Is anyone moving now?

[SweptVolume]

kingston12 said:

SweptVolume said:

I contacted three agents. Two charged 1%+VAT and one charged 1.5%+VAT. Interestingly, the more expensive one was the most stereotypically an estate agent of the three, acting in a cocky and presumptive manner. The other two were far more respectful and professional.

Were they with one of the big name agencies?

Last time I looked at selling the highest quotes were from Foxtons and Dexters who were very much like that. The local ones were not at all like that and half the price.

No, they were semi-local (a few branches spread over the Oxon, Berks, Beds area) that clearly specialised on the fancier end of the market. I wonder if he just wasn't all that interested in my place as it was a bit cheap for him.

Ended up going with a very small, local branch of a pretty large national and they have been brilliant so far. Really impressed with their branch manager.

[essayer]

Mr Whippy said:

We had a cash buyer with a glacial cretinous solicitor.
The buyer was so meek seeming that they must have let the solicitor walk all over them.

A no chain house direct to cash buyer. It should have been 6-8 weeks. I think it was 4 or 5 months!

We really should have been more threatening on our deadlines but when we didn’t stick to it I think the buyers solicitor just got even more complacent.

How do you know it wasn't your solicitor?

[Mr Whippy]

essayer said:

Mr Whippy said:

We had a cash buyer with a glacial cretinous solicitor.
The buyer was so meek seeming that they must have let the solicitor walk all over them.

A no chain house direct to cash buyer. It should have been 6-8 weeks. I think it was 4 or 5 months!

We really should have been more threatening on our deadlines but when we didn’t stick to it I think the buyers solicitor just got even more complacent.

How do you know it wasn't your solicitor?

It was a no chain house to a cash buyer.

The estate agent said so.

They’d spoken to the buyer and they said they were eager. They’d even got their 10% deposit in before exchange all ready.

It was just the buyer was very soft with their solicitor, for some reason.

[kiethton]

We’ve agreed provisional exchange/completion dates for our sale after accepting an offer in early July. As the purchase is dragging I’ve pushed for 2 weeks between the 2 dates so we’ll be living with the MIL in a months time…

On our purchase, where the offer was accepted 3 weeks ago, the sellers information pack was apparently sent to their solicitor on Friday, but after mine and the agent chasing it hasn’t come through to me…. With a delay sourcing some documents for the mortgage (it’s coming Sarnie!) as long as we’re in for the 30th September I’m happy - can get an extra months savings for the costs and we save the c£3k of stamp that would otherwise become due.

Only question for those that have done this recently - where is the best place for bubble wrap?

[The ArtfulBodger]

kiethton said:

We’ve agreed provisional exchange/completion dates for our sale after accepting an offer in early July. As the purchase is dragging I’ve pushed for 2 weeks between the 2 dates so we’ll be living with the MIL in a months time…

On our purchase, where the offer was accepted 3 weeks ago, the sellers information pack was apparently sent to their solicitor on Friday, but after mine and the agent chasing it hasn’t come through to me…. With a delay sourcing some documents for the mortgage (it’s coming Sarnie!) as long as we’re in for the 30th September I’m happy - can get an extra months savings for the costs and we save the c£3k of stamp that would otherwise become due.

Only question for those that have done this recently - where is the best place for bubble wrap?

Regards your dates - don't be disappointed if they slip; you still have searches and enquiries to satisfy on both sale and purchase.

As for bubble wrap - Amazon worked out about there price wise, specialist suppliers tend to charge a lot for shipping.

This did us (Contents of 4 bed detached. wrapped most things including furniture)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07HY8CG8Z/ref...

[kiethton]

The ArtfulBodger said:

kiethton said:

We’ve agreed provisional exchange/completion dates for our sale after accepting an offer in early July. As the purchase is dragging I’ve pushed for 2 weeks between the 2 dates so we’ll be living with the MIL in a months time…

On our purchase, where the offer was accepted 3 weeks ago, the sellers information pack was apparently sent to their solicitor on Friday, but after mine and the agent chasing it hasn’t come through to me…. With a delay sourcing some documents for the mortgage (it’s coming Sarnie!) as long as we’re in for the 30th September I’m happy - can get an extra months savings for the costs and we save the c£3k of stamp that would otherwise become due.

Only question for those that have done this recently - where is the best place for bubble wrap?

Regards your dates - don't be disappointed if they slip; you still have searches and enquiries to satisfy on both sale and purchase.

As for bubble wrap - Amazon worked out about there price wise, specialist suppliers tend to charge a lot for shipping.

This did us (Contents of 4 bed detached. wrapped most things including furniture)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07HY8CG8Z/ref...

Indeed, I don't mind the dates on the sale slipping - each one is a day less with the MIL....(we've committed to breaking chain so two transactions interlinked)

On the sale the searches are done (to my knowledge) with just one follow-up enquiry outstanding (Gas cert which should be with me on Monday) and one that I can't provide (electrical certificate - lost)

Thanks for the Amazon link - looks perfect and should leave a lot left over (2 bed flat!)

[essayer]

Is anyone moving now? Not us, for we have moved!
Listed our house April
Offer accepted early May
Completed today

[littlebasher]

Seems like progress has finally been made

Agreed a sale on the house mid Feb. Ridiculously long chain where most parties have been dicking around for months, I finally had enough a few weeks ago and told my EA to remarket the house.

Our buyer pleaded with us not to relist and instead put his place on the market again, this seemed more logical as their place was cheaper and arguably easier to sell.
They got another buyer straight away and it became a race to see who could exchange first. Following that, and for the next 3 weeks we were told the the original chain was ready to exchange 'tomorrow' daily.

It never happened though, with our EA and solicitor being fed a variety of excuses from further down the chain. At the beginning of last week I lost my st and asked the EA to put our house back on the market. This prompted our buyer to drop the original chain completely and concentrate on their new buyer.

Estate agents acting for our buyer were able to buy the searches off the old chain last Wednesday (local authority are taking 10 weeks to reply to searches!). Contracts were exchanged Tuesday, with completion for the 11th.

So went from a dead end chain, to a supercharged exchange in the space of a week.

Roll on Wednesday....

[Bam89]

First time buyer looking for advice!

We've got a few viewings booked in over the weekend, they're all priced as follows

Offers in excess of £575k / £550k / £525k - all 3 went live this week
Offers in excess of £575k - was reduced from OIEO £600k 6 months ago

We put an offer in on a house we viewed a few weeks ago that was priced at offers over £550k and went to best and final offers. The offer was 5% below asking, but the agent basically told us we were miles off which threw me a bit.

I'm just wondering about etiquette on offers - Is it bad form to go way below the line they've drawn with the OIEO line? We could stretch to £575k, but not much more, gut feel is that the first is probably the one we're going to like the best but I don't want to set myself up for disappointment if we definitely need to go over that amount, which is why we've gone for a couple that are lower priced.

Then there's the one that has been on the market for a while, which is probably our second favourite from the listing - given its been up for a while, is offering below £575k acceptable?

All responses appreciated

[Mr Whippy]

We went to see a guide price £460, ended up at £505 cash offer, and still lost out.

But it was probably worth that in this crazy market.

Then I see stuff at £500 I wouldn’t want to buy.

So really it depends if you’re looking at something others will see value in or not.

At those prices you’re leaving the ‘common’ top end budget range where prices are pushed through sheer volume of buyers.


Ie, in my area... at £350-400 you probably have 10 buyers right now, so value for money is poor.

Go to 450-500 and maybe 5 buyers. VFM seems much better, but still heated bidding.

550+ and it’s really thinning out I think. Starting to get stuff hanging around unless it’s perfect.

600+ and you’re down to more considerate buyers and probably most stuff with a single interested party/bidder so suddenly it’s all in the buyers court again.

700+ and the market is mostly normal again... and ironically you probably get 3x more than you do at 350, just because of the demand being so thin.


You’ll know what to bid when you see it. If it feels like somewhere you’ll stay for decades then go for it.
If it’s another step on the ladder be more considerate of the value vs the market.

[kingston12]

Bam89 said:

Then there's the one that has been on the market for a while, which is probably our second favourite from the listing - given its been up for a while, is offering below £575k acceptable?

All responses appreciated

It's a very difficult question answer! Back in the 90s/early 00s, you'd always have started 10% or so below asking price and work from there. That was expected, and houses were priced to take account of that.

When everything went mad after that, the etiquette changed and the asking price seemed to become a bit 'firmer'. In fact, when I was last active in the market about eight years ago, some agents were actually pricing houses deliberately low in order to start a sealed bids process - nothing seemed to sell for anything near the asking price.

When something has been on the market for a while, I'm still an advocate of the 'opening bid not being low enough unless you're a bit embarrassed by it' approach, but I expect this is hopelessly out of date now given what's happened.

Do you think that the £575k is high given your other experience of the market? I only ask because we seem to be in the grip of the biggest sellers market in living memory, which might suggest that a house that has been on for six months is priced too high, despite the recent reduction.

[Bam89]

kingston12 said:

Bam89 said:

Then there's the one that has been on the market for a while, which is probably our second favourite from the listing - given its been up for a while, is offering below £575k acceptable?

All responses appreciated

It's a very difficult question answer! Back in the 90s/early 00s, you'd always have started 10% or so below asking price and work from there. That was expected, and houses were priced to take account of that.

When everything went mad after that, the etiquette changed and the asking price seemed to become a bit 'firmer'. In fact, when I was last active in the market about eight years ago, some agents were actually pricing houses deliberately low in order to start a sealed bids process - nothing seemed to sell for anything near the asking price.

When something has been on the market for a while, I'm still an advocate of the 'opening bid not being low enough unless you're a bit embarrassed by it' approach, but I expect this is hopelessly out of date now given what's happened.

Do you think that the £575k is high given your other experience of the market? I only ask because we seem to be in the grip of the biggest sellers market in living memory, which might suggest that a house that has been on for six months is priced too high, despite the recent reduction.

Before viewing anything, I would have gone for the 10% below asking approach, but it almost seems like a sure fire way to get the sellers back up at this point.

In answer to your last point, it's on a road where there have been 2 sales (out of 50 or so houses) in the last 5 years, so hard to get a gauge on value. If it was a turnkey home I think £575k would be fair, as it is a nice road, but it definitely needs a bit of modernising (decoration at the very least, longer term extension for kitchen / diner).

I've always heard of the "worst house on the best road" approach, this isn't quite the worst house but its toward the bottom end for sure!

[guitarcarfanatic]

Bam89 said:

Before viewing anything, I would have gone for the 10% below asking approach, but it almost seems like a sure fire way to get the sellers back up at this point.

In answer to your last point, it's on a road where there have been 2 sales (out of 50 or so houses) in the last 5 years, so hard to get a gauge on value. If it was a turnkey home I think £575k would be fair, as it is a nice road, but it definitely needs a bit of modernising (decoration at the very least, longer term extension for kitchen / diner).

I've always heard of the "worst house on the best road" approach, this isn't quite the worst house but its toward the bottom end for sure!

In the present market, offers in excess of is being used to get a lower rightmove search category - they are fully expecting more than the price listed. If they are desirable houses in the right area, I am not surprised your 5% offer below was miles off.

We got caught in the first part of the boom last year and houses were being sold on the day of listing up to 15% above the asking price!

[Bam89]

guitarcarfanatic said:

Bam89 said:

Before viewing anything, I would have gone for the 10% below asking approach, but it almost seems like a sure fire way to get the sellers back up at this point.

In answer to your last point, it's on a road where there have been 2 sales (out of 50 or so houses) in the last 5 years, so hard to get a gauge on value. If it was a turnkey home I think £575k would be fair, as it is a nice road, but it definitely needs a bit of modernising (decoration at the very least, longer term extension for kitchen / diner).

I've always heard of the "worst house on the best road" approach, this isn't quite the worst house but its toward the bottom end for sure!

In the present market, offers in excess of is being used to get a lower rightmove search category - they are fully expecting more than the price listed. If they are desirable houses in the right area, I am not surprised your 5% offer below was miles off.

We got caught in the first part of the boom last year and houses were being sold on the day of listing up to 15% above the asking price!

Fair enough, it was the first time we'd ever offered on a property so we were going in a bit blind straight in to best and final offers! 15% above asking feels crazy to me, even if the house is potentially worth that much, its the psychology of paying more than asking price that I'm struggling with!!

[kingston12]

Bam89 said:

Before viewing anything, I would have gone for the 10% below asking approach, but it almost seems like a sure fire way to get the sellers back up at this point.

In answer to your last point, it's on a road where there have been 2 sales (out of 50 or so houses) in the last 5 years, so hard to get a gauge on value. If it was a turnkey home I think £575k would be fair, as it is a nice road, but it definitely needs a bit of modernising (decoration at the very least, longer term extension for kitchen / diner).

I've always heard of the "worst house on the best road" approach, this isn't quite the worst house but its toward the bottom end for sure!

I think you're right about the possbility of getting the seller's (and agent's) back up by offering low. As I say, what was acceptable/standard a few years ago might not be any more.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't do it, of course. A lot will depend on how the agent and seller have come to that price. Some will know that £575k is toppy but happy to chance their arm, others will have been told it's a totally realistic price and to expect no less...

[johnnyBv8]

Bam89 said:

guitarcarfanatic said:

Bam89 said:

Before viewing anything, I would have gone for the 10% below asking approach, but it almost seems like a sure fire way to get the sellers back up at this point.

In answer to your last point, it's on a road where there have been 2 sales (out of 50 or so houses) in the last 5 years, so hard to get a gauge on value. If it was a turnkey home I think £575k would be fair, as it is a nice road, but it definitely needs a bit of modernising (decoration at the very least, longer term extension for kitchen / diner).

I've always heard of the "worst house on the best road" approach, this isn't quite the worst house but its toward the bottom end for sure!

In the present market, offers in excess of is being used to get a lower rightmove search category - they are fully expecting more than the price listed. If they are desirable houses in the right area, I am not surprised your 5% offer below was miles off.

We got caught in the first part of the boom last year and houses were being sold on the day of listing up to 15% above the asking price!

Fair enough, it was the first time we'd ever offered on a property so we were going in a bit blind straight in to best and final offers! 15% above asking feels crazy to me, even if the house is potentially worth that much, its the psychology of paying more than asking price that I'm struggling with!!

To a certain extent you have to put the asking price to one side. Research other prices to benchmark its value, work out what it’s worth to you (or if it’s in budget and a “must have” then estimate what the market would pay for it at the moment), and define your offer on this basis…it might be 5% under or it might be 15% over….

The problem we found was that we were offering what it was worth to us, rather than what it was worth in a competitive market. This might be a comfortable/logical approach, but it’s unlikely to win you the house if there’s a lot of interest.

[bodhi]

Starting to see some progress on our potential move - Mortgage is approved subject to valuation, which is happening on Monday, and at the same time our surveyor is going round to do a level 2 inspection (1930's house so thought this was prudent) and provide an independent valuation.

This is the bit we're a bit nervous about, as being hearing so many stories on First Time Buyers groups of properties being overvalued - which if that happens could well put the kibosh on the whole thing for us. It's up for slightly over the top end of the Zoopla valuation (280 vs 276 on Zoopla), so fingers crossed.

[Blown2CV]

essayer said:

Is anyone moving now? Not us, for we have moved!
Listed our house April
Offer accepted early May
Completed today

is this just a sale or a purchase too?

[Blown2CV]

on the subject of 'is an offer under asking acceptable'... the answer is 100% totally determined by the area, the type of house, and of course the asking price itself. There is no single answer.

[Sheepshanks]

Bam89 said:

Fair enough, it was the first time we'd ever offered on a property so we were going in a bit blind straight in to best and final offers!

You wouldn't normally expect best and final offers on a house that's been on the market for a while. Perhaps there's a bunch of people dancing around it but who knows whether that's at below asking and the seller is refusing to agree a lower price, or perhaps they're above asking and he's holding out to see how high it can go.

We listed FILs place, guided by EA, at OIEO £300K, right when things opened up after the first lockdown. Loads of interest and quickly went to best & final and only three people submitted firm offers, all at exactly £300K. We're aware of at least a couple of couples who walked away as they assumed it would go higher.

There was also a single girl, apparently with a 50% deposit, who offered £275K straight off, and then went up £5K at a time. EA wanted to push her to go higher but it just felt a bit annoying. Having said that, when we started the process I was thinking the house would be around £275K so without the other buyers, her offer would have been fine. She'd have known about the level of interest though - EA did sequential viewings.