House valuation

[Oleanda]

My house has been on the market for 4 months and I've had viewers but no offers, I can't afford the extra fees for having more than one agent, but is it acceptable to ask another agent to value the house?

[ramasus]

Hello,

We have recently have the trauma of selling a house (and we had already bought another one), so have had some fun with estate agents.

Firstly, if you house is already on the market, if you ask another agent that you might want to swap to them, they will aready know what the other agents are putting the house on the market for, and may not give an honest valuation.  Afterall, they are always after some money, and no doubt guarantee you they could sell it.

In our experience, when we have out house valued, we had values of 145, 153, 156.  We opted for halfway between the top 2, and 7 months later, we still hadn't shifted it.  The lower value was from a local adgent, who looking back now were realistic with the price, and we did sell it for that price.  The problem with adgents, they say more to get you selling with them, then when it doesn't sell, advise you to drop it.  They still get commision at the end of the day unless you change, and they are hoping you don't.

Look around at the other houses in the market around you, afterall, you have to be competative with the other houses, or have a unique selling point.  Even go and look around the other houses.

Best of Luck

[loelliott]

Your agent should be selling on your behalf, ask for honest feedback from the viewings so far, what did'nt they like - it may be simple fixable things like decor or removing clutter or any perceived untidyness.  Its in your agents interest to sell your property and he should be your best guide - I was told my kitchen was "dated" - which I admit I was offended by, but took the comment on board and reduced the price to account for this, which resulted in a sale!  Good luck

[Loosehead]

Unless you've signed a sole agency deal then you can have as many agents as you like, you only poay the one that actually sells it.

Barring obvious problems of decor location etc etc, the main reason properties don't sell I'm is price. Is it realistically priced, remember the house market is fall ing, there where 40000 less completions last month, buyers are being very picky, make yours the one they want. There is also a belief that the prices may crash so a lot of potential buyers are just waiting, afraid of pilling in a getting burnt by a crash, all factors affecting the price.

[jean88]

Does the price of your house have (ono)/ offers around /offers considered  at the end of it? People can put an offer of what they think is the house is worth anyway. Are there many houses near yours not shifting? If so, this just indicate there are not enough buyers in the area. Therefore, you have to make yours stand out from the rest. Like declutter things that you dont want or put them away in sheds and loft or storage. Put a new coat of paint on walls, neutral colours are best like white and cream. Make the house clean as possible. I know, people are fussy, buyers market, they going to do their own things to the house anyway but first impression and they could imagine themselves doing their own stuff.

Also, it depends on the contract if u have one, some contract are for 6 months, after 6 months u can withdraw the house from the market and put it up again after price with other agents, look at other houses for sale, if they use the same agent, you should go for that one, or use a local agent.

If your contract is more than 6 months, then consider to lower the price buy 2-3k to attract new buyers( reduce for quick sale)

[Oleanda]

Thank you for all your replies. There is nothing wrong with the house itself, I have done all the de-cluttering, neutralising, cleaning and tidying, and all the feed-back I'm getting is positive about the house. It is the position which is putting people off, it is reached via a gravel track which is jointly owned by 11 households, the majority of whom have no interest in maintaining it (and before anyone asks the inevitable, there is nothing in our deeds compelling us to maintain it, some of the houses are leasehold anyway). This track has deteriorated over the years I have lived here and a few of us have tried to get the others to chip in for repairs, but no luck. Opposite the house is a row of delapidated garages owned by the six houses on the other side, most of the people in those houses do not use the garages and over the years they have fallen into disrepair and are an eyesore. These are what people who view my house cite as the things against it. The house is different and bigger than most around it so comparing prices is difficult. At the time I first put the house on the market I was going through a difficult time and I don't remember signing a contract, I certainly cannot find a copy on one now.

[jean88]

You can always ask the estate agent about the contract and get a copy. Ask them ways to speed up sale.

[Lindseth]

Depends on how much of a rush you are in to sell. We moved at Christmas after our house had been on the market for over 12 months!  The house itself was fine but location, although in a village close to shops, etc,  was opposite a large office block. Had very few viewings but eventually we sold to people who lived in the village and knew about the business opposite. We had many different valuations but went for one just above the average and held out for it.  We got what we wanted in the end but it was a long wait with lost sales along the way.  Was worth it in the end.  Good luck.