Selling a house in Dublin

BrokenJetpack

So I have a relative that lives down the country and owns a house in Dublin 9, and he's decided to sell and asked me to help him out with estate agents and viewings etc. I have absolutley zero experience dealing with EAs though so am pretty clueless.

I had evaluations during the week from 3 different EAs. The first one valued at 435k - 440k and recommended a listing price of 435k, the second put a valuation of 395k - 435k and a listing price of 395k, and the third recommended a listing price of 390k but expected it to go more. Regarding their charges they're all 1% + VAT.

Some questions:

•  what should we watch out for when picking an EA, and what are the tips for picking a good one? Are they all the same?
•  seems like the value of the house would be about 435k going on the upper end of the valuations. Is it better to list it at a lower price (e.g.395k) with the hope that bids will push up the price, or list at the upper valuation of 435k as recommended by the first EA?
•  is now a good time to sell or is it better to wait till Spring? I'm thinking it'll be dark at 5 pm soon so any viewings in the evening won't get to see the house in daylight. Also the outside could do with a lick of paint but from now on isn't a good time to paint weather wise.
•  has anyone used alternative methods to EAs? One I've seen mentioned is Auctioneera.. has anyone used their service, and is it considered better or worse than an EA?
•  can we use more that one EA and go with whichever one gets the best price? 

 

Tia.

herbalplants

I found Auctioneera the best of them all, they put a lot of effort in, good communication and best of it is they have the cheapest fees. Win win

Definitely, you do not have to wait until spring to sell the house. I put it on the market in November and had no issues at all. Some people will view early like 10 am during the week. Winter, spring makes no difference.

You mentioned house is in Dublin 9 so I would say value around 390K tops.

My view is prices will drop so best to put it on the market now before drop will take place.

SupaCat95

The market will find its own true valuation. Dont worry about that.

I wouldn't wait for spring time, there is no cooling off season for housing, there is constant demand and dwindling supply. I think a vacant house is magnet for a few different types of problems (squatters, non paying tenants, mold, heating bills, water pipe bursting, the list is endless). The sooner it is sold the better, if you think there is a recession on the way.

Daft is nice for an evaluation but it is very inaccurate with EA's understating the price to attract potential bidders. The more bidders there are the faster the furnace will burn. A better tool for valuation is to use the Irish property price register (https://propertypriceregister.ie/). What sold locally in the last three months will give you a truer valuation of what it is worth. Plus you can snoop on the fact shy cousins who over or understated what they paid for their property.

I agree with @herbalplants , I dont think the demand for property will go down but the source of credit will dry up, with lenders not giving credit. Once again off your hands, not your problem.

mike_2009

I'm hoping to use Auctioneera next week - a house around the corner where I live in west dublin was on the market for 390K and sold within 2 weeks. Don't know what the final price it sold for was until it hits the property price register but it will be interesting. Did consider selling direct, myhome won't accept ads from non estate agents and daft.ie was €400 for the advert. Will see how I get on with the Auctioneer EA next week but the office staff have impressed me so far. A work colleague used them to sell an apartment in Dublin and recommended them too. They advertise on all the main sites I'd expect.

I'd say don't wait, sell now. Asking price is a beginning so pitching it too high to start with will close doors. Have in a mind a price YOU are happy with and see how bids if any go. Best of luck!

herbalplants

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119809130#Comment_119809130

I found Auctioneera very professional, more professional than some agents I approach like DNG for example. I didn't need to chase them even once, the communication flows easily. They do advertise exactly like the other agents on the usual channels. Their fees are competitive, I save myself thousands.

You should be able to view what your neighbours achieved in regards to price by looking at their website I think.

Their process is quite transparent unlike the traditional agent.

SupaCat95

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119808981#Comment_119808981

Its happening. Interest rates will rise as home prices go down.

BrokenJetpack

Thanks, so is it better to list at the lower end of the range i.e. 390k and hope to generate more interest, rather than list at 420k ish? Looking at other houses today in Dublin 9 (e.g. Elm Mount Avenue) there are several listed around the 415 - 425k mark. To me if I see a house at 390k vs those other ones then I'd think there's something wrong with it.

Another question, there are people living in the house at the moment (they'll be given the correct notice shortly). Is it common to have viewings when there are people in the house?

Finally is it possible / common to pick more than one estate agent and let them duke it out? Regarding Auctioneera I've been monitoring MyHome and Daft for the past few months and I don't remember seeing any listing from them.

cruizer101

There are people living in the house currently? As in tenants with a lease?

There is an eviction ban in place at the moment which means you can't evict until April. And no one is going to want to purchase a house that has currently tenants staying there even if they have been given notice the chance of overholding in todays rental market means it is not worth the chance.

The_Conductor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119821430#Comment_119821430

Forget about selling it as long as there are tenants in it. The immediate concern of any prospective purchaser will be- 'what if the tenants aren't able to find alternate accommodation and don't leave'. It can take up to two years to remove overholding tenants, irrespective of whether or not they continue to pay their rent. Your first task is to issue the correct notice in the correct manner to the tenants, and then, and only then, should you consider anything else.

Selling a house- or even holding viewings of a house with tenants in it- equals a massive discount to the value of a property with vacant possession.

spaceHopper

I would go with a good local agent, Sherry Fitz, DNG or a well respected local agent. Castles have a reputation for hard pushy sell on both the seller and buyer. During the crash I found SF over valued the property so that they had room to come down. DNG were very straight and we ended up buying from a smaller local agent who was very good but that was Bray.

Peak selling times are January to Easter May to end of June, September to end of October.

I'd ask each EA have they sold a house like this one recently and what did it fetch.

Work wise, de-clutter, tidy the garden front and back.

BrokenJetpack

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119822543#Comment_119822543

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119822777#Comment_119822777

Thanks, there are people in the house at the moment but as far as I know they're short term lets for less than 6 months. I'm not 100% sure of the renting situation as I didn't have anything to do with it but from what I've been told they're short term.

SwimClub

With the eviction ban it's June 18th for tenants less than 6 months in, you're looking at over 7 months notice.