The tale of the sale of our old house

[Jeremy Harris]

Thought I'd start a thread as a sort of diary of how things go with selling out old house.  We've been holding off selling it for several reasons, my wife still works close by, so it's a very short commute for her to work and back, My mother was ill and then died, which caused another delay and the perfectionist in me wanted to finish absolutely everything in the new house before we move, as I have a very strong suspicion that if I didn't things would get left undone for years.

 

So, today we put the old house on the market, as we're basically sick and tired of it.  I did a bit of tidying up, got the big hedges cut, cleared up the garden, cleaned all the outside, windows etc and tomorrow the drive is getting a freshen up with a new layer of gravel.  The valuation was interesting.  We had it valued 5 years ago at £260k, and generally prices around here have been pretty steady, perhaps rising slightly.  We decided to use Purple Bricks, based on some first hand experience of friends and a couple of neighbours, and the fact that their prices are reasonable.

 

The sale is a fixed price of £933, including VAT and including the RdSAP EPC that's needed.  That's the basic package, that doesn't include large ads on Right Move etc, just standard listings.  We've also opted to use their conveyancing, which is another £800 odd, and that means we don't pay anything until the house is sold.  Interestingly, local agents around here charge between 1.25% and 1.5% commission.

 

The valuation this morning (bearing in mind the house need completely redecorating, new carpets, curtains etc) was between £275k and £300k.  As we just want rid of the place, I asked the chap for the best price to set to try and ensure we sold it quickly.  He suggested that, as we weren't fussed about getting the maximum we could for the house, and because of the way house prices are listed and grouped on sites like Right Move and Zoopla, we should ask for offers over a set figure.  He suggested offers in excess of £265k, I suggested we bring it down to £260k (he did think that was a bit odd!).

 

So, it's on the market for offers in excess of £260k and we shall see what happens next.  It'll take a week or two for the ad to make it's way on to the website, as there are photos to be taken, the EPC to be obtained (that has to be in the ad, apparently) etc.

 

I shall update this as things progress to give an idea of how house sales are going down here.

[Moira Niedzwiecka]

An Estate Agent would have the property listed on the net, mailed out & prospective buyers called within 48 hours, more likely 24 hours. You do not need the EPC to market the property. It has to be available within 28 days of going on the market.

[Jeremy Harris]

  On 09/07/2018 at 16:07, Moira Niedzwiecka said:

An Estate Agent would have the property listed on the net, mailed out & prospective buyers called within 48 hours, more likely 24 hours. You do not need the EPC to market the property. It has to be available within 28 days of going on the market.

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Part of the delay is at our request - we wanted time to tidy up before the photos were taken!

 

The visit this morning was just supposed to be a valuation, but on the basis of that I took the decision there and then to use them, but he wasn't equipped to take the photos etc and I wanted time for more clearing up, plus you have to instruct them via their app, you cant give an instruction directly to the valuer that turns up.

 

Worth nothing that the way Purple Bricks work is to contract out everything, it seems.  The company that installs the signs is just a sign installation company, the company that take the photos etc are a photo company, the EPC assessor is just a local company.  I know that our local estate agents do all this stuff in house, including the EPC.  As an aside, the cost of becoming an assessor has come down to £0 per per year, with just a small charge per lodgement, so it looks like anyone can apply to be an assessor now.

[Cpd]

Good luck with the sale, I expect you will be much relieved when it’s sold, must be a constant niggle having to deal with a second property that your heart is not into.

When I left Australia I sold all my large items (cars, utes, caravan, tractor,  boats and trailers) as cheaply as I could afford to, had no time for tyre kickers and dreamers sell it at a good price and serious buyers just hand over the cash. I had a huge amount of stuff, gave most of it away to friends and everything else I put on the street with a “free” sigh beside it, it all went within 48 hours. 

[MikeSharp01]

Should be interesting to watch and I hope it goes well for you - certainty Purple bricks are getting loads of press and their MD (Founder) was on R4 the other day and he made some good points about the nature of the property market and his goals for the business. Did you look at any of the other on-line offerings?

[Jeremy Harris]

We're giving loads of furniture away to a local charity, as we've bought new stuff for the new house.  Luckily the charity run a pick up service, so will collect the spare wardrobes, dining table and six chairs, sideboard, TV cabinet, and assorted other stuff, like coffee tables and bedside tables.

 

 I think our removal van will probably only be a transit, as there's only a bed, a wardrobe a bookcase and a couple of chairs  that need moving, the rest is going.

 

  On 09/07/2018 at 17:00, MikeSharp01 said:

Should be interesting to watch and I hope it goes well for you - certainty Purple bricks are getting loads of press and their MD (Founder) was on R4 the other day and he made some good points about the nature of the property market and his goals for the business. Did you look at any of the other on-line offerings?

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Yes, I had a look at them all, but Purple Bricks seem to have cornered the market locally and I couldn't find anyone that had used any of the other online sales places.

 

If we get just £260k, then the commission from the cheapest local agent would have been £3,250, + disbursements (EPC etc) + VAT plus the cost of the conveyance, so well over double the price from Purple Bricks.

[Guest Alphonsox]

  On 09/07/2018 at 16:33, JSHarris said:

As an aside, the cost of becoming an assessor has come down to £0 per per year, with just a small charge per lodgement, so it looks like anyone can apply to be an assessor now.

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That’s interesting - any details ? Frankly I was a little irked to have to pay someone to provide an EPC rating of “1” for my mothers place. 

[Jeremy Harris]

Just read it here: https://www.stroma.com/certification/domestic-energy-assessment-dea

[PeterW]

You can register for free to be an EA via Stroma but you still need all the qualifications for membership which is a list a mile long ... 

[Guest Alphonsox]

To become a EA registered assessor via Stroma the critical bit seems to be :-

" Before your application can be assessed you must first submit a portfolio evidencing your business skills (including a minimum of 5 EPCs). We will also need to see proof of your Professional Indemnity and Public Liability Insurance documents – as well as a DBS check. Finally, DEA certified members are required to complete a minimum of 10 CPD hours per year. "

 

So not an obvious route to self assessment......

[Jeremy Harris]

Bugger - didn't read through the small print...

[Moira Niedzwiecka]

Good luck with the sale Jeremy.

It must be a great feeling to be moving on permanently to the new house.

[Jeremy Harris]

Thanks, we'll be greatly relieved to get rid of the old house, TBH, as we lost all interest in it a long time ago.  For some reason it's been really hard to get motivated to tart the old house up for sale, when there are still little jobs to do on the new house to make it perfect - I'd far rather go over and potter around finishing off things in the garden of the new house than do things on the old house that I don't see as being very useful.

 

Still, I have a few tonnes of gravel arriving at the old house today (with luck) to freshen up the drive, then it's just a matter of clearing out all the junk and tidying things up for the photos.

 

This is what the new house looked like a couple of weeks ago - I'm putting up another 5ft 6in close board fence, with a side gate by the garage, on the dwarf wall on the garden side of the drive later next week, with luck:

 

 

Here's another view showing the screening trees I planted back in March/April:

 

[Guest Alphonsox]

Looking very good - Quite a difference to the overgrown wasteland you started with !!

[Jeremy Harris]

Yes, it does!.  This is the overgrown wasteland we started with, all those years ago:

 

 

 

[Jeremy Harris]

Made some progress with the old house today.  Had 7 tonnes of 20mm gravel delivered and after a lot of sweat now have a decent looking drive and parking area.  I reckon it looks great, compared with the mess there was before, but according to my wife, the new gravel is "too crunchy"...

 

Sometimes I think you just can't win.  Mind you I was thankful that the temperatures were a bit lower today, and that the tipper driver was a star and managed to spread the load over around 1/3rd of the drive area, so there was no need to barrow stuff around, just lots of shovelling and raking.  I reckon I'll sleep OK tonight...

[joe90]

  On 10/07/2018 at 17:04, JSHarris said:

Sometimes I think you just can't win.

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Aint that the truth ?.

[newhome]

  On 10/07/2018 at 17:04, JSHarris said:

the new gravel is "too crunchy"...

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Ha ha! Well she won’t be walking on for long if it does the trick and you sell quickly . Tell her if she walks up and down on it for hours it will reduce the crunchiness 

 

 

Edited July 10, 2018 by newhome

[Cpd]

  On 10/07/2018 at 17:13, joe90 said:

  On 10/07/2018 at 17:04, JSHarris said:

Sometimes I think you just can't win.

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Aint that the truth ?.

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Amen...... 

[ProDave]

  On 10/07/2018 at 17:04, JSHarris said:

, but according to my wife, the new gravel is "too crunchy"...

 

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I made the mistake at the last house (first gravel drive I had ever done) of getting "20mm gravel" which turned out to be 20mm round pebbles that just rolled over each other as you drove over them. It really did take many years for them to bed down sensibly.

 

What you really want for a solid drive is crushed stone, i.e. each stone is an irregular shape from being crushed, and they bind together with much less movement between them.

[joe90]

  On 10/07/2018 at 19:46, ProDave said:

I made the mistake at the last house (first gravel drive I had ever done) of getting "20mm gravel" which turned out to be 20mm round pebbles that just rolled over each other as you drove over them. It really did take many years for them to bed down sensibly.

 

What you really want for a solid drive is crushed stone, i.e. each stone is an irregular shape from being crushed, and they bind together with much less movement between them.

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Thats not a drive, that’s an arrester lane !

[Jeremy Harris]

Our 20mm stuff is crushed stone, rather than rounded washed gravel, so doesn't move around, but does make a loud crunchy noise...

[Jeremy Harris]

Well, the Energy Assessor came around this afternoon to do the RdSAP assessment.  Frankly it was a complete joke.  Knowing both RdSAP and the order in which data is supposed to be entered, I'd printed out a crib sheet, with all the info in order, so all the chap needed to do was verify the accuracy of each statement and then enter it into the app on his iPad. 

 

Did he check the validity of any data? Did he heck as like.  I got pretty annoyed within the first minute and ended up telling him that I wanted him to record all the required evidence, as he was supposed to.  I made him  look at, and take verification photos of the TRVs, programmable thermostat, boiler type and installation date, cavity wall insulation type, glazing type, including the full frame and glazing unit specification and go up in the loft to verify that we really did have 250mm of fibreglass up there, and photograph it.

 

If I hadn't been so insistent he would have just made up numbers and walked off.  As it was he was in the house for at the most ten minutes, with most of that time filling in stuff on the app on his iPad.  I've no doubt he'd have lodged the EPC by the time he got back in his car.  Not a bad way to make £84 for at most 20 minutes work.

 

I've always been a bit cynical about the way some energy assessors "work", and this incident has just made me even more convinced that EPCs are a load of meaningless crap whose only purpose is to keep people who can make easy money by doing next to sod all in employment.  Be interesting to see what his assessment comes up with, as I've already done a full SAP assessment on the house, using accurate data, and got an EPC of Band C 71.

 

[Triassic]

I only use one assessor and she is someone I can trust, she works by the book and I know the outcome is correct and not “fake news”.

[newhome]

Say I wanted to apply for RHI could I say completely terrible things to the assessor in the hope of getting a poor score (well not below a D I think), and then when I came to sell be much more enthusiastic about everything leading to a decent score? Smoke and Mirrors!