Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Property/DIY

Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

Original poster

22 viewings....only 2 (rubbish) offers

39 replies

sianyb83 · 03/08/2020 18:11

Our house is quite niche so never expected quick or easy sell...
but peeved at estate agent letting so many people in who are clearly property-tyre-kickers.
4 more viewings tomorrow but frankly sick of it and wondering whether to take it off the market if tomorrows viewings don't amount to anything?

OP posts:
Moomin12345 · 03/08/2020 18:20

Don't know how long it's been, but if the offers are all "rubbish", then your price is too high. The estate agent is not a wizard.

Shadowboy · 03/08/2020 18:21

I know the feeling! We’ve not had as many viewings but have also had no offers. Despite price reductions, not a sniff of an offer.

kerrymucklowe2020 · 03/08/2020 18:22

Does your EA properly "vet" all buyers before the view ( I told mine to, still git a couple of time wasters but managed to weed a few out )

IAintentDead · 03/08/2020 18:23

You can instruct the EA that viewings are only available to those who have already got their home on the market. Many do,

MartinJD1976 · 03/08/2020 18:25

how far are the offers away from the price you're willing to accept?

HardAsSnails · 03/08/2020 18:28

I wouldn't be restrictive tbh. Out of 3 property purchases 2 were where I could have been deemed a 'property-tyre-kicker'.

Sometimes it's when you're not really looking seriously, but have some spare time to view, that you find the perfect house (happened to me with current house).

daisydalrymple · 03/08/2020 18:30

How long have you been on the market and have the viewings all taken place since lock down eased, or over a longer time frame?

We put Dad’s house on the market literally the week lockdown started. We’ve had 6 viewings since it eased and two offers. 1 was 10% below asking, and we accepted the 6% below asking.

The EA said they were in the process of contacting everyone on the market with them and recommending prices be reduced by up to 10%, depending on original value.

I think it largely friends on location though, as the market seems to be steaming ahead in some areas.

daisydalrymple · 03/08/2020 18:31

*Depends on location NOT *friends 🤦🏻‍♀️😂

DogInATent · 03/08/2020 18:47

Give your EA stronger directions, they're there to work for you. Make it clear that you will not be measuring their success by the total number of viewings but by only those viewings from serious buyers.

And ask your EA what the level of offers is on other properties in the area relative to the asking prices.

Lifeisconfusing · 03/08/2020 18:48

@sianyb83 post the house and I will try and help you. Sometimes it’s best to having other people’s opinions when selling your house

Grgyuhgdetujjbdww · 03/08/2020 19:02

Do estate agents vet viewers? And what do you mean by rubbish offers, how much below asking? Is house possibly overpriced?

HooseDilemma · 03/08/2020 19:07

Also if your house is genuinely unusual (as Mumsnetter's houses always seem to be), then lots of people will view but then not proceed. They will need to view in order to work out whether they can live with whatever it is that makes your house unusual.

This is what selling a "not easy" to sell house is like. If you can't be bothered at the moment, take it off the market.

JoJoSM2 · 03/08/2020 19:12

It just sounds like a lot of people viewing but overpriced so ‘only’ 2 offers.

No point disparaging the people coming for viewings just get a bit more realistic about the pricing.

1WildTeaParty · 03/08/2020 19:16

22 people looked - so your house sounds good in the EA's details.

They mostly didn't offer - which suggests (not that they are all bored and go to view houses as a hobby) that there is a difference between what is in the information and what it is really like.

Ask for honest feedback - and listen to it. (People are usually too kind.)

Hardbackwriter · 03/08/2020 19:19

This is what selling a "not easy" to sell house is like. If you can't be bothered at the moment, take it off the market.

I think this is true, sadly. We put ours on the market in February, accepted an offer just before lockdown, moved in June. We had a similar number of viewings to you (I think 24), four offers (one of which we briefly took house off market for until it turned out they had lied and weren't proceedable, so it went straight back on). Our issue was that it was a lovely house with two unchangeable drawbacks: the area was a bit scuzzy and people hated the parking situation. Because of these two things it was priced cheaply for the wider area (it was on for £290k when almost everything of a similar size in that town within walking distance of the station was well over £300k, often near £350k - obviously we'd bought it for cheaper in the first place due to the same issues) so loads of people were interested but then came to see it and were put off by the parking. I asked the estate agent about dropping the price and he said that would get even more people through the door but they'd be even less serious. It was so frustrating endlessly cleaning the house for people who then said they weren't interested because of something that was totally obvious from the listing, but in the end we sold to a cash buyer for £287k, which we were very happy with - annoying as it was, we did just need to hang on in there.

2bazookas · 03/08/2020 19:24

Make your EA earn his fee. Even a failed viewing can be useful.

One of the tasks expected is that EAwill contact every viewer after the visit to ask how it went, what were their impressions, why they are not interested etc.

That feedback can be very useful to the seller.

 I
Hardbackwriter · 03/08/2020 19:28

Also 'in the end' for us was only five weeks, with that few days off the market for the offer that turned out to be a waste of time. It just felt like forever while we had to keep keeping the place clean and taking the toddler out of the way for viewings. So it wasn't actually unusually slow to sell, but having so many viewings that didn't go anywhere made it feel it.

tara66 · 03/08/2020 19:42

Don't let EA bring viewers who are not genuine buyers or who don't have the finances to make the purchase. Tell EA you don't want any ''browsers'' -people just looking around. Some EA seem to think you should be grateful for them just bringing bodies through the door. They will then say '' You've had xx number of viewers but no offers so you need to drop the price''.

Original poster
sianyb83 · 03/08/2020 21:07

@tara66

I feel estate agent uses it as an opportunity to bring in new listings...as let them browse a house they like, then say 'you need to get yours listed' etc

OP posts:
Pollypocket89 · 03/08/2020 21:08

How far away are the offers from your asking price, op?

Original poster
sianyb83 · 03/08/2020 21:12

I don't think the price is too high...
We bought the house 'cheap' as it had been rented out for several years and in bad repair.

We bought for 450k in Dec 2017, we've spent 33k on double glazing throughout (inc 3 sets of French doors and front door, new flooring throughout, oak internal doors, replastering, redecoration, new kitchen oak worktops etc

It was valued at 565k, but we put on for 525k expecting 500ish.

We had an offer today for what we paid for it!!!

I was annoyed the agent even put it forward to me and hadn't managed the expectation of the prospective buyer enough to say we would be receptive to that level of offer.

OP posts:
Pollypocket89 · 03/08/2020 21:14

Is all that you've done to it work 110k - 75k?

Original poster
sianyb83 · 03/08/2020 21:22

based on average sq foot pricing for the area, the house would be 600k

it frustrating that the fact that we bought it cheaply is devaluing it!

OP posts:
Pizzapromotion · 03/08/2020 21:24

Yes, we sold a house with slightly difficult parking. There was plenty of it but it was a short walk from the house. The price reflected this and it was a lovely house, so I think we had a lot of buyers attracted by the nice house going cheap who had either ignored the parking situation or were hoping it wasn't as bad as it sounded.

The people who visited but didn't offer always said it was because of the parking, which was very clear in the EA's details, so I don't think they were really at fault.

If this property has drawbacks are they in the EA's details? As a buyer I am often frustrated by particulars that make a house look or sound a lot better than it is. I don't think that helps anyone.

Original poster
sianyb83 · 03/08/2020 21:26

@hardbackwriter

this is exactly our issue - we have some large trees near us, and restricted parking...

The right move picture look great so I guess that generates the interest and then people point our the 2 major faults with the house.

We're like, yes - we know!

Estate agent has given me same bit of feedback for 90% of the viewings!

I have a 9 month old, 6 year old and a full time job - so its annoying going to the effort of sorting the house every few days...

We have more booked in tomorrow

OP posts: