Selling a house

[Rose28454]

Looking for a bit of advice for my daughter whose sale and purchase is completing on Monday next week
They marketed their house in November and had an offer from someone in their village who wanted to buy it as a buy to let which my daughter wasn’t keen on and he underoffered so they accepted another offer
Early January the buyer pulled out and they then got 2 offers for the asking price ( £10k more than the buyer who pulled out had made )
One was from the previous chap they had turned down but now for the full price and he said he wasn’t letting it apparently his girlfriend was pregnant and they would be living there themselves. The estate agent recommended they go with him as he had mortgage etc in place etc
The other buyer even came and knocked on the door the next morning begging to buy it but they had accepted the other offer and were worried about losing the house they want to buy
The buyer has been a bit difficult not wanting to pay for various items in the kitchen and threatening to pull out so they accepted this as it’s gone so far

daughter called me early this morning to say their house is listed on a local Facebookpage as being up for rent from Tuesday next week and he used the pictures from the listing that my daughter paid for.
she’s very upset and would pull out if she could.
spoke to estate agents Who said he apparently got drunk and listed it by mistake abs would be living in it himself

One of the reasons they really wanted to sell it to someone who would live there is they have elderly neighbours either side
Are they wrong to be upset ?

 

[Rippedjeanmaybe]

We are looking to sell ours after our wedding in October.

At the moment our biggest job is fixing our bedroom ceiling. One of the boards is hanging down slightly, so that will need to be re done and then we will just need to repaint the room as there was a damp patch on that wall.

other than that, we aren’t doing much.

we have some slit marks in our bedroom carpet from when my fiancés dad cut something with a knife over it… it’s under the bed, so you can’t see it, but I’m debating what to do with it. Personally I always change carpets straight away in a new home so a hidden mark in a carpet wouldn’t bother me, but it might other people.

 

[Choco88]

Thanks for the reply’s everyone really helpful. I’m glad you agree it’s not worth redecorating. Property seems to be selling within a week in my area so I’m hoping for a quick sale.

I put my house on the market yesterday & already got 4 viewings booked in. I’m trying not to get too excited too soon

I was the same as you, panicking about repainting rooms, carpets etc.But so many people have said not to bother, just leave It as it is. Potential buyers will put their own mark on it anyway. As long as it shows it’s full potential in terms of space, and also how clean the house is can make a difference, it shows it’s a well looked after home.

I’ll keep my fingers crossed for a smooth sale for you Hairraiser please let us know how you get on

 

[Hairraiser]

I put my house on the market yesterday & already got 4 viewings booked in. I’m trying not to get too excited too soon

I was the same as you, panicking about repainting rooms, carpets etc.But so many people have said not to bother, just leave It as it is. Potential buyers will put their own mark on it anyway. As long as it shows it’s full potential in terms of space, and also how clean the house is can make a difference, it shows it’s a well looked after home.

 

[Rippedjeanmaybe]

Thank you, And the same to you ! It’s not a straight forward process so all the best!
it’s like that near where I live too, we viewed a house on Thursday that had on gone on the market Tuesday & it has already SSTC. So I’m really hoping that ours does the same
Tbh finding a property might be the hardest part

Finding a property for us is going to be the most difficult bit for sure! We live in a small village in the north west and it’s a really popular village to live in. House prices are a little steep here compared to the areas around us and when houses come up for sale they get sold almost instantly! I’m just hoping we don’t have to wait too long to find what we want !

 

[Snippysnips]

My folks have sold twice, years apart, what helped us was having minimal stuff in the house, the more cluttered it was the more is seemed to put people off, obvs they wouldn't be getting our crap lol but I think it still puts the image in their head that it's a small cluttered home, so we made sure to have minimal stuff out, sofa, TV unit, TV, maybe a unit or two etc, everything else was boxed away, thankfully we were lucky the house had a garage that we could store most things but we had a family member help with stuff we didn't want in the garage, also what helped was having neutral colours on the walls, it was a pain painting an taking wallpaper down but most people don't want to walk into a home and the first thing they think is they will need to paint the place, so we went with creams, grays etc all four walls, if you already have a light colour on all four walls it would be fine as well, strong deep colours not only make it look small an dark but most people will be put off, I've seen some houses where the walls were fusha pink or bright orange an walked out thinking the hell with this everything else was mostly just scrubbed up a bit, skirting washed down, we rented one of those carpet cleaner things to scrub up the carpet, didn't cost much an brought the carpets up like new

 

[bcfc999]

I'm in the process of buying and something that's slowing us down is that the seller doesn't seem to have got all the certificates to hand - gas, electric, boiler etc. So definitely make sure you have all your documents together for a quick sale good luck!

 

[Hairraiser]

Thanks for the reply’s everyone really helpful. I’m glad you agree it’s not worth redecorating. Property seems to be selling within a week in my area so I’m hoping for a quick sale.


I’ll keep my fingers crossed for a smooth sale for you Hairraiser please let us know how you get on

Thank you, And the same to you ! It’s not a straight forward process so all the best!
it’s like that near where I live too, we viewed a house on Thursday that had on gone on the market Tuesday & it has already SSTC. So I’m really hoping that ours does the same
Tbh finding a property might be the hardest part

 

[JoeBloggs]

the Market is flooded with 2 bed new builds in this area. Houses like mine (3 bed 1940s semi) don’t come up as often so tend to sell quickly. My next door neighbours house was on the market this time last year and it sold within a month . It needed a lot of work as it belonged to an elderly lady (think avocado bathroom suite,wood chip wallpaper everywhere, back boiler etc).

Then I wouldn’t go crazy, we bought exactly the same type of property you have mentioned, it even had a green gloss painted wallpaper on the ceiling under polystyrene tiles! We put full asking price in (all we could afford) at the viewing, it had been on the market a week as we’d been looking for two years and it was perfect. If the market is limited and fast paced people will look past needing to put a lick of paint on the walls when they move in.

 

[Choco88]

Hi joining in… I’ve found this thread really helpful as we are just getting ready to put our first home on the market.
We are replacing the carpets in a couple of weeks (they were poorly fitted originally, despite being very expensive and have been shot to pieces by us, our young daughter and cat! ) and just generally tidying up/de-cluttering/touching up. We’re new to the selling process, so I was wondering if anyone had any advice on estate agents? I know things will vary depending on the part of the country you’re in (We’re south east England). Has anyone tried Purple Bricks? What’s the catch on the no commission?!

Hi I put a post on my local areas Facebook group asking for estate agent recommendations. A lot of people commented saying to avoid purple bricks because they are really slow.

 

[Snippysnips]

It’s what our sellers did 🥲

Sorry to hear that, you would have been in your right to charge them for a new carpet for being sneaky at hiding that, I can't remeber as it was years ago now if it's 4 weeks or 6 weeks after selling you have that time frame to charge anything wrong that was hidden or not mentioned

It happened to us when we sold our first home, we knew it needed some work done an we had mentioned everything it needed minis one thing that we had forgotten about, they wanted a chunk off the asking price so we took around 8k off it (which was alot back then) we needed to sell fast as we already had another place lined up an they assured us they were definitely buyers, so we took the 8k off under them knowing it was to fix the issues, few weeks later after we were in our new home we get a bill through the door, they wanted to charge us for the thing we hadn't mentioned, it ended up in court as we refused to pay since the price being taken off was part of the deal to fix things, thankfully we won the case as the judge agreed the 8k was more than enough to fix the issues even the one we had forgotten, in total I believe the issues wouldn't have cost much more than 2k, maybe 3k if they went expensive

 

[Choco88]

I'm in the process of buying and something that's slowing us down is that the seller doesn't seem to have got all the certificates to hand - gas, electric, boiler etc. So definitely make sure you have all your documents together for a quick sale good luck!

great tip thank you

 

[Calmyourtitsdown]

Hi joining in… I’ve found this thread really helpful as we are just getting ready to put our first home on the market.
We are replacing the carpets in a couple of weeks (they were poorly fitted originally, despite being very expensive and have been shot to pieces by us, our young daughter and cat! ) and just generally tidying up/de-cluttering/touching up. We’re new to the selling process, so I was wondering if anyone had any advice on estate agents? I know things will vary depending on the part of the country you’re in (We’re south east England). Has anyone tried Purple Bricks? What’s the catch on the no commission?!

 

[4lonso]

We sold our house last year, so I totally understand the stress of getting it ready. Replacing the living room carpet and fixing the bathroom issues are great starts. They’ll definitely make a good impression on potential buyers.

As for painting the whole house, it’s not always necessary. We focused on high-traffic areas that showed the most wear and tear, like the hallway and living room. Touching up scuffs and peeling paint can make the place look fresher without the effort of repainting everything.

Decluttering is key. A clean, clutter-free space makes it easier for buyers to imagine themselves living there. When we sold, we found that these small improvements made a big difference.

If you’re looking for a quick and hassle-free sale, consider selling the house for cash. It saved us a lot of time and stress.

 

[Choco88]

I don't believe a mark on a carpet would count. While I think making the house look presentable, I wouldn't go out of your way to spend loads of money and time. I personally would seek the opinion of the estate agent, it depends on the market. Are people desperate in the area and therefore not that bothered or is the market slow and people are being picky and therefore you need to make your house stand out.

the Market is flooded with 2 bed new builds in this area. Houses like mine (3 bed 1940s semi) don’t come up as often so tend to sell quickly. My next door neighbours house was on the market this time last year and it sold within a month . It needed a lot of work as it belonged to an elderly lady (think avocado bathroom suite,wood chip wallpaper everywhere, back boiler etc).

I’ve just bought a house after looking for quite a while and even though it was already freshly painted, I’ve re-painted it to something my taste. I never really paid attention to the paint work so wouldn’t worry about getting it all painted. But one thing that used to put me off little was things like holes in the wall - something easily fixed but when looking for a house it was something that felt a lot bigger than it was. Selling point for me was the potential something had to become a home and a general home feel.

Something that almost made me drop out was the estate agent (not a fan of the best and final offer thing- I went in with my serious offer and it made the acceptance process 2 weeks longer than it needed to be) and the lack of documentation for things like the boiler. They actually refused to have it serviced so now it has no warranty, but also the back and forth of solicitors as a result of this was around 3 weeks.

thank you that really helps, I hope you’re enjoying your new home

 

[HoGi]

I think I know I’m fighting a losing battle with selling my house but wonder if anyone has any advice.

I’m selling my end of terraced house which I’ve had 9 years to move in with my partner. The house went mad, I had 20 viewings and 9 offers within a week of it going on the market and sold for £20k over the asking price.

Bank valuation required a structural engineers report as it said there was structural issues. The buyer and I both went halves and bought the report, thinking it would just clear up an over cautious bank lender. My house is old but had no structural issues when I bought it and genuinely no problems when I lived there.

Structural report lazily says the house does have signs of minor movement due to “book ending” but cannot confirm it’s non-progressive and therefore cannot confirm suitable for a mortgage. There is no guidance for any remedial work or recommendations to fix, as they say it’s basically impossible to say whether or not the movement is non progressive.

Given this is the highest level of survey at a cost of £980, I’m at a loss as to what more I can do. I accept the house clearly has an issue which I didn’t know about and I’m prepared to try and fix but it feels like they are deeming it is a lost cause and totally un-mortgageable.

Are my only options a cash buyer? I’m trying to push back on the survey to say it’s inadequate given that they advertise it as having remedial action and costs as part of it, but the survey is in the buyers name so it is up to her to instruct and she will (probably and understandably) walk away from the house.

Feeling very disheartened that my little house which I’ve poured so much into is now deemed worthless!

I don’t have any advice I'm afraid, but I had similar with my mum's house when we sold it in 2021.

The further annoyance with ours was that the house was deemed fine but the detached garage had the signs of movement.

We also paid halves on the report and had no recommendations for fixes. And ultimately the buyer pulled out.

We did sell but it was a cash buyer so no surveys etc.

So no advice, but a hand hold and I hope it all works out for you.

 

[Rose28454]

I don’t think they’re wrong to be upset that he lied but it’s his house it’s up to him what he wants to do with it. Just because tenants will be moving in doesn’t automatically make them bad neighbours.

In principle yes but it’s not his house until next Monday! It’s the perils of buying and selling I suppose

I do not think she is wrong to be upset, but realistically she has not right as to what they do with the house once it is theirs. You can try to sell it to your ideal buyer but who is to say their situation will be the same. They could buy it, extend it and sell it on within months. While trying to be a good neighbor is nice, she needs to focus on her move and her new house. Just because it is tenanted doesn't mean they people will be bad, I rented for 7 years and I would like to think I am the same as I am now in my own home.

Your probably right they are going from a 3 bedroom terrace to a 6 bed detached hoping it will be their forever house. My daughter wonders if she can take issue with the estate agent but I’m trying to advice her to stay cool and just look forward to next week this time when they will have moved in with their young daughter.

 

[JoeBloggs]

In principle yes but it’s not his house until next Monday! It’s the perils of buying and selling I suppose


Your probably right they are going from a 3 bedroom terrace to a 6 bed detached hoping it will be their forever house. My daughter wonders if she can take issue with the estate agent but I’m trying to advice her to stay cool and just look forward to next week this time when they will have moved in with their young daughter.

If she kicks up too much of a fuss he may well pull out or reduce his price. I would tell her to keep out of it. Once she hands they keys over it is nothing to do with her and it is not worth risking her forever home for. The only thing she could go on, it the fact that the estate agent hasn't given permission for the photos to be used, but again thats not her fight.

 

[Bobbleowl90]

I wouldn't really advise that, it's being dishonest an new buyers have a time limit where they can replace damaged things that haven't been mentioned an charge the original home owners for it, the new owners could buy the most expensive carpet an end up charging it, I'd just go for a very cheap carpet an replace it, it would then be up to the new owners if they wanted to keep it or not but they wouldn't be able to charge for it since there was nothing wrong

It’s what our sellers did 🥲

 

[Sprottish]

I think I know I’m fighting a losing battle with selling my house but wonder if anyone has any advice.

I’m selling my end of terraced house which I’ve had 9 years to move in with my partner. The house went mad, I had 20 viewings and 9 offers within a week of it going on the market and sold for £20k over the asking price.

Bank valuation required a structural engineers report as it said there was structural issues. The buyer and I both went halves and bought the report, thinking it would just clear up an over cautious bank lender. My house is old but had no structural issues when I bought it and genuinely no problems when I lived there.

Structural report lazily says the house does have signs of minor movement due to “book ending” but cannot confirm it’s non-progressive and therefore cannot confirm suitable for a mortgage. There is no guidance for any remedial work or recommendations to fix, as they say it’s basically impossible to say whether or not the movement is non progressive.

Given this is the highest level of survey at a cost of £980, I’m at a loss as to what more I can do. I accept the house clearly has an issue which I didn’t know about and I’m prepared to try and fix but it feels like they are deeming it is a lost cause and totally un-mortgageable.

Are my only options a cash buyer? I’m trying to push back on the survey to say it’s inadequate given that they advertise it as having remedial action and costs as part of it, but the survey is in the buyers name so it is up to her to instruct and she will (probably and understandably) walk away from the house.

Feeling very disheartened that my little house which I’ve poured so much into is now deemed worthless!