Two different Estate Agents have valued my house at 30,000 pounds difference. Who do I believe?
Monday, July 12th, 2010 at
8:52 am
Help please?! The houses in our street have sold in the last year for about 175-200k. The 198k one was apparently in tip top repair. The house I’m selling does need modernisation but is basically a good house. The USP is the garden. It is end of terrace and has a garden approx 3 times size of all the other properties in the street. One Agent valued it at 215k. He said the garden was the asset. The other valued it at 185k and said the garden was a good selling point but had no intrinsic value!
Agent 1 wants to WOW me with a high figure. Agent 2 works on a flat fee NOT a percentage. So they both have reason to go high (to Wow) and lolw (for quick sale). I have an interested buyer privately. My question is…what’s it really worth? COuld agent 1 be telling the truth? Maybe the garden really does load a premium? So …..can anyone tell me…Does the garden make a lot of difference to the price? Any Estate Agents help me to understand this pickle please? Obviously another valuation!
Rent Back Fast
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Tagged with: House Selling • Lot • Telling The Truth
Filed under: flat sale
Get a 3rd agent in for a valuation
Irrespective of what they say, don;t go with an agent who wants a flat fee, that have no interest in getting you a good price. I wouldn;t trust that system at all.
I would put the house up for slightly more that what you think would sell - try a higher price, see what happens - you can always lower it or accept offers.
Get a 3rd valuation and work out the average price.
I’d go somewhere in the middle, bearing in mind property prices are dropping anyway.
If I was buying a house again, a large garden would be worth paying more money for.
The one with the higher value wants more for his fee the one with the fixed fee wants a quick sale so he has to do less work go somewhere in the middle and you wont be wrong
Go for a price in between, say 200k ! or if you want to negotiate go for 220k and let them knock you down to 200k.
Get a third agent to value it, If your garden is big is it big enough to put another property on it, or is there no access as now adays people are buying houses with big gardens just for this reason
why dont your put your house in tip top condition and then sell it
Find out from people around you what their houses sold for. There is a site on the internet which gives prices sold for in postcode areas. Not sure of its address but browse for it.
Some agents try to impress you with a Wow price then let it rest in their in tray in case a high offer comes. This occassionally happens if someone has a special reason for buying in an area, relation near etc. Generally i prefer the smaller, local agents. Go for the lower prices suggested and see if a real offer comes back. Remember a lower price with an offer is better than a higher one without. (Sorry, that’s obvious isn’t it?)
Also have a good read of the local property papers. If you are near a school or rail station it will get a good price if it’s a family house with 3 or 4 bedrooms. Not so important with smaller properties. Equally a garden is more important in bigger houses as it’s an extra play space for kids. Take your time and try to test statements by agent. They are known to be storytellers. It’s part of their training! Get advice from buyers you know. And don’t rush! Good luck
The lower figure seems to be correct the larger garden without outline planning permission is prhaps worth £2000 more.At this time prepare to accept a figure closer to £168000.
Get an independent surveyor to come round and value the property, they will use comparable properties in the area and the actual house condition and land and whatnot to do an accurate valuation, plus they aren’t interested in the fact that you are selling the house.
I’d always advise three valuations, then work off the average.
The garden won’t add too much value to the property unless there’s the possibility of building on it…. but a good sized well kept garden always helps sell a property.
You know already what other houses in the street have sold for recently…. That’s the best pointer to what yours is worth.
Don’t worry about the fixed fee boys, they work just as well (if not better) than the percentage boys. Better to look at their customer service and what they offer for the money
Your house is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it. Appraisals are only a guess and should be used for reference only. Start offering you house high and then lower the price if necessary. Try to sell quick before everyone realizes the UK bubble was bigger than the US bubble.