Estate agents - getting a second opinion

Cat_M

Hi. What's your view on second opinion s from estate agents? I had a guy lined up from last year when I sought a free valuation and then once tenants eventually vacated, I asked him to come back out to advise on what would need to be done when he could have a proper look around. He has since devalued the house by 10K quoting changing markets etc. From casual conversation with locals, there is still a huge shortage of family homes and the general impression is it should sell easily. To cut a long story shorter, I would now like a second opinion. No money has changed hands or anything. If I prefer another agent, can I pull out from virtual agreement with EA 1? Or is that very bad form?

EA1 has sent me an email on next steps e.g. what I need to do, fees etc.

Cat_M

How much work) repairs would you recommend? In the middle of painting the entire house. It was very dirty after tenants. Kitchen is very old and EA was pushing replacement of the press doors. I'm in between minds as have discussed with my handy man who , in his experience with doing jobs for houses going on the market, is that often times, the prospective buyer wants a blank canvass, will likely rip the whole kitchen out - 25 years old- and it be a waste of money as it will still look old. My wooden soffit and fascia is very damaged and has been patched up in the past. Looks awful so seriously considering getting a pvc one installed albeit the cost but if so, wouldn't want to spending too much more. I'm guessing I need to repair minor things like the loose door handles, leak under the sink, right? How does it work? Does prospective buyer highlight the flaws and seek them repaired or cost of repairs be deducted from sale price?? Thanks.

utmbuilder

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The_Conductor

Cat- it depends on where the property is- while there may be a shortage of family homes- the market has almost universally softened- properties are taking longer to sell, and in an increasing number of areas, prices are in actual fact falling. The latest forecast is for an overall increase in property values of between 2.5 and 3% this year- however, this takes into account runaway prices in a select number of locations.

The issue is lenders are not willing to lend silly money for property in a manner in which they might once have been tempted to do. In addition- the Central bank lending rules- are putting a brake on borrowing capacity- which is to some extent, saving people from their own worst excesses.

The market *has* changed- and local estate agents do have their fingers on the pulse of what is happening locally.

It is your prerogative to go with another estate agent- if you so choose to do so- however, even if another estate agent values your property at higher than the first estate agent- there is no guarantee whatsoever that you will achieve the higher price.

Personally, I'd be inclined to stick with the first guy- from the little you've told us, he does seem to have his finger on the ball, he knows whats happening locally and isn't trying to give you false expectations. It is your call of course what you do.

Reversal

Just my own observations here. Been keeping an eye on property in a Dublin commuter town recently. There a number of properties that went up in 2018 and have sat on the market since. In the last two weeks, a significant number of these properties have had their asking price dropped by 20-25K.

EAs may have been over confident last year that the good times were going to continue and now reality is setting in.

Grumpypants

He hasn't devalued the house but more so given a more accurate valuation based on a more detailed look at the property mixed with current market conditions.

But it is just a guess. You could get lots of interest and get more or get no interest and have to drop the price by another 10-20k. No one really knows.

You are free to get other opinions but will prob have to pay for both.

Sleeper12

The EA knows the area. If it went down 10k then it went down 10k. Getting another EA to say that it's worth an extra 10K doesn't mean that you will be able to sell it for this amount.

Here's the thing, most homes go on the market for lower than they actually are willing to accept. I saw one in Killester on the market for 530,000 yet they expected between 600,000 & 700,000. It sold for around 630,000.

There is nothing wrong with putting the house on the market at the price suggested by the EA. Sit back and see what interest there is in the property. If the house is worth the extra 10k then you will get it. If it's not then you won't get it. There is a percentage of guessing when valuing a property. 10k either side wouldn't be unusual

The_Conductor

Cat_M wrote: »

How much work) repairs would you recommend? In the middle of painting the entire house. It was very dirty after tenants. Kitchen is very old and EA was pushing replacement of the press doors. I'm in between minds as have discussed with my handy man who , in his experience with doing jobs for houses going on the market, is that often times, the prospective buyer wants a blank canvass, will likely rip the whole kitchen out - 25 years old- and it be a waste of money as it will still look old. My wooden soffit and fascia is very damaged and has been patched up in the past. Looks awful so seriously considering getting a pvc one installed albeit the cost but if so, wouldn't want to spending too much more. I'm guessing I need to repair minor things like the loose door handles, leak under the sink, right? How does it work? Does prospective buyer highlight the flaws and seek them repaired or cost of repairs be deducted from sale price?? Thanks.

Its up to you to decide whether, or not, its worth spending money to do up the property. In a majority of cases, the simple fact of the matter is- you are not going to get the additional cost of doing up the property back- by enhancing its sale price. Its simply not going to happen.

I'd be tempted to clear out the property altogether.
Repaint in neutral colours.
Fix any leaks or obvious defects.
Accept that the kitchen is going to have to be pulled out- however, I'd be inclined to simply clean it up as much as possible and leave it be- the purchaser is probably going to want to put in their own kitchen- regardless of what you do.

The purchaser will make an offer on the property on the basis of what it is worth to them. It is not that they will highlight flaws etc- and get you to repair them- they price all this into the equation themselves (usually). The cost of repairs or refurbishment- is the purchasers to bear- not yours.

You have to keep in mind- you are trying to make the property as desireable as possible- *without* spending money that you're not going to get back in a commensurate increase in the asking price for the property.

Stripping the place, deep clean- and a complete repaint in neutral colours- is the road I would go- anything else is money wasted.

Also- if there is any furniture in the property that the tenants have been using etc- for gods sake get rid of it. Its better unfurnished altogether- than with crap the tenants have half destroyed.

cruizer101

At the end of the day it doesn't really matter what an ea values it at the market will decide the actual value, so one ea vs another wouldn't really come down to the valuation rather I'd look at ads they both have on daft and see which presents houses the best.
I bought recently and some ads are shocking terrible, bad photos and not many of them, lack of details etc.

Regarding doing up the house a good clean and maybe a lick of some neutral colour paints. Maybe fix any obvious problems too or maybe just get a quote e.g. for the fascia board get a quote so you can say look this is how much it would cost to fix but better you do it so you can decide the finish you want and that (maybe check this one with ea seems like a good idea to me but I might be wrong)

BarryD2

Cat_M wrote: »

To cut a long story shorter, I would now like a second opinion. No money has changed hands or anything. If I prefer another agent, can I pull out from virtual agreement with EA 1? Or is that very bad form?

Do what suits you best. Estate agents don't generally have a wonderful reputation for loyalty and straightness, so don't be worried about 'bad form'. That said, if it's an area where there aren't many other options, then this person is best bet.

SozBbz

Yeah I'd be somewhat impressed that the EA you're dealing with has had the guts to tell you something that you don't want to hear.

A lower price will get people through the door. If it goes on too high, you won't get the traffic.

I'd be inclined to judge an EA on the strenght of adds they create for other properties on their books.

I wouldnt be spending any significant money on the house beyond decluttering and maybe even a quick paint job to make it look as light and bright as possible. Most buyers will want to put their own stamp on a property. Putting money into a cheap sticking plaster solution is probably just a waste.

Cat_M

In a bind now. Met EA #2 who has put the value at 30-35K less! She said other agents over inflate. She was being"honest". Yet at the same time, she was saying just paint and clean floors. EA#1 with the higher valuation was suggesting more work to do. EA#2 was suggesting that I could do a of that but I Will not see that money back. I'm shocked by the large gap in valuation. Quite disappointed too.

I'm inclined to go with the chance of undervalue but at the same time felt she whizzed through and didn't comment much, nearly as if she didn't think a whole lot of the place. EA#1 would say oh you're not overlooked, you've partly floored the attic....etc, etc.

I don't like the idea that anyone is BS ing me with too high a value that will get nobody through the door. I just thought there' wouldn't be much of a difference between the two valuations.

Dav010

Cat_M wrote: »

In a bind now. Met EA #2 who has put the value at 30-35K less! She said other agents over inflate. She was being"honest". Yet at the same time, she was saying just paint and clean floors. EA#1 with the higher valuation was suggesting more work to do. EA#2 was suggesting that I could do a of that but I Will not see that money back. I'm shocked by the large gap in valuation. Quite disappointed too.

I'm inclined to go with the chance of undervalue but at the same time felt she whizzed through and didn't comment much, nearly as if she didn't think a whole lot of the place. EA#1 would say oh you're not overlooked, you've partly floored the attic....etc, etc.

I don't like the idea that anyone is BS ing me with too high a value that will get nobody through the door. I just thought there' wouldn't be much of a difference between the two valuations.

Why are you putting so much store in what the EA values your house at? It’s just an estimate, the market/buyers will set the value of the house, not the EA. A lot of EAs/sellers put their property on the market for less than the price similar properties have recently sold for in order to generate interest and entice a couple of bidders to bid against each other.

Sleeper12

Cat_M wrote:

I don't like the idea that anyone is BS ing me with too high a value that will get nobody through the door. I just thought there' wouldn't be much of a difference between the two valuations.

Estimates or guesstimates, they are only guidelines. Starting points. Personally I wouldn't have bothered with the 2nd EA.

A bit of light painting, wash the outside of the gutters and downpipe, weed the driveway & any footpaths and keep the grass cut. That's about all you should do before the sale imo.

Askthe EA

In my opinion OP, its safer to price low, unless you are well below the ballpark, the market will bring it up to its true level.

If you price high, viewers wont even come and look.

Id keep the refurbs to a minimum also. As above, first impressions are important so weeds, clean windows & gutters. I would paint the place but not necessarily top to bottom. If its fully repainted, viewers can wonder whats being hidden.

Lastly a deep clean and plenty of plug in air fresheners around the house.

Not big money to do the baove and you will hget a lot more back than it cost.

JohnCleary

Askthe EA wrote: »

In my opinion OP, its safer to price low, unless you are well below the ballpark, the market will bring it up to its true level.

If you price high, viewers wont even come and look.

Id keep the refurbs to a minimum also. As above, first impressions are important so weeds, clean windows & gutters. I would paint the place but not necessarily top to bottom. If its fully repainted, viewers can wonder whats being hidden.

Lastly a deep clean and plenty of plug in air fresheners around the house.

Not big money to do the baove and you will hget a lot more back than it cost.

IMO, I disagree. Anyone viewing, that's slightly clued in, will think "What are they trying to mask?"

I'd must prefer the route of well ventilating the property. If there's a viewing, have the EA arrive an hour early and open all the windows. Nothing suspicious about ventilating a property.

The_Conductor

I'd much rather a smell of toast, fresh baking or freshly brewed coffee in a house- than artificial air freshners- they're pleasant smells, and they leave me with an idea that its a house that people actually live in- and I can empathise with the property and get a nicer feeling about it.........

Askthe EA

The_Conductor wrote: »

I'd much rather a smell of toast, fresh baking or freshly brewed coffee in a house- than artificial air freshners- they're pleasant smells, and they leave me with an idea that its a house that people actually live in- and I can empathise with the property and get a nicer feeling about it.........

Oh, I agree but my reading is this unit is ex rental and therefore vacant. Theres no point in going down the coffee / baking smells route when people will know its not occupied.

Air fresheners dont have to be over powering.

Askthe EA

JohnCleary wrote: »

If there's a viewing, have the EA arrive an hour early

Yah, that isnt going to happen though.

Cat_M

JohnCleary wrote: »

IMO, I disagree. Anyone viewing, that's slightly clued in, will think "What are they trying to mask?"

I'd must prefer the route of well ventilating the property. If there's a viewing, have the EA arrive an hour early and open all the windows. Nothing suspicious about ventilating a property.

Too late as regards painting as we've practically repainted the entire house because the walls were very dirty with evidence of small fingers and unfortunately a lot of sticky tape! For any landlord s out there, try to ask people not to use sticky tape on walls. It's a dose.

Cat_M

JohnCleary wrote: »

IMO, I disagree. Anyone viewing, that's slightly clued in, will think "What are they trying to mask?"

I'd must prefer the route of well ventilating the property. If there's a viewing, have the EA arrive an hour early and open all the windows. Nothing suspicious about ventilating a property.

Too late as regards painting as we've practically repainted the entire house because the walls were very dirty with evidence of small fingers and unfortunately a lot of sticky tape! For any landlord s out there, try to ask people not to use sticky tape on walls. It's a dose.

JohnCleary

Askthe EA wrote: »

Yah, that isnt going to happen though.

And that's why I've never used an EA to sell a property.

So easy to sell yourself with a bit of knowledge and time. And I'm not falling for the "But the EA would have gotten a better price". I've always achieved what I was happy to accept and the purchasers were happy with instant responses etc.

I worked on a "best and final bid by x date". On that date I rang all interested parties to see if they wanted to go higher. Highest bidder won and the rest was over to the solicitor. Never had anyone pull out of their highest bid, which may have just been lucly.

Fol20

JohnCleary wrote: »

And that's why I've never used an EA to sell a property.

So easy to sell yourself with a bit of knowledge and time. And I'm not falling for the "But the EA would have gotten a better price". I've always achieved what I was happy to accept and the purchasers were happy with instant responses etc.

I worked on a "best and final bid by x date". On that date I rang all interested parties to see if they wanted to go higher. Highest bidder won and the rest was over to the solicitor. Never had anyone pull out of their highest bid, which may have just been lucly.

Your an exception to the norm and although this might work for. It doesnt for most. The ea are already busy enough as it is and you want then to come an hour early to your place to open some windows... if he had to follow this model on every property. He could only go to 3 or 4 houses a day. If i met any ea willing to do this, i would be thinking he is desperate for the work and his sales skills are not up to par with his competitors.

EA do add value to the transaction, they act as a neutral place to offer bids. If i am buying direct off the owner, i would question any bids if they are real but with ea, they dont really have any major monetary gain if the bid is increased by 10k.

Some eas will give owners tips on how to make the place more presentable, do better wide angle pics and be able to discuss certain features of a house and or answer questions that the owner would not be able to answer in a professional manner without leaving doubt in the heads of a buyer.

Dont get me wrong, there is some bad ea’s out there but if you get the right ea, they can generate some extra bids.