Buyers sellers roll call 11

[kerrymucklowe2020]

Here's the new ( last one for us eh @zebrahooves?)

*stilish - stylish even

@notangelinajolie it's so stressful sorting the house for viewings. I think if you were happy with the suggested asking price then just see what happens with the viewings, unfortunately it doesn't mean they'll translate to offers although hopefully they will. We had 18 viewings on ours before we got an offer, I'd convinced myself it was never going to happen!

@notangelinajolie please don’t stress! it sounds like you have a nice looking house at the right price. I think ours looks nicer in the photos but it is also an indication of what it could look like if it was always de cluttered and super tidy. I wouldn’t worry about people being disappointed with it in ‘real life’ they will make up their own minds and see the potential etc. Also if it really is underpriced then you might get a bidding war / offers over?

Hi. Can I join? Feeling very sad. We bought our London flat for 345k in 2016 just before the referendum and listed it for 375k just before lockdown. Had a few viewings then lockdown happened. Had more viewings June-August but not much. Lowered price. Didn't do much. Decided to take off the market and list in Autumn with another agent - it went back up at the end of September (at 325k) and since then we've had 2 viewings. One FTB couple who said they were interested but haven't heard back from, and one investor who had loads of other properties to choose from.

The market for flats at the moment is awful, hardly anything is selling and I'm feeling so sad about it. We don't have enough equity to let it out.

Just wanted to join in case others were in the same position.

@notangelinajolie - and breathe
I'm sure your house is lovely given the interest and people look beyond the carpets! It's the area they want most likely.
As to whether it's too low, if you're not in a hurry, you can wait to final offers if you want. Or you can accept for a quick sale. It's up to you.

Aww @Ryerossy that does sound rough. Is it a new build? The papers have done a good job highlighting the plight of the cladding issue/safe certs but as a result, have also scared the population about these flats.
There is a block near me which is stunning and a fair number are up for sale but not shifting. I met one such couple when they viewed mine (theirs is unsold).
I really do sympathise.

It isn't, no, it is a victorian conversion so luckily has escaped the nightmare that is cladding. One thing to be thankful for!

I really feel for you @Ryerossy. For that price, a Victorian conversion sounds like it should sell. It can only be these weird times we live in.

DH and I trying at the moment to decide if we should whack it right down to 300 to sell it or ride it out for another year in the hopes the market will get better. His point being that if we wait another year and it doesn't get better, we won't be any worse off than we are now (and will have more equity).

My fear is there will be a serious crash and we will be even worse off! So hard to know what to do isn't it. Thanks for the sympathy

If there is a serious crash, your next house will also be reduced - possibly by even more!
Actually I think your DH is possibly right. The London WFH thing is not going to last beyond Covid. It'll morph into a 3:2 type arrangement at most.

DH also says if there is a crash serious enough to land us in negative equity everything will be shit anyway and no one will be moving.

I am a very pessimistic person and panic so I am trying not to get ahead of myself right now. We are fine where we are for the moment so there is no real rush to move beyond me being worried about prices falling.

FX for a strong buying/selling week for all!

@notangelinajolie don't worry too much about the photos making it look nicer ! That's the case with my place too, but then I realised that it's the case with most places unless they are terrible photos. So everywhere those viewers have looked will be in the same boat.

There is another house for sale in our rod at a similar price and of course I've checked it out on Rightmove. In comparison it looks so much better than ours, but actually I don't think it is. It's just the photos!

Hope that makes sense

Hi everyone, may I join? Our house has gone on the market and were hopeful for a quick sale as others down our street seem to have been snapped up. Viewings have been paused while we've waited for school social bubble isolation to pass and in the meantime we've put an offer in an had it accepted. Not really sure if that was the right way round in doing things.

Am a bit nervous as we're on the verge of a local lockdown, with CV rates soaring locally so I'm hoping that won't affect things too badly. I think viewings can still go ahead.

Am hoping too our past, now resolved, neighbour issues won't put too much of a spanner in the works.

Notangelina with that much interest you'd hope to go to best and final. Low pricing will get lots of people in.

Crankysaurus we live in an area under local lockdown and viewings have been going ahead throughout, albeit restricted to two people at a time.

Thanks Schmoody, we've been doing brief viewings with just the two of us to date so that seems to be the way things are for now. Think the DC might just have to wait till we've actually got keys in our hand to see where we move to.

If DC are little it doesn't really matter. Ours are teens so EA let them go round by themselves. Also offered to do two appointments so one parent could go round with one child, so long as appointments weren't back to back because reasons. For another much more in demand property, we were told they could see it if our offer was accepted and property was counted as SSTC.

I haven't exchanged (hoping this happens this week.......)

But I am packing. I am optimistically packing.

How on earth do people pack a whole house full? We can't afford packers so we are definitely doing the move ourselves with family help - but my goodness I have done so many massive boxes and there is still so much to go.

Also I am sure that when someone lifts one of my boxes everything is just going to fall out the bottom anyway

We did it ourselves last time @Talia78. It was the amount of bubble wrap we used that blew my mind!

Speaking of which, how much do removals firms charge to pack and move in the SE? I realise I am counting my chickens given we haven't even exchanged yet!

That's really useful to know, Schmoody, they're a teen and pre-teen so would be fine to look round with Covid precautions in place, and it would help with the eldest's ASD spectrum nerves about moving.

We've moved house ourselves before with a hired van but from rented so over the course of weeks. Thinking of getting a storage container to fill for a week or two beforehand to reduce everything that needs moving in one day.

@Talia78

I haven't exchanged (hoping this happens this week.......)

But I am packing. I am optimistically packing.

How on earth do people pack a whole house full? We can't afford packers so we are definitely doing the move ourselves with family help - but my goodness I have done so many massive boxes and there is still so much to go.

Also I am sure that when someone lifts one of my boxes everything is just going to fall out the bottom anyway

We will be doing it ourselves and I have to admit the thought is making me want to vomit. I haven't even started yet (we haven't got an exchange date yet but hopefully not too far off) because I'm worried I might curse things I'm so worried we won't get it all done in time though!

We had a couple of quotes £1200 for a average 3 bed semi - but this wasn't including packing- and it also included leaving a lot of furniture.

The storage unit is a good idea

...and our boiler has just broken. I literally can't believe it. It's old, but we had it serviced just two/three weeks ago to prove it was perfectly good for sale. Then tonight, bam. FGS

I will not sleep tonight. Arghhh. What. Do. I . Do??!!! Help!!!

I've got three properties on the market as I'm moving to London and my detached four bed with pool would only buy me a one bedder in London! First flat went under offer to first viewer and seems to be progressing which is just as well as I have a nightmare tenant who stopped paying rent after the second month - a con artist as he moved in during lockdown and had no issues due to covid he's just chancing it. Another flat s on the market and tenant initially wanted to stay until I exchanged but has since found a place to rent so is moving out now, so I'm losing that rent too. The upstairs flat has a leak in the kitchen and the landlord is being really slow about fixing it so I havent been able to redecorate which doesn't give a good impression.
My own family home is on the market now. Viewers from London last weekend. I feel a bit guilty as we will have to go in to rental as my daughter is taking her GCSEs this year so can't move until they are over. I have dogs so it's not going to be easy to find someplace.
I'm excited about the move and keen to get it all settled. Maintaining the house in showroom condition is extremely hard as we are not naturally tidy people. Thd good thing is I have got all those niggling jobs done. The house is over 140 years old but I have done a lot of remedial work so the new owner should be comfortable. I'm even replacing my dishwasher as it has not been performing well and leaking causing the wood units to swell. It will all be taken care of however. I would never feel comfortable disguising issues from a new owner.