Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

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

Buyers pulled out - what now?

33 replies

LaBelleSauvage123 · 16/10/2023 22:05

I am selling my uncle’s house on his behalf - he is in a nursing home and I have POA. It’s a large character property in the West Country with half an acre of garden, but needs a bit of work. It went on the market in March for 800K which was mid/ upper range of the valuations we were given. Two months later it was reduced to £750K and we accepted an offer of £700K. Two weeks ago the buyers pulled out because of problems with their own sale. In the meantime we have been clearing out the house, so it doesn’t look as it did in the sale photos.
I’m not sure what to do next. My uncle is incredibly fortunate not to need to sell to pay for his care, but obviously doesn’t want to be paying for the upkeep of a house he’s not living in. Should I take it off the market for a while? Clear it out completely? Put it back on at a lower price? Just for context, the valuations we had had a range of £30OK (I think mainly because the garden could have development potential).
Any advice appreciated.

OP posts:
Antst · 16/10/2023 22:14

Hard to empathize. He doesn't need the money, but put it on the market at the upper end of the range, apparently hoping to land his neighbours with new development in the garden! It's a modern-day Aesop's fable.

The problem with overpricing is that there is less choice when it comes to buyers.

As long as the work you're currently doing has not damaged/changed the house, I see no reason not to use the original photos, but maybe include a couple of current photos for comparison. I think the secret is not to be greedy and to hope people won't wonder why the price has dropped.

There's enough of a housing shortage all over the West Country that I doubt it won't sell. It can't be priced ridiculously though.

Original poster
LaBelleSauvage123 · 16/10/2023 22:35

Not asking for empathy, just advice! It’s not quite as black and white as you make out - we could have applied for planning permission for development in the garden but didn’t because of the neighbours - but the agents we went with suggested that the value of the house was higher because of the large plot, which a buyer might decide to develop, subject to PP.

OP posts:
Antst · 16/10/2023 22:42

LaBelleSauvage123 · 16/10/2023 22:35

Not asking for empathy, just advice! It’s not quite as black and white as you make out - we could have applied for planning permission for development in the garden but didn’t because of the neighbours - but the agents we went with suggested that the value of the house was higher because of the large plot, which a buyer might decide to develop, subject to PP.

You're making a distinction without a difference. You're choosing to land the neighbours with development however you package it. You know you are.

You got greedy and here's the result.

Original poster
LaBelleSauvage123 · 16/10/2023 22:44

So you think we should have gone with the agents who gave us the lowest valuation?

OP posts:
Original poster
LaBelleSauvage123 · 16/10/2023 22:46

And I’ve no idea whether the person who buys it will build on the land. It’s not straightforward at all - issues with access etc. So ‘choosing to land the neighbours with development’ is simply not true.

OP posts:
Antst · 16/10/2023 22:58

LaBelleSauvage123 · 16/10/2023 22:44

So you think we should have gone with the agents who gave us the lowest valuation?

Setting the price too high is a classic mistake. If you have to lower the price, then people are going to wonder what's wrong with the place. If you're in an area where there's a housing shortage, someone will buy it but you may not get what you wanted for it.

You have agency. You don't have to screw the neighbours by selling it to developers. Do you know for sure whether someone will sell it on? No. But you can do your best and make the decision based on the information you have. It's not hard to spot the people who are likely to want it for a home versus those who are out to do harm. You keep talking about irrelevancies like access. Sorry, but you know exactly what you're doing.

You got greedy and this uncertainty is the consequence. If you had set a reasonable price to begin with, you wouldn't be in this situation.

MrsCarson · 16/10/2023 22:59

Your job is to get the best price for your Uncle, he may live in the nursing home for many years and need some of the money eventually.
Just clean it up and tidy the garden as best you can and put it back up for sale.
It's not your decision if someone else goes for planning permission. You could sell to a family who live there a short while and still get planning. You're not being greedy you are doing what you have to do.

PrimaryHeadteacher · 16/10/2023 23:02

You need to act in his best interest
How much cash does he have in the bank?
If this is enough to sustain his care home fees and pay for his house then you should not be in a rush to sell

KievLoverTwo · 16/10/2023 23:13

I would relist at 700k with 'unexpectedly returned to market due to chain collapse' at the top of the ad. It should bring a whole new set of buyers who couldn't afford over 700k, and perhaps you will get lucky with competing bids.

It was ill advised to go in at the top of the valuations in a falling market. The EAs should be telling you that, but of course they do not.

Original poster
LaBelleSauvage123 · 17/10/2023 05:38

Thanks for the more positive replies - I was feeling a bit embarrassed about being called greedy when it’s not me benefitting from the sale. You’re right when you say I feel a responsibility to my uncle to get the best price for him - he may not need the money, but his son and family ( who live abroad, which is one of the reasons I’ve got POA) will benefit. I think in hindsight we were wrong to go in at the upper end of the valuations we received ( though we didn’t go with the highest, which was £125K more). But it’s a quirky house in many ways and so was, and still is, hard to tell what it is ‘worth’.

OP posts:
ArcticBells · 17/10/2023 05:41

Anything will sell at the right price.

DuranNotSpandeau · 17/10/2023 06:06

Not sure why some posters are calling Op/her uncle greedy. OK maybe it wasn't a good idea to use the upper end of the valuations but maybe Op doesn't know the market in her uncle's area so went with what she thought best at the time. The eventual price was reduced so its not like she held out stubbornly to get the higher value. It's a bit of a (mean) reach to suggest that she was being greedy sell to a builder to land neighbours with a new development! It's like saying anyone selling a bungalow is selfish for inflicting a lack of privacy on neighbours' gardens if the new buyer adds a dormer on the back.

EmmaGrundyForPM · 17/10/2023 06:15

OP, if you have POA then you have a duty to get the best price you can for your uncle. Its not being greedy.

Twiglets1 · 17/10/2023 06:17

It’s harder to sell quirky houses, we found this out when we sold a barn conversion in a town centre once - even the EA admitted it was hard to value as the surrounding roads were full of Victorian houses so nothing directly comparable.

As you now know, it would have been better to put it on at a lower price. I would take it off the market for a while, clean & declutter. Then put it back on with a different EA (possibly the one who gave you the lowest valuation) at 700k.

BarleySugars · 17/10/2023 06:22

The comments about greed and 'doing harm' are nuts - you've got no control over what buyers do and who's to say someone wouldnt be grateful for the extra housing 🤷

Relist cleaned out, state due to chain collapse, stick at the mid range price and avoid temptation to drop price - that always makes me think theres a problem and it will make others think you're desperate and they'll start driving you down. Be prepared to negotiate on that mid range price tho, esp if you're not getting reams of buyers. Character properties are tricky at the best of times and with things as they are right now, you cant expect top dollar imo. I'm waiting a while to sell mine...

happylittlesloth · 17/10/2023 06:24

You're not being greedy. Even if you sold it at £300,000 someone could buy it and develop the land. You might as well get the most for your uncle out of it - it's your duty as POA to act in your uncles best interest.

WaitingForSunnyDays · 17/10/2023 06:47

If you're clearing stuff out it would be good if someone could come and recommend what you should keep temporarily. I like to see a bed in photos as that gives a good scale, so perhaps keeping at least the one in the main bedroom made up with nicely uncreased white bed linen would be an idea.
I don't think you are being greedy and th previous poster is being naive. You are legally required to get the best price. How would you feel if you sold for 650k, then someone stuck in a quick planning permission application and flipped it for 300k more? You'd have basically lost your uncle all that money !

floofbag · 17/10/2023 06:48

Just sell it as is , it doesn't need furniture to sell.

It sounds lovely tbh and a bargain!

ittakes2 · 17/10/2023 06:52

To be honest it sounds cheap - I think have the clear out and then get a real estate agent to advise you on price.

Twiglets1 · 17/10/2023 06:55

ittakes2 · 17/10/2023 06:52

To be honest it sounds cheap - I think have the clear out and then get a real estate agent to advise you on price.

OP already had a range of valuations that varied by as much as 300k so having another one probably wouldn’t help. The market has decided - the only offer they got was at 700k.

CatsTheWayToDoIt · 17/10/2023 06:55

Just adding my voice to say you are not being greedy! It’s v hard having poa and not an easy task at all. You are doing the best you can for your uncle.

SaturdayGiraffe · 17/10/2023 07:13

Would he consider renting it to a local family while the market recovers? There’s a massive shortage of decent rental stock.

ElleCapitaine · 17/10/2023 07:20

Clear it out apart from any decent furniture and stage it so that people interested in buying it as a family home can imagine themselves living there. Get a gardener in to cut back the garden, get new photographs taken, and put it back on the market asap.

Kate9423 · 17/10/2023 07:20

No need for furniture etc, just clean and tidy. Furniture can sometimes become a visual hurdle for people anyway!

Ignore the 'greedy' haters.

We rented our much loved rural cottage out for what is the current market rate of rent, after moving to military accommodation hours away....got called 'greedy' for charging that much for rent.

You can't win.

My advice, back on at 'offers over £700k' all clean and tidy and go again. Good luck!

ohdamnitjanet · 17/10/2023 07:21

LaBelleSauvage123 · 17/10/2023 05:38

Thanks for the more positive replies - I was feeling a bit embarrassed about being called greedy when it’s not me benefitting from the sale. You’re right when you say I feel a responsibility to my uncle to get the best price for him - he may not need the money, but his son and family ( who live abroad, which is one of the reasons I’ve got POA) will benefit. I think in hindsight we were wrong to go in at the upper end of the valuations we received ( though we didn’t go with the highest, which was £125K more). But it’s a quirky house in many ways and so was, and still is, hard to tell what it is ‘worth’.

You’re definitely not being greedy. Who wouldn’t want to maximise profit? Ignore the usual people who pile in unnecessarily. Someone will always always have a dig here. My sister was terribly against anyone developing on her rather posh estate right up until the time she decided to move. She built a house in her garden and sold them both, and good for her. I just think the market is tricky and things are taking longer to sell, it’s unlikely to matter it doesn’t look the same as the photos. If people are taking on a project they’ll see past that anyway.

Swipe left for the next trending thread