First time seller

[Twofingertyper]

Hi all,

I've been having trouble selling my house, it's my first time as a seller but I always thought that the process would be smoother than this!

My house is a mid-terrace so ideal for a first time buyer/rental but the prices in the village I live in (it's just north of Cambridge on the main train line to London) aren't cheap - and I obviously want to make a little bit of money considering I bought the house 5/6 years ago.

My estate agent has been frustrating, but as it's my first time I don't know what to expect - however, they're selling a very similar house down the road (a bit smaller) and have dropped the price of that and not advised us to drop our price - surely this is something that they should keep tabs on and inform us of developments?

Also, I'm at a loss at what I can do to help sell the property further (although surely it's the EA job) - it's in a good condition (sadly with storage heaters and not central heating) and there are no outstanding jobs that would deter anyone!

I've spent long enough in this village now and moved jobs so it's no longer the ideal place it once was; but at this rate I won't be selling for some time...

Any advice/recommendations are highly welcome!

[brian]

At the moment, it's very much a buyer's market, and the people who are buying tend to either already have a lot of equity or cash for purchases.

Frankly, targeting the First Time Buyer may result in the process being slow - the south east has done better than many areas, but you have to remember FTB's are the ones most squeezed out of the market.

Most estate agents are focused on selling for the highest possible price, rather than speed, so if you'd rather focus on the latter you're welcome to let your estate agent know.

Otherwise, am afraid you just have to accept that selling at the moment may be a little frustrating because of the overall conditions in the UK property market.

Hope that helps.

[ComareTheMortgageMarket]

It is the agents job to sell your house and they ought to be advising you of anything that needs to be done really. Give them until their contract runs out and then try another one if you do not seem to be having much interest. Mid terrace would be ideal first time buyer, but it would have to be well priced for a rental as landlords are looking at the cheapest property for maximum return on investment. The problem at the moment is the bad press that lenders & the economy is getting so people just do not think they can obtain a mortgage unless they have 25% deposit, which simply is not true.

[ComareTheMortgageMarket]

You are right there, people with less of a deposit do generally pay a higher interest rate for the amount they borrow. It is all down to affordability.