Discreet Market First

So valuation day has been and gone and went better than expected. We had 4 estate agents give us valuations and we are happy with the figures suggested to market our property at.

The commission fees set by many estate agents are pretty high given what they actually do (no offence to any estate agents) so we negotiated with them and our preferred choice of agents came back to us with a much more agreeable commission fee.

On Thursday the agent came and took internal photographs (which meant a mad spell of decluttering and buying flowers and other decorative pieces to add finishing touches) and the house onto the “discreet market” due to the dark and gloomy weather we’ve had they’re coming back on Saturday to take external photos.

A new vase from Sainsbury’s will do the job 😂

The discreet market is where the estate agency emails their client base (those who have expressed interest in similar properties) and gives them VIP access to view and put in an offer before it goes on the open market (right move) the agent explained its a good way of getting feedback and checking the price is right before it goes on. This process is lasts for about a week.

I’ll let you know how we get on.

The valuation

We’ve had a busy week ensuring that the house can look the best it possibly can for the valuations we have booked for Tuesday. We’ve picked 3 estate agents to come (all on the same day at different times) and give us valuations. I’m hoping they all give a figure in the same region as each other and there is no confusion in what we could realistic get for our house.

When making the appointments with the estate agents they have all commented that they have been much busier than expected and that the majority of enquiries have been from families who currently live in London and due to their work allowing remote working are looking to relocate to Essex where they can still commute in to London if needed but have the option to buy a bigger property, be nearer the countryside and own a garden. We are hoping that this allows us to sell our house quicker (although I won’t get my

Hopes up too much)

Although it’s early days we have been looking at potential houses up north. My husband would mostly work from home but would need to go to the Manchester office a few times each month. My dream is to live as remotely as possible away from the world so the Yorkshire Dales really appeals to me however, this dream is not particularly practical. We have come up with two solutions.

1. Buy a cheaper house in a remote part of the Yorkshire Dales and a flat in Manchester for my husband to stay in when he’s there for work. When it’s not being used we could rent it via AirBnB.

I need to wake up to view like this

2: Buy a house within a reasonable commuting distance to Manchester in a scenic village location such as Clitheroe, Hebden Bridge or even the Derbyshire Dales.

It’s really difficult to work out what would work best for us without going up north and exploring the areas. This won’t be an option until covid-19 restrictions are eased and we can go up for a few days. If anyone has any location suggestions for us please comment!