Selling A Larger House (not Ftb Material)!

[Coastal_FY1]

Can someone please let me some ideas on selling a larger house in the current market. Sadly I am forced into this following a bereavement.

Thanks

[RichB]

try posting some piccies and prices here.

Quite a lot of us in the market for the right house.

[loafer]

Price it realistically.

Simple as that.

[A.steve]

Can someone please let me some ideas on selling a larger house in the current market.

If you want to keep it, work out how you can pay for its upkeep.

Failing that, accept what is offered.

Frankly, stating that it isn't FTB material suggests you're already failing - you need to sell to someone who can pay the most - nothing more; nothing less. Ruling out a demographic based upon their history of assets is as moronic as it is possible to be.

Edited April 7, 2009 by A.steve

[VeryMeanReversion]

Can someone please let me some ideas on selling a larger house in the current market. Sadly I am forced into this following a bereavement.

Thanks

A no-reserve auction would guarantee a sale

At this point, a seller would typically respond with "I'm not giving it away you know". And then its back to how fast you want to sell it, and how long you are prepared to hold out (months/years/decades, with decades being a likely case if you want 2007 prices)

The first step is to work out what its worth yourself. Look on net house prices and work out what any similar properties have sold for and adjust for the house prices indices since then. Finally knock another 10% off and you should be ahead of the curve.

VMR.

[Kazuya]

A no-reserve auction would guarantee a sale

At this point, a seller would typically respond with "I'm not giving it away you know". And then its back to how fast you want to sell it, and how long you are prepared to hold out (months/years/decades, with decades being a likely case if you want 2007 prices)

The first step is to work out what its worth yourself. Look on net house prices and work out what any similar properties have sold for and adjust for the house prices indices since then. Finally knock another 10% off and you should be ahead of the curve.

VMR.

+1

[renterbob]

Can someone please let me some ideas on selling a larger house in the current market. Sadly I am forced into this following a bereavement.

Thanks

Oh, there's no hurry, maybe you could wait until next year to sell it.

[Furry Giraffe]

agreed,but also,make sure the probate valuation is realistic in regards to what the property may be worth by the time you get to sell it.This is a terrible market for probate sales as the tax is paid on value at death and the subsequnet sale price will be lower.I'm pretty sure you can't claim a capital loss either.

loafer is exactly right.don't muck around with fanciful valuations,get it sold asap

I have been in this unfortunate situation and can only say you should price the property well ahead of the curve in this market. In my case however, I was not the executor (my uncle was) and he wouldn't listen to me about lowering the price well below what similar properties were advertised for

We finally ended up selling 150,000 LESS than the IHT valuation (and it took 18 months to sell). You can claim back the IHT paid on the capital loss though, using form IHT38

[bagsos]

agreed,but also,make sure the probate valuation is realistic in regards to what the property may be worth by the time you get to sell it.This is a terrible market for probate sales as the tax is paid on value at death and the subsequnet sale price will be lower.I'm pretty sure you can't claim a capital loss either.

loafer is exactly right.don't muck around with fanciful valuations,get it sold asap

The probate value is the value expected at auction at death i.e. 20% less than an EA valuation. Also, if it fails to reach that value on sale within a period (2 years IIRC) you can get the IHT bill reduced by the IHT on the difference.

[VeryMeanReversion]

Some examples of probate non-sales I know personally:

I viewed a probate property last year, it was put on at peak prices on the advice of the EA. (£425K), basically needed gutting and new kitchen/heating/windows. I put in offers of £250K and eventually £275K (generous to a fault, I know).

They reduced to £390K after 6 months and it's still for sale a further 3 months later. The state of the property is getting worse by the month and the garden is getting out of control. There are no other offers yet they are holding out. There has been "interest" as the EA says at over £300K but only from people that havent sold their house. I think it would have got £425K at the peak but that was then.

Probate property two is now half-owner by sister in law. They followed EA advice on pricing and it hasnt sold in a year. No price reductions ("I'm not giving it away")

Probate property three is part owned by a builder friend. They followed EA advice on pricing (get the theme here) and haven't sold in 18 months after total reductions of nearly 40%.

Probate properties seem harder to sell and you may want to take that into account. Also, you have to pay council tax after 6 month, expensive at the best of time but if its a larger house, be prepared.

And before I finally stop rabbitting on, maybe its best to get a building society valuer to value the property rather than an EA

VMR.

[bagsos]

Some examples of probate non-sales I know personally:

I viewed a probate property last year, it was put on at peak prices on the advice of the EA. (£425K), basically needed gutting and new kitchen/heating/windows. I put in offers of £250K and eventually £275K (generous to a fault, I know).

They reduced to £390K after 6 months and it's still for sale a further 3 months later. The state of the property is getting worse by the month and the garden is getting out of control. There are no other offers yet they are holding out. There has been "interest" as the EA says at over £300K but only from people that havent sold their house. I think it would have got £425K at the peak but that was then.

Probate property two is now half-owner by sister in law. They followed EA advice on pricing and it hasnt sold in a year. No price reductions ("I'm not giving it away")

Probate property three is part owned by a builder friend. They followed EA advice on pricing (get the theme here) and haven't sold in 18 months after total reductions of nearly 40%.

Probate properties seem harder to sell and you may want to take that into account. Also, you have to pay council tax after 6 month, expensive at the best of time but if its a larger house, be prepared.

And before I finally stop rabbitting on, maybe its best to get a building society valuer to value the property rather than an EA

VMR.

We got a chartered surveyor on my mum's house. If you tell them its a probate valuation and there will be tax on the estate, they know the score!

[bagsos]

Some examples of probate non-sales I know personally:

I viewed a probate property last year, it was put on at peak prices on the advice of the EA. (£425K), basically needed gutting and new kitchen/heating/windows. I put in offers of £250K and eventually £275K (generous to a fault, I know).

They reduced to £390K after 6 months and it's still for sale a further 3 months later. The state of the property is getting worse by the month and the garden is getting out of control. There are no other offers yet they are holding out. There has been "interest" as the EA says at over £300K but only from people that havent sold their house. I think it would have got £425K at the peak but that was then.

Probate property two is now half-owner by sister in law. They followed EA advice on pricing and it hasnt sold in a year. No price reductions ("I'm not giving it away")

Probate property three is part owned by a builder friend. They followed EA advice on pricing (get the theme here) and haven't sold in 18 months after total reductions of nearly 40%.

Probate properties seem harder to sell and you may want to take that into account. Also, you have to pay council tax after 6 month, expensive at the best of time but if its a larger house, be prepared.

And before I finally stop rabbitting on, maybe its best to get a building society valuer to value the property rather than an EA

VMR.

We got a chartered surveyor on my mum's house. If you tell them its a probate valuation and there will be tax on the estate, they know the score!

Edit to add - a good surveyor will ask you to point out the faults for his report as they price in the condition; if he doesn't, point them out to him as he goes round. By the time he had finished on my mums house only a developer would have dreamed of buying it.

Edited April 8, 2009 by bagsos

[The Masked Tulip]

And before I finally stop rabbitting on, maybe its best to get a building society valuer to value the property rather than an EA

VMR.

Or a good, understanding and market aware solicitor.

When I sold my Mum's house, put it on in July of 2007, I put it on for 15K less than the most expensive house that had sold in the road. The house needed gutting - hadn't spent on it for years as the area was turning into student BTL land - and eventually I sold t for 201K... which was 1K more than any of the 6 EAs who had valued said I would get for it and a whopping 41K more than an EA chain that I would never use.

I completed in Jan of last year at which neighbours of mine 2 doors away, put their house on the market for 50p short of 250K. Admittedly, they had spent a fortune on the inside of the house and the hubby had stripped all the paint from the Edwardian wood - looks lovely. To this day they have not had one viewer and I think they have dropped the asking price to 230K now. I feel sorry for them but lets be blunt, the reality is that even if they got a buyer today they probably would not get offered more than I actually got for what was a knackered house.

In other words, if you want to sell then price the house at a price that it will sell and walk away. Then get on with your life.

[Greenstuff]

If you want to keep it, work out how you can pay for its upkeep.

Failing that, accept what is offered.

Frankly, stating that it isn't FTB material suggests you're already failing - you need to sell to someone who can pay the most - nothing more; nothing less. Ruling out a demographic based upon their history of assets is as moronic as it is possible to be.

Agreed, when I buy I will be a 'FTB' simply as I have nothing to sell and have a cash deposit but we will be buying a 4 bed family home.

A lot of families have been priced out and IMO these are the most likely to buy soonest as they want the security and stability of owning a fair priced home.

A buyer is a buyer is a buyer.

Suggestion re pricing, my plan is to buy when its cheaper to buy than rent, have a look at rental prices on rightmove in your area ticking the 'let agreed' box to see what has been let, then work out what a mortgage would have to be to get roughly those monthly payments.

The auction idea is a cracking one, people are more likely to buy at auction now than anywhere else, you would also get the full payment in 28 days.

The market is probably going to continue to drop at an alarming rate so every month you don't sell you could be losing thousands.

I'm very sorry to hear of your bereavment, you probably just want to get this sorted ASAP.

Good luck

[Mrs Bear]

Some examples of probate non-sales I know personally:

I viewed a probate property last year, it was put on at peak prices on the advice of the EA. (£425K), basically needed gutting and new kitchen/heating/windows. I put in offers of £250K and eventually £275K (generous to a fault, I know).

They reduced to £390K after 6 months and it's still for sale a further 3 months later. The state of the property is getting worse by the month and the garden is getting out of control. There are no other offers yet they are holding out. There has been "interest" as the EA says at over £300K but only from people that havent sold their house. I think it would have got £425K at the peak but that was then.

Probate property two is now half-owner by sister in law. They followed EA advice on pricing and it hasnt sold in a year. No price reductions ("I'm not giving it away")

Probate property three is part owned by a builder friend. They followed EA advice on pricing (get the theme here) and haven't sold in 18 months after total reductions of nearly 40%.

Probate properties seem harder to sell and you may want to take that into account. Also, you have to pay council tax after 6 month, expensive at the best of time but if its a larger house, be prepared.

And before I finally stop rabbitting on, maybe its best to get a building society valuer to value the property rather than an EA

VMR.

Often because decor/kitchen etc. are very dated.

In this family we've sold two 'had to go into a home' properties recently, both cared-for but very dated.

One EA was honest enough to say of one property, 'If you price it at £XK I could sell it in a week.'

This was a considerably lower valuation that the other EAs' but was spot on.

Other sale was handled by different family member who believed the EAs' hype. Property hung around for 10 months, dropping bit by bit, and eventually sold for 30% below initial AP.

The eventual buyer was someone who'd offered rather more several months previously and been refused.

Enough said.

[Mildura]

The probate value is the value expected at auction at death i.e. 20% less than an EA valuation. Also, if it fails to reach that value on sale within a period (2 years IIRC) you can get the IHT bill reduced by the IHT on the difference.

When I have been asked by solicitors to provide a report for probate purposes, they have always requested it is phrased something like "a fair market value for [house] on [date of death] would be £x" generally pricing on the low side. Never have i heard it mentioned about a figure expected at auction or a fixed % reduction on expected sale price.

Best advice, just like any other house, is price it sensibly with an appropriate agent.

[RichB]

so have you got some photos and a floorplan then?

[bagsos]

I was in the fortunate position of selling my mum's house into a rising market. The property was dated so my sis and I spent £15k of our own money "improving" it (and eradicating damp, together with some essential repairs to the roof and floors) and sold for £10k less than the EA's valuation (and £40k more than the probate value, agreed with the DV 6m previously) within 2 weeks of putting it on the market. Not sure I would have the b*lls to do that in the current market!

[Ked]

My commiserations for your loss.

I was in a similar situation in 2004 after the death of my grandfather. I got 3 valuations and submitted the lowest to the IR for the probate valuation. The EA at the time suggested a sealed bid auction, in the end we got 10 bids with one bid significantly above the valuation. This method worked well for my family, albeit near the peak of the market.

So, maybe consider a sealed bid auction with a realistic headline reserve.

[Mildura]

I know of a probate that did sealed bids recently and got

.... wait for it....

none...........

sealed bids is jsut so 2007

Depends exactly where you're selling, and at what level you pitch the price.

[bagsos]

When I have been asked by solicitors to provide a report for probate purposes, they have always requested it is phrased something like "a fair market value for [house] on [date of death] would be £x" generally pricing on the low side. Never have i heard it mentioned about a figure expected at auction or a fixed % reduction on expected sale price.

Best advice, just like any other house, is price it sensibly with an appropriate agent.

The tax legislation refers to the value being what a willing buyer and a willing seller would pay at the date of death time; an assumed auction is the only way to achieve this.

[Number79]

is it sold yet?

[Hawk]

Can someone please let me some ideas on selling a larger house in the current market. Sadly I am forced into this following a bereavement.

Thanks

http://www.housepricecrash.co.uk/forum/ind...p;#entry1859961

This is the first time I have used this forum but I am sure this is a situation that other people will have encountered.

I have inherited a half share in a house, another relative owns the other share. The house was valued by an agent at £229,950 and is now on the market at that advertised price, since February. Since then there has been one viewing and no offers. I spoke to the agent this morning who told me this is a pricing issue and in the current market it should be marketed as "Offers over £199,000".

I know house prices have dropped, how to I convince my relative of this when he says "House prices will bounce back in a few months when banks start lending again"? He won't face the new reality. He thinks the agent just wants q quick sale at a low price to get the commission. Is there any material I can show him that explains the new reality>

Anybody successfully handled this?

Thanks

Is this the house your talking about ?

Not FTB Material ? Eh!

I'm sure theirs many FTB like myself that have been saving so long now, we could buy your house outright!

FTB's are not always skint, they're just not stupid enough to fall for the hype and buy at the peak.

Show your relative this - Its about as bearish as it gets

http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article10506.html

To be honest I didn't read the whole thing myself - I'm just a sucker for pretty House Price graphs that are dive-bombing!

Edited May 8, 2009 by Hawk

[Hawk]

P.S Tell that greedy bell-end relative of yours, the house owes him nothing - Just get is sold and enjoy the money.

If he so confident in an upswing in the Housing Market I'm sure hes confident the Financial Markets will recover as well.

Tell the greedy t w a t, dumping 90K of anyone's money on the FTSE 100 at the moment would be a bad move (Long term at least, even if you think we're in for a few more shocks before we all get rich)

Edited May 8, 2009 by Hawk