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There must be a few estate agents on here, I can't think of a job more suited for sitting on your hands, surfing the internet all day.
We put our house up for sale back in August, we're not desperate to move, just want somewhere a bit bigger in the same area. The agent came round, took some photos, stuck them in a standard template and stuck it online. I then took some better photos and demanded that they use my pictures too, and they changed the titles of the pics etc.
And that seems to be it.
We've had a two viewings since then, one of which came twice but nothing further. Is it wrong of me to expect the agent to put some effort into getting people in the door of the house? After all, their commission depends on it. I know we could drop the price to appeal to more people, but I obviously want to get as much for the house as possible, and I think if compared to similar houses locally, we're competitive.
Thinking of switching agents and making sure the new one knows we're not happy. Not impressed 🙁
Tough one but does anyone want to move to your area? Are the for sale boards coming up and down? It could be that nobody is interested. If you want an alternative do the online version where you do the work.
Well it certainly sounds like you have a rubbish one unless you've really priced it too high but then they should be telling you that if it's the case.
I'd change in your circumstances.
Once a house sale is successfully completed, everyone involved is sacked. This is the only explanation I can think of to explain the fact that nobody involved seems to have a clue.
but does anyone want to move to your area?
Yes, houses are changing hands.
Its an odd one here, property either sells instantly to someone local who's watching, or takes months or even years to sell. We seem to have inadvertently fallen into the latter group.
Every time I've spoken the agent, its cliche after cliche after cliche to the point of contradicting themselves. I was told today that "it was really quiet over Christmas, we had lots of interest and sold lots of houses". What?
Ask them what they think could be done to improve your chances of selling.
Get someone else round to value and ask them to advise of their recommended approach to selling.
Compare the two.
You did look around and do your research about who was best-placed to sell your house in the first place didn't you? Ie, get several people to value and provide reports, find one where they advertise, find out what their no-sale contingency is, choose one that has a previous record of selling similar houses, ask them how big their mailing list of *suitable* buyers is etc etc etc didn't you?
As much as I agree that estate agents do little to earn their money I also think that a house at the right price will get viewings on the basis of a right move ad alone.
Does anyone go browse estate agents windows for houses anymore? I assume your agent has listed on RightMove? If so, there's something wrong with the advert or the price as to why you're not getting viewings.
Your agent only has so many contacts that might be interested in properties...if they aren't interested your only hope is the internet viewing public imo.
Post the ad, lets have a look.
Surely this is one service the demand for which will diminish greatly over the coming years as more and more tasks are being carried out by the consumer for themselves online.
There will probably always be a need for estate agents, but I predict their numbers to fall greatly over the next ten years.
But what do I know?
[url= http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-47849672.html/svr/2714;jsessionid=2FA42009CA6F02D9E3DAD96D428F2B29 ]Rightmove Ad[/url]
Also on Zoopla too.
Click through - if nothing else it will throw their figures into disarray 🙂
This is the reason I'm going with House Network to sell my house. Traditional high street estate agents simply do not deserve the money they charge, the sooner as the whole business goes online the better. You're basically paying their high street rents with most of your fee - who goes round the estate agents nowadays looking for houses?
I went to two recently to enquire about selling my house with them. First one didn't do viewings outside 9-5 office hours. We both work so couldn't do that, they were completely unwilling to even stretch this to even 5.30pm. Second one I went to admitted that the listings on the internet showed more info than they have in the showrooms.
No idea about the area (which will obviously have a huge impact on very local values) but a slightly wider search in the same area shows some better-priced properties.
Such as this one
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-32837805.html
Decent ad - I may have removed some of the kids stuff out for the photos (and the wet towel on the radiator! 😉 ) as I can't see from the pics what I'd use the patio door room for but generally the pics look good - I'd certainly go and have a look if it came up in my searches. One thing that did jump out at me was that the kitchen looks like a cheap one for a £280k house but that wouldn't stop a viewing.
If that is top price for a house like that in the area then that may be an issue - why visit when there are cheaper in the area?
They do very little, they don't need to if everything goes smoothly. If I was going to sell I'd try and DIY it, not like you've got anything to lose.
Crikey, I thought houses were cheaper up North, you'd pay that down here on the South Coast...
Houses don't advertise, sit in a shot window and drive customers repeatdly to a house themselves. Just like you can say what does a bikeshop do to sell a bike?
[wild stab in the dark with many assumptions]Your house is only worth what someone will pay it.
You might find that if you only change estate agent and stick at the current price, you will initially get some viewings but then be back to the situation you're at now. Who your agent is doesn't really matter too much due to the internet, everyone can see what's for sale on Rightmove etc. If the house is well presented and priced right it will sell. The only benefit I can see to going to another agent is better advice on pricing.
If you post your current ad on here people can give an honest opinion as to how it appears to them. It's the initial impression that counts
Not to go completely More 4 at 8pm on a weekday, but have you thought about sticking where you are and extending?[/wild stab in the dark with many assumptions]
EDIT: After seeing the advert and that you're in Hexham, I actually think it's indicative of the area. My uncle lives not to far away and has had exactly the same issue, nice house but market slow. If you really need to move (as he now does due to marriage split) then have to take a hit on price
- third bedroom in the loft: our loft is unconverted and massive, easily space for a 4th room and ensuite up there. ALso, that one doesn't have off-street parking (and the garden won't be as sunny)Such as this one
I may have removed some of the kids stuff out for the photos (and the wet towel on the radiator!
So would I but the agent went round on her own taking the pics.
Major key things we've got that other 3-bed "old" terraces (in Hexham) don't have is off-street parking and a private sunny garden. Most of the terraces are built with the garden out front and a yard onto a back alley out the back. In our case, they never built the road, so the garden faces onto a set of allotments, and the yard is our driveway. Also we've got a massive utility room, big enough for 5 bikes, 2 pushchairs and more. Problem is I want space for 8 bikes, which will be increased as the pushchair count goes down...
- First pic isn't the best and that's the one that'll show up first in searches on rightmove. The house looks quite small from that pic and the portrait photo doesn't help. Is it the back? Any reason the front wasn't used?
- As above, other houses seem to look better for the money though not knowing the area, obviously small distances can significantly affect the prices of houses but this is STC and is a bit cheaper and looks much bigger. http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-45472553.html
IMHO the main problem is there is very little in the garden for an STW to take the piss
I hope you find this helpful 😉
As others note the issue is price and location
one of these is wrong and you can only change one.
I agree, what value do they add?
I went into a local agents a couple of years ago and told them I was ready to move, my house was sold and what did they have. They told me just to keep an eye on the website, didn't even take my name or contact number.
Yours is a big house, why are they not contacted previous buyers of smaller properties to see if they are ready to up size? Are they sending mailshots out to local new build estates to list larger, older properties for sale?
A complete lack of imagination. All you are paying for is to get on Rightmove. The minute Rightmove accepts adverts from provate sellers online only sellers the estate agency market will collapse. (hopefully)
[i]We put our house up for sale back in August, we're not desperate to move, [/i]
IMO people get the suppliers they deserve...
If you're not desperate to move they won't be desperate to sell; ie put any effort in if they don't think you'll actually move.
I've bought/sold on a number of occasions and never had a problem with either the estate agent or the solicitors - but then I'd like to believe that I managed them, not the other way around.
- third bedroom in the loft: our loft is unconverted and massive, easily space for a 4th room and ensuite up there. ALso, that one doesn't have off-street parking (and the garden won't be as sunny)
An unconverted loft space and off-road parking don't add £30k.
Why not spend the money you'd put into moving to a bigger house into converting that massive space and save yourselves loads of hassle?
In my - admittedly limited - experience, never underestimate the effect a kitchen can have. With respect, yours looks a bit thrown together. How much for a buyer to refit it, and is your asking price representative or are you competing with 'walk-in' properties in your area?
Also the fact the asking price was reduced by 10k so soon after listing tells me there's little interest, would give me doubts about it still being overpriced, or getting reduced further if I wait.
You need to manage the estate agents as br said above, they work for you and if you are not happy talk to then. They take a lot in commission so get them to work for it
but
you need to provide them with the goods to sell and follow/ask for their advice.
Selling houses is hard work for the seller,remove the emotion from selling your home and sell a house. Done it many times, work the estate agents hard and cut out any BS.
Don't flame me, trying to help. I wouldn't view it, or would need the following to be rectified/clarified before I did.
The front. If I'm paying more than a quarter of a million for a house there are likely to be at least a couple of decent cars in the household. Is there safe parking for both of them, or will there be fallings out with the neighbours over parking. The front extension/paving has also killed the kerb appeal of a country cottage.
The apparent lack of a nice entrance hall, no pic of the actual entrance, but one of the bottom of the stairs area. Confusing layout to a browser, who just has to find one offputting feature before moving on to the next house, it's only a click away.
The allotments. All I can see is phase 3 of the school rebuild, then the view gone and the noise of kids over the back fence for the rest of time. If the allotment land is genuinely protected from future development, make it clear.
Inside is bland, although the big kitchen/diner/family is in vogue, your pics don't give it a wow factor, which might be impossible with the colourscheme. Bathrooms are ok, but a big bucks buyer is looking for fully tiled and fancy showers, not a suction mat on the wall and a droopy curtain.
Sorry.
You will get defensive but it is your house and you are rightly proud of it you have a perception of how much you have spent on it and what you need to seamlessly move on from this you arrive at your price. Your price is wrong I really like your house from the pics I would move into it in a heart beat but it is too expensive for the area if it has not sold.
We're onto our third (or is it fourth?) agent now. They're all a shower of excrement. Full of broken promises, lies and made up knowledge. I'm sure after I fired the last one for our house they sent us two punishment viewings.
Wish I had norovirus. I would then visit as many as I could between s4ttings.
From someone who's been buying recently:
- Most of your ad is really nice, well lit photos, house is obviously in good nick, if it was the kind of house i was looking for it's be on the list
HOWEVER
- The first shot on your ad is the back of the house. Always makes me suspicious that there's something wrong with the front (which is what the house 'looks' like, and is important). Indeed, I couldn't see a proper shot of the front at all, which I'd want. This would put it towards the bottom of my 'interested' list. This may sound petty, but people go on hunches when buying houses.
Estate Agents don't do a lot for their money nowadays because they don't need to; I can look at your ad on Rightmove, see your house/neighbourhood on Google Streetmaps, look up insurance rates, crime rates, flood risks, all that stuff in an hour on the web, and that's before I even book a viewing.
Overall, given it's a decent ad, if you're getting little interest then something is putting people off and my guess is it's overpriced, pure and simple.
One other thing - it appears that the upstairs bathroom arrangement seems to indicate there is a separate WC and bathroom. People don't like this layout nowadays so people will be mentally factoring in changing that into their sums.
And another...
Your floorplan doesn't have dimensions on it. The other one I linked to does and to me that house seems a better option - nice use of space in the conversion, some nice period features but also more modern fixtures and fittings like the kitchen and bathrooms. It also has easy storage space - always an issue in a terraced property.
If they are in a similar sort of neighbourhood the other one would be first on my viewing list, especially at £30k less. If *yours* was £30k less than that one, I'd look at it with the view of spending £30k on converting the attic and firsth floor bathroom.
Interesting points. Good to know that we all agree estate agents are lazy arses. 🙂
Very interesting to hear your perception of the house from the photos. I'm not going to answer them all, but I can certainly accept your thoughts on it. Its hard to see it from new eyes, knowing full well how the pictures mesh together.
One comment though:
The "front" of the house is actually the back yard, so its a masive improvement. The "back" of the houe is actually the front garden, so unlike other front gardens, is private.The front extension/paving has also killed the kerb appeal of a country cottage.
And don't get me started on the school. It was a field when we moved in. Grrr. Still at least it means its only noisy at times, 9am-3pm mon-fir and quiet the rest of the time, and the space can't have a housing estate on it. Good point about the allotment land being protected. Might have to look into it.
Has the stamp duty change happened already?
If not, that's the reason nobody wants your house now.
The apparent lack of a nice entrance hall, no pic of the actual entrance
I *knew* there was something odd. There's no front door to speak of. Picture 8 is the entrance area, hence the doormat.
edit: Ah I see. Well that's one thing. The front door looks like the back door.
Has the stamp duty change happened already?If not, that's the reason nobody wants your house now.
the change should be a good thing. Before, we knew it might be struggle to price it over £250k, now there's only the extra duty to pay on the difference.
Ooh, one other thing that niggles, does nobody haggle any more? If you like the house but think its too expensive, why not offer less and see what happens?
[i]Its hard to see it from new eyes, knowing full well how the pictures mesh together.
[/i]
This is tricky when selling a house; you're so used to the place, how it looks and how it 'works' that you take it for granted.
The key thing to remember is that you're not selling[b]your[/b] house, you're selling [b]a[/b] house. The buyer knows nothing about it and has to be told how it looks and, more importantly, 'works'.
This is something that the ad needs to show as much as possible, and the viewing definetely should. And my furter advice is do NOT do your own viewings, let the agent do them, ideally when you're not there. If I'm looking at somewhere i want to be able to have a frank discussion about it, and, being British and not liking to offend, I can't have that with the owner, or when the owner is hanging around.
Ohh, and 18 months ago we sold this - a very similar sort of property in many ways (same back to front layout, loft conversion etc). Just thought it might help you see how your advert (text and images) might be improved.
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-26689929.html
Sold in a week with two potential buyers fighting over it - amazingly we sold for just under the asking price despite the stamp duty issue we had back then.
Because if you think it's £30k over priced then it's probably a waste of time trying to haggle that much as the seller won't budge that much. That's how (most) people think.
[i]Ooh, one other thing that niggles, does nobody haggle any more? If you like the house but think its too expensive, why not offer less and see what happens?
[/i]
If you price it too high, people will think you're taking the piss and won't bother, or will think that you're taking the piss and the negotiation will be a ball ache and won't bother. Or they'll be very British and think that a low offer will make you think that they're taking the piss, and won't bother.
Price it realistically, it'll sell.
Because if you think it's £30k over priced then it's probably a waste of time trying to haggle that much as the seller won't budge that much. That's how (most) people think.
Agreed.
On a blind test I would have put the OPs house at £30k less than the other property I linked to> http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-32837805.html
I sold after three failed sales last year.
Agent 1 took the property on at the start of March & gave me the three failed sales. They got plenty of people through the door, but their follow up to ensure the sale completed was atrocious.
I switched to Agent 2 mid August, went on the market on Tuesday of that week, sold by the following Monday (I had 5 offers). The fee for this agent was higher than the first one, but they did deliver an appreciably higher sale price. They did actually follow through with the buyer to ensure the sale completed (which it did mid October).
Both agents were from large chains.
Sounds to me like the agent isn't that brilliant, so I'd consider changing.
If you like the house but think its too expensive, why not offer less and see what happens?
So you are basically admitting it's over or at least optimistically priced. You need to get people in before they can haggle, if the ad doesn't tell the story of the house then you need to fix the ad.
Our estate agent was great. Told them that we were keen to sell, sent round appropriate viewers and helped to haggle over price etc when got an offer BUT you do need to keep in touch to let them know you are still keen and that there time wont be wasted on you i.e. that you really are going to sell and not back out. Ours found us a buyer who knew that we were waiting for the right house and he was prepared to wait.
The house we ended up buying was marketed very poorly with sellers who lived away from the area who put no pressure on the agent. Cracking house which we got for about £50,000 less than it should have been. Interestingly, adding to my first point, it was on with the same agent.
People do haggle. People can see beyond the occasional ropey picture. I don't think there is anything really wrong with your ad, I would certainly view the property. I do agree that domensions would be good though
Why not get hold of a couple of hundred printed sets of particulars and give them out to parents at the nearby school. If your agent isn't going to be proactive then you could be.
Most of all though, Dec and Jan are crappy months to be on the market so don't be surprised if it is quiet.
parents at the nearby school
Another important consideration - what are the primary and secondary catchments schools like in your property against other similar ones in your area with different catchment schools?
It was the number one priority for us when we moved.
One reason: Over priced.
I'm never impressed when the photos show the back of the house first and when there isn't a full wide shot of the front at all. It just says we are hiding something.
Our experience of buying last year was 'interesting'. Some of which was vendors, much was agent (Clyde).
Bear in mind this is Scotland, where offers accepted are supposed to be binding, and are made by the purchasers solicitors.
Agent tells vendor house is worth £220k, but market at £190 and people will bid up.
Agent markets house as 3 bed, with no proper mention of fourth (downstairs it has to be said) bedroom or large sunroom. This could be see on plans, but not images or description.
Agent tells vendor house is in peachy condition, and no I wouldn't bother tidying garden. (House is not in good nick, and garden was a DUMP)
We made offer of asking price (£190k) almost immediately, including evidence of deposit, mortgage offer and financial adviser involved. It was turned down.
Three other offers were 'accepted' of higher amount. None had either mortgage in place at all, or one had not realised that amount over asking price came out of cash, not from lending.
It was news to the agent that offers over asking price needed to be cash, and than new houses up road under Govt. scheme needed much lower deposit, or that they had any involvement in checking folk making an offer. I was receiving begging calls from agent daily to up our offer - why would I when we were only credible offer on table? Basically after two months of faff, we withdrew offer.
We then had phone call from housing developer down the road direct who was about to lose a sale, and vendors of our house, lose their deposit. Minus agent, and face to face, the developer, vendor and ourselves sorted a deal, agreed timescales, checked mortgages etc. We all moved 3 days after the agreed date, with minmal faff.
And the developer told the agent to go do one on fees, as they had offer from us for 8 weeks that they did not accept.
I personally am going to look at selling direct ourselves in future - you can get onto Zoopla/Rightmove etc via simple third parties now, and I think it would save cost and hassle.
It does sit among a lot of 4 bed houses in the area for the same price. I don't know the area so the others may not be in such a desirable location for schools, main road etc.
I don't know what number you are but what does Zoopla's current values suggest it's worth? From experience their estimates are surprisingly up to date. I am an estate agent of sort, but commercial not resi.
you can get onto Zoopla/Rightmove etc via simple third parties now
Such as? I would be really interested in this.
http://www.propertyinvestmentproject.co.uk/blog/online-estate-agents/
(EDIT: that was a quick google, more may be available)
I must admit, yours looks great, and it would tempt me - if it weren't for the fact there is a four bed detached a few streets away with off-road parking at 285K. Even if I didn't like that one, it would make me wonder as a buyer whether I was paying over the odds for yours.
Has Hexham got some kind of weird pricing going on to make yours pretty much the same price as that? Or perhaps yours is on too high.
Estate agents? [i]*ptew*[/i] spit.
The seemingly decent agent who I employed to sell my 3 storey terrace in trendy Summerseat (near Bury) under-valued it for a quick sale and commission. He had lived in the area all his life and knew about the bad reputation of the houses before they were gentrified so suggested a very low price, failing to recognise the fact that the house was perfect for a working young single or couple being well-sorted and close to the M66. The following day I rang and told him to add £10,000 to the price then the next day another £5,000. I subsequently had two young single women first-time buyers making me ever-increasing offers starting at £15,000 over the price the agent had suggested. I took the first offer because I had given my agreement to the woman and I refused to gazump her as the agent then suggested.
Scum, altogether.
Aye too spendy
nice gaff though
There's some value in what an agent can do in putting and keeping a chain together such as getting everyone to accept lower prices than expected because it means they get the house they wanted to buy if not the price they hoped to achieve on the one they're selling. I can't see that happening with only internet viewing and little effective communication. Then there's looking after the chain and making sure no one messses up. Who'd want to be in the middle of 5 internet sellers? At least an agent has the incentive of getting 5 lots of commission and should work hard to keep it together.
The pictures and marketing stuff is childs play nowadays.
I'm not an agent and don't particularly like them but I stll value some of what they provide.
I'm never impressed when the photos show the back of the house first and when there isn't a full wide shot of the front at all. It just says we are hiding something
This^^ & with no wide shot of front, seems to be hiding something? seems a lot of dough for a 3 bed terrace oop in the frozen north
We recently sold our house and the agent didn't really have to do much (17 viewings in one day, nine offers, sold £20k over asking price), but it was after this the hard work really started. They were brilliant in communicating between all parties in the chain to keep everything moving, which wasn't easy given that both top and bottom wanted different completion dates.
Would you believe. They've pulled their fingers out of their respective arses and arranged a viewing for this weekend.
'bout time.
I can see the difficulty in getting the front/back shots. Thankfully Google Streetview helps to sort it out a bit.
What do Estate Agents do? Figure that out before you decide to pay for one. I've now sold twice using Mov8 and was very happy at vfm for £600. Of course, that doesn't include viewing (available at an extra cost) but I'm much happier handling that myself anyway.
Oh - and I'm surprised at how little you get for the money. I'd really expected a lot more in that area. Shows how little I know.
FWIW, we had the option of two identical houses when we last moved. We chose the one that had the much better view, even though it was £10k more. Just goes to show how external factors can influence the price.
Have to say, as someone who's been looking to buy in the area recently, I'd probably see your price as a bit high and the photos as a bit underwhelming - nice enough but nothing that would pique my interest.
If we were still looking I might well have gone for a viewing but I'd be expecting to come away thinking it was 20k+ over the odds. I think people are less interested in haggling
I definitely agree that the lack of a "context" shot hurts the ad too. The house looks perfectly respectable on streetview so it seems odd that there's not one.
Who decided the asking price? You, or recommended by agent? What values did other agents suggest?
My recent experience meshes with Wallop's.
Our agents didn't really know the market (They suggested a price £25k under what it finally sold for) but they did take some good photos.
It was after the offer was accepted that they earned their commission by guiding the process from offers to completion, aligning a chain of 5 with differing needs in terms of completion dates.
I should add - ours was priced deliberately low (at the stamp duty threshold) in order to gain more interest from potential buyers.
oh goodness, don't get me started on estate agents. i simply cannot believe that people responsible for such high value sales are so utterly useless and inept at selling. and that view is based on quite a few years buying/selling houses.
my two of many... a sealed bid that we won, got the call telling us we had won, except within 1 hour we heard that the estate agents had told the next highest bidders our max bid and they had then gone back to the seller with an increased offer from the other party that, yep, was accepted over us.
just before xmas we looked at a house, one of two semi detached for sale. we also wanted to look at the other as it had a different layout and was in better condition and even after a week of pestering for a viewing they would not even return our calls. so we gave up.
Sold my last two houses through marketing only companies. The first was about £200 and the second (higher priced house) was about £500. Both included for sale boards, advertising on their own websites and Rightmove.
The only benefit in hindsight that I would have got from an estate agent that I would have liked was a list of potential buyers already looking for houses in the area. Most of those buyers nowadays though are savvy enough to be checking the websites for new properties anyway and are receiving automated emails.
Of course, that doesn't include viewing (available at an extra cost) but I'm much happier handling that myself anyway.
I don't know how much it varies around the country but where we live estate agents only appear to be involved in viewings if the owner's are dead. Every occupied house we looked round only involved being shown round by the owner.
I have nothing useful to add, I just wanted to be nosy. I like your floorboards.
As Squidlord says, plus I agree estate agents are rubbish, we gave up and part ex'd ours. Should move end of this month hopefully!
I don't know how much it varies around the country but where we live estate agents only appear to be involved in viewings if the owner's are dead. Every occupied house we looked round only involved being shown round by the owner
[i]That[/i] is lazy.[i]
Quite likely OP that you've missed the market. All the data coming through at the moment suggests prices have gone beyond what people can raise enough money to pay for, or are willing to pay.
More than a few people are calling the top of the market and expecting things to drop this year - especially as the lending figures dropped 2nd half of 2014 and new buyer enquiries have dropped.
I suspect a lot of potential buyers are being cautious about overpaying for something which may well be cheaper in a year's time
I like your floorboards.
Thanks. So do I. I like the house, but it just isn't big enough for a bike workshop.
Not only are estate agents a ****less shower of wasters, they are quite often sleazy in notifying their developer or builder pals when a good restoration project comes on the market then ensuring that their pal gets the property at a knock-down price.
Wasps and estate agents... oh, and Scottsh midges. What are they for?