17
Aug
OVERVALUING - A HOUSE SELLER'S DILEMMA
Overvaluation of houses to gain instructions has become endemic
in some parts of the country, but is this something house
sellers should be worried about?
Overvaluing has been going on since the second estate agent took
foot on this earth. It is human nature that as soon as there
is a bit of competition someone will do something to gain an unfair
advantage over his competitor. Whilst this is
bad practice, it is not normally a problem in a bouyant market
where prices are rising and the seller is not in a hurry, because
values will normally rise to the higher level.
Where times are not so good, overvaluing can positively harm
your chances of finding a buyer and you may end up selling your
home at a lower price than would otherwise have been the
case because over-exposure would have made it "stale". It is
therefore very important to put your house on with the agent who is
going to achieve the maximum obtainable without going over the top
and frightening people off viewing it.
So how do you make that decision?
Don't automatically instruct the agent who gives you the highest
valuation. Check him out locally. If he has lots of for
sale boards and few sold ones, the facts will speak for themselves,
so use someone else.
Listen to the agent that particularly deals with your type of
property. He will know your market better.
Use an NAEA member (recognised by the letters MNAEA or FNAEA
after the agent's name) and preferably a licensed agent if there is
one in your area. They are professional estate agents and
more likely to give you accurate advice.
Obtain 3 valuations (more properly called market appraisals) on
your home. The chances are the middle one will be the more
accurate one.
Finally, beware of price comparison websites! They are
notoriously unreliable and a headache for everyone in the buying
and selling process.