Help with valuing my property?

Hi everyone

I am hoping that somebody in the know might be able to give me some advise please, i bought a property nearly two years ago to live in myself, i moved in with my partner 9 months later and ended up renting out my property, i didn't intend when buying it to become a landlord but circumstances changed so here i am now..

I'm thinking of trying to sell it now as its alot of hassle so am considering cutting my losses and getting out

The builder is still trying to sell the remainder of the properties in the estate at the same price as 2007, this would be concrete floors and no applicances, i would be selling mine fully furnished and have obviously put tiles, carpet and floors in and the kitchen is fully equiped..
Other houses in the estate are on the market for the same price they were bought for too..
I was considering putting a value of €10k below the builders for the asking price and would consider any offer that was made (within reason)..
Is this a realistic price do you think as with my property there is no work needed and is €10k less then builders..

I really wish i hadn't bought my property now but i am just trying to do the best i can considering the situation, i have never wanted to be a landlord and just want to cut my losses, am i being realistic??

Thanks in advance

It depends.

What percentage of the property price is €10k?
How good is the finish quality / appliances?
Is the decor still in very good order?

There's obviously an advantage for many buyers in your property being fully finished, because they have fewer up-front expenses. However, some may see it as a downside (especially if appliances are basic, or paint-work and tile-grouting aren't fresh) because they won't have the opportunity to make it their own in the same way. The other issue is that they'd still be able to ensure the builder carries out any snagging work.

I think you're sensible to price below comparable properties, but you may well need to price further below if you want to achieve a quick sale (that's how I interpret your post). It's definitely worth talking to local agents, to see where bid levels - if there are any - are on the other ones for sale.

If it's looking a little drab, it might be worth freshening up with a coat of paint. And clean until you're sure all dirt has run screaming out of the place!

Hi Dreamerb

Thanks for your quick reply

the €10k is 5% - is that too little?
Appliances are all integrated in the kitchen and are good hotpoint ones in the utility room, all are only 18 months old
Decor is great, all neutral colours (magnolia) and was freshly painted before tenants moved in last May and i have recently paid for paint as they wanted to freshen up door and skirting boards

yea a quick sale would be great, realistically i was thinking of putting the asking price €10k below builders as i am expecting if any offers come in they will be below the asking price anyway so if i put the asking price too low the offers will be lower again (if that makes sense)
My tenants are great and its spotless

I have spoke to EA and their advise is "it depends what u can afford to sell it for", obviously i want to be realistic but i also want to get as much as i can

i could afford to sell it for €20-25 less than i bought it for

I think that sounds pretty reasonable. 5% may be enough to attract extra attention without - hopefully - setting expectations that it's a "distressed" sale and you'll offload it for half the asking. It's also good that you have some flexibility on sale price.

Other things to consider: Are you giving your tenants notice? Because you could be left funding the mortgage for a substantial period, even if everything goes well. In addition, an obviously unoccupied house does get that cold and unloved feeling surprisingly fast! On the other hand, if you expect your tenants to facilitate viewings you'll obviously have to give them some form of rent rebate for the disturbance.

It might be worth having someone ring an agent for one of the other houses and saying that they're interested but it's a little over what they can afford: if the estate agent starts talking about the vendor's flexibility it'll give you an idea of what to expect.

In my opinion you may have a job finding a buyer willing to buy a house in 2009 just 5% lower from the highs of 2007. Best of luck with it anyways.

Cayne said:

In my opinion you may have a job finding a buyer willing to buy a house in 2009 just 5% lower from the highs of 2007. Best of luck with it anyways.

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Be fair: it's not just 5% lower given the fit-out costs. At a fairly conservative estimate, that's probably in the region of €10k, which puts the effective discount at more like 10% with a seller who's prepared to consider lower offers.

I'm going to have a chat with my tenants tonight, their lease is up in may so was kinda hoping if nothing is happening with selling by then to offer them a new lease, they are happy to stay as i have been very reasonable with them and they have a dog which i dont mind so they would be happy to stay

Might try that with the agent, thanks for that suggestion

Cayne - What % would you recommend? the 5% is only the asking price and i would sell for less i just dont wanna put it too low as i expect any offer to be below the asking price, do u think the asking price would be to high to attract interest maybe?

Dreamerb said:

Be fair: it's not just 5% lower given the fit-out costs. At a fairly conservative estimate, that's probably in the region of €10k, which puts the effective discount at more like 10% with a seller who's prepared to consider lower offers.

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Just being realistic Dreamerb - house prices fell 15% on average in 2008 alone. This is on top of a 10% fall in 2007.

Dreamerb said:

Be fair: it's not just 5% lower given the fit-out costs. At a fairly conservative estimate, that's probably in the region of €10k, which puts the effective discount at more like 10% with a seller who's prepared to consider lower offers.

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Maybe I'm missing something, but a 10K drop in price could only possibly be a 10% drop if the seller's place cost 100K.

foghorn said:

Maybe I'm missing something, but a 10K drop in price could only possibly be a 10% drop if the seller's place cost 100K.

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10k off plus "free" 10k fitout increases the effective discount (at least over builder's finish).

Cayne, I realise prices have dropped very substantially but it's by no means uniform - and I think the OP sounds realistic, too. All I'm suggesting is that given the prices at which comparable units are currently being marketed, it's reasonable to set an asking price a few percent below. But you'll also note that I don't suggest the OP should expect to obtain the asking price, and that she may need to consider pricing further below.

The question (and my responses) are confined to the overall reasonableness of the OP's marketing strategy, not the broader housing market issues.

Do you have a stamp duty issue? Renting out apartment within 2 years of purchase presumably as an FTB?

Don't focus on what you have spent doing up the property. To get your selling price you need to check what other comparable properties are selling for, also it will have to be less than the current new properties in the same estate. To sell you pitch your price below what other comparable properties are selling for. Can you give us an idea of purchase price and location, it will help in 'guessing' the price you should aim for. You should also have a chat with local estate agents who can give very good advice to those who are willing to listen.

I'd recommend checking out what the Builder is now offering in the sale price...it might be different than when you bought it. Builders are now throwing in tiling allowance, flooring allowance, kitchen allowance etc all so they don't have to drop the asking price. maybe have a friend enquire about the builders apartments, seeing how low they are prepared to go and how many extras they could throw in...that would give you an indication of what any potential buyer would consider a fair price for your apartment. If I was looking (as a prospective buyer) at your apartment, i would also investigate how much of a deal I could get out of the builders

Angrygirl said:

The builder is still trying to sell the remainder of the properties in the estate at the same price as 2007,

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How many more properties has the builder to sell? Is the builder in any trouble or has he more properties else-where to sell?

If your going to sell, i'd sell now rather than waiting any longer. The builder could decide to cut his losses and drop the price quite dramaticly, or the bank could force sales, that would have a big knock-on effect on your house, the fact that he is still advertising prices at 2007 levels is a very good thing for you. Start with your idea of -10k off the builder price and then review prices every 2 weeks/month.

Also have a look at similar houses in the area for an idea of price. Then set a price in your head that you would accept (obviously the advertised price would be higher).

I would take senna's very good advice. On a reverse situation my friend is about to buy a house in an estate where 6 out of 24 houses are still unsold. They were built in 2007 and going for 319K......Fast forward to 2 months ago and the builder was asking 240k, A month ago he had dropped the price to 180k my friend made an offer of 150k, builder got back and said 170k, my friend stayed at 150k She is about to sign contracts on 160k and has got a load of extra's thrown in as well. Now i would class this as an extreme case where the builder is desperate to sell, but if just one person is interested in buying one of those unsold houses in your estate like senna said it could has a drastic effect on the price that your trying to sell your house at.

Thanks guys for the good advise

I got a friend to ring bout the properties that are still for sale in the estate (2 left) and the builder is standing firm on his price with no allowances for floors, tiles or applicances

I've decided to go ahead and advertise €15k below builders asking price and to sell fully furnished (beds,couch etc) and see what happens
I spoke to my tenants who have agree'd to let people view if there is interest and i have agreed with them if there is more than 3 viewings they will receive a free months rent for their inconvience (sp), if there is no interest in the next three months they will sign a lease for another year

Not sure what way it will go but sure i wont know unless i try eh

Thanks again for all ur help

Hi Angrygirl,

Your tenants might arrange for their friends to view the property thus quickly getting 3 viewings and getting them a free month's rent!

Triona

1 thing to be very careful of is CGT. If the property is rented for more than a year (I think) than you may be liable. Check it out so you don't get caught out.

Angrygirl,

Just wondering why is being a landlord who is receiving rent which covers the repayments so bad that it would be worth shipping off the property almost to the point of taking a loss. Aside from keeping your property in shape, theres not a whole lot for you to do except collect rent.

I would've thought the safer thing to focus on here might to keep on top of making sure the property is rented for a couple of years so that when you do manage to sell it, you may not be looking at a loss (depending on what remaining loan amount is at that time of course).

As it is right now, people only seem to be moving on what they see is a bargain rather than a fair price, partially because they fear the market will slip further so I would wonder how low you'd have to go to actually ship a property which could take care of itself through the storm given the rental situation.

By all means, roll the dice, put it out there and see what offers come but being a landlord isnt THAT bad