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Original poster

Selling a concrete house - anyone got any experience or advice?

35 replies

newnamenewyear · 09/01/2022 03:16

I live in a pre-cast concrete ex-council house. I own it outright -- I don't have a mortgage on it. I've been here a fair while.

I'd like to move now, but I don't know if I'll be able to sell. I plan to speak to some local agents, but I thought I'd ask here if anyone knows what to expect?

I understand PRC houses were easier to sell a few years ago but it's really hard to get mortgages these days, so it'd need to be a cash buyer, is that right?

Who would buy a concrete house for cash, is there a market for it?

I found some for sale on Rightmove, so I'm keeping an eye on them to see if they actually sell

This first one is similar in layout to mine, a 1930s council house (mine is more modern inside).

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/117861557#/?channel=RES_BUY

I also found these, all "cash only" PRC construction.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/117586073#/?channel=RES_BUY

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/118292630#/?channel=RES_BUY

According to Property Tracker (a Chrome extension), this one's been on the market since June and they've knocked £50K off: www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/110935115#/?channel=RES_BUY

Can anyone offer any hope or am I screwed / stuck here?! I'd be grateful for any advice.

OP posts:
BurgerOnTheOrientExpress · 09/01/2022 05:55

Everything sells at a price. Get 3 or 4 agents around and use the one that is most enthusiastic about your home. Agents don't know the value of your home, only the person that buys is knows the value ...to them.

In my view selling an expensive property is more difficult as there are less buyers with money than there are people at the bottom of the ladder.

The only piece of other advice is you need the agent to be focussed on their target market. My take on this would be to look at someone with no children downsizing; they would not be concerned about the long term residual value of your property but would benefit from the cash released by moving down.

flashbac · 09/01/2022 07:28

It might be worth talking to some of the house auction sites. You'll be appealing to developers really. Many can't be bothered with the length of time it takes to purchase a house the traditional way and like the certainty of 28 day completion.

MumOf21 · 09/01/2022 08:01

Locally this type of house gets put on the market for well below the prices quoted on Rightmove, on average for a Three bedroom Semi detached in the region of 75k, but l have known them to sell at Auction in the same area for around 40k, mainly as Buy to let Properties, but to have one renovated can be an expensive fix, and some landlords wait until they have bought a pair of adjoining Semis and demolish them to redevelop the site before selling on for a fair profit.
Some of them suffer from what is commonly known as ‘Concrete Cancer’ in the building trade, failure of the metal roads due to corrosion that hold the precast concrete sections together eventually ending in structural failure. There was an entire estate built like this near Buxton in Derbyshire. The Council tried to renovate them during the late 1970s and built a outer brick shell around each of them, but they were notorious for being Damp inside.
Last year they demolished the lot, and and are now erecting Timber framed new builds on the same site, and offering a choice of schemes to help provide Affordable homes and Flats, via part ownership, social housing, or first time buyer deals. Quite a few have been occupied already.

Didiusfalco · 09/01/2022 08:11

They do seem very hard to mortgage so I would say you need an estate agent who’s got good links with developers and by to let landlords as this is probably your market. Auction could be a good option.

Original poster
newnamenewyear · 09/01/2022 10:43

Thanks for the replies.

I can't afford to sell at any price. If selling means I can't afford to buy another house to house my DC then I'm stuffed aren't I?

I know the only definitive way I'll find out is to put it on the market, but I guess I need to know whether it's worth spend money making it attractive to buyers or just leave it as it is, looking tired and in need of decoration, because only developers will be interested.

The kind of people buying into the area almost all seem to be families with school age DC or younger.

I can only find one house locally that's sold recently that I think may also be concrete though. Might see what I can find out about that.

OP posts:
Bluntness100 · 09/01/2022 10:46

Have you had it valued? It seems it’s got two strikes against it, the concrete build and it’s tired and needing decorating inside.

I’d get some agents in and ask for realistic pricing.

Original poster
newnamenewyear · 09/01/2022 10:52

No, I plan to, but asking on here first so I can get an idea of what to expect and what I should be aiming for.

I don't particularly trust agents to advise me in my best interests. Their best interests are to get a quick sale. My best interests are to sell it for as much as I can.

OP posts:
Original poster
newnamenewyear · 09/01/2022 10:55

Last time I got a property values, I got 4 agents in. Only the old school, local, not very flashy agent gave me a realistic price (£250k, what it sold for in the end). The other 3 massively over inflated the price, to try to get my custom I reckon, and also they were playing a game to try to put prices up locally. I saw properties with them stay on the market a long time, while we were selling.

OP posts:
Original poster
newnamenewyear · 09/01/2022 10:58

Last time we sold, we decorated the house before sake, it looked beautiful.

I could do this here, but I don't know if it's be worth it - possibly not. I don't want to chuck good money after bad. But also, if the market here is young families then maybe making it nice for them is my best bet.

OP posts:
Bluntness100 · 09/01/2022 10:59

Op your posts are contradictory. Pricing for a quick sale means pricing low. Yet you then post about pricing high.

Agents generally try to keep the market high, and they also try to inflate as you said to keep the custom. Just get some agents in to quote.

lastqueenofscotland · 09/01/2022 11:01

The agents best interest will be to sell it for as much as they can too - the commission is a % of the sale price.

How much do you need compared to a house of the same size of standard construction?

Whinge · 09/01/2022 11:04

Op your posts are contradictory. Pricing for a quick sale means pricing low. Yet you then post about pricing high.

Yes OPs posts don't make sense. Confused

Original poster
newnamenewyear · 09/01/2022 11:28

@Whinge

Op your posts are contradictory. Pricing for a quick sale means pricing low. Yet you then post about pricing high.

Yes OPs posts don't make sense. Confused

Sorry, I should have explained that better!

My point is, agents work in their own self interest, not yours.

What usually works best for them in terms of making money is not pricing high, as you might think, but pricing for a quick sale then moving on to their next commission.

However, where I was selling before (a while ago now!) was in a part of London that was going through gentrification. The government had just changed the stamp duty threshold IIRC so it went up at £250k.

It was a competitive market and the agents quoted high both, I believe, to get my custom, and also.as it was a rising market, they wanted to help push prices up so they could make more money.

I got 4 quotes, one came in at £250k, two at £279k and one at £290k. They were pie in the sky I went for the middle quote, but quickly discovered nothing was selling at that price, there was no history of it at all. I dropped to £250k asking price and sold it. Had I held on a year, I would have sold it for that no problem. The house prices doubled in 5 years there, the agents knew they were onto a good thing and did their best to get prices to go up.

They were specific circumstances though, I don't live in London in a rising market now. I live in an old council estate in a small town, in an area with good schools and amenities for families.

Although the two examples are different, what's the same is the agents act in their own interests. People assume because they're on commission they're on your side but it's a bit more complicated than that IMO.

OP posts:
Original poster
newnamenewyear · 09/01/2022 11:32

@lastqueenofscotland

The agents best interest will be to sell it for as much as they can too - the commission is a % of the sale price.

How much do you need compared to a house of the same size of standard construction?

Good question, that's what I need to work out, isn't it.

A house like mine if made of brick would probably be about £290k I think.

I'd like to make £250k. I would probably accept £220k. Any less than that, we might as well stay put.

I have no idea if these prices are at all realistic.

OP posts:
Cattitudes · 09/01/2022 11:36

How much land is around your house and do you think your neighbours might be interested in selling too if they are owner occupiers? I wonder whether if it was sold together possibly with outline planning permission for more than two houses (presuming you are in an area where land has some value) it might be worth more than just selling the house as it is.

Jennalong · 09/01/2022 11:40

If you have sold a previous house then purchased your current one . Did you get a mortgage for it or were you a cash buyer ?
All the ones I've known were cash buys or ones that had been redone with the necessary work to remove the outer walls ( or whatever they do )

NotDavidTennant · 09/01/2022 11:40

Are there many other PRC houses in your area? Could you look through Rightmove sold prices to see if you can find other similar properties that have sold in the last few years?

Original poster
newnamenewyear · 09/01/2022 11:44

Thanks, interesting idea! I love your approach, thinking around the problem. Sadly, our garden is tiny.

I believe my neighbour may be thinking of selling in the next year or so, though, could be worth a conversation maybe... I think I want to sell before them, but if I find it impossible I might be still stuck here then anyway.

AFAIK, they have a mortgage that they got years ago, when lenders were still lending on concrete houses. I don't know if they realise how hard it may be to sell.

OP posts:
Original poster
newnamenewyear · 09/01/2022 11:45

That was to Cattitudes

OP posts:
Original poster
newnamenewyear · 09/01/2022 11:45

@Jennalong

If you have sold a previous house then purchased your current one . Did you get a mortgage for it or were you a cash buyer ? All the ones I've known were cash buys or ones that had been redone with the necessary work to remove the outer walls ( or whatever they do )
I bought it cash.
OP posts:
Jennalong · 09/01/2022 11:47

Ah . Was it a cash buyer only on the details ?

Original poster
newnamenewyear · 09/01/2022 11:47

@NotDavidTennant

Are there many other PRC houses in your area? Could you look through Rightmove sold prices to see if you can find other similar properties that have sold in the last few years?
Yes, lots. I think a fair few of them are still council owned though.

I can only see one that's actually sold recently, I suspect it's concrete but not sure.

OP posts:
Original poster
newnamenewyear · 09/01/2022 11:49

@Jennalong

Ah . Was it a cash buyer only on the details ?
No it wasn't. It was possible to get mortgages on them back then. My next door neighbour's house is identical and they have a mortgage.

They wouldn't be able to get a new one now though I don't think.

OP posts:
Original poster
newnamenewyear · 09/01/2022 11:52

And it was a few years after we moved here that our neighbours got a mortgage.

OP posts:
Yarnivore · 09/01/2022 11:56

Have you thought about having it assessed by a structural engineer?

I believe you can get PRC houses certified and mortgageable, and this would probably be a better use of money than any interior updates.