Diary of a house sale....post covid

[Sasquatch]

It's all good I'm pleased to say. We are pushing hard for exchange at the end of the month. The buyers are super keen to move in.

[Sasquatch]

23 hours ago, UmBongo said:

Hope the discussion goes alright @Sasquatch

Trying to sell my late parents' house (3 bed ex-LA house). I have two elder sisters that I have mentioned in my topic in Stealth entitled "Family Feud" . The eldest L is alright but A (middle child) is a bit awkward. A initially got the ball rolling in instructing an estate agent because she's a bit of a Karen/Mumsnetter type that gets some sort of kick out of the house selling and buying process. She has thrown her toys out of the pram (again! Long story) and has passed responsibility to L and I. No firm offers of yet. Price dropped from £200k to £190k, has generated more interest.

 

Starting to see a lot more price drops round here as well. New properties are still coming to market but I think they need to be realistically priced or they'll just sit, especially as we move into October.

[sancho panza]

21 hours ago, Sasquatch said:

It's all good I'm pleased to say. We are pushing hard for exchange at the end of the month. The buyers are super keen to move in.

Good lusk Sas,we have rellies in Oz who've jsut STRed.....................can't believe anyone down there would be buying but maybe one of the lcoals might tell us.

Once this sugar rush is over,and the job losses start coming,it could get brutal otu there.

[Sasquatch]

10 minutes ago, sancho panza said:

Good lusk Sas,we have rellies in Oz who've jsut STRed.....................can't believe anyone down there would be buying but maybe one of the lcoals might tell us.

Once this sugar rush is over,and the job losses start coming,it could get brutal otu there.

Thanks. We're nearly over the line but I remain very nervous. 

Houses have sold well here between June and August but it's definitely tailed off in the last 3 or 4 weeks. 

[sleepwello'nights]

A fourth viewing today, and an offer has been made. Asking price less 2% of our reduced price, wife is over the moon. Our agent tells us he has nothing to sell and is ready to go. I'm now contemplating all the work I'll have to do, clearing clutter, emptying the garage......

We'll now have to start looking in earnest for our next, probably last home.

 

[Sasquatch]

Well how about that. We've just exchanged!

A rather remarkable 5.5 weeks from accepting the offer. Just shows what you can do with the shortest chain possible (we go into rented, buyer coming out of rented). Both parties though have had to constantly hassle their respective solicitors to get things done.

We complete in two weeks.

Need to sign our tenancy agreement sharpish or we'll be living out of the back of our car.....

[UnconventionalWisdom]

My mum sadly left this world just before lockdown. We completed the sale of her house last week. Happy it's sold and new people in. Like most on here, i think the prices are crazy so good to get it done before the economy gets properly screwed.

We started advertising as the house viewing restrictions were lifted so all in all about 3/4 months. Not sure why the buyers (first time buyers) didn't try to speed things up. I pushed for a completion date as the unoccupied insurance was coming to an end. 

[Green Devil]

Had another agent around and place valued at 10% higher that the last guy  

Has it gone up that much in two weeks? Just finishing of a few jobs and hopefully it will go on next week. What price should i go with 

[leonardratso]

£8.34 GBP

[wherebee]

20 hours ago, Sasquatch said:

Well how about that. We've just exchanged!

A rather remarkable 5.5 weeks from accepting the offer. Just shows what you can do with the shortest chain possible (we go into rented, buyer coming out of rented). Both parties though have had to constantly hassle their respective solicitors to get things done.

We complete in two weeks.

Need to sign our tenancy agreement sharpish or we'll be living out of the back of our car.....

I found it incredible in the UK just how shit solicitors were in the house selling process.  I've sold 4, and in each case (different lawyer each time) I had to badger them all the time.

 

In Australia, I bought when not even in the country and it all got done in about 2 weeks, no fuss.

[AlfredTheLittle]

54 minutes ago, wherebee said:

I found it incredible in the UK just how shit solicitors were in the house selling process.  I've sold 4, and in each case (different lawyer each time) I had to badger them all the time.

 

In Australia, I bought when not even in the country and it all got done in about 2 weeks, no fuss.

They do everything with paper and a pencil, so it takes forever. They must surely be just about the last profession that hasn't gone paperless.

[Sasquatch]

22 hours ago, AlfredTheLittle said:

They do everything with paper and a pencil, so it takes forever. They must surely be just about the last profession that hasn't gone paperless.

Every time we called our solicitor, our 'file' happened to be the next one they were dropping on to. 

Even our agent was flabbergasted that we'd got to exchange in less than 6 weeks. Very rarely happens.

[Sasquatch]

Couple of local sales have just collapsed, including a house that has been on the market for over 2 years. I bet that owner is properly fed up. New properties still coming to the market but I just don't think the buyers are out there now (in our area).

We'll be viewing lots of properties to buy in the next few months whilst in rental. It will be very interesting to see if we can gauge sentiment and if there is a clear shift from a seller's to a buyer's market. 

[spygirl]

On 26/09/2020 at 13:11, AlfredTheLittle said:

They do everything with paper and a pencil, so it takes forever. They must surely be just about the last profession that hasn't gone paperless.

Quills.

3 hours ago, Sasquatch said:

Couple of local sales have just collapsed, including a house that has been on the market for over 2 years. I bet that owner is properly fed up. New properties still coming to the market but I just don't think the buyers are out there now (in our area).

We'll be viewing lots of properties to buy in the next few months whilst in rental. It will be very interesting to see if we can gauge sentiment and if there is a clear shift from a seller's to a buyer's market. 

Buyers are out there, always.

Just not the leverage.

[Wight Flight]

7 hours ago, Sasquatch said:

Couple of local sales have just collapsed, including a house that has been on the market for over 2 years. I bet that owner is properly fed up. New properties still coming to the market but I just don't think the buyers are out there now (in our area).

We'll be viewing lots of properties to buy in the next few months whilst in rental. It will be very interesting to see if we can gauge sentiment and if there is a clear shift from a seller's to a buyer's market. 

Why the rush?

Things will be very different come April 2021.

[wherebee]

6 hours ago, Wight Flight said:

Why the rush?

Things will be very different come April 2021.

because when inflation whacks in, house prices will go up (even if they are falling in real terms).

you don't want to be sitting on the sidelines in an inflationary economy holding banknotes.  If your STR assets are in an inflationary form, fine, otherwise you're losing money every day.

 

[spygirl]

37 minutes ago, wherebee said:

because when inflation whacks in, house prices will go up (even if they are falling in real terms).

you don't want to be sitting on the sidelines in an inflationary economy holding banknotes.  If your STR assets are in an inflationary form, fine, otherwise you're losing money every day.

 

Ivee no doubt we are getting a big dollop of inflation. UK has had massive inflation in the last 10 years, mainly assets.

However in terms of housing reacting to inflation then it depends on wages responding to inflation.

I reckon for the majority theyll experience the worse kind of inflation - rising costs but stagnant wages.

My reason being is that 30-40% of working age household draw their income mainly from benefits. These people are going to find themselves back in Labour market with no leverage.

Then theres a huge lump of current employed who have little to no wage leverage - if they went on strike the company would just close their jump, save the redundo.

 

 

 

[wherebee]

15 minutes ago, spygirl said:

Ivee no doubt we are getting a big dollop of inflation. UK has had massive inflation in the last 10 years, mainly assets.

However in terms of housing reacting to inflation then it depends on wages responding to inflation.

I reckon for the majority theyll experience the worse kind of inflation - rising costs but stagnant wages.

My reason being is that 30-40% of working age household draw their income mainly from benefits. These people are going to find themselves back in Labour market with no leverage.

Then theres a huge lump of current employed who have little to no wage leverage - if they went on strike the company would just close their jump, save the redundo.

 

 

 

agree with all of that.

 

my view is that the currencies of the west will slide in value, so that a pint becomes 10 quid/13 bucks/15 bucks (UK/US/OZ).  Governments will support onshoring more and more as it is the only way to prevent collapse of the national economies - the piper has to be paid after 40 years of offshoring. Large infrastructure projects driven by gvt spending.  Benefits will be held flat = shitter each year.  Wages will inflate, and houses will increase in currency terms but actually be going backwards in real terms.

[Sasquatch]

7 hours ago, Wight Flight said:

Why the rush?

Things will be very different come April 2021.

No rush. For the first time in over a decade, we actually have spare time on the work front. The next house purchase is a crucial one and we want to view lots of properties to make sure we've covered all of the bases. Unless the perfect home turns up in the next couple of months, I don't see us moving until the middle/end of next year. We're meeting the rental agent this morning and will be signing either a 12 or 18 month AST.

We viewed a house on Saturday (listed mill buildings). Massively over priced (by at least 30%). The market needs to stagnate for a few months yet.....

[sancho panza]

On 28/09/2020 at 08:53, Sasquatch said:

No rush. For the first time in over a decade, we actually have spare time on the work front. The next house purchase is a crucial one and we want to view lots of properties to make sure we've covered all of the bases. Unless the perfect home turns up in the next couple of months, I don't see us moving until the middle/end of next year. We're meeting the rental agent this morning and will be signing either a 12 or 18 month AST.

We viewed a house on Saturday (listed mill buildings). Massively over priced (by at least 30%). The market needs to stagnate for a few months yet.....

How competitively priced were you in retrospect? Have many people cut prices yet?Or still kite flying.

Well done btw....Super news.

[Sasquatch]

39 minutes ago, sancho panza said:

How competitively priced were you in retrospect? Have many people cut prices yet?Or still kite flying.

Well done btw....Super news.

Ta! 

I think we were super lucky in the end. A young couple living very close by, both earning good money but living in a flat without outside space. The lockdown concentrated their minds and our house gave them what they wanted. Lot more space, nice garden, fully refurbished house (don't think they do DIY, like most of their age these days). They are keeping their flat and renting it out.

We knocked enough off to make it look like a good buy. We dropped 7% from original asking price (the price exceeded our expectations so the reduction was ok). We then gave the buyers another 4% off. They were very eager to move and that helped us go from offer to completion in less than 8 weeks.

The local market is very interesting. We're been keeping a close eye on it. Two very high end properties have sold this summer (one at £2M, the other £1.3M) but they are exceptional and very rare. Otherwise very little sales. Properties in our area the city within 10% of our selling price up to the highest price = 33 no. Of these, 6 no. are down as SSTC but will they all go through? 10 no. have reduced prices. A few are now also up for rent as well. It's looking like deadsville now to us.

[sancho panza]

19 hours ago, Sasquatch said:

Ta! 

I think we were super lucky in the end. A young couple living very close by, both earning good money but living in a flat without outside space. The lockdown concentrated their minds and our house gave them what they wanted. Lot more space, nice garden, fully refurbished house (don't think they do DIY, like most of their age these days). They are keeping their flat and renting it out.

We knocked enough off to make it look like a good buy. We dropped 7% from original asking price (the price exceeded our expectations so the reduction was ok). We then gave the buyers another 4% off. They were very eager to move and that helped us go from offer to completion in less than 8 weeks.

The local market is very interesting. We're been keeping a close eye on it. Two very high end properties have sold this summer (one at £2M, the other £1.3M) but they are exceptional and very rare. Otherwise very little sales. Properties in our area the city within 10% of our selling price up to the highest price = 33 no. Of these, 6 no. are down as SSTC but will they all go through? 10 no. have reduced prices. A few are now also up for rent as well. It's looking like deadsville now to us.

yeah it's intriguing really.I lvoe markets and the way yhtye work.Its funny how a littl reduction in price can make al the difference.

Liquidity is everything tho.I agree that the two uber priced houses are outliers really that you can't read much into.Markets wiht few sales tend to spike higher or lower more sharply than those with strong liquity.

here's the april data for LE2 near us.Normally RM pulibsh their data 3 months behind.currently it's 6,I suspect because it's that awful.

longer term picture shows how bad liquity is but prices still rising.SOmething has to give I suspect.makes you realsie how the bull market to 2007 had more participants.

[Sasquatch]

Just been on the phone to our insurer to change address details. 45 minutes later I feel like murdering someone. Why is the world so shit these days?! 

Do I know the exact age of the new property? 19th C I said. Not good enough, exact build date required! I guessed 1875 in the end. 

Has it flooded? I don't know, I'm only renting it.

Has it suffered from subsidence? I don't know. What's that got to do with contents cover?

Apparently I became frustrated enough to trigger an automatic complaint mechanism. Whoops!  

Now feeling a bit sorry for the call centre person but she did say that there would be no cover unless I could answer the above questions accurately.

In the end 'not to my knowledge' sufficed but I've been asked to speak to the letting agent to get all of the details and then ring them back.

This is not good for my blood pressure. I hope the removal team haven't packed away all of the booze...

[leonardratso]

55 minutes ago, Sasquatch said:

Just been on the phone to our insurer to change address details. 45 minutes later I feel like murdering someone. Why is the world so shit these days?! 

Do I know the exact age of the new property? 19th C I said. Not good enough, exact build date required! I guessed 1875 in the end. 

Has it flooded? I don't know, I'm only renting it.

Has it suffered from subsidence? I don't know. What's that got to do with contents cover?

Apparently I became frustrated enough to trigger an automatic complaint mechanism. Whoops!  

Now feeling a bit sorry for the call centre person but she did say that there would be no cover unless I could answer the above questions accurately.

In the end 'not to my knowledge' sufficed but I've been asked to speak to the letting agent to get all of the details and then ring them back.

This is not good for my blood pressure. I hope the removal team haven't packed away all of the booze...

sounds a shit insurance company.

I rarely get asked that in such detail, and i change ours every year, often going back to the original one after 2 or 3 year cycles as we drop off their 'existing' customer list.

I suggest you immeditely burn it down just to piss the insurance company off.

 

 

[spygirl]

5 hours ago, Sasquatch said:

Just been on the phone to our insurer to change address details. 45 minutes later I feel like murdering someone. Why is the world so shit these days?! 

Do I know the exact age of the new property? 19th C I said. Not good enough, exact build date required! I guessed 1875 in the end. 

Has it flooded? I don't know, I'm only renting it.

Has it suffered from subsidence? I don't know. What's that got to do with contents cover?

Apparently I became frustrated enough to trigger an automatic complaint mechanism. Whoops!  

Now feeling a bit sorry for the call centre person but she did say that there would be no cover unless I could answer the above questions accurately.

In the end 'not to my knowledge' sufficed but I've been asked to speak to the letting agent to get all of the details and then ring them back.

This is not good for my blood pressure. I hope the removal team haven't packed away all of the booze...

That sounds like you or insurance co have their wires crossed.

You only need contents insurance when renting.

Other than asking where it is n vague house info, they dont care about the house.

As far as flooding theyll know better than you.