I thought that even in this markett any property would sell if at thw right price.

[twinsetandpearls]

We have just phoned the estate agent to drop our price again to lower than we paid for it but I thought if that is what has to be done that is what we will do and just tighten our belts a bit further to save whatever we loose. {although the belt is pinching already.

We were advised to put the house on at 155 ( up north) we put it on at 145 to sell, we have dropped anad dropped and were at 129,500 and wanted to go down to 124.500.

The estate agent has done it but his parting words were
"Your house is worth more than that, we sold an identical one recently for 150K, you are pricing yourself too low for your target market and the problem, isnt the price but that no one wants to buy"

I am sure there is some truth in that as we know other people trying to sell who are not even getting viewings, we are getting those at least but the feedback is lovely house but we are unsure of buying or we need to sell ours.

So what do we do? Our savings have all gone, we tried renting it out but
1 it wont cover the mortgage anyway,
2 last time we did this we were rippped of big style and had top redecorate top repair the damage
3 The renting market is flooded
4All that means is delaying while prices drop further
5 we need to buy in a falling market as we are buying up.

WHOA there!

Twinset, I have a Saturday job in an estate agents (up North, but not in Blackpool).
Things here are selling, at the right price.
I have heard that auctions are not doing so well atm, have your Estate Agents come up with any ideas as to how to push it more?
How about going dual agency on it, so two agents can fight it out?
May put a bomb under them.
The estate agents I work for is a national chain and they pay the staff minimum wage, so they are hungry for sales, I think they have a branch in Blackpool, could be time for a change?

Jeez, agree with Fimbo, this thread is a MNer wanted help and advice not a catfight, take it OUTSIDE ladies!

We couldn't sell our last house easily (I was v impatient) and ended up part exing, it was so easy and stress free and builders are desperate to offload houses so will offer lots of incentives, it may be an idea to look into. May not be your "forever" house (ours certainly isn't), but could get you out of a hole?

Good luck

Or dig you into a deeper one ..... new builds are typically 30% over priced anyway at the best of times, combined with the falling market you could be going out of the frying pan into the fire.

Sorrento you really are a prophet of doom aren't you?

Our newbuild has held it's price and as I say there are lots of developers prepared to bargain hard at the moment. It is something to look into, you know to be proactive and positive?

Sorrento we are trying our best to help Twinset. I live in a new build and yes I have probably lost a lot of money on it, but I bought it towards the end of the development and paid £40k under what it was originally on for. Twinset is desperate and this could be the only way at the moment and as she isn't here to speak for herself I am bowing out of this thread.

Actually somebody posted on here recently who's DH worked for Barratts, basically saying that Barrats if it came to it would rather stop building houses and keep their land banks than reduce the price, so actually as the OP's house is of a generous size and on a decent plot she'd be going very backwards indeed exchanging for a newbuild.
And as an electrician who has worked on many a first fix I wouldn't touch one with a barge pole.

Being an estate agent I'm sure you're as likely to vote for a drop in commission as a turkey is for Christmas but please be realistic if you're going to offer advice and suggestions because no agent I know would part exchange, you loose at every turn.

Fimbo I am humbly suggesting that a part ex might be throwing good money after bad, they never pay the EA's valuation on your house and then load the price of the newbuild too, it would be better to get rid of her house and then play hard ball with the developers if she wants a new build.

I think twinset should really try everything else before going for a new build.I have to agree with sorrento on this one.

Well what are the suggestions then?

Twinset, do you really need to sell? Selling your home for less you paid for it is a radical step. I would go to houseprices.co.uk and find out what houses in your street are selling for. What was the feedback after viewings? Is there anything you can fix? When I sold my first house, I had quite a few problems as it was on main road and with a takeaway next door. I used the same agent I bought it from and they were quite aggressive in securing an offer. Would a change of agent help?

Hi Twinset. I haven't been on MN much recently (been sprucing up my rapidly decreasing in value house ready for remortgage surveyor in a month or two ironically!) Sorry to see you still are struggling to sell.

My suggestion is to go back through nethouseprices.com and look at the sold values for houses on your road then put the figures into the Halifax House Price Calculator and see how this comes out compared to the current asking prices on your road. It only currently goes up until Q4 2008 so will be lower when the new figures for 2009 Q1 come out shortly. It's only a guide but might be helpful to cut through all the agent twaddle. Am I right in saying that you don't have a parking space whereas some of the others do ? Are any of the viewings mentioning this as I think in this sort of market people can afford to be picky about things like this and you need to factor this into the price.

When it comes down to it, what is the bottom figure could you sell for taking into account what you need to clear your mortgage and put down a deposit on a new place ?

Noddy & Sorrento have a very good point about taking on a new build and I too would avoid doing that if I can possibly help it.

I think I would be tempted to consider changing agents or maybe even have two. And possibly offering a cash incentive if they can secur a sale for you within the next whatever you feel is an appropriate amount of time by whatever means they chose.

The good news is some things have dropped a fair bit down here. Some sellers are still in cloud cuckoo land but some are being realistic about their pricing and there are some good deals out there.

Also meant to say if you haven't already, download property bee (google it) and you'll be able to keep track better what is going on with reductions down here.

OK so other possible options may include:

Offering some cash to buyer as a partial 'deposit' - I have seen that advertised round here but not sure how it work (or if banks would even like it) but if this is a hurdle for first time buyers then it may help?

Considering whether you really need to buy immediately when you move for your new job? Is renting a short term option? Would this give you a bit more breathing space?
I know its a bit of a nuisance but the money you would lose in the PE would more than cover your rent.

Firstly, Sorrento I am NOT an Estate Agent, I work in one on a Saturday, but do have a good feel for how things are going in our area and have bought a new build myself.

A new build part ex could be a good step if the new build is already built and the developer is desperate for cash, only then would it make sense. Your existing Estate Agent wouldn't be involved (only if the Developer chose them out of the 3 local ones that they get valuations from) so would have nothing to do with them.

The Estate Agents where I work are getting their vendors to offer various incentives:
part ex (wouldn't work in your circumstance I wouldn't think as you don't want to stay in area), Stamp Duty paid, Legal fees paid and are getting Vendors to reduce their price where applicable.

Oh, and our new build is in a lovely development, with a nice size garden and we've no problems with the electrics
Not all new builds are bad, have a look and see whats out there.

Sorrento, the agency where I work is offering part ex, as I said earlier. But if Twinset was to buy a newbuild and part ex her own, her existing Estate Agent wouldn't be involved anyway. The developer goes to 3 estate agents and gets 3 "quick sale" valuations and chooses who to go with, nowt to do with them at all.

Brettgirl, Twinset started her new job in September and has been renting down here since August.

Good ideas from Brettgirl and Lizzylou about incentives.

I know the market is bad but it does seem that some areas are beginning to get some things selling, so fingers crossed this will happen where your house is and combined with your agent pulling their finger out/coming up with some incentives, you'll get shot of it once and for all.

OK, so that one was a year behind the times then.

Lizzylou - is that a home mover scheme rather than actual part exchange? A home mover scheme is a possibility - round here it isn't true to say that new builds are overpriced, currently they are priced quite competitively. Assuming it's a national housebuilder would the area matter?

Suggestions - rent it out take insurance and pay the difference between the rent and mortgage for as long as it takes or move back.
Send the family back immediately whilst you look for a job in the area, rent a room whatever you have to do mon to fri go home at weekends until you find another job.
Or put it on at the price you paid for it and get the pain over and done with, get it sold and then when you have the cash in the bank you can drive the price down of the house you are buying in the new area.

Do you two actually read the thread before wading in?

By twinsetandpearls Sat 21-Mar-09 16:34:39 Add a message | Report post | Contact poster
I will not move back under any circumstances. Apart from anything else I would not get a job as the schools in the area are making teachers redundant not taking on. I am the main breadwinner.

"Sorrento Fri 20-Feb-09 18:11:41
Don't rent it out, things are only going to get worse and then your fittings and decor might need replacing not too mention any damage they might do too."

Sorrento on Sat 21-Mar-09 16:40:23
"It is dead quiet that's true but what is he going to do about it ?
You'd be better of loosing £2.5k a year you know and wait it out, IMO we're 12 months off the bottom and 3 years off recovery so that's 4 x £2.5k and you'll loose more than that selling IMO. "

I did not imply you contradicted yourself, you have contradicted yourself and fair enough we are all unsure of what is going to happen. It just amuses me that you are so certain in your advice and then switch position.

I also do not need putting out of my misery, I am not a dying cat.

Well it's that or loose money isn't it ?

She shouldn't have moved before selling the house but hindsight is a wonderful thing.
So it's a case of cut your losses or move back from where I'm standing.

So get insurance then ?

I don't know why I'm bothering you clearly have your head in the sand, I give you one suggestion and you don't like it so I try and give you another and you throw it back at me.

Brettgirl, no an actual part exchange, so if say we have a 4 bed detached on our books and the vendors want to downsize and we get a 3 bed semi on then they simply part ex.
Has happened a few times, we also had a developer (national one) who we part ex'd for.

The Estate Agents I work at is selling an average of 3/4 houses a week, and it is not a big area. We have been mad busy since late January, they just took another member of staff on.
It's not just reposessions and investors either.

Lizzy could you cat me or give me a hint what agents you work for.