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Property/DIY

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Original poster

Looks like we have to sell. What do I do?

19 replies

drowninginlaundry · 09/08/2008 12:36

Yes, great timing. But we have to, moving because of schools/work into rented 200 miles away in two weeks and have to get rid of the mortgage. I'd appreciate your thoughts: Does every house have a price at which it will definitely sell, and how do I find out what that is? If an agent values this at £690K (we are in London), what should we put it on the market for? £650? £620? less if I want a quick sale? Anything else that might help? I am guessing that the smell of baking bread and fresh flowers won't make much difference these days

OP posts:

pgwithnumber3 · 09/08/2008 12:38

Really really bad timing this week what with the Government holding out regarding the stamp duty issue. Try and hang off until that is sorted. Especially in that price range.

If an agent values your house at £690,000 I would put it on slightly below and if it doesn't sell at say, £670,000 then you may have to keep lowering. A house will sell only for what someone is prepared to pay for it.

Good luck!

CarGirl · 09/08/2008 12:45

I would make sure you get it advertised with relocating must sell or something so people instantly know why it is going on the market at a lower rate. I think I would be tempted to to put it on at £650k because I don't think you'll get close to what the agent has valued it at.

Have you looked on line etc to check what similar properties are on at? Can you get yours on line asap.

If you sold to a relocation company would you be able to buy where you are going to quickly, is that worth doing? Or could you rent out your home whilst you rent up there?

Original poster

drowninginlaundry · 09/08/2008 13:11

yeah crap timing what with the stamp duty kerfuffle.... we'd just really would like to get rid of the huge mortgage we have on it and not have the hassle of renting it out, we'd have to do some updating & decorating etc which I don't want to spend money on. I think £690 is realistic now (had it valued at £850K at the beginning of the year - shows that the agents had no clue only recently!) and we'll take whatever we can get. Good idea about stating 'must sell' in the agents' blurb, will do that, thanks.

OP posts:

pgwithnumber3 · 09/08/2008 13:16

What would you be prepared to sell it for? If you HAVE to sell/move then you need to set a figure which you would not go below. We did this 3 years ago (hard area to sell in, niche properties). House was valued at £450,000. Put it up at that, nothing happened. We took it off market. Re-marketed it at £420,000, again, nothing. Took it off. Re-marketed it AGAIN at £380,000, we sold it twice in 2 weeks for asking price. Moved out 2 months later.

noddyholder · 09/08/2008 14:57

You will get offers 10-15% off at least i think it would probably sell atm for around 600 unless something really unusual.Put it on at 645 maybe and see what happens?

MsDemeanor · 09/08/2008 15:02

Have you considered renting it? The rental market for houses is very, very strong at hte moment and rents are high. You'll rent much quicker than you'll sell. The rental should cover your new rental and then you'd not lose out financially.

MsDemeanor · 09/08/2008 15:03

The London rental market is especially strong. When we thought about selling in late Spring, all the agents tried to get us to rent it out instead. They had people queuing up for family houses. High rents too.

MrsMattie · 09/08/2008 15:07

Awful time to sell, but you already know that. If it was valued at £690k i'd put it on for £675k and be prepared to take a fair bit less. The London market hasn't been hit as hard (yet) in some areas. It's slow where we are in north London, for instance, but houses aren't going for massively less than the asking price in general. Houses on my road have gone for £5k and £15k less than the asking price in the last few weeks, and both were on at the valuation price, which was no different to what it might have been this time last year.

twinsetandpearls · 09/08/2008 15:11

I would echo what people are saying about renting. We had to sell and in the end after reducing our price twice with no viewings we rented it out. We are now renting in Dorset and I can say from experience the rental market is booming.

onceinalifetime · 09/08/2008 15:14

Would rent out if you can - if your rental profits can go towards chipping away at larger chunks of the mortgage all well and good. Not sure if you've rented out before but once the mortgage is actually being taken care of by someone else, it's almost as much weight off your mind as not having it at all iyswim.

If you do decide to sell, don't forget agent's commission PLUS vat when you sell. At that price level, it's quite a chunk.

youcannotbeserious · 09/08/2008 15:16

Personally, I wouldn't drop the price. Whatever you put it on for, buyers will knock 10-20% off...

Put it on for the full amount and make it clear that offers will be accepted for a quick sale (There aren't too many people who can proceed quickly / don't have their own place to sell and you might accept a lower offer from them than someone in a chain.)

FWIW, I saw my dream house recently, on at £900K, Offered £875K and were outbid. I was truly GUTTED...

There is still a market out there.

youcannotbeserious · 09/08/2008 15:17

Sorry, that should read was outbid.

Original poster

drowninginlaundry · 09/08/2008 16:52

Thanks everyone, I'm hoping to get £615-£620, so fingers crossed.

Would rent except that when our fixed rate deal ends in January, the rent would not cover our mortgage! Where we live the rental values have not gone up that much (we are not near a tube or mainline station) and when you factor in the agency fee we'd be a couple of hundred a month short. A bit crap really..

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1dilemma · 10/08/2008 01:35

drowning in laundry probably not what you want to hear but no I don't think every house has a price at which it will sell! At least I would be thinking of around 40% off current asking prices in order to say that.I really don't think what the gov. has just said about stamp duty is putting people off, I think it has a lot more to do with high multiples, banks not wanting to lend and people waking up and realising that for every 100,000 pound increase in price they need say 4 years gross income more than they would have in order to be clear of their own mortgage etc etc.
I agree with working out what your bottom price is then working out what you will do if it doesn't get it.
There are many many more places for sale round here I've seen over 70K dropped from asking prices and still nothing, however the prices remain over 100,000 more then they were 2 yrs ago, now things have fallen from 670 to 590 I think people will wait for them to go below 500.
There is an equal if not larger increase in lovely large family houses for rent too. Rental prices are falling there is also the decrease in value that comes from the wear and tear of renting and the need for a long term plan.
FWIW I'm not sure I would launch with 'must sell' smacks of desperation and I think you will get very low offers, you can always add this later if it doesn't sell.
I'm London too BTW
(I'm amazed you gat a vlue of 850, if it needs work/decorating and not close to transport )

mylittlemonsters · 10/08/2008 02:04

I personally would put it on the market lower than the estate agents say. I honestly think they don't know what they are doing at the moment.

Prices are only going in one direction and your best bet is to undercut the competition or you just won't get any buyers through the door. You need to put it on at a price that you are willing to drop another 30k or so from.

Our house was on the market last year (5 bed) in West London for £650 it would have got this a mere 3 months prior but we put it on in Aug just as the market started to plummet.

We removed it and put it back on a few months ago and now are marketing it at £530 and we have some buyers who are interested but won't pay more than £500.

Rental market is also not great.

We are 10 mins walk to tube station but not in fab school catchment.

If you can sell to work I would seriously consider it

1dilemma · 10/08/2008 11:39

I don't think you can really expect more than 500k that close to stamp duty border though. I have ffound it focuses peoples offers.

I would take anything over 600k as meaning I wont take less than 500k I would not offer more than 450 on a 530

But I totally realise you wont sell to me at that price!

mylittlemonsters · 10/08/2008 21:12

I think it depends on the house because if a 5 bed gets below 500k for West London then 4 beds and 3 beds need to take a proportionate cut to the 300 and 400 mark and at the moment I can't see that happening - hence the reason why the market is stagnant

1dilemma · 10/08/2008 23:08

Agree MLM!!

Original poster

drowninginlaundry · 18/08/2008 14:34

We got two more agents in to have a look, both valued it at £699,000. We put it on the market on Tuesday for £669,950 , and have just got an offer for £610,000! Sold - thank you very much!

can't believe it, after our previous agent (a big chain in London) trying to sell it on and off for a year, gradually lowering the price and still no offers, we changed agents, did some de-cluttering, and the first viewing produced an offer.

Now I just have to hope that the chain holds... fingers crossed!

OP posts:

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