How Strange

[Hightower]

Got a phone call last night:

 

Peter: "Hello, it's Peter" (The guy we're buying our house off).

Me: "Hi Peter"

Peter: "We've just been speaking to the guy we're buying our house off and he has a mate who is a property investor who is currently looking for property in your area"

Me: "Oh right"

Peter: "Is it okay if we pass your number onto him?"

Me: "Yeah, of course. Don't mind how it sells as long as it sells"

 

So Gary phones up half an hour later (the guy Peter is buying his house from) and asks about our house, just the basics like type of house, bedrooms, asking price etc etc, and says he will pass the information on to his investor mate.

 

Now I don't know what to make of this. It's all very exciting because we might have a buyer for the house soon. Thing is, this lad is an investor and I'm sure that whatever happens it won't be the asking price that is offered - I mean this guys trying to make a living and won't do so by going round giving the asking price.

 

I'm excited about it all, but not trying to get my hopes up because we can only afford to go as far as £4k under the asking price, and I can't see him offering in that region.

[kmount]

It's a step in the right direction mate!

[webman]

Easy; just don't sell at anything below £4k of the asking price

[Hightower]

It's a step in the right direction mate!

 

Yeah - it was good news when I got the call, but I'm not getting too excited because something probably won't come of this avenue.

 

Easy; just don't sell at anything below £4k of the asking price

 

Easy? I'll pay you to achieve that....

[Hightower]

See the other way I'm seeing this is:

 

1) I want to move to Peters

2) Peter wants to move to Garys, but can't until I sell mine

3) If Gary is desperate to get his unloaded, he may call in a few favours with this investor friend to try and buy ours to get everything moving.

 

At the end of the day this guy is an investor - but if favours have been called in, who knows what may happen

[Rydra]

Myself I've only bought one house, but i've helped parents to sell 3 houses so far. Work out what the house is worth in 'perfect' condition (aka all walls painted no wallpaper, all up to date electricals, guttering, garden in good order, decent flooring, lighting, new bathroom/kitchen).

Then work out how much it would take to get it all into that condition. Asking price should be between the two figures.

 

And always be prepared to refuse an offer if it's below what you want. My parents tried to sell my nans house after she died, and a couple days before exchange the (potential) buyers tried to knock us down another £8k, hoping we were desperate for the move and would just take it. Since noone was living there, and no chain below us we refused to drop any lower, and they pulled out. 6 weeks later we sold the house for 4k more than the first bunch were going for.

[SpuffMonkey]

Of course - a house is only "worth" what someone will pay for it - any other figure you have in mind is just speculative (& probably hopeful).

[bossman]

This is what I feel has been the actual downfall in the housing market, the fact that speculators and investors have helped inflate house prices to make a killing in the past.

 

As the financial markets throughout the world have collapsed with the presence of bad debt then this has had an effect on the housing prices not just in this country but around the world.

 

As has been said previously "A house is only worth what someone else is willing to pay", also who has surveyed the house and put a price on it in the first place as most of these estate agents dont know their ar*e from their elbow. Anyone can set up as an estate agent as no legal requirements have to be met and there are no expert bodies set up to monitor them.

 

@Hightower you sell at what you feel you can afford, but obviously this guy's mate will probably be splitting the difference with him so if the buyer can arrange for the price to be lowered then both the buyer and his mate are quids in.