Still unable to sell house - should I take it off the market for another year

[Marie]

Simeon - I am ignorant about your reference to "Only Fools"..........what is this?

The idea of the albatross is evoked for me by this thread whilst I fully recognise it may not have that resonance for others. However the situation of the OP could well be seen as a contemporary Irish cultural icon and the extraordinary emotional (as well as financial) investmentproperty-market seen as a saga of hubris and reparation.

Perhaps this was not sufficiently clear in my post but I have suggested to the OP that in this case, in her case there is another dimension which is personal rather than commercial or financial. Trying to force or rush herself to 'the right decision' in terms of a practical decision given the emotional dimension in her case makes this an impossible undertaking at present. If Elainem can let herself off the self-imposed hook of deciding quickly and deciding 'correctly' - whatever that means - she can take the necessary space for the emotional work around this issue. When that is complete she will have no difficulty deciding what to do with the property, and doing it.

 

[Simeon]

Sorry for spelling your name wrong Marie. The reference is to "Only Fools and Horses" ........ the old 'mariner' being Uncle Albert. I have come around to your way of thinking ......... except I would have been less understanding of her dilemma. I think most avenues have by now been explored. So she should step up to the plate.

 

[MrMan]

Just too little additions;

Xman
The first three who made a report are simply reporters that do not have a vested interest. The second three are either bankers or are involved with the construction industry. They do have a vested interest. Now who do you expect Joe Public to believe ???

I think you'll find McWilliams has made a living from his doom mongering.

I assume they are getting at least 1.5% commission.

If only!

 

[xman]

I think you'll find McWilliams has made a living from his doom mongering.

One man's doom mongering is another man's rational economic analysis

 

[Carolina]

I have reduced the price, but I can't afford to drop it further as I am a single mum, with two young children, and not very good health, so my assets will have to work for me for a very long time.

It appears you have investment property worth about 2.5m in total - Although you believe it is worth more because it used to be worth more. Assuming that property loses 10% in 2008, then every week you are losing about 5K on this portfolio. In the period 1996-2006 property went up on average 15% every year. There is no reason we won't have a few years of 15% losses now. You were very lucky and you made a lot of money by owning property during this unprecedented growth period. Now it 's time to leave the bar.

In response to the person who suggested selling my other properties, I don't want to sell them as they are all newish properties, the oldest being 20 years old, and maintenance costs are minimal.

They are also losing capital value and making a return of around 1.5%. You can cash out now and take profits or you can keep hoping that everyone else is wrong and you are right.

In relation to the price, I have reduced the price. However, I note that the estate agent has not followed my request to do so on the website. Again, on the second agent, I feel I have lost confidence in all estate agents, and nearly would be better off selling it myself - a bit extreme perhaps, but that's the way I feel.

This is really bad. In this market, most estate agents would leap at the chance to reduce the selling price of their year-old stock. I had a good experience with an agent who sold a large house for me so if you want his name PM me.

Whether you sell yourself or through an agent, you won't sell until you reduce the price to the level where it is equivalent to the amount being paid now for similar houses in your area. If you sell yourself, you will need someone available to show buyers around. Also, I don't think that the main property web site you would use to sell a d4 house (myhome.ie) takes ads from individuals but I could be wrong.

As regards, securing a sale, I feel the market is so bad currently, that one can hardly give away property - so whatever the price, a sale is probably unlikely. After all, if a purchaster feel the price is too high, he/she can always put in an offer below the asking price.

It might feel that way but it's not true. Some people are still buying houses in Dublin. The investors may have left the market but there is always a natural level of activity due to people moving job, families getting bigger and so on. Somebody will buy your house at the market price.

There are many more houses on the market today than at this time last year and yet there have been only half the number of sales in the last 12 months according to the sunday indo yesterday. So there is a lot of choice out there for buyers. You have nothing to lose by dropping your asking price. You don't have to sell at that price.

There is a positive aspect for you in the recent fall in prices. You may be moving to Dublin and getting the kids to school in Stillorgan. If you buy a house in that area or in somewhere more upmarket like Blackrock or Mount Merrion, you will find that prices have dropped by a similar proportion to your d4 house losses. Given your previous unhappy history with this house, loss of your mother and your separation, I'd imagine it would be healthy to move on to a new house now. To do that you have to face the fact that your houses have dropped in value, are continuing to drop in value, are providing a meagre income for their value and that you can't make people buy them for what they used to be worth.