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RightMove tactics

137 replies

Negroany · 27/04/2024 15:53

This is my late mum's house, I am one of the executors:

https://durrants.com/property/reydon-southwold/

It went on the market in March and has had no viewings. It's a very specific area and I'm aware the market is pretty slow at the moment. I don't really care how much it sells for but I do have to make sure I am working in the best interests of the 7 residual beneficiaries (one of whom is a minor so relies on the executors decisions).

What are the best tactics here? I can see a lot of local property (there isn't really anything similar enough to truly compare) has been hanging around on the market for ages and that they have mostly had price reductions. I know putting on then reducing is now "the RightMove way", to boost views and get into a different price band.
I'm thinking about reducing after this bank holiday and about a week before the next one.

Brother wants to reduce by £15k and "not just give it away" (he's unrealistic and prone to hyperbole) and sister wants "one big reduction then that's it". In reality, it will sell for what it sells for and I'm not sure how much tactics will help, and as we're not worried about timings (I don't even have probate yet) maybe I can leave it longer still?

I could also change agents but I'm not sure the agents have that much sway these days.

I can't restyle the house at all because a lot of the furniture has now been taken and it's three hours from me. I actually thin the photos are pretty good. The only thing that could improve things is some photos of the garden which I assume (not been since Feb) is now starting to bloom.

Reydon, Southwold - Durrants Estate Agents

Bridge House is a wonderfully characterful home and has been renovated over time but still remains intertwined with its history, dating back as far as the 1600’s

https://durrants.com/property/reydon-southwold

OP posts:
CanadianJohn · 27/04/2024 20:12

idontlikealdi · 27/04/2024 16:29

The listing would put me off

I could not load the pics, but errors like 'forth bedroom' and 'principle bedroom' make me wonder if the agent has English as a first language.

In addition to the probate issue, maybe get a decent agent and new photographs.

EatingSleeping · 27/04/2024 20:15

A marvelous right move strategy would be to take it off till it's out of probate.

I know you feel you can't do anything about the painting now but it is off putting. The green and red/pink combo makes it look like a pub. And I'm sure your mum absolutely loved it but it's not about that for sale.

The fourth photo with the sofa in a really narrow space with bookshelves is odd. I bet it's a lovely place to sit. It is not a lovely picture.

It just all feels a bit lazy from the agent (the typos and photos) and it would put me off a bit because lazy agents are a nightmare.

All that said you could just wait till it's out of probate and then relist and maybe everything people are saying will be proven to be untrue.

Pupinskipops · 27/04/2024 20:26

Negroany · 27/04/2024 18:49

I'd call it a simple difference of opinion. On one side me, the other executor, my siblings, the estate agent and my lawyer who all think it's fine and just one way of doing things.

On the other side people on Mumsnet who have a different opinion.

Just opinions, neither right, neither wrong.

But you came here for opinions, no? 🤷🏼‍♀️ Some of your responses to people who've taken the trouble to respond to your post are pretty ascerbic.

Saschka · 27/04/2024 20:27

OP, everyone is telling you why you aren’t getting any offers - the fact probate hasn’t been granted, the decor, the price. And you are saying “yes I agree and feel the same way about the house, I’d never buy it myself, but aside from all of that why aren’t we getting viewings?”

(I also don’t know why you think people wouldn’t need a mortgage to buy it - it’s a four bedroom family house, not a retirement flat. Of course whoever buys it will have a mortgage)

stupidmom · 27/04/2024 21:18

A good house in a bad location, you need to be more realistic with the price. Having said that it is not exactly burning a hole in your pocket so it depends how long you are happy for it to take to sell.
No skin off Durrants' nose to have it on their books as it probably attracts punters, who then see where it is and go on to look at other properties.

Starseeking · 27/04/2024 21:40

MissLucyEyelesbarrow · 27/04/2024 18:48

OP, you do remember that you posted, asking for ideas, don't you? From your reactions, anyone would think that we were bombarding you with unsolicited advice.

Since you clearly know better than everyone on here, I'm not sure why you started the thread?

I was thinking this, tbh.

The most consistent Rightmove feedback OP has had from the group of people OP requested advice from is:

  1. Take it off the market until probate is granted
  2. Reduce the price

OP's response: It's fine to leave it on as it is, and will reduce when we get probate.

OP, you've had NO viewings in a whole month, I would have thought that would give you a strong message that everything is not fine.

P.S. My last house purchase was for a 3 bedroom family home on for slightly less than you are selling for, and I have a (big) mortgage. Not sure why you'd think a four bedroom family home would only appeal to buyers who don't need a mortgage 🤷‍♀️

WallaceinAnderland · 27/04/2024 21:45

Normally I would say reduce price to garner interest but it might just be the fact that it's still in probate putting people off. I would take it off the market until probate is granted then try again at same price with a view to reducing if still no interest.

Did you know that you might have to start paying the inheritance tax before the property is sold and that if you pay in installments, you will be charged interest?

You also need to keep paying the council tax and any other utility bills. Possibly keep a little bit of heating on so that you don't get damp problems.

With that in mind, I would reduce and reduce until you secure an offer as it is an expense you want to be rid of asap.

FrogTheWarrior · 27/04/2024 22:01

I think this is tricky OP. The house is lovely and unique, with so much character. That said..

I would be a potential buyer - we are looking to move to the coast soon, budget £750k, would be a cash buyer as no mortgage and current house valued higher. Our plan is to bank the difference to boost retirement funds, downsizing basically.

I wouldn’t consider subject to probate as we would have to sell ours and I would be concerned about the impact of the uncertain timeline down the chain. If we didn’t have one to sell and we were not in a hurry, it wouldn’t bother me. But this would discount the house for me currently.

Although technically our budget is £750k, having had 3 bathrooms replaced in our current house, new flooring, decorators etc - realistically I would budget £50k, to make the house “ours”. This would take us over our ideal max budget. I think the pricing needs to reflect this (maybe it does, I’m not familiar with the local market).

I’m not sure how much the London second homers have infiltrated the area, or if the trend is continuing. I think it has vastly slowed in Norfolk though, compared to immediately post 2020. Your buyer may well be a second homer who will happily engage contractors to work on the bathrooms etc with nothing to sell and probate not an issue. Whether the location works, I’m not sure. But you could strike lucky if you keep it on the market.

Re the location, personally I could live with it not being Southwold itself as long as it’s easily accessible even in high season, but the road would be a show stopper because we have a lively dog and I would worry too much. It may put off young families and dog owners for similar reasons, but you never can tell.

We do a lot of rightmove searching! It’s bizarrely off putting when houses are drastically reduced, or have been on the market a while - although it makes us think there could be a good deal to be had. For this reason, and some of the above!, I would wait until probate is further on. Watch the market, see what’s moving and who’s buying. Then go for it again. I’ll be keeping an eye on rightmove and wishing you lots of luck.

FrogTheWarrior · 27/04/2024 22:13

CanadianJohn · 27/04/2024 20:12

I could not load the pics, but errors like 'forth bedroom' and 'principle bedroom' make me wonder if the agent has English as a first language.

In addition to the probate issue, maybe get a decent agent and new photographs.

Edited

I do agree re the quality of the listing. The agent’s marketing should reflect that this is a £three quarters of a million property and the listing should be flawless and well written with great photos.

I would also replace wet room with shower room, but that’s probably just a quirk on my part - can’t bear wet rooms.

justalitteon · 27/04/2024 22:20

I'd take it off the market until you have probate and also change agents.
Lovely house and a nice part of the country!

TwoBlueFish · 27/04/2024 22:49

I’m going to go along with everyone else and say to wait for probate and put it on for just under £700k to attract buyers. It’s common for properties to be reduced on Rightmove because the market is slow and people are realising that they can’t sell for top dollar anymore.

its a huge house but almost too big! Yes a lot is livable with but I’d be seeing all the things that I’d want to do (flooring, lighting, bathroom, decorating) and the size of the rooms means these would all cost mega £’s. The garden is absolutely gorgeous. The road would also put me off but it is what it is.

it reminds me of my grandads house, it’s was a beautiful house with loads of memories and although it had been maintained it still needed lots of bits of work. It eventually went to auction and sold for much less that it should have done but the 3 kids had had enough of waiting for a sale and they all had different ideas on the best sales strategy. If they had been able to agree on a more realistic original sale price they would have probably sold quicker and for more.

Amybelle88 · 28/04/2024 00:10

I see your point re: the ad but poor spelling makes it look slap dash and would make me wonder if the agent was any good. As a buyer, you are dealing with an agent and you would like them to be a decent one.

It is the agent t who deals with everything and listing should be shit hot. It's a house, not Facebook marketplace.

The ad as a whole, for a £750k house, is completely uninspiring. When someone is buying a house, they are looking at the lifestyle potential. This ad is drab to say the least.

Kitchen is gorge, the original features are fab - bathroom needs ripping out and it does need some updating in the sense of decor NOT the original features that are there because it's an older house.

I'd price accordingly.

Ellmau · 28/04/2024 00:25

You need to get probate through first. Only the most naive of buyers would put in an offer when they know you can't proceed yet, and such a buyer isn't likely to have a 750K budget. And if they do make an offer they might pull it when they realise they will have to wait ages.

The red and green clashing walls aren't to my taste, but it is a very nice house and I think once probate is sorted and you can sell quickly, you should get more interest.

EnglishBluebell · 28/04/2024 00:31

You're not getting viewings because people are seeing on the listing that it's "subject to probate" (as they should, of course). They're thinking, hmm probate can take years potentially. Sod that.

Also, why are the kitchen cabinets two different colours? That would put me off if I'm being honest

MaseratiIsYellow · 28/04/2024 10:24

Pupinskipops · 27/04/2024 20:26

But you came here for opinions, no? 🤷🏼‍♀️ Some of your responses to people who've taken the trouble to respond to your post are pretty ascerbic.

OP's probably disappointed to find out that there's no magic MN Rightmove tactic that'll get her viewings. Because the fundamentals of the listing are bad.
Even spelling errors which are very simple to correct - OP doesn't care.
And she doesn't seem to understand the basics of how house buying and mortgages work. Thinking that the buyer won't need a mortgage... Doesn't know why people would look at recently sold comparables.

At the end of the day , the longer something has been on, the worse it looks. Also Rightmove has changed their rules so one can't simply re-list and erase the original listing date.

https://hoa.org.uk/advice/guides-for-homeowners/i-am-selling/rightmove-relisting-rules/

BTW I know quite a few people who bought a house waiting for probate , but the property was a bargain! Why would anybody pay top dollar and wait?

Rightmove relisting rules

Rightmove Relisting Rules - HomeOwners Alliance

If you're advised by the estate agent to reduce your asking price following a failed transaction to beat the Rightmove relisting rules, do you have to do it?

https://hoa.org.uk/advice/guides-for-homeowners/i-am-selling/rightmove-relisting-rules

VenusClapTrap · 28/04/2024 10:54

We bought a house that was going through probate. And another house nearby ended up in a bidding war while that too was going through probate. It’s not necessarily a barrier, and in some cases where you’re looking for the right buyer because the house is quirky or whatever and you need a ‘fall in love with it’ scenario, then it makes sense to just get it on the market regardless. The market is slow, you’re not in a hurry, I’d just leave things as they are for now.

commonground · 28/04/2024 12:52

This is a really tricky price bracket tbf. It's not low enough that ftb will see getting a mortgage as comparable to renting. It's not high enough that you will attract the affluent cash buyer. It's more likely to require an (expensive atm) mortgage.

If you can reframe it as an amenity to Southwold - and maybe get a less hyper-local agent than Durrants (who kind of have a parochial agricultural kind of vibe) you might have a better chance of at least getting it under the noses of people. You want as many people as possible through the door, whatever their proceedable situation is, because I think it will be a numbers game - only one person has to love it but enough have to see it.

Negroany · 28/04/2024 23:25

@NewFriendlyLadybird

OP: why isn’t my house getting viewings? Will a magic Rightmove spell attract them?
Replies: it’s not getting viewings because of X
OP: no, that’s not it

I didn't ask why it wasn't getting viewings though. I asked about tactics on RM. I also never said "no, that's not it". I accept that being subject to probate (if that is what you mean by 'X') is off putting, what I said was that it's not uncommon and I'm comfortable leaving it like that.

@titchy

The people in the first paragraph have a vested interest in you listing it now.

They don't though, do they? The EA has no vested interest in listing in in such a way that it won't sell. Because they only have a limit sole agent contract, so you'd think they'd want to make the most of that period of time while I cannot go anywhere else.

I can't think why a layer would have any vested interest in the house being listed at any specific point.

@Twiglets1

The EA must be well aware of the reasons too but is choosing not to be honest.

I've actually not spoken to the EA about it, and I've had one email from them since it listed. As I said, we're not bothered time wise currently so I'm not chasing the EA.

I have also said I'm happy to reduce the price. More than happy to, I assumed pre speaking any EA that it would be 'wroth' about £600k. The EA said it would probably sell for over £800k which I thought was unlikely. I didn't tell them what to list it for.

But, as people have pointed out, I should leave the price reduction until post probate.

OP posts:
Contraryjane · 29/04/2024 00:02

GarkandGookin · 27/04/2024 16:10

Ask the agent to proofread the listing. Mistakes like 'charater' don't look professional.

“Off of”, “forth bedroom”.
The description is very poorly written.

Negroany · 29/04/2024 00:03

It's interesting that people are calling it a 'family house/home' - I've never seen it as that. I assumed it would be purchased as a holiday let or for someone with grown up family relocating and working from home.

It wasn't our family home (as someone implied). It also wasn't 'much loved'. Only mum and dad lived there (and mum hated it) and myself and my sister were nc with them for about half the time they had it, so it doesn't have corridors ringing with peels of kids' laughter or anything. And the people before my parents used it as a holiday let.

It's not a great area for a family really. No high school there.

That's why I said it would probably not be someone with a mortgage, because I imagined it would be used as a holiday home/buy to let/second home/retirement/relocation type home (not like a flat in a retirement village though, my parents 'retired' there in their 50's, about the age I am now).

@SBHon

In terms of tax, if it sells at £600k would you all receive more than if it sold for £700k?

No, we do get more the more it is sold for. Just not all of it. 60% (minus EA fees)

@MissLucyEyelesbarrow

Posters are explaining that some of the photos are off-putting. The OP, however, knows better and the mere fact that no one has viewed the house is not enough to change her mind.

Not many people have said the phots are "off putting" - but they are the photos of the house, and I can't change the house. There is no way I can get it painted - it's too expensive (the estate already owes me over £7k, I have no access to any of the estate money until probate is granted and I have no more readily available cash) and the place is too far away. Plus the stupid previous decorator painted over all the plug sockets, radiators, light switches.....they would need to be replaced or painted. It's a big job as it's a large house.

I can't "re dress" the house because half the furniture has been taken now, so there won't be much left to 'dress' it with. I can get it all taken away by house clearance and have it empty, but I can't do that currently for a variety of reasons, I'll be able to do it in a couple of months though.

I will ask my siblings if either have taken the grey sofa from the study and if they have I'll get a new photo of that. Someone said it might be a nice place to sit but looks odd - I don't know if it's a nice place to sit, because that sofa used to be in the living room but I didn't want all three in the living room so we moved it there because the living room was too crowded. I know it looks odd, but we had to put it somewhere (and I wasn't able to be there the day the photos were done so couldn't have just shoved things out of the way for each photo, which was what I had intended).

@CanadianJohn

make me wonder if the agent has English as a first language.

Why would it matter if the agent has English as a first language?

@Pupinskipops

But you came here for opinions, no?

Yes, and there has been a wide variety. Some I agree with, some I accept but have no control over, some I disagree with. As I said, differences on opinion.

@Saschka

OP, everyone is telling you why you aren’t getting any offers - the fact probate hasn’t been granted, the decor, the price. And you are saying “yes I agree and feel the same way about the house, I’d never buy it myself, but aside from all of that why aren’t we getting viewings?

I haven't said that though.

@WallaceinAnderland

Did you know that you might have to start paying the inheritance tax before the property is sold and that if you pay in installments, you will be charged interest?

No "might" about it - you have to pay the IHT before you can even apply for probate. It's taken me a while to get all the accounts sorted and I have paid the (estimated at this stage) probate of tens of thousands of pounds already.

You also need to keep paying the council tax and any other utility bills. Possibly keep a little bit of heating on so that you don't get damp problems.

I don't need to keep paying council tax, they don't charge for a certain period and I am not yet out of that period. The only utility I have to pay is gas/electric. I have disconnected the phone and BB, the water companies and TV licensing don't charge. I have left the heating on to ward off damp.

With that in mind, I would reduce and reduce until you secure an offer as it is an expense you want to be rid of asap.

It's about £120pm at the moment, though I am also having the grass cut which is £35 every two weeks. And, as we all know, I can't sell until I have probate so there's no point reducing now.

@EnglishBluebell

Also, why are the kitchen cabinets two different colours?

I expect my parents chose them like that. They haven't been replaced or anything if that's what you mean.

@MaseratiIsYellow

OP's probably disappointed to find out that there's no magic MN Rightmove tactic that'll get her viewings.

No, not remotely. Plenty of people have been helpful and constructive.

Doesn't know why people would look at recently sold comparables.

I didn't say that though. I said why would I look at sold prices beyond what the EA can tell me - I said this in response to someone who asked if I had looked at the land registry for sold prices, I haven't, I'm not sure why looking there specifically is useful, especially as it lags behind quite a lot.
I know why buyers will look at comparable places and I know why I need to know what places sell for. It was that specific thing I was asking in response to something.

OP posts:
Twiglets1 · 29/04/2024 03:36

You’re welcome @Negroany & now you’ve taken all our suggestions on board I’m sure you will have a sale soon.

CanadianJohn · 29/04/2024 04:27

@Negroany
Not wanting to harp too much on this, but if someone is not a native English speaker, then I am inclined to be forgiving of typos, particularly homophones, like principle/principal and forth/fourth.

However, if English is their first language, I suspect the agent is either stupid or sloppy. Or both.

Twiglets1 · 29/04/2024 06:24

The chances of an EA not having English as their first language in Reydon or Southwold is very small @CanadianJohn It is not a diverse area, to put it mildly.

Far more likely that they are just sloppy & not trying as hard as they could for their client. Though I don’t think a few spelling mistakes on the blurb is the issue here.

Guciytcicty · 29/04/2024 06:43

Have a look at using a staging company as per the link below. Neither the furnishings or the photographs are helping to show the property in its best light

https://www.lemonandlimeinteriors.co.uk/project/theoldbakehouse/

BentFork · 29/04/2024 06:53

I think it looks dated & it probably costs a bomb to heat. It needs redecorating and ideally, a new kitchen & bathrooms. Parking in the back garden isn't ideal, nor is being right on the main road and the back garden isn't that big. I think it's only worth a smidge over 600.