Monday, Sep 27, 2010
Ha ha! Take that, you Home-Owner-Ist!
Cumbria News & Star: Cumbrian estate agent sends bill to family after they refuse to drop house price
The estate agent then sent an invoice for £360 for preparation of a home information pack (HIP) plus a £117.50 administration fee. [Teh would be vendor] said: “We always knew we had to pay for the HIP but only when the house was sold. They’re asking me to pay for a service I haven’t had. I can’t afford to drop the price to the level they want and I haven’t got the £477.50, not with two daughters and Christmas coming up.” The [would be vendors] say they have recently spent £4,000 redecorating their home and buying new kitchen equipment. And they say potential buyers still want to view, undermining the Cumberland’s argument that they must drop the price to generate interest.
Posted by mark wadsworth @ 02:37 PM (2158 views) Add Comment
28 Comments
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1. Rantnrave said...
Excellent!
EAs are realising that their survival is dependent upon informing sheeple that the housing boom and prices of 2007 are now history. Not an easy task, but a very needed one.
2. sibley's b'stard child said...
MW could you possibly copy-and-paste the article as my work's firewall won't allow me to view the link?
3. Mark Wadsworth said...
AN ESTATE agent told a west Cumbrian family it would no longer sell their home unless they dropped the price – then sent them a bill for nearly £500.
Shaun and Katrina Ritchie, of Derwent Bank, in Seaton, Workington, are furious. They say they are being asked to pay for a service they have not had and are now threatening to take the case to the national watchdog. The couple put their three-bedroomed semi on the market with the Cumberland Estate Agency for £155,000 in 2008. They have since dropped the price to £145,000.
Earlier this month the Cumberland recommended they cut it again to between £135,000 and £139,950. When they refused, the firm said it would no longer market the property. The estate agent then sent an invoice for £360 for preparation of a home information pack (HIP) plus a £117.50 administration fee.
Mr Ritchie, 41, a railwayman, said: “We always knew we had to pay for the HIP but only when the house was sold. They’re asking me to pay for a service I haven’t had. I can’t afford to drop the price to the level they want and I haven’t got the £477.50, not with two daughters and Christmas coming up.” The Ritchies say they have recently spent £4,000 redecorating their home and buying new kitchen equipment. And they say potential buyers still want to view, undermining the Cumberland’s argument that they must drop the price to generate interest.
Mr Ritchie intends to go to the Property Ombudsman if the Cumberland does not waive its fees. He claims his contract backs him up. It says the £360 HIP charge is payable only when the property is sold, or if the vendor withdraws or fails to progress a sale. None of these has happened.
Nick Elgey, managing director of the Cumberland Estate Agency, has promised to investigate. He said: “We are constantly reviewing stock. We have some that has been on the market for more than two years. We are trying to work with sellers to make sure they are in tune with the market place. We regularly review prices to see if there is a better chance of a sale and we have been parting company with some stock. People have the opportunity to go to other estate agents if they are not in agreement with what we believe is an appropriate price. The market is a buyers’ market and is extremely price sensitive.”
Official figures from the Land Registry show that house prices in Cumbria have fallen by 9.7 per cent since the market peaked in May 2008.
Mr Elgey says there has been an influx of properties onto the market since HIPs were abolished in May. This, coupled, with uncertainty about government spending cuts, is also depressing the market. He added: “We are in for a challenging autumn. People don’t know yet what the impact of the austerity measures and spending cuts is going to do them. That is having a numbing effect. What you can say is that any property will sell in any market – at the right price.”
4. mark wadsworth said...
SBC, I just cut and pasted it but forgot to enter admin password, I'd rather wait for site admin to approve than go through that rigmarole again :-(
5. doomwatch said...
I'm guessing they've read through the "contract" with the EA before bleating to the local rag ??
This proves to me 3 things:
1. EAs are having big cash flow problems
2. From 1 above, EAs are asking vendors to get real
3. The Property "market" in England & Wales needs PROPER REGULATION and transparency, as per the market in Scotland.
The fact that a vendor/buyer can back out of a sale/purchase at literally the last minute, without any legal consequences, is, IMO,
totally wrong & needs changing NOW.
6. jack c said...
sibley's b'stard - just for you - my good deed of the day
AN ESTATE agent told a west Cumbrian family it would no longer sell their home unless they dropped the price – then sent them a bill for nearly £500.
‘Sensitive market’: Nick Elgey, managing director of the Cumberland Estate Agency Shaun and Katrina Ritchie, of Derwent Bank, in Seaton, Workington, are furious. They say they are being asked to pay for a service they have not had and are now threatening to take the case to the national watchdog.
The couple put their three-bedroomed semi on the market with the Cumberland Estate Agency for £155,000 in 2008.
They have since dropped the price to £145,000.
Earlier this month the Cumberland recommended they cut it again to between £135,000 and £139,950. When they refused, the firm said it would no longer market the property.
The estate agent then sent an invoice for £360 for preparation of a home information pack (HIP) plus a £117.50 administration fee.
Mr Ritchie, 41, a railwayman, said: “We always knew we had to pay for the HIP but only when the house was sold. They’re asking me to pay for a service I haven’t had.
“I can’t afford to drop the price to the level they want and I haven’t got the £477.50, not with two daughters and Christmas coming up.”
The Ritchies say they have recently spent £4,000 redecorating their home and buying new kitchen equipment.
And they say potential buyers still want to view, undermining the Cumberland’s argument that they must drop the price to generate interest.
Mr Ritchie intends to go to the Property Ombudsman if the Cumberland does not waive its fees.
He claims his contract backs him up. It says the £360 HIP charge is payable only when the property is sold, or if the vendor withdraws or fails to progress a sale. None of these has happened.
Nick Elgey, managing director of the Cumberland Estate Agency, has promised to investigate.
He said: “We are constantly reviewing stock. We have some that has been on the market for more than two years.
“We are trying to work with sellers to make sure they are in tune with the market place. We regularly review prices to see if there is a better chance of a sale and we have been parting company with some stock.
“People have the opportunity to go to other estate agents if they are not in agreement with what we believe is an appropriate price. The market is a buyers’ market and is extremely price sensitive.”
Official figures from the Land Registry show that house prices in Cumbria have fallen by 9.7 per cent since the market peaked in May 2008.
Mr Elgey says there has been an influx of properties onto the market since HIPs were abolished in May.
This, coupled, with uncertainty about government spending cuts, is also depressing the market.
He added: “We are in for a challenging autumn. People don’t know yet what the impact of the austerity measures and spending cuts is going to do them. That is having a numbing effect.
“What you can say is that any property will sell in any market – at the right price.”
JWhittle@cngroup.co.uk
7. sibley's b'stard child said...
Aha, managed to access it; great find there.
Looking at LR, there's some wild fluctuations over the previous years. In fact, a semi on their street sold in 2009 for £159,950 so it's not as if they are total fantasists. Still, nice to see EAs doing their bit for the HPC cause...
2009-12-01 32, Derwent Bank, Seaton, Workington, Cumbria, CA14 1EE
Semi-detached, Freehold add details... £159,950
2009-07-24 23, Derwent Bank, Seaton, Workington, Cumbria, CA14 1EG
Detached, Freehold add details... £105,000
2008-08-01 44, Derwent Bank, Seaton, Workington, Cumbria, CA14 1EG
Semi-detached, Freehold add details... £123,000
2006-12-30 62, Derwent Bank, Seaton, Workington, Cumbria, CA14 1EQ
Semi-detached, Freehold add details... £136,000
2006-08-04 33, Derwent Bank, Seaton, Workington, Cumbria, CA14 1EG
Semi-detached, Freehold add details... £105,550
2006-06-27 36, Derwent Bank, Seaton, Workington, Cumbria, CA14 1EG
Detached, Freehold add details...
8. sibley's b'stard child said...
...and a retrospective thanks to Jack C....
9. little professor said...
This is the house:
Rightmove link
Been on the market since July 2009, originally at £155k, dropped to £149k in Sep 09 and £145k in Oct 09, no reductions since then. The vendors are clearly not serious about wanting to sell, no interest in over a year should be a a clear indicator that the price is too high. The EA is being reasonable in asking for his costs back if the vendors aren't willing to be reasonable and actually sell their property.
"Mr Ritchie, 41, a railwayman, said: “We always knew we had to pay for the HIP but only when the house was sold. They’re asking me to pay for a service I haven’t had.
“I can’t afford to drop the price to the level they want and I haven’t got the £477.50, not with two daughters and Christmas coming up.”
The Ritchies say they have recently spent £4,000 redecorating their home and buying new kitchen equipment."
10. sibley's b'stard child said...
Ha ha, nice find there LP - lovely piece of contradiction (unless, of course, it was done up on credit - heaven forfend).
11. little professor said...
80, Derwent Bank, Seaton, Workington, Cumbria, CA14 1EQ
Last sold 10/10/2001 £55,500
Wonder where he spunked his 100 grand of equity.
12. jack c said...
Oh dear “I haven’t got the £477.50, not with two daughters and Christmas coming up.” - of course you have it's just tied up in those lovely bricks and mortar!
"recently spent £4,000 redecorating their home and buying new kitchen equipment" - mustnt be the right type of fluffy cushions and magnolia I've watched these property shows on Channel 4 and it works every time - £4k spent should result in a £15K increase in the price - something has gone badly wrong here.
13. mark wadsworth said...
Little P - according to the article, the house has been 'on the market' since 2008, i.e. two years.
14. sibley's b'stard child said...
@ 9 LP
Assuming that's the same property, it would be a fair assumption to make that, in the best part of a decade, most of the original loan would have been paid off by now.
Obviously, that new kitchen must have added 100k to the value; not bad for a 4k investment.
Money for nothing and the chicks for free...
15. mark wadsworth said...
I like this bit best:
Bedroom 3 - 6'3" x 7'7"
Only in the UK would we describe that as "a bedroom".
16. inbreda said...
"Wonder where he spunked his 100 grand of equity"
weekly purchases of state of the art kitchen implements?
Perhaps he's got a lot of those lovely lemon juicers?
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19. sibley's b'stard child said...
EA: "And this is the third bedroom; we call it the snug"
Husband: "It's a bit on the small side isn't it?"
EA: "Ooh, look, some dead twigs in a vase"
Wife: "What was the asking price again?"
20. mark wadsworth said...
More hilarity regarding this postcode over at Property Snake.
21. sibley's b'stard child said...
D'oh, three times, sorry....
22. jack c said...
It's a good 18 months since I was last in the area (and I'm not sure precisely where this property is) however parts of Workington were cut off back in November of last year when severe floods swept away some of the main bridges (police officer was killed) - this meant that some residents were driving an extra 50 miles each day because of the flooding. Anyone carrying out due diligence on purchasing in this area would take this into account and also check out the insurance arrangements in advance - this will influence the property price.
23. jack c said...
mark wadsworth - pretty settled trend on that property snake link of yours - it would go nicely with a 3 chord bash from Status Quo - Down down deeper and down, Down down deeper and down, Get down deeper and down
24. montesquieu said...
my fave on that property snake link ... 544 days on market, reduction ... 1% !!!!
25. Crunchy said...
"They’re asking me to pay for a service I haven’t had."
Tell us about it.
26. Diver Dan said...
"Kitchen equipment" sounds to me like stuff that can be moved. i.e. things that you see when you look around the house but don't actually get to keep when you get the keys.
27. Dredwerker said...
My goodness - houses on property snake for £50k wow - I must have that in 2ps somewhere around the house geez lliving in the south is a drag.
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