I moved my property to Connells! Good idea?

Well, the previous agent, although getting viewings, has not managed to sell my property after almost three months (by the time the 2-week notice period is up). Connells are doing a "Six-Week Challenge" offer, where they try their best to sell a property within six weeks.

By the way, Connells suggested that I use their solicitor/conveyancer, but the local solicitor, who has been recommended to me, is far cheaper.

Let's see what happens.

MM

Reply to
Mike Mitchell
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In message , Mike Mitchell writes

Mike,

Sounds like a done deal?

How many viewings have you had in the 3 month period?

What feedback did you get as to why individual viewers did not want to buy? (Most wont give a truthful answer), but if you hear a similar tangible thing 2 or 3 times, it can mean that there is something about the house, rather than the agent.

It always amazes me when agents come up with campaigns like this - Doesnt every agent try their best to sell all properties as quickly as possible? The campaign name suggests that Connells usually dont try to sell houses within 6 weeks I have no doubt that the campaign will attract lots of new properties for them to sell, just as the quiet time of year is ending - very clever timing.

What do Connells offer if they dont sell your house within 6 weeks? Do you have to sign a minimum agency period agreement?

One agent near us offered to sell houses for free - however, when the documentation turned up, it actually said that if the house sold within

6 weeks, there would be no fee, after that the usual fee would apply. How motivated the agents were to sell within 6 weeks, I cant imagine. Lots of people were enticed to invite them in for a valuation, and the numbers game meant they got a lot of houses to sell. Inertia then meant that most of these houses stayed with them after the 6 weeks.

What will probably happen is that Connells will sell your house, and you will think they are wonderful. However, you will never know if it was because the market gets going in September after the holiday period, when your previous agent may have found the same buyer, or if Connells made an extra special effort.

Or Connells will not sell your house, and you may be attracted by another inviting marketing campaign in a few months.

With some houses, I found that they did the rounds of all the local agents, and it was luck of the draw as to which agent sold them.

One thing you must be careful of is that if the market has stabilised around you, or is beginning to fall slightly, you could be left following a falling market. I am sure that this will begin to happen in some parts of the country over the foreseeable future.

Reply to
Richard Faulkner

I agree, it is you who sell your house, not the agent. The agent simply markets it and manages the completion.

Reply to
Scott Mills

The message from Mike Mitchell contains these words:

I have been told, and not just by estate

Isn't a house with garden at £200K, beyond the reach and ambition of of many average-income "first time buyers"? If it was ideal for them, they would have snapped it up.

Widowed downsizers are not usually seeking the bottom rung of the property ladder that appeals to first time buyers. Most downsizers, people manipulating their assets to their best advantage, learned a bit about property sales on their way up the ladder. They may later rely on selling the last-buy to fund nursing-home care, so ONE of their downsizing stipulations is a property which they are confident will sell fast. Yours evidently isn't in that category.

Janet.

Reply to
Janet Baraclough..

And a Happy Christmas to you, too!

MM

Reply to
Mike Mitchell

Its just what the couple across the road from me are looking for. They have a new baby and their one and a half bedroom Victorian cottage is too cramped but they dont have loads of money to pay for extra space cos Jenny isn't working

Pity they don't live near you :-(

Anna ~~ Anna Kettle, Suffolk, England |""""| ~ Lime plaster repairs / ^^ \ // Freehand modelling in lime: overmantels, pargeting etc |____|

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01359 230642

Reply to
Anna Kettle

Ah, a positive note on which to end the day! Thanks, Anna!

MM

Reply to
Mike Mitchell

The message from Mike Mitchell contains these words:

I was trying to point out exactly why, imho, the advice you have been given about target-buyers for that property might not be good advice. The fact that first timers and downsizers haven't snapped it up, tells you the same thing.

If you are wasting your time looking for first-timers or widowed downsizers, isn't it to your advantage to know that so that you can aim at another target group? For instance, second-time buyers who already have some equity, making a step up from a flat to first house with garden. Or if there is a university or hospital or large industry nearby, you might advertise on their noticeboards to students or staff seeking buy-to-let or shared mortgages.

So far as the council-estate issue goes, I'd make a point of mentioning it on the agents sale leaflet, using the opportunity to say that this council estate is quiet/lively, stable/ diverse, well-maintained, family orientated, close to parks/transport or whatever truthful advantages it has. Mentioning what percentage of the estate is now privately owned, and whatever upgrades the council has done to its rented property..(new windows, roofs, playpark, road improvements), tells buyers this is a cherished enclave not a sink estate. That way you create a favourable impression to people who don't know the area at all, and to people who might not have considered a council estate.

Estate agents often use such a stale or generalised description on the sales leaflet it's almost meaningless, or puts buyers off. It's well worth rewriting it yourself, with the benefit of insider knowledge, and requesting some changes.

Janet.

Reply to
Janet Baraclough..

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