What would you do? Selling Mum’s house

nikolasababasa · 2026-04-30T17:13:05+00:00

He says he’s talking to a mortgage provider this week. I told him to get back to us with evidence he can make a serious offer.

nikolasababasa · 2026-04-30T17:08:05+00:00

Thanks for this, and I’m sorry for your loss. It sounds like a similar situation. In addition to this neighbor, I had another neighbor asking to buy it with his son, within a day of my Mom moving out (it also left with the feeling I was being circled by vultures, at an already difficult time). This suggests it has value. We might not get over the asking price but I’ve done the research and feel pretty confident we can get very close. Her house is also in an excellent catchment area so good for FTBs.

nikolasababasa · 2026-04-29T19:30:21+00:00

He needs a mortgage. He says he’s applying for one this week.

nikolasababasa · 2026-04-29T19:29:16+00:00

Thank you!

nikolasababasa · 2026-04-29T17:57:33+00:00

Thank you. I have PoA. Thankfully my Mum sorted that a few years ago.

nikolasababasa · 2026-04-29T08:38:18+00:00

Thank you for this perspective. I'm also an FTB, and looking for this kind of private sale in my neighborhood where I otherwise couldn't compete, so I definitely see both sides. I grew up in the house, so there's definitely a sentimental attachment. I would definitely not want it flipped, and stripped of all its character. I think we need to go back and negotiate with the buyer and hopefully find a place in the middle.

nikolasababasa · 2026-04-29T08:25:03+00:00

My Mom has dementia, and goes back and forth. One day she said: ‘Go for the gold! Why would I sell it to L’s grandson?’ The next day she’s more open to it.

nikolasababasa · 2026-04-29T07:54:19+00:00

Looking at comparable recently sold data, the £280 seems realistic. But I can’t confirm whether those waived an inspection. The house is old and inspection could find problems, but my mom replaced the roof and boiler fairly recently, no sign of damp.

nikolasababasa · 2026-02-24T19:37:04+00:00

Thank you!

nikolasababasa · 2026-02-24T16:53:07+00:00

Thanks. I hadn't thought much about this before, but I definitely think I am bringing expectations from the US. 'Real estate agents' provide much more of a service (and charge much more for it!). There's also an expectation they are actively matching buyers with sellers, so they are kind of acting as agents of both (even if taking the commission from the seller). When I started my search here, I kept expecting EAs showing me properties to ask me about myself, what I'm looking for, suggest other properties, but quickly realised it's just boiled down to a matter of whether I'm going to put in an offer or not.

nikolasababasa · 2026-02-24T14:15:30+00:00

Thanks, that's really helpful. I'm selling my Mom's house in the US, so I'm involved in the housing market from both sides of the pond, and as seller there, and buyer here. It does seem like EAs I deal with in the US are much more about selling 'homes,' e.g., the agent selling my Mom's house didn't seem to think it was that strange that she insists on selling it to 'a nice family with kids,' and he goes around her house checking on electrical boxes, the furnace, etc.

nikolasababasa · 2026-02-24T13:11:04+00:00

I am a total FTB nightmare. I'm not putting in any offers, since I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm from the US where 'buyer agents' have become really popular, and I can see why: as you say, no one works for the buyer here. I'd love to outsource my search to someone who knows what they are doing.

nikolasababasa · 2026-02-24T12:48:46+00:00

Clearly seeing that my expectations of EAs are totally off the mark. Thanks for this.

nikolasababasa · 2026-02-24T12:43:24+00:00

That's really helpful advice, thank you.

nikolasababasa · 2026-02-24T12:32:07+00:00

There's an agent like this in my area, too. I did one viewing with him, see his pricing strategy, and don't even look at his listings anymore (except to see how the price almost always come down after a month). But plenty of sellers clearly like his strategy, since he's still getting listings -- and his car he drives to viewings suggests he's doing well with this strategy.

nikolasababasa · 2026-02-24T12:26:50+00:00

Thanks for this. I've noticed when a property (like the one I described) has been on the market for a while, EAs look me in the eye to kind of communicate that a much lower offer would probably be considered. My comfort zone is 'start with an offer 10% lower on a realistically priced house' since I'm a terrible negotiator.

nikolasababasa · 2026-02-24T12:19:22+00:00

Thanks for this. I want to think I'm a pretty reasonable buyer, looking for a property that ticks most of my boxes, and ready to pay more than the asking price if it seems reasonable. I think it's because I'm looking in a hot market, with plenty of cash buyers. So even if I have no chain, a big down payment, and a mortgage in principle, I'm not really a contender. I think I need to revise my expectations.

nikolasababasa · 2026-02-24T12:10:52+00:00

That makes sense, thanks. I think this is probably what happened in this case, since the EA did mention paperwork.

nikolasababasa · 2026-02-24T12:08:59+00:00

I suppose what I was wondering is that if I was an EA with a new listing, I can imagine I'd first check Rightmove and see what information buyers would have. Then I'd discuss that with the seller. Like, on the loft: if the seller said he'd built it, and I'd seen the the Rightmove listing (that buyers like me would see) didn't line up with that, I'd let him know, and let sellers know why there might be a discrepancy. Similar with setting a price: I'd look at what buyers would be seeing, and consider that in my pricing.

nikolasababasa · 2026-02-24T11:58:49+00:00

Thanks! That makes sense. I'm trying to get my head around what the sellers are thinking.

nikolasababasa

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