Estate Agents - Valuations, Extensions, Moving, Arghhh!

[sawtooth]

I will be getting an extension to the house this year, potentially also a separate outbuilding for a garden office (man cave). I have all the appropriate plans, planning permission, etc. and now getting quotes in for the building work.

Thought it would be a good idea to call a local agent to get a "free" valuation and advice. Pretty sure that I will stay put but no harm I thought knowing what our house is worth now, what it might be worth with one or both additions, or if it really is better to move.

After answering 100 questions to the agent on the phone I now have someone booked in to come around. Are these valuations really free, impartial and no obligation things or are there always strings attached? I wont be signing anything and I told the agent that I'm 99% sure that I will be staying put. He assured me thats not an issue and that there is no hard sell or ongoing hassle.
Also I dont necessarily want to be somehow locked in or obligated to selling through this agent if/when the time comes.

Good to know your experiences with this sort of thing, whether you stayed put or moved, did you end up fighting off the estate agent

 

[Rooter]

we had ours valued recently sean as we were considering moving, the guy cam round, had a cuppa, mooch about and said its the same as the one down the road we just sold, i would put it on for XXX and charge you 1.25% commission. He gave me a ring back about a week later, i said we had decided to stay put for now and that was it.

You should not get charged a penny or asked to sign anything! if either occur, ask them to leave!!

 

[PhilTheFragger]

he is just giving you an appraisal of the market value, we had it done before and after our extension, there is nothing to sign and no obligation

get him to do one now pre extension, show him the plans and get an estimate of value afterwards, then you can use that info to compare with other properties when doing the "stay or move" bit
Dont forget to add in all the moving fees, stamp duty etc

From experience, its almost always cheaper to stay and extend

 

[chrisd]

Rooters right. Until you have the valuation how would you know whether you want to put it on the market?

 

[sawtooth]

we had ours valued recently sean as we were considering moving, the guy cam round, had a cuppa, mooch about and said its the same as the one down the road we just sold, i would put it on for XXX and charge you 1.25% commission. He gave me a ring back about a week later, i said we had decided to stay put for now and that was it.

You should not get charged a penny or asked to sign anything! if either occur, ask them to leave!!

Good to know cheers, was you serious about moving or is this something you just told the agent?

I was really upfront and told him that I was most likely to stay put and extend - just wanted to know how much before and after really.

 

[sawtooth]

he is just giving you an appraisal of the market value, we had it done before and after our extension, there is nothing to sign and no obligation

get him to do one now pre extension, show him the plans and get an estimate of value afterwards, then you can use that info to compare with other properties when doing the "stay or move" bit
Dont forget to add in all the moving fees, stamp duty etc

From experience, its almost always cheaper to stay and extend

Cheers and staying put is our preference for sure. My biggest fear I suppose is exceeding the ceiling price for the road. Its a modest house but one of the most expensive plots in our close. Not a terrible issue as this is likely to be our forever home but if we sell in future we might not optimise our return on the place.

 

[fundy]

Good to know cheers, was you serious about moving or is this something you just told the agent?

I was really upfront and told him that I was most likely to stay put and extend - just wanted to know how much before and after really.

Most will happily do it for free to get a foot in the door with a potential customer who may need an agent further down the road, its all part of their business, they know that only a smallish proportion of those who get a valuation actually then put the house on the market with them

 

[Doon frae Troon]

Zoopla is also quite handy to see what the equivalent is going for in your neighbourhood.

 

[Rooter]

Good to know cheers, was you serious about moving or is this something you just told the agent?

I was really upfront and told him that I was most likely to stay put and extend - just wanted to know how much before and after really.

We were 80/20 with 80 being stay put and I told the guy that, but without knowing what ours was potentially worth we could even comprehend looking.. They are used to it, I imagine their hit rate is 1 in 20 valuations actually go on the market, maybe even less.