Nightmare trying to sell our house

[PinkBubblesxx]

We are trying to get to sell our very well presented new build lived in home and having a complete nightmare with complete utter time wasters 😫 Our home is in a great central but green location in a very family oriented area and is priced fairly (10k under its market value) to encourage interest.

We have been on the market for over 2 months now and had at least 30 viewing's! We have had a handful of offers of chancers offering £40k under the asking price, which we strongly declined. And the other offers we have had, have offered asking price, which we happily accepted. As soon as we have accepted they have either gone quiet and just ignored the estate agent, one offer had to supposedly rush back to Nigeria for a family emergency then not to be heard from again, we've had 2 offers when they have to submit their paperwork and have an affordability check and it turns out they can't afford their offer or even pull out a mortgage! Last week we had an offer from ideal first time buyers and we had our hopes so high that this was the one! They dragged their feet all week to submit their paperwork to the estate agents broker - which we found odd. They then asked for a 3rd viewing which we found highly frustrating but of course entertained it as we want a sale. The day before the 3rd viewing the estate agent had qualified them being able to purchase and had a mortgage in place, so they marked our property as sold over the weekend. This morning they emailed the agent saying they had changed their minds 😫 the agent pressed for a reason behind the sudden u turn and they said the mortgage rate they had now been offered was slightly more than what they thought they would get 😫

So we are back to square one, having to entertain viewings - which are really draining! Especially where we already had at least 30! Me and my partner are at wits end and it's really making us feel so ill and depressed from all the stress of it all as we have found our dream home but feel like it will just get snapped up! We have been messed around with so called serious offers so much that we have lost all hope 😫 Even the estate agency is just as frustrated with the amount of time wasters we have had! We have a prime home in a prime in demand location and £10k under the market value.

Is it just us having bad luck trying to sell our home or is anyone else experiencing the same? As it's honestly becoming unbearable 😫

What did you pay for it 7 years ago?

Freehold or leasehold?

Where I live property is selling 10% less than 2022 which in our road is a 50k drop.

When did the last house in your development sell?

If you want to move you need to make it work. The current price doesn't seem to be affordable for your target market therefore you either accept it needs to be priced lower, wait a very long time for a sale or take it off the market now and try again once the BoE reduces interest rates again.

What the hell? I wouldn’t accept that! They either accept your offer or they don’t!

I would withdraw your offer as your sellers sound nuts. Why should you start spending money on a solicitor, survey etc when they are not committed to the sale? I wouldn’t be spending a penny.

The true value is what someone is willing to pay, not what the estate agent claims!

I'm sure you're probably right. It feels like mind games!

They haven’t committed to selling their property to you so I’m worried for you that you’re spending money on a property that is still on the market.

You need to change estate agents.

They should only send viewers who have a mortgage in principle in place and have shown proof of deposit. That would immediately get rid of many time wasters.

Maybe posts a link to your Rightmore listing so people can provide more suggestions about how to make the property more attractive.

Also, many buyers are put off by new builts.

I was going to offer on one until my research showed the house had estate charges/management fees, the Council had not adopted the road it was on and some of the resident had already taken legal action against the management company...

Also I would look at what the prices are now in your area, not a few months ago so that you asking price reflects the current market.

Good this is depressing, I'm looking to move to no fecking way do I want to share my financial details with an estate agent.

What is this financial check you mention?

It's only been two months, just wait and see. The right family will come along.
I agree that the EA needs to vet people better.
Maybe when the contract is up with him change to another agency or add another one now.

We have sold two houses. On both occasions we had several frustrating months. In both occasions, we then switched to a different EA (with no change in price) and sold almost immediately. No idea why this worked. Photos/details etc were fine with the original EAs - maybe just fingers in a different market (which I question myself what with Right Move surely being the starting place for all property searches!).

I think it really depends were you live , 10% under asking price is quite common at the moment were I live. But then if they sellers are buying in the same area they will then offer 10% under on what they are buying next . But as I said I think it depends on were you live.

In that price bracket I'm struggling to see those offers at 40k under being as outrageous as all that. It's less than 10% under. I mean, by all means don't accept them if you don't want to, but it doesn't sound like they're being ridiculous chancers, especially in this market. And they could be intending it as a jumping-off point for further negotiations - which, if you're rebuffing them as firmly as your original post implies, they may then be thinking better of.

Older new builds are difficult to sell, as PP have said.

People who specially like new builds can buy brand new ones elsewhere, to their own spec, negotiate stamp prices etc.

Rooms and gardens tend to be smaller than period homes, so there’s lots of people who won’t want a new build.

In the end, it’s all to do with the price.

That's true about right move, but local estate agents also give you the heads up about what's coming up and suggest similar houses to what you've already viewed. Also, some seem a lot more professional and proactive than others.

"Market value" isn't what you think it ought to be worth. It's what someone is prepared to pay. Clearly the value has dropped and you'll have to accept that.

Our last sale was in 2018. Market was tanking. 3 agents valued us at 600. We went on at 599, dropped twice and in the end accepted 515. Not what we were hoping but realistic.

Yeah, I agree

Either off the market or offer withdrawn

Do you have access to the funds required to buy said property

Either MIP (mortgage in principle) or cash

The market is very quiet at the moment. My partner has his house on the market. Like you 30 odd viewings and good feedback but just not what they are looking for. So he is getting people in. So price is right. Just not enough people about. Lots of time wasters.

Who are all these timewasters that spend their weekends viewing properties they're not seriously considering buying? It's been stressful fitting viewings round our busy life of both working and parenting small children! I feel like it's taken over our lives and we are only viewing properties we would seriously consider! Made an offer on the fourth property we viewed.

Can you tell we're first time buyers?! 😫

Sadly a house is only worth what someone else is prepared to pay for it. Obviously depends on market in your area at the present, but last time we sold we had three offers, £80k, £82k and £83k, on for £90, so we had to drop around 8%.

You obviously like your house and the area. Do you really need to love?

You don’t have to share financial details with an EA. They will just want to know you have a mortgage in principle/ agreement in principle from a Lender though, this can be done online in about 15 minutes.

Your solicitor will need to see more details once you start the conveyancing process, like bank statements, proof of deposit etc. But not every random EA you engage with while property searching.

You really must not proceed any further with this sale. Buying a house is expensive and at the moment you're spending money for potentially nothing. They must either withdraw the house from the market or you withdraw. Personally I wouldn't trust these sellers anyway and would cut my losses and look elsewhere.

You’re being taken advantage of.

Time to tell the EA either the property comes off the market and gets classified as Sold subject to contract, or you’re pulling out.

To have so many viewings I'd say something is putting them off, which they can't see in the pictures.

Often on here when people post links to their listings, it's usually as they're not getting many viewings and will always get replies saying how terrible the photos are - perhaps in your case it's the opposite? Do the pictures make the rooms appear bigger than they are? New builds are notorious for having small dimensions and I know when I've looked at listings myself, it's not actually apparent how narrow the lounge is or how small the master bedroom is until I've checked the measurements. Unfortunately some people don't do this, they'll just view and be surprised.

The 40k under offers could well just be people that can't afford the house they want, so view houses way above their budget hoping a low offer will be accepted. If they were to post on here with their situation people would tell them they've got nothing to lose and they won't know until they try etc... it doesn't automatically mean your house is priced wrongly.