Ask An Estate Agent Anything

[Countdown]

A lot of buyers (like me) are quite lazy and won't bother with anything that needs work.

[Fusss]

Link detached, are they harder to sell?

Do you find people are more turned away from a link detached? Seems a weird price point between a semi and a detached.

[tux850]

LooneyTunes said:

Why do you think they’re 600mm wide units? Not uncommon to use wider units these days (and the ovens at the far end of the kitchen don’t appear to be stretched?).

The wall units look like they're the same width as the base unitts and it'd be unusual for those to be any wider than 600mm as it'd be quite a door to swing open. The spotlight in the ceiling looks stretched too - perhaps by 50% which would explain the 600mm imots looking more like 900mm?

Edited by tux850 on Monday 20th March 18:55

[Flooble]

Fusss said:

Link detached, are they harder to sell?

Do you find people are more turned away from a link detached? Seems a weird price point between a semi and a detached.

Ha, I always found those funny when I was looking. As far as I am concerned if the wall of the house next door is attached to the wall of your house, bedroom to bedroom, then it's a semi-detached. So that would be me turned off, as a sample size of one.

[surveyor]

OP - How do you find clients?

I recall in the early 90's at the start of my career, when the housing market was on its arse, especially in a pit town with the mine closing, a minor whose house was not selling coming into the office and wanted to put the price up, because the headline in The Sun said values had gone up by 4%.

Still, it did me good, as I got qualified so that I did not have to deal with stuff like that!

[tux850]

Flooble said:

Fusss said:

Link detached, are they harder to sell?

Do you find people are more turned away from a link detached? Seems a weird price point between a semi and a detached.

Ha, I always found those funny when I was looking. As far as I am concerned if the wall of the house next door is attached to the wall of your house, bedroom to bedroom, then it's a semi-detached. So that would be me turned off, as a sample size of one.

Whilst it does mean you can't walk all the way round it (unless you've got very obliging neighbours!) it does have the very significant benefit over a 'normal' semi in that there's no neighbour-related noise issue. I think link-detached is a useful term, but perhaps link-semi might have been a better term to have been invented as it would still set it apart from a normal semi but without pretending it is something it's not.

Edit: Just re-read your post and not sure I understand the bedroom-to-bedroom bit. Are you really talking about link-detached? As in, connected to the neighbours but only by a garage (typically).

[Flooble]

tux850 said:

Flooble said:

Fusss said:

Link detached, are they harder to sell?

Do you find people are more turned away from a link detached? Seems a weird price point between a semi and a detached.

Ha, I always found those funny when I was looking. As far as I am concerned if the wall of the house next door is attached to the wall of your house, bedroom to bedroom, then it's a semi-detached. So that would be me turned off, as a sample size of one.

Whilst it does mean you can't walk all the way round it (unless you've got very obliging neighbours!) it does have the very significant benefit over a 'normal' semi in that there's no neighbour-related noise issue. I think link-detached is a useful term, but perhaps link-semi might have been a better term to have been invented as it would still set it apart from a normal semi but without pretending it is something it's not.

Edit: Just re-read your post and not sure I understand the bedroom-to-bedroom bit. Are you really talking about link-detached? As in, connected to the neighbours but only by a garage (typically).

Yeah round here they use "link detached" even for what any sane person would call a semi.

[dhutch]

Yeah, that's a semi, imo.

Slightly better than living room to living for noise, but not link detached.

We live in a large Edwardian house which was divided into two in the 60s and leaves us with a large 4bed semi. But it's definitely a semi detached. Aka, well and truly attached down one side!

Fortunately we have a choice of two reception rooms, and the room attached on the neighbors side is a snugg they don't make much noise in. But definitely sometimes you can hear them watching a football match in there.

I'm sensitive to noise, but it's actually managable overall.

[tux850]

Flooble said:

Yeah round here they use "link detached" even for what any sane person would call a semi.

Ah, yes, see what you mean now! Agree, that's surely a semi by any definition.

[JWH]

Quags said:

The agent is obliged to take reasonable steps to verify these kind of things (what is defined as reasonable is debatable!)

Personally I would think you would have an interesting time proving that they knew, but you certainly have a case. Did they deliberately try to mislead you? I very much doubt that, were they negligent in not checking to the best of their ability? Very likely.

It's tough, because how far does an agent go? I ask to see permissions etc and usually will look at a council website to see if things have been approved. But I've heard of vendors printing out false permissions made up at home. Why, I've no idea as it gets found out at this stage!

The conveyancing process you go through is to verify all that kind of information.

I think that either agents need to be told 100% it's on them to check it legally (then they should be remunerated accordingly for time and costs incurred) or it 100% falls on initial searches via solicitors (which of course any prospective purchaser is free to do before agreeing a sale).

How much in costs would you be seeking? Again I fear the legal costs of trying to do this would amount to more than you feel you are owed.

I also doubt the agent attempted to deliberately mislead, however they did fail to do some pretty basic due diligence (evidently didn't ask to see permissions or visit the local authority planning portal). The vendor, however did very much mislead on the TA10 form.
I'm seeking the cost of a full buildings survey, the legal costs of the failed purchase and the cost of sourcing aerial photos to prove the build date claimed for the annexe was incorrect, it's a low 4 figure sum.

[Quags]

33q said:

I am really struggling to sell my cottage.

It has been on the market for 13 months.

Valued £230 to £250k by 2 agents....with work should make £300k

Dropped to £220k after about 6 weeks

Sale 1 - £215k failed as the buyer was concerned about the survey....it's an early 1800 cottage in need to refurbing

Back on August

Sale 2 agreed. £212k. Didn't want a survey...'Cash Sale'. At the eleventh hour had a survey and revised offer to £125k!!!!!!!!!!

And as if my bad luck wasn't enough the front was damaged by a runaway van where the driver had a heart attack and died at the scene.

Waited until post funeral to go back up.

I've put it up for auction (next week) guided at £150k..........no interest whatsoever

It needs work but in a conservation area with garden and parking with plenty of scope to extend and remodel.

Although I don't really want to I can see me spending a small amount..£10k and letting it again...any ideas?

What are surveyors saying is the issue? Just because there's no interest yet, it could still go at auction...

Depends what you're into for it, sounds to me like a cut your losses kind of place if it's that bad?

[Quags]

Fusss said:

Link detached, are they harder to sell?

Do you find people are more turned away from a link detached? Seems a weird price point between a semi and a detached.

They're not apart from the fact that link detached owners want the same money as fully detached despite what I might say.

I'm not a fan of them, but that's just me.

[Byker28i]

Quags said:

33q said:

I am really struggling to sell my cottage.

It has been on the market for 13 months.

Valued £230 to £250k by 2 agents....with work should make £300k

Dropped to £220k after about 6 weeks

Sale 1 - £215k failed as the buyer was concerned about the survey....it's an early 1800 cottage in need to refurbing

Back on August

Sale 2 agreed. £212k. Didn't want a survey...'Cash Sale'. At the eleventh hour had a survey and revised offer to £125k!!!!!!!!!!

And as if my bad luck wasn't enough the front was damaged by a runaway van where the driver had a heart attack and died at the scene.

Waited until post funeral to go back up.

I've put it up for auction (next week) guided at £150k..........no interest whatsoever

It needs work but in a conservation area with garden and parking with plenty of scope to extend and remodel.

Although I don't really want to I can see me spending a small amount..£10k and letting it again...any ideas?

What are surveyors saying is the issue? Just because there's no interest yet, it could still go at auction...

Depends what you're into for it, sounds to me like a cut your losses kind of place if it's that bad?

or surely put some money into it to make it more attractive to sell?

[Quags]

surveyor said:

OP - How do you find clients?

I recall in the early 90's at the start of my career, when the housing market was on its arse, especially in a pit town with the mine closing, a minor whose house was not selling coming into the office and wanted to put the price up, because the headline in The Sun said values had gone up by 4%.

Still, it did me good, as I got qualified so that I did not have to deal with stuff like that!

Its still very much like that.

You can present all the best evidence, comparables, experience in the world. But if their mate, or family member or whoever happens to say it's worth more then that's what they want. Yes it can be subjective, but the property ombudsman states:

"4b - Any figure you advise, either as a recommended asking price
or as a possible selling price must be given in good faith and
must reflect available information about the property and
current market conditions and must be supported by
comparable evidence. You must never deliberately
misrepresent the market value of a property"

Laughable when you think how many do, but more often than not it's greedy vendors.

[MisanoPayments]

Do you get much interest from overseas buyers?

Agents I am in contact with say that whilst the interest is there, the number of those parties coming over to view is still below pre-pandemic levels (although I am told some people have bought on the back of a video tour).

[Flooble]

Quags said:

Its still very much like that.

You can present all the best evidence, comparables, experience in the world. But if their mate, or family member or whoever happens to say it's worth more then that's what they want. Yes it can be subjective, but the property ombudsman states:

"4b - Any figure you advise, either as a recommended asking price
or as a possible selling price must be given in good faith and
must reflect available information about the property and
current market conditions and must be supported by
comparable evidence. You must never deliberately
misrepresent the market value of a property"

Laughable when you think how many do, but more often than not it's greedy vendors.

Amusingly I have had to argue an agent down before. They were wanted to put my place up for over 10% more than any vaguely comparable place. When it did sell, it sold for what I thought the asking price should have been (I had compromised with the agent and we met in the middle; it sold for 5% under). Ho hum!

[Quags]

MisanoPayments said:

Do you get much interest from overseas buyers?

Agents I am in contact with say that whilst the interest is there, the number of those parties coming over to view is still below pre-pandemic levels (although I am told some people have bought on the back of a video tour).

Some yes, but mostly our interest is 60% from London and 35% local.

[Byker28i]

Quags said:

MisanoPayments said:

Do you get much interest from overseas buyers?

Agents I am in contact with say that whilst the interest is there, the number of those parties coming over to view is still below pre-pandemic levels (although I am told some people have bought on the back of a video tour).

Some yes, but mostly our interest is 60% from London and 35% local.

Interesting, what area are you

[Quags]

South East

[KTF]

Do you ever say no you wont list it to a seller when you have been to see their house and realise its a wreck or going to take forever to sell or does everything have its price and you take it on regardless?