House on market and I'm a bit lost

Those top offers seem very out of kilter with the others. Its always been a rule of thumb (my DH is a retired surveyor who had links to large EAs) that you ignored the lowest and the highest.
Franbern's careful assessment is the way to go. Its hard to forget the years of family happiness and how hard your DH worked and view your house merely as a tool to fund your new life but its really the only way to preserve your peace of mind. It must be so hard to be the one left 'to fight the battles'.
DH's Father left it too late, we had had 'the talk' several times once he was widowed but he could not see the cold hard facts that his charming home was now a huge liability. We found rooms that had not been gone into for years and maintenance problems that he could no longer see, it was as if he had been wearing blinkers and just looking past the crumbling walls and leaking roof. Forcibly making him move was the worse thing we had to do and nearly broke my DH.
You have the luxury of being totally in charge, albeit rather overwhelmed but this move will be all about your choices.
I am sorry to say that the housing market really is in an unusually slow sate. Where we are there are several smart homes that would have been snapped up in a matter of days a couple of years ago.

You need to work out how much you will need to purchase whatever you want to buy. Then do remember to take into account up to another £15000 to cover all the expenses of removal (EA fees, (plus VAT) Solicitors, purchase fees, stamp duty on purchase, removal, etc). Once you have worked out how much you are going to need yourself, and if that is covered by the offer, then go for it.
Due to my own foolishness in the past, I have to give half the sale price of this house to my ex. He has never lived here, not ever paid a single penny towards it - but it was an agreement I made many years ago, when I needed him to sign the papers to sell what had been our family home.
So, it is very important to me to do those sums very carefully.
Provided, out of my 50%, I can still have enough to buy a flat, then I am happy with the sale price.
You really cannot take into account how hard anybody worked to pay a mortgage in the past - it has no bearing whatsoever on the selling price now.

Thanks for your advice and support, I'm feeling so confused about it today. I spoke to my solicitor who said he thought it was too low as well, but it's the only offer I've had. My other friend said bite their hand off!

I will ask if they've sold their house, and thanks for the heads up about the market being quiet after June - I thought this was the start of the busiest time.

Lots of love and laughter to you all today, I'm off to the beach with my patient sheltie who's been waiting since 6 am xx

I completely agree with aggie. Those EAs have tried to sweep you along mosaics, no matter what heartache it caused you. Those people making the offer, have they sold their home? Very important to check that, if not thenpotentially accept their offer but stay on the market and ask the EA to aggressively market your home. It seems as though chains are inevitable

I got 400 for my house and that enabled me to buy a smaller, brand new cosy home, built by a very good builder, one of only 10 similar houses. I had enough left to pay for everything, including selling expenses, built in wardrobes and shutters and flooring and an upgraded multi fuel fire. I have enough left from that for a holiday and best of all I now have a 10 year guarantee and a cosy low maintenance home. So forget the advice thrown at you by well meaning family and friends, forget the `what ifs` and live in the present, which is far too much work and finance for you on your own and that is what counts. You need to make that decision asap because end of june the market stops until mid september and that means another freezing dap winter

The EA who valued your house at the highest price was touting for business , the others were realistic , sell and get out to a more comfortable place xxx

Mosaicwarts
Have sent you PM.

No other offers, it is my first, hence all the excitement I think. I do feel as though I've lost it tonight, my mind is in a turmoil.

I had four estate agents round - one said £350, one said £450, and two said £600. The EA I chose said £600, but I pointed out that I knew at least £100K needed spending on the roof and windows so they agreed to market it at £500.

After many viewings and comments being made about the project being too big, they recommended I drop to £450, which I did about six weeks ago.

I think the bottom line is that they have made me feel like a desperate vulnerable old lady and I feel angry about it. I feel as though they could be taking advantage of my situation - I am alone, widowed and fearful of the money that needs to be spent here as well as the hard work involved keeping warm in winter . Information from the EA has also been so garbled - they are not cash buyers as I was led to believe, the buyers didn't phone back on Friday but turned up on my doorstep on Saturday. That they only increased their offer by £5K instead of the £10K I asked for has really irritated me.

In addition, the EA has never had the 'minimum offer' discussion with me and I'm suddenly discussing an offer of £390 being increased to £400 -in my mind I was hoping for a minimum offer of at least £425.

Having written all this, I think it is all to do with my late husband who worked his socks off to pay the mortgage. Accepting such a low price feels like an insult to his memory.

Thank you for your support, I'm going to open the wine the nice couple gave me for collecting their newspaper, I'll send you all a virtual glass!

How many other offers have you had and do you have on the table.? If the answer is none then I’m you don’t have any bargaining room really.

The thing with such an individual property is that it’s very hard to value. The EA may have thought it was worth a shot at a high price in case that one person who would want your house and no other was out there.

Me, I would take the money and go. But that’s because I reckon that the time I’ve got left to enjoy myself is worth more than the money?When I moved from my big house my outgoings were so much less anyway and you might have some very big bills if you stay.

Oh Mosaicwarts - all that family advise! Its easy for them to talk about calling bluffs, but they have the luxury of being a little more detached from the situation. You are the one living in this big old house, not them.
How many EA's valued your home originally and did they explain the figure? Ours needed no work and its conversion was still within the NHBC 10 yr period so the EA just said X is the value if you are willing to wait 6 months....then he quoted 2 other prices reflecting how quickly we wanted to go...that was the only variation. Were you happy with how your home was valued? Was the initial price actually ever really achievable, its not unknown for the EAs to inflate prices for various reasons. Some being optimism some inexperience and some more about them getting the contract!
All I can say is I am so happy we bit the bullet, sold and are now in a new build from a small diligent builder who has had an excellent after sales service. We are spending some of the released money on having some lovely hard landscaping done to make a proper herb and rose garden with a seating area in the middle. There will be so much less to do and both DH and I are sleeping so much better and planning our new hobbies and trips without the worry of the other place hanging over us.
You know what you want to do - you are not betraying anyone or anything, you need to let go and go to the next stage, somewhere you are not drained by responsibilities and worries. Somewhere you can be snug and content in with a few roses to look out on. Good Luck and all my fingers are crossed.

mosaics, I think you will understand me when I say that I would have given my house away, I was so ready to leave and just wanted shut of the whole sorry business. When hubbie died then money and savings tbh meant nothing, as long as I could have a warm cosy home and enough to pay the bills and for decent food. You are the only one who can do the sums. If you can afford to spend the rest of your life on your income and if you can afford to get some smaller cosy home somewhere, then do it. Draw that line across and get on with the rest of your life. This is what I did.

Do you think I should accept it though craftyone? £55K under the asking price - £105K under the original price. My son thinks they are trying it on and would pay more if I refused this offer. I can't decide what to do.

meeting their mortgage advisor tomorrow morning is good going mosaics, they obviously want to be speedy, no messing about. Obviously finger crossing time, if they can get a mortgage then it sounds as though you are home and dry. At least they have arranged this right at the start of the process. You should have a little more certainty very soon

I completely, 100%, understand and agree with your need to be out and warm before winter. You are being very brave mosaics, you will get through.

Thanks for the Open Day idea Chinesecrested, I did suggest that to the EA and I can't remember why they refused.

So, I got home late this afternoon to an email saying the buyers have offered another £5K, not the £10K I asked for, and are meeting their mortgage advisor tomorrow morning.

I am sure that the EA told me he was a cash buyer, it was part of the excitement of him coming when I was away. The buyers also want to come and see me on Friday morning for ten minutes to check a few things, I wonder what they''ll ask me. I hope the kitchen mouse doesn't decide to put in an appearance! The EA thinks the price is fair and are glad it is going to a family again, rather than the viewers I've had who want to turn it into an Airbnb etc.

I have a heavy heart as I'd hoped for more money, thank you to those of you who have shared your reluctant 'losses'. to cheeky offers. The reality is that I cannot stand the thought of another winter here, and worst case scenario could end up having to finance the roof renewal during the wait for another buyer who might only offer a few thousand more. On the positive side once I'm freed from the huge bills I have here, I will have more money. It is a fantastic house, they are getting a real bargain, and it's going to be a happy home to a young family again which is lovely.

Thanks for all your support, I do appreciate having you to talk to. I'm dreading the upheaval of a survey and hope they don't want to go under the floor as most of the trapdoors are nailed down!

I've just read this thread - good luck and Bon Courage to all who are selling and rebuying.
We moved back to England from France in Feb. last year, having signed the commitment to buy the previous Sept. Bought our new house here a year ago. We had intended to move straight back into the house we'd left rented, but the tenants wouldn't leave. So we were sofasurfing for 4 months.
Originally we'd planned to bring our dog and cat back with us, but this didn't work out - just as well, though we still miss them.
The whole move cost us a lot. financially and healthwise. But we're glad to be 'home'.
It's a major thing at our age.

Chinesecrested - Open Days are a thing of the past. When it was a sellers market. They used to have these days then ask for sealed bids to put in. Was very good for sellers, but disheartening for would-be purchasers. I know a young teacher who offered on over two dozen properties, always being beaten. She was withdrew from the buying market and rented, and I have recently persuaded her that it is her time and she now has a good offer on a flat accepted and she is very excited.
I can remember the gazumping period in the early 1970's when would-be purchasers would queue down the road when a property came on the market, with their cheque books in their hands.
Even as a seller I would not like to return to those times, but do think that the law in England regarding sale/purchase of property needs revising - just bring it into line with that in Scotland.
I have had people viewing and then saying how much they would need to spend on extensions/alterations and wanting to take that amount of asking price - I say to them that I am selling the house 'as it is now' - 'not how they think they want to make it'.
When me and my new hubbie bought our first house, we had to take a lodger and rent out the garage (we had no car), just in order to pay the mortgage - no thoughts of changing things - just wanted to get on that housing ladder.

Mosaicwarts....There really are no hard and fast rules about what a third, forth or even fifth viewing is all about. Its just that the more complicated the house or the more dithery the buyer the more they want to make sure. One prospective buyer cam back a forth time to make sure the open garaging would accommodate his collection of land rovers....but without bringing a tape measure! Luckily we had some. Our actual buyer had a couple of extra visits once we were gone but the EA sorted those out and they were for particular things such as accompanying the surveyor round. We had one early muppet who could not get his head around the fact we were grade 2 listed and kept coming back to see if he could build a workshop on....he was told he would have to apply officially but even then he seemed to think it was open to negotiation.
In the end he walked away muttering something about the house being too far from the larger town!!! There really is no logic to house buying.

In London we are charged 1.5% plus VAT for sole agency fees. More if you go with more than agent. Must say, the lady at my EA is really working hard to get me a good sale.
Do wonder why people visit properties they cannot afford....Second viewing today and very enthusiastic, but offered twenty grand below asking price. I will accept up to ten grand below that price, but no more. Said they cannot afford to up their offer.
Still have the original offer on the table, but she has not yet managed to re-sell her house. Young couple desperate to purchase this and their offer is good (just five grand below asking price), Agent is just wanting to check out all their financial credentials before she finally agrees and takes my house off the market again.
Silly to care who comes to live here when I go, but would love for this young family to have it - but I will follow the advice of the EA. Accepted their offer, in principle - but keep house on market until checks have been made, not yet to contact my Solicitor.
On top of that EA fees are the Solicitors fees, both for selling and then again for the purchase of whatever flat I buy. Stamp duty on purchase also needs to be taken into account and removal expenses. A very expensive business moving house - I can quite understand why people prefer to extend their existing properties rather than move.

Have you tried having an Open Day? The EA arranges it and everyone comes on the same day to view - at staggered intervals obviously.

The EA emailed back and said the buyer will have to approach them for a third viewing - then she went on to say she'd be phoning to see if they wanted to increase their offer. I assumed the third viewing was to see if they did want to increase their offer?

I've managed to get my friend's daughter to clean for me tomorrow, so hope they come this week and I know where I stand.

Just having a break from weeding the back kitchen courtyard gravel, why are dock leaf roots such deep and long concrete monsters! I love the herb robert, and have seen bullfinches feeding on the seeds, and am sorry to remove it but it looks dreadful. Should be finished in about five hours and it should be clear!

I had a third viewing, just the buyer wanting to show adult children around and not a nit picky visit, so the EA said. The suspense is killing me mosaics, must be hell for you, not feeling well on top of everything else

Mosaicwarts, only supply things like bills if they are actually asked for. In fact our buyer did not ask too many detailed questions until we were well into the sale and they were done via e-mails through the EA. It turned into a bit of a ping pong session but it is so much better when there is the buffer of the EA as my initial response to some of the questions was things like 'what a cheek' and 'how very dare you'.
We paid a 1.25 % to our EA but boy did they work for it. I think its pretty much the going rate for larger non standard properties.
Hopefully your EA valued your home as a project....not what it could be. It would be disappointing if they had not realised how much might be needed doing. Of course any potential buyer will have their own plans....everything from a basic make over to a complete re-imagine.
We managed to sell FIL crumbling pile (part of the roof caved in on the day of completion - but buyer had had a survey so he knew what he was getting) just as the big slump of 2008 what hitting but it sold on position and potential. We saw it a couple of years ago on Right Move and it had undergone an amazing transformation...all glazed atriums and fitness gym. It was doubled in size and tripled in 'value'. What they potentially want to spend on the re-make should not really affect you. Your house should have been valued as is....not for how much needed spending on it. The only time that scenario applies is when something unexpected is thrown up by the survey - then sometimes a re-negotiation is needed.

Thanks for your replies, it does comfort me. Due to a silly remark I've lost my one and only friend up here, obviously only an acquaintance as she took offence at something so trivial. I've only just come to terms with it and do miss her.

I am also paying 1.2 % Craftyone, a fortune. My friend said to ask to renegotiate the fee with the EA, I am nervous to do so. I'm still not feeling myself due to grief. I do feel for your neighbour, I hope she has the strength when the time comes.

I emailed the EA last night and said the buyer had knocked and asked for a third viewing, and as I have a bad cold, could I have a few days to recover. Wish the 'hot flushes' would stop, I've got a temperature even with all the paracetamol.

Has anyone done anything special for a 'third viewing' - which may result in an extra £10K? Do you think I should leave a list of bills for them, electricity costs etc?

The difference with my house Johno is that it is a railway station on the live line, I knew it would be a difficult sale. It is a huge 2654 sq ft magnificent building, but needs the roof and windows done - and as it's listed everything has to be as the listing criteria.

As for the garden, it's also large, and growing like billy o and the new gardener can only come on a Monday. The BH's have messed up the month and it's looking dreadful again. He's coming today and I hope he will have time to both do the lawns and strim the other areas. I worked like a madman and managed to chop up all the branches in the stable from my original post and take them to the dump, but now have another large area of yew/tree branches near the line to tackle. Once I've cleaned the house I've run out of steam, really feeling my age lately.

Happy Monday! So overcast outside, is summer ever going to arrive?

Buyers do not care about stuff which is easily sorted out. Buyers count the rooms and value the area the house is in. Of course, a dirty unkempt house will put people off but most reasonable people will know what is the main value in a house and garden rubbish will not stop a buyer if your house is right for them. I would also DEMAND the agent keep you informed and tell them I will end the contract and go elsewhere. The contract will oblige them to keep you informed. Never accept second rate work when someone is getting a chunk of your money. This sale is important to you... it is your house.. it is your money... the agent should do what you tell them to do... they are not a charity, you pay them.

I also relied very heavily on my EA and although I paid 1.2%, I felt they had earned their money. They held my hand all through and never asked me to do a viewing, they always came early to check things and kept me fully informed. Best part was when their legal secretary took over, once I had agreed the offer. She held it all together and used some `clout` when things were going too far with my buyer, she was the one who silently put the pressure on, to get the sale through on 10th may

Anyway mosaics, by the end I would have taken any offer, I was so psychologically affected and a house is only worth what a buyer will pay. It was the EA who said `wait, I will try and get a bit more` and that 5k paid for the solicitor and removals with money left over. She got a bargain and I got peace of mind. She is still not living there full time and I wonder what games she is playing now and I feel for my gorgeous neighbours, who are now running the management company single handed. They need to go but he is 83 and she is 65 and have not the energy, he will see out his days there and she will be left to clear their beautiful but over full home. She is already ill, was a gp and relies heavily on the mental capacity and humour of her husband and he is ill, his lungs are failing. They have waited too long and that could have happened with any of us

Relationships with EAs are complex. I can honestly say that all the decisions we made were supported by ours. They sympathised when the initial viewers said nice things but made no offers. They accepted without a murmur our initial refusals of quite low offers. In all matters they 'took our instructions' and acted upon them. In our initial talk the EA came up with the asking price saying it was a reasonable price but we should expect to accept a very slightly lower one. We had a long chat about pricing....accepting that some folks have unreasonable expectations etc. It was our choice to drop after 4 months of no firm offers which then quickly led to two decent (but slightly lower again) offers. All the time the EA would state the viewers price and condition and then say something along the lines of....I'll leave you to think about it'. On every occasion they listened to our responses and followed our instructions. We never felt the EA was setting the pace - we felt very much they were working for us. As things progressed the EA was very helpful - ringing us up the moment the proposed buyer had a query and making sure they acted as a buffer so that we never had to deal directly with them. It kept everything at a reasonable level of politeness and ensured no one lost their tempers. Every extra visit the buyer made was arranged through the EA (we had moved out by then) but they still checked with us before hand and let us know what was happening.
It is a fine line I know....but the EA is serving you....but they must also be allowed to use their professionalism to help you make the sale. For every scary EA story there is an opposite scary vendor story that an EA can regale you with!