montesquieu Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 (edited) Anecdotal on the power of greed and what it means for house prices: Landlady kicked us out in January (great timing ). My wife had a row with her in November over her wanting us to put up with six weeks of solid work including rooms out of use, dust, workmen trailing in etc, with no rent reduction, while she prepped it for sale anyway in April-May. So in a fit of pique she gave us notice. Said she wanted a quick sale. (This after us accommodating her extreme slowness in getting anything done .. the place was 'self-managed' from India where she retired to a month after we moved in. Apart from it taking five months to fix the front door properly after a break-in, this worked fine as there was less pain when she was far away, when she was here she was round on a daily basis, nagging about grass cutting etc). Two EAs quoted, one very local - the estate agent branch of the letting agent she had used to advertise it - and one larger chain. First chain valued reasonably honestly as they are the local experts (my guess is sub-£500k). Larger chain valued it at £600k. (No prizes for guessing which one she went with). Rushed it on the market, as she made clear she was 'desperate' to sell. First (and only) two viewers came and were aghast and pi**sed off at having their time wasted. Feedback (I heard it) was that the place was AT LEAST £100k overvalued. Ouch. (Place round the corner, less imposing but same size and with larger garden has been on for a year plus at £499k, then £469k, still no sale). Turns out the nersil of an agent had looked at the only two sales in the postcode since 2006 - of MUCH larger places/plots, one with a double front, two extra rooms and an extra bathroom, the other with a granny flat - and copied the price. Anyway after price cuts to £575k, £550k, and 'POA' which turned out to be £500k, she withdrew from the market. (And seems also to have withdrawn it from rental - presumably because of her 'bad experience' with us). This all in the space of four months. The situation then: little old lady, retired primary teacher just turned 60, dragged back from retirement plans back home in rural India (where our rent went a LONG LONG way to keeping her in style) is now camping in an all but unfurnished house, all because her greed won't let her sell 'for less than it's worth'. Now, being down our rent coming in every month, and paying out gas, electric, water council tax AND MORTGAGE - which she picked up buying out her husband when they split up 8 years ago - from her pension/savings, she must be bloody determined to keep it up. The laugh is we moved into a place two doors up, £100 extra a month on rent but has extra bathroom and granny flat ideal for him and hers offices (became available the day our notice became active). Cost peanuts to move, just a few hundred quid for the big stuff. She was furious when she found this out - thought she had inconvenienced us big time but it wasn't really. So we drive past every day and wonder what on earth she is up to, in that huge empty house. Prior to us moving in she had various deadbeats living in three of the bedrooms as that was the only way she could afford to keep living there. It had been on for sale in 2006-7, don't know for how much but it didn't sell, she rented to us in August 2008 'till things pick up again'. There it is folks, a study in greed, irrationality and bloody mindedness. It could be a long hard wait if there are more like this (and there are, I suspect). Edited May 5, 2011 by montesquieu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lagarde's Drift Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 er... you can start packing some food hampers and home-sewn woolly jumpers for her, she'll be needing them before long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Masked Tulip Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 OOh, the thread title is irresistible to a Trekker... Hope it mentions Seven of Nine... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riedquat Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 OOh, the thread title is irresistible to a Trekker... Hope it mentions Seven of Nine... There's a landlady who's a big tit in the story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montesquieu Posted May 5, 2011 Author Share Posted May 5, 2011 OOh, the thread title is irresistible to a Trekker... Hope it mentions Seven of Nine... That would be the wife then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Masked Tulip Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 There's a landlady who's a big tit in the story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arrgee1991 Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 Anecdotal on the power of greed and what it means for house prices: ... all because her greed won't let her sell 'for less than it's worth'. ... There it is folks, a study in greed, irrationality and bloody mindedness. It could be a long hard wait if there are more like this (and there are, I suspect). The thing is she is trying to sell for more than it is worth. I don't think it is greed, it more like delusion. EAs have a lot to answer for in this situation, by giving the impression that £600K is achievable and it's just a case of a suitable buyer coming along. The price thing is been looked at upside down. People aren't thinking I paid £250K 10 years ago, so I am making £250K, they are thinking it was worth £600K at the 2007 peak, so I will lose £100K. Many people adopt this position. Only when sales are forced and there is surplus supply will some sellers get real. Even then as I experienced in 1992, some don't. I viewed a place where the seller would not accept less than asking. Considering I was probably the only viewer he had for months and I had a pick of lots of places this was a daft negotiating position to hold. Probably got his price in 1998. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Si1 Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 oh god - another f*cking teacher!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorkins Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 If she qualifies for Pension Credit or Income Support she can also claim SMI for the rest of her life. Her children can sell the house when she goes to an early grave after living in an unheated house on a poor diet for five or ten years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigsmelly Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 oh god - another f*cking teacher!!! yes, why is it always teachers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zilly Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 It's not greed! It's ASPIRATION. Please get the terminology correct, or I'll have to untick one of your boxes, and downgrade your potential for putting your own personality (as an individuwul) on this thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric pebble Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 er... you can start packing some food hampers and home-sewn woolly jumpers for her, she'll be needing them before long. D E L U D E D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noodle doodle Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 yes, why is it always teachers? because teaching pays poorly, and thus they have to turn to property speculation a 30% rise in pay for teachers would go some way to solving this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montesquieu Posted May 5, 2011 Author Share Posted May 5, 2011 The thing is she is trying to sell for more than it is worth. I don't think it is greed, it more like delusion. EAs have a lot to answer for in this situation, by giving the impression that £600K is achievable and it's just a case of a suitable buyer coming along. The price thing is been looked at upside down. People aren't thinking I paid £250K 10 years ago, so I am making £250K, they are thinking it was worth £600K at the 2007 peak, so I will lose £100K. Many people adopt this position. Only when sales are forced and there is surplus supply will some sellers get real. Even then as I experienced in 1992, some don't. I viewed a place where the seller would not accept less than asking. Considering I was probably the only viewer he had for months and I had a pick of lots of places this was a daft negotiating position to hold. Probably got his price in 1998. Her and her ex bought it new build in the late 80s, I would reckon for £140k-£160k - quite a lot of money back then. Though she probably has a mortgage more than that after they split up in the early noughties and she bought his share. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorkins Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 yes, why is it always teachers? That's totally unfair, sometimes it's retired coppers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeepLurker Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 because teaching pays poorly, and thus they have to turn to property speculation a 30% rise in pay for teachers would go some way to solving this. A 30% drop in housing costs would also go some way to solving this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorkins Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 A 30% drop in housing costs would also go some way to solving this. As any journalist or politician will tell you, a 30% drop in housing costs would immediately cause the UK to sink to the bottom of the sea, never to be seen again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Si1 Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 yes, why is it always teachers? not that they're badly paid these days, recent teaching graduates are not well off, but those who were in the game pre-2003 (ish) seemed to have done well, and even earlier generations, with poorer salaries, got very good pensions, again those I know they seem to have a lack of appreciation of reality, I don't get it, all of the ones I know, deluded about properdie, utterly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plummet expert Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 Anecdotal on the power of greed and what it means for house prices: Landlady kicked us out in January (great timing ). My wife had a row with her in November over her wanting us to put up with six weeks of solid work including rooms out of use, dust, workmen trailing in etc, with no rent reduction, while she prepped it for sale anyway in April-May. So in a fit of pique she gave us notice. Said she wanted a quick sale. (This after us accommodating her extreme slowness in getting anything done .. the place was 'self-managed' from India where she retired to a month after we moved in. Apart from it taking five months to fix the front door properly after a break-in, this worked fine as there was less pain when she was far away, when she was here she was round on a daily basis, nagging about grass cutting etc). Two EAs quoted, one very local - the estate agent branch of the letting agent she had used to advertise it - and one larger chain. First chain valued reasonably honestly as they are the local experts (my guess is sub-£500k). Larger chain valued it at £600k. (No prizes for guessing which one she went with). Rushed it on the market, as she made clear she was 'desperate' to sell. First (and only) two viewers came and were aghast and pi**sed off at having their time wasted. Feedback (I heard it) was that the place was AT LEAST £100k overvalued. Ouch. (Place round the corner, less imposing but same size and with larger garden has been on for a year plus at £499k, then £469k, still no sale). Turns out the nersil of an agent had looked at the only two sales in the postcode since 2006 - of MUCH larger places/plots, one with a double front, two extra rooms and an extra bathroom, the other with a granny flat - and copied the price. Anyway after price cuts to £575k, £550k, and 'POA' which turned out to be £500k, she withdrew from the market. (And seems also to have withdrawn it from rental - presumably because of her 'bad experience' with us). This all in the space of four months. The situation then: little old lady, retired primary teacher just turned 60, dragged back from retirement plans back home in rural India (where our rent went a LONG LONG way to keeping her in style) is now camping in an all but unfurnished house, all because her greed won't let her sell 'for less than it's worth'. Now, being down our rent coming in every month, and paying out gas, electric, water council tax AND MORTGAGE - which she picked up buying out her husband when they split up 8 years ago - from her pension/savings, she must be bloody determined to keep it up. The laugh is we moved into a place two doors up, £100 extra a month on rent but has extra bathroom and granny flat ideal for him and hers offices (became available the day our notice became active). Cost peanuts to move, just a few hundred quid for the big stuff. She was furious when she found this out - thought she had inconvenienced us big time but it wasn't really. So we drive past every day and wonder what on earth she is up to, in that huge empty house. Prior to us moving in she had various deadbeats living in three of the bedrooms as that was the only way she could afford to keep living there. It had been on for sale in 2006-7, don't know for how much but it didn't sell, she rented to us in August 2008 'till things pick up again'. There it is folks, a study in greed, irrationality and bloody mindedness. It could be a long hard wait if there are more like this (and there are, I suspect). Loads more like them about. But the cliff is drawing ever closer. Look at this..... http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-18553962.html I have an example of greed and a rediculous price to go with it. This house, nice though it definitely is, has come on for sale at £595k MORE than any other house in the same road HAS EVER SOLD FOR! No doubt it has period features, allegedly 8 beds instead of 6, but it's in the noisy end of the road on a corner and a modest plot for so much loot. It's big, but not THAT big - £1.195m can buy you a mansion with grounds, even in sussex. The EA is batty and possibly the vendor too! Highest price for road is £600k on records, for a plot about 60% bigger, and a great south facing garden, in the quiet part of the road with no passing traffic. There is aproperty nearby with 8 beds up for £775 on a 0.5 acre plot, needing some work, but not big work. My valuation for this is £695k Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winkie Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 ....take the money and run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lennon Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 Loads more like them about. But the cliff is drawing ever closer. Look at this..... http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-18553962.html I have an example of greed and a rediculous price to go with it. This house, nice though it definitely is, has come on for sale at £595k MORE than any other house in the same road HAS EVER SOLD FOR! No doubt it has period features, allegedly 8 beds instead of 6, but it's in the noisy end of the road on a corner and a modest plot for so much loot. It's big, but not THAT big - £1.195m can buy you a mansion with grounds, even in sussex. The EA is batty and possibly the vendor too! Highest price for road is £600k on records, for a plot about 60% bigger, and a great south facing garden, in the quiet part of the road with no passing traffic. There is aproperty nearby with 8 beds up for £775 on a 0.5 acre plot, needing some work, but not big work. My valuation for this is £695k The best bit about that is "The owner says... now that our children are moveing out, we no longer need 8 bedrooms" - I was instantly - you had 6 kids - blimey... but no - 3 kids - why on earth did the need 2 bedrooms each? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goat Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 yes, why is it always teachers? Because they have so much free time? Much easier to spend your time on property speculation when you've got 12 weeks holiday a year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin Allegro Posted May 5, 2011 Share Posted May 5, 2011 Delusion, but greed as well. I lived in western-style comfort (studio flat) in India for about £15 a week rent. She could have taken the hit and retired with a very nice self-built house in India for a couple of hundred thousand with plenty left over. I bet she'll be claiming her UK state pension as well, which will enable her to live like a Rani. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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