Pabs Posted June 5, 2007 Author Share Posted June 5, 2007 Well... i recon the estate agents must have a Supra and read these forums... As if by magic - I get 2 phone calls today, from different people at the agency. We've now got 2 viewings - 1 tomorrow and 1 on thursday! Not going to hold my hopes up - probably the agent sending around bogus people or just trying to look like they are doing something, but still....they just might be real..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan999 Posted June 5, 2007 Share Posted June 5, 2007 Pisses me off the price of houses etc. Im 26, single and live with my parents still. On the wage I am on I would have to get a stupid mortgage and not be able to have a life to live somewhere decent or live in a hole for a while and hope to be able to sell it at some point in the future. Its a pain in the arse! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pabs Posted June 5, 2007 Author Share Posted June 5, 2007 yes - it is a pain. I hate living in smaller flats, or places that are not quite "up to scratch" (currently in ex-council flat, not a fantastic area, etc) but by getting on the ladder 4yrs ago we're much better off. Because of the house price increase, we're now able to buy something much bigger/better using the profit in the flat as deposit. We're not on particularly big wages either... and both 25. Not much in savings at all, still with fairly large student loans to pay off.... but i consider ourselves quite lucky that we did it when we did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chewie Posted June 5, 2007 Share Posted June 5, 2007 This suspiciously like what happened to me. It's an old estate agent's trick to get you to sign up with them. I enquired at a local estate agent in Cheltenham to sell my flat. I was only after % commission quotes. Anyway left a few details. Still shopping around. A few days later I get a 'frantic' call from this agent saying he's got a buyer who wants to see my flat. Okay! They come round and this old biddy says she'll buy it. Then she leaves. The agent says as he's found me a buyer I better sign up the contract pronto. Okay! But I point out do I really need a 12 week contract when he's found me a buyer so fast? He says it's just a standard contract. Merely a formality. A few days later the buyer pulls out. I get about 4 viewings in 12 weeks. I complain asking to be let off but all he does is wave the contract in my face and even pints out I hav eto give them 2 weeks notice I want out. A 'mate' from a rival estate agent tells me it was the estate agent's mum and was just to get me on their books. Bet he never knew his dad. BASTARD!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pabs Posted June 5, 2007 Author Share Posted June 5, 2007 well, we've been signed onto this agent for ages, they sold 1st viewing inside 2 days - but we fell through, and now back on market (and have been for 2-3 weeks) Well, we'll see what happens... if they turn up then that's a good start.. if anything else happens then I'll be plesantly suprised. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edd_t Posted June 5, 2007 Share Posted June 5, 2007 woohoo got a call for the estate agents today. got a lady coming round to view my flat on saturday. i best tidy up and make the place smell nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pabs Posted June 5, 2007 Author Share Posted June 5, 2007 good luck mate - lets hope we both get something out of the viewings! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathew Posted June 5, 2007 Share Posted June 5, 2007 im feeling for you guys living in the big cities with those house prices! a mate hasnt long bought a 2 up + 2 down for £87k. looks really nice aswell with a new kitchen already fitted. so much money is being ploughed into this area at the moment that the prices look like rising even more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pabs Posted June 5, 2007 Author Share Posted June 5, 2007 im feeling for you guys living in the big cities with those house prices! a mate hasnt long bought a 2 up + 2 down for £87k. looks really nice aswell with a new kitchen already fitted. so much money is being ploughed into this area at the moment that the prices look like rising even more i generally don't consider outside of southampton or somewhere around that area to be "in the big cities"..... But it definately is more expensive from London area and south. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnA Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 ...Okay! They come round and this old biddy says she'll buy it. Then she leaves. The agent says as he's found me a buyer I better sign up the contract pronto. Okay! But I point out do I really need a 12 week contract when he's found me a buyer so fast? He says it's just a standard contract. Merely a formality. A few days later the buyer pulls out. ... Ha ha, this is an old trick:d Fake buyers at *just* the right time You think 'what if?' and they think 'sucker!' Live goes on though, when the market is slow estate agents have to keep their books full otherwise their AudiTT will be repossesed... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grahamc Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 Just make accepted offers legal binding and solve most of these sorts of problems... worked really well in South Africa. You can put clauses in to make sure that you get what you want, but once accepted and clauses are fulfilled, you are buying the house. We are struggling to find a decent place for under 250K... the joys of living in Surrey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnA Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 When I was selling my previous house 5 years ago, I had made it explicitly clear to the estate agent that no offer would be accepted until I was satisfied about the buyer's willingness and ability to go through. That weeded out all those timewasters who go around giving offers like popcorn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chewie Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 When I was selling my previous house 5 years ago, I had made it explicitly clear to the estate agent that no offer would be accepted until I was satisfied about the buyer's willingness and ability to go through. That weeded out all those timewasters who go around giving offers like popcorn. Yeah I know now! Most of the 'buyer' never eeven showed up. The four viewings I did get, I had to show them around myself. What estate agents about? W-anchors!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edd_t Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 Ha ha, this is an old trick:d Fake buyers at *just* the right time You think 'what if?' and they think 'sucker!' Live goes on though, when the market is slow estate agents have to keep their books full otherwise their AudiTT will be repossesed... i think your right. i got another call today: "another lady is intrested in your flat, shes doing a drive-by today to see if she likes the area, then she will call to say if she wants to view" yeh right bollox! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlotte Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 I think everyone could speculate till the cows come home about the property market. In my experience flats are slightly more difficult to sell, but that's not to say that there is anything wrong with the current market. I've been in this particular industry for about 6 years now and throughout that time there hasn't been any real 'quiet' times apart from the tail end of 2005. However, industry 'experts' are predicting that due to the sellers packs being introduced (delayed until August) this will make people more reluctant to put their properties on the market and therefore slow things down slightly. Good luck with your sale though, it's never fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheefa Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 Are these the Home Information Packs etc? They're causing a bit of a mare for us Property Insurers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlotte Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 Are these the Home Information Packs etc? They're causing a bit of a mare for us Property Insurers. They haven't come into effect yet, hopefully they won't. They started off by being a fairly resourceful thing and ended up being completely irrelevant. They originally became legislation because they were to provide a detailed survey for every property thus you could see a property, see a survey, see searches, feel more confident about purchasing and the transaction would be quicker. They scrapped the idea of the survey last year because the government hadn't trained up enough of the specific surveyors that would be tailored to that requirement (different to a normal surveyor). So now all that's going to happen is you will see a property, see searches and an energy efficiency report. It's not even a requirement for the seller to fill out forms about the property anymore. All that plus the fact that each pack will cost approx £500. I believe this sort of information is made available to buyers in Europe for no extra cost to the seller or the purchaser. Why are they causing you a 'mare' at the moment though, with preparation? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbourner Posted June 6, 2007 Share Posted June 6, 2007 A mate said he got a survey done on a flat, but for one reason or another decided to go elsewhere, and they wouldn't let him GIVE the report to the new buyer (who he bumped into, same block) - they said the new buyer had to buy their own report - what a con!!! Anyhoo. I'm 25, bought 2 bed end of terrace with 40' garden with the missus a year ago. £122k. Now we have £100 a week between us to pay for petrol, ALL the shopping, going out etc.!! I did just get a 14% pay rise though, which is nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pabs Posted June 6, 2007 Author Share Posted June 6, 2007 We've just managed to sell our searches onto the new buyers of the place we lost out on ... so we got £125 back (out of around £250-300). The survey (£500) we CANNOT sell on....!!! What bollocks! These HIPS have been delayed (which is good) but I think everyone has slapped their property on the market before they do come into effect (if) because they don't want the hassle of having to do it. Anyway, I did our viewing this morning - actually went really well (i think) but I doubt we'll get an offer from them. They were very keen on the place, asking lots of questions and deciding where they could fit their bits and pieces... but we'll see. Another viewing tomorrow, but this one the agent is doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pabs Posted June 25, 2007 Author Share Posted June 25, 2007 Anyone in the business got any more updates on the market situation??? Different agents are giving us different stories - some say market is the same, others say it's "levelled off"... We've given our current agents their 2 weeks notice - new agents are signed up and ready to start work from the day after our contract terminates with current agents. I must say I'm VERY disappointed at our current agents attitude - since the sale fell through they've lost ALL interest in our flat - and us - blatantly ignoring our messages now, not answering the phone, and not bothering to even TRY to sell our flat. 0 viewings in 4 weeks, only 2 viewings in 6 weeks.... Anyway - they're gone as of next monday - and the new peeps step in. Slightly more expensive, but certainly sound a lot better - they do floorplans, and hopefully better photos (they took over 40-50 of our flat, hopefully 5-6 of them will be good) and they are putting us on the market for our original price (to start with).. I'm sceptical about putting the flat on the market with a new agent for MORE than we are currently on the market for - but we'll give it 2 weeks, and if no interest then we'll drop back down again. They seem really confident (which could be because they don't know the market?) but we thought we'd give them a go. Wish me luck - it's been 14/15 weeks since we first went on the market now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DannyW Posted June 25, 2007 Share Posted June 25, 2007 Well we've just sold our house in under 4 weeks to a cash buyer (but he had priced it £10-15k below valuation in a bid to get it shifted quick), and have chosen our new house already. Estate agents are hoping for a 28 day exchange but we'll see what happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pabs Posted June 25, 2007 Author Share Posted June 25, 2007 well done matey - my fingers are crossed for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
far Posted June 25, 2007 Share Posted June 25, 2007 Pablo I buy and sell properties on the regular and its worth noting the following: 1) You say you cant afford a 'buy to let' on your current flat - why not? 'buy to let' products are treated as business loans i.e. the mortgage calculation will not have an impact on any sepearate (residential) mortgage you get. You can put down as little as 10% deposit as long as your rental income equates (or is greater than) your mortgage monthly. Your property looks like its worth circa 110k - this means you could do a 10% BTL, dont have eleven grand to use as a deposit? Take out a long term 25 year loan for 11k, this will cost you about 90-100 pounds per month intially but the return you get from the property will be much greater and you could sell the property and pay off the loan in a few years with a significant return. If you choose to keep it longer then as rental incomes increase your tennants will end up paying for your long term loan as well as your BTL - all the time equity will be getting built up 2) Are you still in contract with your estate agent? If not sack them and get someone else on, get them on .75% commision and 2 week contract, give them 2 weeks notice the day you sign up and confirm they have qualified buyers on their books who they can get through your door. Different estate agents may have different buyers on their books - therefore its worth changing your agent. If I was you I would hang onto the flat - you will also have a much more commanding position when you are buying a property as you will effectively be a no chain buyer. Its dead easy to build a property portfolio if you play your cards right, my final word would be not to look at BTL mortgages as 'loans' instead see them as 'business prospects' good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pabs Posted June 26, 2007 Author Share Posted June 26, 2007 Interesting...... TBH the only reason we couldn't afford a BTL was because of the deposit - We have 20k (in savings + capital in flat) which equated to the 10% deposit we wanted for our next house. If we used some of that money for the BTL, we'd have a much smaller deposit - thus increasing the cost for our new house. How can we find out the potential interest for our flat for rent? Obviously I can look on market and see what else is available in our area, but we'd have to ensure that we keep tennants in the flat or we won't be able afford the payments. We HAVE changed agents - signed up with them last night. They start advertising the property next week, when our current contract expires with the other agents. I think we may seriously look at the BTL on the flat though... lots of people seem to think we can afford it - might have to talk to the mortgage people later on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnA Posted June 26, 2007 Share Posted June 26, 2007 Last year and the years before there has traditionally been a forest of 'For Sale' signs in the area here - starting around April and ending late summer This year nothing. The fine tradition is nowhere to be seen, just the odd 'Sold' sign cropping up month after month (on the same properties often, signifying gazundering...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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