Struggling To Sell Inherited Property

[AgitatedGoose]

I'm trying to see my late parents' property. It's well maintained and after my Dad died I had it professionally decorated in neutral colours throughout and bought new carpets. I've cleared the house of all the furniture as most of it was in a poor state or very dated. The estate agents (a well known chain) have been a nightmare. I had to re-write the entire property description because there were so many inaccuracies and glaring grammatical errors. The photographs are mediocre which I've complained about with no response. I've had four viewings in just over two weeks. I don't think the price is too high as it's well below comparable properties in the area. I live over 100 miles away so can't afford to keep travelling to check the property and maintain the garden. Most of the money from the estate is tied up in the property so I'll probably end up having to maintain it out of my own funds if this drags on. Should I cut my losses and sell at auction or am I being too impatient. Where I live property doesn't stay on the market long and there's far more interest. A friend recently had an offer in 18 days.

Do you actually have probate? Just asking as most buyers wouldn't even view if probate not yet granted.

This ^

@housethatbuiltme I re-wrote the EA"s description when we were selling our last house. It referenced the wrong area, had terrible grammar and used terminology they thought meant one thing, but actually meant the opposite. The cover photo was from such a poor angle, it was pretty much of the car. We asked to pre-approve before they went live with the listing. Did they hell so I made them pull it, amend and re-list.

EAs do not have to be qualified in England. Half of them (maybe more) don't know their arse from their elbow.

They know more than most buyers. People with invested interest rarely make logical level headed choices. If you think theres a mistake (can happen places list dozen if not hundreds of houses and something are auto generated like street view etc...) then point it out but you don't have to 'rewrite' things lol.

There is something so ironic in hiring a person whose full time job it is to do something and then telling them they're wrong and how to do it of the back of emotions or google. Usually same people who scratch their head on why its not sold months in.

If you can do it so much better yourself then you know you don't actually NEED an estate agent? You can do it all yourself and save yourself all the fees, theres no requirement to have an EA in England. Its just strange how many people insist EA are shit but still hire them when they claim they can do a better job while just saying how 'stupid' and 'unqualified' the person they are choosing to pay is.

@kielifor Yes probate has been granted.

No need for the attitude. We took the view most buyers in our market would prefer to deal with an EA and we didn't want to do viewings ourselves. We thought the sales progression person at the EA's was really good - she was who they sent round when we first enquired about using them to sell the house. It was quicker to amend the details myself than go back-and-forth, especially as they'd made the listing live when they had expressly agreed not to. We were concerned we'd made a wrong choice at this point, however it worked out in the end. I don't think we're "most people" - DP had lots of experience of buying and selling houses and I worked for a property developer and manager. Both of us able to view our own house critically, understand what was good about it and bad, etc.

I'm not the one slagging people and an entire industry off and saying they are crap at their job and 'don't know their arse from their elbow' but you think I'm the one with an attitude, just for calmly and factually pointing out the irony... ok.

My house has been on for two weeks with four viewings - one no-show and positive feedback from the other three, but no offers. Friends tell me that 4 enquiries in 2 weeks is pretty normal. So, I am sitting tight for now and trying to be patient.

tbh I don’t think that the agent is terribly proactive but I suppose he can’t frogmarch people through my front door.

It’s annoying because there are a few properties we like. My partner also put his house on the market 2 weeks ago (different town) and sold to the first viewer, a woman whose vendor had withdrawn and was desperate to avoid losing her buyer. So I’m the one holding things up.

it’s not easy.

It’s only been 2 weeks. My flat took 3 months to get an offer. The house I bought was on the market for 7 months. Another we viewed when we were looking is still on the market… 2.5years later (yes it’s overpriced). Try to relax for the first month at least.

It’s only been 2 weeks. My flat took 3 months to get an offer. The house I bought was on the market for 7 months. Another we viewed when we were looking is still on the market… 2.5years later (yes it’s overpriced). Try to relax for the first month at least.

It’s only been 2 weeks. My flat took 3 months to get an offer. The house I bought was on the market for 7 months. Another we viewed when we were looking is still on the market… 2.5years later (yes it’s overpriced). Try to relax for the first month at least.

It’s only been 2 weeks. My flat took 3 months to get an offer. The house I bought was on the market for 7 months. Another we viewed when we were looking is still on the market… 2.5years later (yes it’s overpriced). Try to relax for the first month at least.

are you saying it should have sold in two weeks? If so that does seem a bit impatient to me.

Where is it op?

It’s only been 2 weeks and you’ve had four viewings, I’d say you need to chill out a bit, let the estate agents get on with their job, you’ll only upset yourself if you spend everyday checking how many viewings you’ve and complaining about the agents, they want to sell it, they won’t get their commission otherwise.

It’s been two weeks !!??

@PennyAnnLane I can assure you I'm not bothering the estate agents. In fact I don't particularly want to hear from them until someone makes an offer.

Stage it
look on their local Fb marketplace or gumtree
get free stuff
go down and stage it
atleast the odd shaped-sized rooms
take new photos
change agent as soon as you can

empty properties look small
cluttered properties look small
people have very little imagination, esp the bungalow market buyers

put at a minimum double or king size beds in. If the latter add 3 pillows so it shows on photos that it’s not a double

dining table and chairs
sofa or two

pops of coordinating colour

people usually only look on phones, and your photos needs to jump out at them.
they want to remember yours as the one with the red things, the yellow things, the cool artwork etc

take stuff from your own home too.
And friends’ houses
you don’t have to spend money to stage, aside from your time & travel .

make the garden look amazing
plant bedding plants
ask a neighbour to water for you

I stage houses professionally.
for very little money, usually.
it makes a huge difference
I show empty bedroom photo vs with a made bed and a couple of pop up bedside tables and lamps

first looks like it is too small to fit a bed.
second is a proper double

I currently have one of my staged places on the market, first viewing earlier this week, it already has three offers and more second viewings planned. We expect to go to best and final early next week.

Hire a staging company to stage it, get the photos retaken. It will probably work out better to pay for this and sell it quicker than it sitting for ages. A lot of people cannot visualise a room without furniture.

Does the agent also have other, similar properties on their books that may be part of a chain and which will get them commission on more than one sale? They might be much more keen on selling those first.

I would definitely be 'bothering' the estate agent, and telling them to go back and take some more (and better) photos. They are supposed to be acting for you, the seller, and should be doing what you tell them to do.

We are selling my late dad's 3 bed bungalow. Big chain (they have cute dogs on their bards) were rubbish - the photos were awful and the advice they gave was poor. We've now redecorated and "staged" it with furniture as some people can't seem to see whether or not a bed will fit in a room. New agent also said that a lack of furniture and pictures means some viewers focus on looking for cracks and cobwebs elsewhere.

Dad's lovely Ercol furniture didn't look right in the bungalow, just dated, but in the kids' homes (and ours) it looks right on trend. We looked at the local demographic and went for a very safe decor style. For eg, we had to bite the bullet and buy a kitchen (we really really needed to) - kept it all very very neutral.

Good luck. It's an utter nightmare and it's causing us lots of money and hassle but hopefully we're headed out of the horrible times.

We had this problem with my Aunt's house. Her house was dated but it had wonderful North Devon sea views and it just wasn't selling. Think our biggest mistake was sticking with the same agent for 18 odd months. We changed agent and they seem much more proactive we eventually got the sale. We are still awaiting for probate to sort itself out though. Been waiting 9 months for a refund from probate....

We didn't spend much at all - fb, free stuff and borrowing - but it looks so so much better now it's been staged.

We are having the opposite problem, we have found a house we want to buy and the estate agents are doing everything in their power not to let us.
They have cancelled two viewings. 😡.
It's vacant possession, in a remote area.
The second viewing we were actually parked up outside the house when they rang to cancel.

I am starting to think they already have a buyer in mind (like one of the EA mates) and don't want us to put an offer in.

I bet the vendors have no bloody idea how shit their EA is.

They make massive amounts of money in relation to the actual work they do and skill they display.