so fingers crossed Had the house valued yesterday, it seems to be worth about 20% more than we expected, which is brilliant, and we are going to see something on Sunday which is awful at the moment, but looks like it might have potential I do think we will struggle to find somewhere as we are only looking in two villages, one of which is the one we are currently in and there isn't the housing stock there that we would like (we are upsizing), so there's not a lot to choose from
It's been fascinating to read all your stories, I have no direct experience of buying/selling houses as I only ever rented until I moved in with DH Good luck to everyone!

JT05 · 11/03/2016 17:26

We have just exchanged!! I can hardly believe it! The buyers faffed around for days gathering the deposit! It was a lot of money, but we expected her to have it ready sitting in one account. Very concerned at about 2 pm today - then it all happened.

Off to the buyers thread. Wishing everyone the best and good out comes.

StepAwayFromTheThesaurus · 11/03/2016 19:14

Excellent, JT05. You must be so relieved.

Good luck Whispers. Well managed to sell pretty easily (well in principle, conveyancing is ongoing) but we cannot find something to buy. It's a nightmare. We've decided to write personal letters and drop them off at all the suitable houses where we're looking in the hope that someone's been thinking about selling but haven't thought anyone would be interested. Things are that bad.

JT05 · 11/03/2016 20:03

Thanks Step and thanks to everyone, this thread has really helped.

We were also looking where there are few houses on the market and we're going to letter as well. Then the one we're going for came back on the market. Hopefully it will go to completion .

Hope it works out whispers, my DH can take some persuading at times.

WhispersOfWickedness · 11/03/2016 20:07

Thank you both
Great news J! I bet you are relieved There's also a buyers thread?!

WhispersOfWickedness · 11/03/2016 20:29

It's ok, I found it, that's my next several nights reading sorted

Rowgtfc72 · 12/03/2016 08:58

Great news JT05 !
We got a phonecall Thurs to say the buyer wanted to complete and exchange on the 18th. Er... Thought we had, were moving tomorrow! Turns out we hadnt- wires crossed and all that- but we have now and complete next Fri.
We moved yesterday and will clean the old house this weekend and pass the keys to the Estate agent.
We complete on the one we moved into around the same time( half mine but under probate- waiting for freehold paperwork)
Fingers crossed by the end of march this whole nightmare will be over!

Clockstooticky · 12/03/2016 10:28

Long complicated story but we had to cancel our survey and rebook with another company but I totally forgot to inform my vendors. I'd imagine they're hating me at the moment. She sat home all day waiting in for the surveyor. Should I be nice and and her some flowers or something to say sorry? They're being so reasonable.

JT05 · 12/03/2016 13:14

Oh dear Clock. I think a bunch of flowers would be a lovely gesture. Hope it all goes smoothly now.

lavendersun · 12/03/2016 13:28

Lots of movement on this thread. Our house sale seemed to stall for three weeks while the other side's solicitor did nothing, until a couple of days ago when I received three pages of questions, some of which are bordering on the ridiculous ... when was the oil tank filled, by whom and at what cost. What ????

One of my neighbours has a relative who would have loved to buy my house, met her in the shop yesterday and she told me that they would be really disappointed when she told them we were moving and had sold stc (no board up so you wouldn't know if you weren't looking and they didn't know).

Makes me feel more determined to say it is going back on the market if we haven't exchanged by Easter. Sick of it. Survey no 2 next week - bit like your's Clock but worse because I have had to put up with two of them.

In the meantime we are off, the packers arrive on Monday and I am sorting out like a mad thing this weekend.

Awful process.

Rowgtfc72 · 12/03/2016 20:19

Lavender, the list is amazing isn't it. We had to laugh at some of the questions.

From day 1 our buyer wanted us out for the 11th. So we moved hell and high water to do this and he still won't be ready till Fri. We moved as we were tired of waiting.
Good luck with the sorting!

StepAwayFromTheThesaurus · 12/03/2016 20:51

By whom is a lovely question. Do the buyers have a preference if it was Jim or Bob that filled it?

At least you'll both be actually moving soon.

I'm losing the will to keep going. I've been fighting with our new wireless printer to get it to print out letters for our please sell us you house mailshot attempt. It's all so bloody stressful. Hopefully some people are thinking about selling but haven't done anything about it yet and they'll contact us.

We filled in our paperwork for the solicitor. The property info and fixtures and fitting forms are a ridiculous amount of work, aren't they? Bleurgh.

listsandbudgets · 12/03/2016 22:18

I think we MIGHT exchange on Monday or Tuesday but I hold out no real hope.

Our buyer is kicking up a fuss because we can't provide the planning papers for the extension which is believed to have been put up in the 1940s or 1950s. She's insisting on an indemnity policy. We've refused to pay for it as it seems nonsensical when its been there so long but nontheless she's going ahead and getting one anyway. Last we heard was a call from the estate agents telling us that she says there are "certain criteria we need to fufill before the indemnity can be issued.... but she can't tell us what they are".

Very confused. Lets hope her solicitors give our solicitor some kind of useful detail. To be honest I think its her solicitors throwing this confusion into the mix rather than her... sometimes i wonder if solicitors get commission for these indemnity policies.

lavendersun · 13/03/2016 07:08

Thank you for making me smile ..... much needed. Lack of smile not helped by DH being away with work, the first time I will see him is at the new house so I have sole responsibility of dealing with the crap, both physical and otherwise.

I hope someone contacts you Step, look at the person who would have loved our house.

Lists, we reckon our house was last altered in the 40s too, we have been asked for planning permission and building regs approval. I can only think that their solicitor is inexperienced or a trainee or something. We seem to be having exactly the same sort of problem. I just told our solicitor 'as "our solicitor" acted for us on purchase I suggest that you review your old file. If you do not have it I certainly don't'. Yours pissed off Lavender.

I have just turned off the freezer and am actually going to see a friend who lives an hour away for cake mid morning.

goldenlilliesdaffodillies · 13/03/2016 09:09

We were asked for certificates for windows when they were installed many many years ago!

WhispersOfWickedness · 14/03/2016 07:17

Hi all, we viewed the house with potential, it is a lot of work, much much more than it should be to justify the price And even if they accepted a really low offer (about 20%) so we had enough to do the work, there would still be things we couldn't change that aren't great about it
So, there is one more house of the right size in budget in the village we are looking, so going to arrange to view that today and if that one's not suitable, we will just have to wait for more houses to come on the market

StepAwayFromTheThesaurus · 14/03/2016 12:36

That sounds really tough whispers. Maybe you could try leafleting the houses in the village? not that this appears to have worked for us

I think the whole asking for evidence of permissions and approvals has gotten a bit silly now. It seems to be bureaucracy for the sake of it, and I'm pretty convinced that the industry scheme for new windows is little more than a scam. So long as a surveyor has assured me that a house isn't going to fall down and it doesn't need work to make it safe and watertight, I don't think I care whether previous owners in the 80s (or before) had planning permission for something.