Anyone selling their house at the moment

We put our house up for sale in March this year as we wanted to downsize.

We had quite a few viewings at first (it seemed I was forever cleaning and tidying up!). One couple really wanted it and put in an 'expression of interest', they put their house up for sale and we kept our fingers crossed.

However, they didn't sell, and the viewings dried up.

We then put the house up for sale with a second estate agent. And finally somebody turned up who was really keen and made us an offer which we accepted. We went out and found a bungalow, made an offer on that which was accepted, and we thought we were all set to go.

Nope, it wasn't to be. I started to get a bit suspicious after a long wait without hearing anything and then the estate agent rang up to say the sale had fallen through further up the chain due to a bad surveyor's report. I was really annoyed because our buyer had definitely implied she was much further down the line than surveyor's reports.

So there we were, disappointed, and wondering whether to carry on as we had to pull out of the sale of the bungalow we wanted. I said we'd hang on until end of September, as that was when the housing market was supposed to pick up again, and just hope someone would come along in that time.

But then, last Friday our first estate agent rang and said the original couple interested in our house might be, just might be, finalizing a deal on their house. We had to wait over the bank holiday until Tuesday to find out that they were under offer at last. They made an offer on ours which we accepted, so here we are again with a 'Sold' sign up in the garden. And our purchase of the bungalow is on again.

If this one falls through I think we'll have to give up. But then I think of my Mum and Dad living in a big house that's too much for them to manage, and them both too old and poorly to move, and think we'd really better get it over and done with now.

Vintagegirl

My daughter is househunting at the moment and with herself and husband both 'working from home' , they are looking for house that lends itself to two separate workspaces which rules out many basic semi detacheds.

We're not selling however a granddaughter is hoping to buy. Detached, 2 separate workspaces, neutral white colour interior, garage, big garden, wood floors (no carpet), modernized kitchen & bathrooms.

At a very reasonable price. Good job finding a home.

For the 2nd time in two years we've put our detached chalet bungalow on the market in April, accepted a very close offer within a couple of days, only to see a frenzy in house price surges only to find it all crashing as buyers realise that they've been had but overzealous estate agents who won't let you view a property until you e had an offer on yours. The result both times is that the chain becomes longer and longer and impossible to get completion and when your buyer pulls out due to time pressures then your offer is withdrawn due to you becoming "unprocedeable" (sic) The only winners are the solicitors - we've spent almost £5000 on conveyancing and surveys only to have the rug pulled from under our feet. The selling model needs to change

I’m on a small development. A house here on the market in May went to final offers in writing and it’ll be interesting to see what it went for - at least £10K over the asking price. It was priced to sell though.
The house next door went on the market on Tuesday - there’s been 6 viewings so far (that’s what I’ve seen). It needs work, but £30K more than the other and one of the viewers was an unsuccessful bidder for the first house.

I’ve always thought this a bad time to launch a sale (DD1 is in that business) but this house could buck the trend. DD1 recommends going to market just before the Easter break.

We had the opposite story to you. We moved 3yrs ago (downsized) the market was mad and fast we put ours on the market Friday late pm, on the sat and Sunday we had booked on 21, yes 21 viewings, 10 on the saturday and 11 Sunday. We sold it straight away, above the asking price too which was great, But the downside to all this was we had to also look for a house in this mad fast market, it was ridiculous, we couldn't even get through to some over worked estate agents, let alone viewings, if we did get through, the house had already gone, it was not a nice time, I'd also lived in my house for 40yrs too, so the whole thing was a real experience, we did manage to find a house in the end, but threatened to pull out of our 5 chain, after being messed about on moving dates again (we were both still working) my husband said lots of times I wished we had just stayed where we were, on a positive note 3,yrs in were glad we did it. I think a slower market would be easier than the mad nutty one we had. Never again!!

So many houses here in S. Wales are being sold by on line auctions. There is a guide price to which is added approx (in my GD's case) £7k fees!! She looked at an older property within her price range but by the time the Surveyor had checked it over, it needed yet another £30k to bring it up to scratch. The extra £7k makes an expensive additional cost!

Yes it’s been nothing short of a nightmare so far, sold quickly in March and found where I wanted to live, due to complete in May, week before completion bottom of the chain pulled out costing me a small fortune, my buyer sold again and we were back in then they pulled out as well and I lost the property I was buying, have now sold again but don’t now have anywhere to go to, fed up with the whole situation our house buying process is dreadful, no one should be allowed to pull out so close to completion and just walk away leaving everyone else out of pocket….. rant over

The whole nightmare process in England needs to change. We had an offer on our 8 bedroomed Victorian number in August 2023 in Sussex. We accepted. The prospective purchasers pulled out because the next door neighbour had J Knotweed (not us - and yes it was disclosed on the solicitor's form). So back to square one. We had to find a rental in Norfolk We eventually sold in April 2024 at a £60k loss plus (to date) £18,000 rental, plus running two households.

We put in an offer on a bungalow, had a survey done and were advised to run a mile. The legal and survey costs involved are horrendous.

Then of course, nearly all of our possessions are in storage (fees for same), then the removal costs. And so it goes on. The length of time that solicitors are taking for conveyancing is now unacceptable and increasing the costs for the clients.

It is stressful and expensive.

Something has to change.

Why aren't things disclosed in advance of sale? Why aren't estate agents honest about issues? Their get out clause of "I did not know" is no excuse. They should know and find out.

Difficult to judge when so few of you are saying what area or county you’re selling in! Our bungalow in (small country town) Dorset is sold (well, we’ve accepted an offer and are in ‘the process’ with solicitors). Went on the market in June, accepted an offer in July, but like many others we had fewer viewings than expected and very few were really proceedable. But please ladies, give us a clue where you’re selling!

Relaxation of the planning laws, unhealthy alliances between planners, councillors, and investors in the property industry have provided opportunity for developers to build too many 4-5 bedroms homes and fix prices which has stiffled sale of the current housing stock.

Not to say anything about the comlex bidding process for those people in need of downsizing or social housing. Estate agents, solicitors and conveyancers makes the system even more combersome and unwieldy with many ficticious viewings and fake offers dropped at last moment [sellers beware] . Absolutely agree with Orly the selling model needs to change.

Gransnet is a force to be reckon with, I know Mumsnet have evoked change for public good - perhaps together we could change the model.

Meantime private message me if you are interested in selling or buying - happy to provide a link to my property to see what you mght be missing

I am about to try to sell my, too large for me, property about 10 miles south of Edinburgh. I have lived here for over 40 years.

I have looked at a few houses around here to see what's available in my price range. The first 4 I have seen were nice but not for me. They have all sold very quickly.

I want to sell before buying. I think it may take a long time to find a buyer.
Good luck to us all.

We sold our house very quickly (in one week) last year and completed in July. The agent sifted out only the people that were proceed-able for viewings which we felt was a good thing. We then rented holiday lets in different parts of the south of England a month at a time to get a feel of an area before buying.It gave us time to find the right property without the angst that property buying brings.
In our experience there was very little decent stock. Anything decent went very quickly and often at asking price or maybe slightly beyond. Many houses (in our opinion) were overpriced, in disrepair, untidy etc. giving no incentive to buy and this was at the £700k mark.
We have eventually bought and moved in a month ago.

Seal67 It's the summer - not a good time. People are on holiday or getting their children ready for a new school or watching the sport. There's been a lot on tv.

When we put our Suffolk house on the market in 2008 it was the beginning of the summer, The World Cup was on etc etc.

All the estate agents (and solicitors) were talking about the lack of prospective purchasers and viewings. I suspect you'll have better luck later this month. Good luck

My daughter has been trying to buy in a SE village. FTB properties - not new builds - start at £350k and sell within a week. She’s finally had an offer accepted but had to go well above the guide price.
Good sized properties in the small Cumbrian town where I live are flying off the shelves too. We are semi rural and have a very good secondary school and prices have just kept on rising. It’s very hard for young families.

In our experience the cost of refurbishing a property has doubled in recent years. That needs to be considered when making an offer.

We have been looking to move for nearly 2 years. Unfortunately we have not seen a house we want to buy.

Norah

Vintagegirl

My daughter is househunting at the moment and with herself and husband both 'working from home' , they are looking for house that lends itself to two separate workspaces which rules out many basic semi detacheds.

We're not selling however a granddaughter is hoping to buy. Detached, 2 separate workspaces, neutral white colour interior, garage, big garden, wood floors (no carpet), modernized kitchen & bathrooms.

At a very reasonable price. Good job finding a home.

She's informed us - all are too dear, too many paint colours, daft flooring. We believe she'll need to look a bit longer with less list.

Daunting at 23, looking for a home and disappointed. Could be worse.

Norah

Norah

Vintagegirl

My daughter is househunting at the moment and with herself and husband both 'working from home' , they are looking for house that lends itself to two separate workspaces which rules out many basic semi detacheds.

We're not selling however a granddaughter is hoping to buy. Detached, 2 separate workspaces, neutral white colour interior, garage, big garden, wood floors (no carpet), modernized kitchen & bathrooms.

At a very reasonable price. Good job finding a home.

She's informed us - all are too dear, too many paint colours, daft flooring. We believe she'll need to look a bit longer with less list.

Daunting at 23, looking for a home and disappointed. Could be worse.

Today our GD came round and showed me pictures.

What she dislikes is now understandable.

Refurbished with no thought to matching all interior colours of taps, lights, door handles. Silly new interior ceiling and wall lights.

Ridiculous about of clutter, personal items on walls and Tables.

My property in a desirable Devon seaside town 2 minutes from the beach and 1 from the marina has been on the market since 9 July. Not one viewing to date. More local properties appear by the day and it’s the same story. Schools go back this week which might help but the political financial uncertainty must be having an effect. I don’t have to move but with the threat of living in close proximity to a large proposed air B&B next summer, I want to. I’m not despondent yet and hope for better things to come next year if not this. 🤞