Advice Please

[julie-ruth]

What would you do?

 

Last week we have dropped our house by £25,000 to get interest today we had a viewing and within the hour had given us an offer £25,000 less than that, our property was allready much cheaper than anything else on the market at the same level do we wait or do we take it we do not have our visa yet even though my OH has been offered a job there is no guarantee's I'm in a state if we take it we will not be able to buy again with the equity we have in the property in the UK if it all falls through. Do we wait and maybe lose more, or wait for a better offer? What a dillema help.

 

It is a cash buyer no chain...

 

Julie

[Guest WhiteleyPoms]

Hi we have been trying to sell our house since April...started at a competitive price....was offered £70k less than that + politely refused! Reduced price by £25k and still nothing...even though we are £35k cheaper than same property up road. We have now given up as the market is dead and we refuse to give our house away....so we have now taken out a small remortgage to finance our move, have rented our house out for a year to cover the mortgage interest and agents management fees and we are off to OZ on 17th Sep. We decided to go for it and not put life on hold because of the credit crunch!!!! Good luck with your decision though!

[Guest Martin and Val]

Hi Julie,

I'm not going to be much help here. It must be nice to have an offer but only you can decide if its enough. We have also lowered ours by £25,000 and don't think we will lower it anymore. There are people out there now taking advantage of the situation we find ourselves in.

Maybe try to renegotiate with them. Have you considered renting the property out?

We wish you luck with whatever you decide.

Martin and Val

[julie-ruth]

Thanks guys we have been thinking about renting if we don't sell. We are thinking calling the council and renting to them as you can put a clause in the contract that the house is returned in the same state as it is given over, its a horrible situation to be in I know we are lucky to get interest but its a hell of a drop its not top end of market just a normal house on an estate. We have had 3 viewers since May the first one came put in an offer we excepted went all the way and then she pulled out just before the contracts exchanged that was three weeks ago, the secound viewer liked the house but there disabled son would struggle to get round the hall, so nothing came of that and now this, We are left to sleep on it but I just don't know. I just wish something possitive would happen in the property market.

[Guest cunnah10]

Thanks guys we have been thinking about renting if we don't sell. We are thinking calling the council and renting to them as you can put a clause in the contract that the house is returned in the same state as it is given over, its a horrible situation to be in I know we are lucky to get interest but its a hell of a drop its not top end of market just a normal house on an estate. We have had 3 viewers since May the first one came put in an offer we excepted went all the way and then she pulled out just before the contracts exchanged that was three weeks ago, the secound viewer liked the house but there disabled son would struggle to get round the hall, so nothing came of that and now this, We are left to sleep on it but I just don't know. I just wish something possitive would happen in the property market.

Really feel for you (and everybody else including myself in this frustrating,deflating and piss taking market situation)

We also have dropped our house by more than £30k in hope of attracting some interest!And we know we will be expected to take a offer lower than that even BUT we refuse to just give it away and i know there are a lot of people out there who will take advantage of this crippling market and try to push you into a corner!

It is up to you what decision you make obviously and nobody else can advise you really!

All i can say is we have the minimum figure we will go to now and that is it - after that plan B we rent it out - but some people are not even in the position to do this!

 

Not easy!

 

Bad timing all round for the likes of us hey - Market in a mess and Exchange rate poop too!

 

Good luck

[Jessica Berry]

What would you do?

 

Last week we have dropped our house by £25,000 to get interest today we had a viewing and within the hour had given us an offer £25,000 less than that, our property was allready much cheaper than anything else on the market at the same level do we wait or do we take it we do not have our visa yet even though my OH has been offered a job there is no guarantee's I'm in a state if we take it we will not be able to buy again with the equity we have in the property in the UK if it all falls through. Do we wait and maybe lose more, or wait for a better offer? What a dillema help.

 

It is a cash buyer no chain...

 

Julie

 

 

My brother has just sold his house in the UK for £25,000 less than he originally had it on the market for, it was originally on for £145,000 and he has accepted £120,000.

 

He has spoke to friends that work for new house builders and estate agents and their prediction is that things are going to get worse. He had also heard that the UK economy is not expected to improve until 2010-2012. Obviously he is taking a gamble, but decided to sell while there was an offer on the table.

 

The people who have bought his house are buying it as an investment property, so as my brother does not want to move straight away, he has agreed to rent it off them at a reduced rate as they do not have the hassle of finding tenants and my brother will look after the property.

 

I think it depends on what your house was valued to start with and whether that was a realisitic price in the current market.

 

When we sold our flat in the UK before we emigrated, the sale went through on the Friday and we left the UK on the Monday, so it was tight, but I am glad we sold it and did not have the hassle of renting it out.

 

Having said that the house prices in Adelaide increased by 20% on average last year and we spent far more on our house than we envisaged we would do.

[Guest caoimhe]

What would you do?

Do we wait and maybe lose more, or wait for a better offer? What a dillema help.

It is a cash buyer no chain...

 

Julie

This is an interesting question, how little can you take without giving your house away and still giving youself enough to start your new life

I have lay in bed at night trying to figure it out and still have not answers

 

We have just had someone out to view our house for the 2nd time and they said they could only get a mortgage for a bit less than our asking price- but they have viewed every similar house in the area from 60k more than ours down to 10k more. Every house in this area is roughly the same- different kitchen, bathroom, fireplace some have sun rooms/conservatory's but basically the same. Ours is the cheapest in the area and that includes the fact that we have a sunroom and most don't we have also just spent 6k updating the house so it needs nothing at all done to it. I know it's a buyers market but we have to draw the line somewhere. My estate agent has stated that all buyers now are chancing thier arm when it comes placing offers.

We will not tell any viewer we are migrating, when asked where we were moving too I said we did not have to buy but we're moving into a family home-don't tell them it's none of their business and you don't want them to think they have you over a barrel.

 

We would love the asking price and don't fell this is an unrealistic price based on what the other houses in the area are asking but we know it is unlikely, if given an offer we will weigh up the fact that we would not have to go tho Oz to validate the visa and therfore save 8k but I honestly don't think I can give this house away after all the money we have poured into it over the years

 

Good luck with your decision but remember if you don't have your visa yet you may still have some time, I could not accept 25k less than the asking price but that's my personnel choice

[Jessica Berry]

What would you do?

 

Last week we have dropped our house by £25,000 to get interest today we had a viewing and within the hour had given us an offer £25,000 less than that, our property was allready much cheaper than anything else on the market at the same level do we wait or do we take it we do not have our visa yet even though my OH has been offered a job there is no guarantee's I'm in a state if we take it we will not be able to buy again with the equity we have in the property in the UK if it all falls through. Do we wait and maybe lose more, or wait for a better offer? What a dillema help.

 

It is a cash buyer no chain...

 

Julie

 

Like the last post says, it would depend as well how far along the process you are.

 

We arrived as permanent residents and the whole process from start to finish took 18 months. We did not put our flat up for sale until we had been accepted, I would be reluctant to sell my house until we knew we were in for definite.

[Rachiegarlo]

I know you all want to come and start your new lives, but it is hard with little or no money.I know you will be tempted to take what you get and run for it. I don't think you should give your houses away because the buyers are trying to get them for a knock down price. I think those people who say set yourself the minimum and stick to it are right. People still want to buy obviously and once all the cheaper houses are gone, the more realistically priced ones are left. If you can, rent it out and refinance to fund your move rather than be pushed into a corner. You want to give yourself the best start here possible. Also as those who have returned said if you still have your house there then if it all goes awry then you still have your equity there. If people are going to buy at say 20k less than your asking price, OK you live with it but if the price then gets knocked a further 20k down then that is just rediculous unless your house was so overpriced in the 1st place. I'm sure there are cashed up buyers in the UK, not all are reliant on a full mortgage.

[Guest Libby1971]

Am I the only one who thinks 'cheeky b*ggers'!! about the ones offering much less than an already reduced price?

 

You are selling a house, bricks, roof, rooms, not a bashed up car. It sits on land, it has value. An estate comes round, values it and tells you what it is worth. You promote it on that basis, reduce it hoping to get a quicker sale and then someone comes in and offers even lower.

 

I do not believe that anyone should come here without money. We wanted a quick sale. We were lucky and got one. It meant we moved into a rental for a while but we got here and knew what money we had from the outset. Of course, I don't think anyone comes with all they want but we came with enough.

 

We also knew that it was vital we have no escape route. We wanted to make sure we had to stick it out. So no renting out our place and having hassle. Watching a friend deal with a stupid tenant makes me think it is no good renting unless you go through an agent and pay them to deal with a pain in the neck.

 

It did help for us knowing that once we moved, we knew we would not be going back to that area again as we could not afford it. There was no family there to draw us back to the area.

 

So in answer to your question, stick to your guns. You give away second hand clothes, not a house or the land. If they want it, they pay for it. I can easily imagine it is hard to hold your nerve but someone will buy it, even if an investor. Have you asked all the estate agents if they have people wanting to buy to let? Have you asked if there are people on their waiting lists? How long do you have to wait with your estate agent before getting another one in? Have you asked your current agent what else they are doing to sell your property?

 

I know there are lots of people in a similar position but I would still be getting firm with the estate agent. If they don't sell your house and get their fees, you can find someone else who will do it. The ball is in their court, get them to earn their money.

[julie-ruth]

Thanks guys for the advice we are still in

negotiation's we will let you know what we eventually

decide.

 

Julie

[Guest natdan]

What would you do?

 

Last week we have dropped our house by £25,000 to get interest today we had a viewing and within the hour had given us an offer £25,000 less than that, our property was allready much cheaper than anything else on the market at the same level do we wait or do we take it we do not have our visa yet even though my OH has been offered a job there is no guarantee's I'm in a state if we take it we will not be able to buy again with the equity we have in the property in the UK if it all falls through. Do we wait and maybe lose more, or wait for a better offer? What a dillema help.

 

It is a cash buyer no chain...

 

Julie

NOT MUCH HELP OUT THERE !!!! OH is the manager of one of the biggest estate agent chains in the UK, and her advice to ME is to sell now for the best we can get,as its only going to get worse!!!. we have our visas but also cannot sell our dreamhouse [ 4 bed detached/conservatory etc] just in the wrong country. I asked her about renting/ wait until the market picks up again etc !!!. her advice to ME again was to much hassle renting when your on the other side of the world . markets will take some time before it picks up again , all houses are overpriced etc, so to take a decent offer now, i know were all in THE SAME BOAT , i dont want to give our house away either, we to need it to fund our lives in adelaide. HOPE WE ALL GET A BUYER AND DECENT PRICE SOON .wayne n louise.

[Guest Aussie pat]

I hope our experience doesn't depress you but it will give you a taste of what's going on at the moment. We are selling a large listed house with outbuildings in the Cotswolds. Accepted an offer on 6 May for 12% less than the asking price, which was realistically low anyway as we wanted our house to look attractive compared to other similar houses. Have waited 10 weeks for them to exchange, all paperwork,searches were in place for exchange 4 weeks ago. They gave us a sob story about needing to ask the local planners a question. To keep the deal on track we agreed to keep the house off the market until they got a reply. This was despite having 30 viewings in 7 weeks before we accepted their offer, so there was other interest. Had one previous offer. Yesterday they offered to exchange in 2 days if we take £100,000 less than the original price they offered. That would be a drop of over 20% off the low asking price . There is nothing wrong with our house to the best of our knowledge re planning etc. They know we want to return to Australia by the end of the year and are using this against us.

 

Our agents were really shocked at the orginal price we accepted anyway. Everyone is reeling in disbelief at the moment. We have refused to accept the new price drop. We need a realistic price to fund our new life. They haven't pulled out yet but our house is back on the market this Monday. It's all quite horrible. I couldn't sleep at night if I treated others in this way.

 

Tread very carefully. Hopefully not all buyers are this self centred.

[Guest smit]

There is no ' fixed' price for anything. Market forces im afraid. Something is only worth what someone is prepared to pay for it!!! Its up to you to set your own boundaries and to get as much for it as you can.

 

Lets face it...............if you was one of the few buyers out there with all that choice, you would be putting in silly offers to see what you could get.

 

The difference being with houses is that it is normally a personal thing to buy ' that house'. The trick is , is to see and know , how much they really want your house , and then push and haggle for as much as you can get.

 

Push for a higher price until they say no, leave it a day or so . You can always back track if you need to. At least you know their limit!!!

[laura girling]

Hi Julie-ruth,

 

As you know the property Market isn't at its greatest, we too are in the same boat, at the end of the day a property is only worth what somebody is willing to pay for it. I know this is not much help, but when our visa came through we put our home on the market this was back in March 2007, we had our first offer on a first viewing, they offered 15 grand less than the asking price, we thought it was too soon to take such a drop (lol).

We had no other offers close to that, we should have bitten his arm off for it.

Our story may have been different now, just through what I can look back on now as being greedy.

You have to way up how much equity your house has made you since buying it, and all the other stuff like how much you will need to buy a property and live comfortably in Oz.

Only you and your Hubby can decide.

We ended up leasing out our house, things haven't been the bed of roses in Adelaide as it is very expensive to live here, and I feel at the moment thank God I kept the house. But that's us and will be a different story for you.

At the end of the day it's only money, a life here can be great, at least you have a good choice.

What helps me, looking at children in Africa, and all the people caught in fires and losing their homes, Im in a desperate position here, but their are always people worst off. ( I don't actually sit and watch it on TV or anything, I mean taking a moment to think about it.)

Good luck with your decision.

 

Lauraxxx:)

[Guest smit]

I hope our experience doesn't depress you but it will give you a taste of what's going on at the moment. We are selling a large listed house with outbuildings in the Cotswolds. Accepted an offer on 6 May for 12% less than the asking price, which was realistically low anyway as we wanted our house to look attractive compared to other similar houses. Have waited 10 weeks for them to exchange, all paperwork,searches were in place for exchange 4 weeks ago. They gave us a sob story about needing to ask the local planners a question. To keep the deal on track we agreed to keep the house off the market until they got a reply. This was despite having 30 viewings in 7 weeks before we accepted their offer, so there was other interest. Had one previous offer. Yesterday they offered to exchange in 2 days if we take £100,000 less than the original price they offered. That would be a drop of over 20% off the low asking price . There is nothing wrong with our house to the best of our knowledge re planning etc. They know we want to return to Australia by the end of the year and are using this against us.

 

Our agents were really shocked at the orginal price we accepted anyway. Everyone is reeling in disbelief at the moment. We have refused to accept the new price drop. We need a realistic price to fund our new life. They haven't pulled out yet but our house is back on the market this Monday. It's all quite horrible. I couldn't sleep at night if I treated others in this way.

 

Tread very carefully. Hopefully not all buyers are this self centred.

Sounds like they are taking the pee. Still selling for a fair whack though , going by your comments

[Guest Nick11]

I hope our experience doesn't depress you but it will give you a taste of what's going on at the moment. We are selling a large listed house with outbuildings in the Cotswolds. Accepted an offer on 6 May for 12% less than the asking price, which was realistically low anyway as we wanted our house to look attractive compared to other similar houses. Have waited 10 weeks for them to exchange, all paperwork,searches were in place for exchange 4 weeks ago. They gave us a sob story about needing to ask the local planners a question. To keep the deal on track we agreed to keep the house off the market until they got a reply. This was despite having 30 viewings in 7 weeks before we accepted their offer, so there was other interest. Had one previous offer. Yesterday they offered to exchange in 2 days if we take £100,000 less than the original price they offered. That would be a drop of over 20% off the low asking price . There is nothing wrong with our house to the best of our knowledge re planning etc. They know we want to return to Australia by the end of the year and are using this against us.

 

Our agents were really shocked at the orginal price we accepted anyway. Everyone is reeling in disbelief at the moment. We have refused to accept the new price drop. We need a realistic price to fund our new life. They haven't pulled out yet but our house is back on the market this Monday. It's all quite horrible. I couldn't sleep at night if I treated others in this way.

 

Tread very carefully. Hopefully not all buyers are this self centred.

 

This seems to be common practice at the moment - personally I would tell them where to stick their offer.

How can these people sleep at night - they're parasites!!!

That's the problem with the system in the uk - so much more civilised here in oz.

You accept the offer,put your deposit down and that's it!

Reason 149 for leaving the uk!

[Guest Aussie pat]

There is no ' fixed' price for anything. Market forces im afraid. Something is only worth what someone is prepared to pay for it!!! Its up to you to set your own boundaries and to get as much for it as you can.

 

Lets face it...............if you was one of the few buyers out there with all that choice, you would be putting in silly offers to see what you could get.

 

The difference being with houses is that it is normally a personal thing to buy ' that house'. The trick is , is to see and know , how much they really want your house , and then push and haggle for as much as you can get.

 

Push for a higher price until they say no, leave it a day or so . You can always back track if you need to. At least you know their limit!!!

 

I agree with what you are saying. The problem is that what they do is trick you into not letting anyone else look at the house as it's 'under offer'. They then string out exchange and then drop the price because they've got rid of all the competition. I would advise not to mention you are keen to move abroad. Pretend you want to rent for a while or something like that. Also don't be sucked in if they appear nice. The couple who we have just rejected because they were playing dirty were an elderly couple who have lived quietly in Cornwall for 23 years.

[Guest LOCO IN OZ]

Hi martin & Val, I noticed you have two dogs, I presume because you've listed them that you're taking them with you? Do you have a company in mind for the transportation if so? Only asking because we have a dog too and I'm wondering who to use to get him over there if everything works out. I've been in contact with PetAir Uk based in Dorset and they seem very professional, has anyone dealt with them or can recommend others?

[julie-ruth]

Ahhhh they are coming back for a secound look this afternoon, I should be pleased but I just feel sick.

 

Julie

[Guest caoimhe]

Ahhhh they are coming back for a secound look this afternoon, I should be pleased but I just feel sick.

 

Julie

If you haven't done so don't tell them you are immigrating

[Guest LOCO IN OZ]

Be cool with them, don't let them see how much it means to you, it'll all work out how it's supposed to, don't worry, and don't give it away for nothing.

[julie-ruth]

Thanks guys we haven't told them anything but no upper chain, we have tidyed round thankfully it was only two days since they last came round so the dust hasn't settled yet literally, our plan is I'll go out with the girls my husband stay in, I tend to drop myself in it and if I don't our kids will.

 

Wish us luck...

 

Julie

[Guest natdan]

uote=julie-ruth;43808]Thanks guys we haven't told them anything but no upper chain, we have tidyed round thankfully it was only two days since they last came round so the dust hasn't settled yet literally, our plan is I'll go out with the girls my husband stay in, I tend to drop myself in it and if I don't our kids will.

 

Wish us luck...

 

Julie

HOPE THIS IS THE ONE, wayne n louise.

[ken&wendy]

Everyone is different and it's really your decision whether you're happy or not with the money you're getting. It sounds to me like you're not. I'd wait a bit if I were you. Sounds like they're trying to take advantage.

 

We're still some way off getting our visa - not been asked for medical or police checks yet - but as and when it does come through we're going to be letting our house - we've spent too many years doing it up to how we would like it and if, for whatever reason, (not that we imagine it will happen) we don't like it in Adelaide, then we can come back and still have a house to go to. I know it means renting in Adelaide, but hopefully what we get in the UK will cover what we're paying in Oz. We will be renting anyway for a while till we see where we want to live.

 

We are definitely not telling anyone we're migrating, the only ones who know are the kids (and they're sworn to secrecy - a bit secret for little girls to keep, but so far so good) and close family. I'm dreading anybody who knows us coming on this site too - small chance I know, but, it's a small world! It happened to a friend of Ken's - they told their prospective buyer they were emigrating. They were just about to exchange contracts, the flights were booked etc. and their buyer dropped the price by £10,000 - they didn't have much option but to take it. Totally unfair I know.

 

Best of luck whatever you decide.

Wendy