Differences in house quotations?

DamoKen

Just wondering if anyone knows how quotations are done by real estate agents, and what their obligations (if any) are. By that I mean can they give you a really high quote on the value of your house in the hopes of getting you business by giving you the impression that they will get you a better price? Then when this is not met advise you to accept a much lower offer than what they originally quoted?

Reason I'm asking is that I've had 4 quotations done and it's quite a wide range, going from 335, 345(in excess), 350 and 360. I'm trying to figure out which of these would be the most realistic.

Any advice appreciated. By the way I'm not intending to sell so not putting it on the market to gauge price, rather a relative wants to buy in and I want to set the most realistic current price.

Cheers

Idleater

DamoKen wrote:

I want to set the most realistic current price.

That would be the maximum price that the buyer would be actually willing to pay.

The average all the quotes? Maybe get them to get someone to evaluate it for themselves?

Very dodgy ground though all the same unless all parties are in agreement on the valuations - i.e. you want the biggest valuation, they want the lowest. Both of which might be too high or too low.

L.

DamoKen

Hi Neirid, yeah I know dodgy ground indeed. They already got someone to do an evaluation which was funnily enough the lowest! not that I would suspect anything underhand but it didn't help that the guy who did it was his mate. Another thing not being considered by him is house contents, as I've lived there 4 years I've laid out the house really well so it's basically ready to move in with no extra expense needed, right down to bed linen.

Anyway was just checking if there are any legal restrictions on the valuer prohibiting excessive quotations etc in order to get the business, apparently there's not then. So maybe the best thing to do is put it on the market as was suggested to me before, see what type of offers come in and then take it off. Would prefer not to do that though, trying to buy a place is a nightmare anyway without someone dicking you around

jdivision

Smaller estate agents often inflate the achievable value of the house in order to get picked as selling agent

DamoKen

is that legal? I seem to remember there was talk of a new regulatory body to try to tackle the problem with guide prices on houses being deliberately set low to attract more bidders, would there not be some type of equivalent to prevent inflated quotations or is it a free for all?

The_Conductor

DamoKen wrote:

is that legal? I seem to remember there was talk of a new regulatory body to try to tackle the problem with guide prices on houses being deliberately set low to attract more bidders, would there not be some type of equivalent to prevent inflated quotations or is it a free for all?

Yup- you have it, it is essentially a free-for-all.
The proposals at the moment are for the industry to self-regulate.....:eek:

Rather than looking at the guideprices from the different estate agents and using them as the yardstick on which agent to choose- it would most probably be more advisable to choose a well established company with a good reputation (as they are less likely to engage in practices liable to tarnish their hard-won reputations). Certain franchise operators are reknowned for offering very high valuations to get your business only to inform you after a few weeks of no interest that you have to lower your expectations......

As per what reasonable expectations are- check to see if you can find out what property in your area sold recently (and pertinently, who sold it.....)

EKRIUQ

A valuation on a property is not a science or an art but based on limited information providing there's not a person with a special interest involved whch may raise the price.

Go with the estate agent who you feel most confident with as the market will find its own level. if you start low the bidders will bring it up to the current market price is you start too high and no interested parties you could face a long road. Some estate agents are full of crap, and it may be better to go with someone who can find the most positives in your house.

Victor

DamoKen wrote:

Reason I'm asking is that I've had 4 quotations done and it's quite a wide range, going from 335, 345(in excess), 350 and 360. I'm trying to figure out which of these would be the most realistic.

They are all the same - there is a difference of less than 7.5% which is sod all. This is not science, it is an educated guess.

How much are Jaffa Cakes (300g)?

Anything from 80c to €3