House on market for months - no viewers!

Always

Hi

I have been reading this board for years, but haven't posted in at least a couple - long enough to forget my original username anyway

I put my house on the market a couple (maybe a few) months ago. Although I did not expect it to sell quickly - the area is a slow moving one and with the recession... but still, I am surprised it has had no viewers. In fact except for me calling them once about six weeks ago (when there was a viewer booked but apparantly they cancelled) I have not heard ANYTHING from the agents. Honestly it's left me feeling like maybe they're not bothered - even the odd call to say nothing is happening or would I consider reducing the price would be nice.

So would really appreciate any ideas - am thinking of going multi-agency and/or reducing price (I paid £115k for it and have £97k outstanding on the mortgage, can't afford to be in negative equity)... I would like to get some viewers in at least to get some feedback.

The house is on rightmove, I can't post links but is rightmove . co . uk / property-for-sale/property-22281733 . html (without all the spaces).

Hope that works, and all advice appreciated!

carefullycautious

WHats the employment position in your area like?

Always

Hi Carefullycautious, to be honest, I don't really know - I've worked from home for the same company for the last ten years. However my brother lives in the area and has never seemed to have an issue getting a job (he's had a few) but all minimum wage stuff.

Cannon_Fodder

Is it Heol Nazareth? If so, maybe its overpriced?

http://www.houseprices.co.uk/e.php?q=pontyates&n=25

House sold recently, No 15, for £88,000.

If its Heol Brynhaul, then nothing has sold for 4 years. Trickier.
http://www.houseprices.co.uk/e.php?q=heol+brynhaul+pontyates&n=25

But prices seem to be back close to that time too...

[IMG]http://www1.landregistry.gov.uk/houseprices/housepriceindex/report/default.asp?g=1&gt=1&a=Carmarthenshire&s=01 May 2005&e=01 June 2009&t=1[/IMG]

Obviously there could be differences between specific houses. You'll need to research the area.

EAs have been downright rubbish for me in the last couple of weeks. I wonder if they've been cut back so much, that they cannot cope with the basics of day to day viewings/negotiations, let alone pro-actively chasing up for a house with no interest.

Always

Hi Cannonfodder, I get the feeling mine have just given up - like they think it's so bad in their area that there's no point in trying...

I am tempted to call the agent and have them reduce the price - but if I reduce it to the bare minimum I can sell at (£97k) then am I just opening myself up to offers way below that that I literally couldn't afford to accept?

Oh it's Nazareth btw - although Brynhaul is a turn off a few houses away...

LE3

Warning: If you don't want an honest opinion/constructive criticism on the rightmove entry, stop reading now!


Maybe there aren't people looking for that type of property, and a house with a downstairs bathroom is always going to be less atractive to a family, but to be honest it's the photos that let it down. You need to get the agent back to take better ones - they usually work wonders with their wide angle lenses!!

The kitchen shot is ridiculous - it only shows a tiny amount of kitchen not the whole room - when you read the description it's a good size, so why not show the whole room instead of a tiny bit making the buyer wonder if that's it?
The lounge has 2 photos of your big sofa & none of the rest of the room - does it have a nice fireplace etc? The dining room is dominated by your table - again you can't see anything of the room. What's with the "trident" in the master bedroom - again the photo's been taken from 1/2 way into the room making it look like you can barely squeeze the bed in, never mind the furniture! The room with the bunks looks dark - can you remove the rug before the next photo? and the toilet seat in the bathroom looks replaced (and cheap plastic) which makes a buyer wonder if the original was damaged & if so what else has been damaged (and why did you not put the seat down for the photo? You're trying to make the best impression!!!)
Finally, the garden looks overgrown (lawn needs mowing) and more like a kids playground/the local park than a family garden (where's the "adult area" to sit & enjoy a drink? the flowerbeds?)

To sell a house you need to make it appealing to the buyer - and this one isn't great from the pics (actually it reads ok (though it never hurts to mention in every room "double glazed window" or "central heating radiator" & focus on those fabulous wooden floors too - and get that fab view in the write up with whatever room has the view! I don't know if it's from the landing, the tiny bedroom or the master!!

Could you reduce to say £107 or even £105? may grab people who have a budget around £100K who may stretch a little?

maggie111

I have no direct experience in marketing a house, so here's just my opinion as a house buyer.

Firstly, the very first photo is blurry, and taken on a grey day. There are some rooms in the house that look very attractive, like the nursery, but that's like 15 photos in... So my initial response to your house from first glances - boring lounge, cheap dining table means to me that your house is not initially begging me to come and have a look. You shouldn't have to stage you home like a show home but people want to know it's a gorgeous house, with a rich couple living in it, and they could nab a bargain.

I would

*repaint lounge and dining room
*borrow some furniture, for the photos at least - borrow a bigger telly (daft, but for some reason your small one, though perfectly functionable makes me think your house is too cheap for our proper nice telly). Borrow a dining set and lay the table.
*unfortunately your L shaped couch does nothing but emphasise you have a few awkward angles in that room... could you hire a van and borrow a 3 and a 2 seater from someone and position it better?
*Place a small bay tree by your front door for the picture, and leave it while doing viewings, for good "curb" appeal. Make sure you take picture on a sunny day with no cars parked outside
*Get a nice camera and take better pictures than the estate agent. Have a look at the houses that appeal to you and what makes them look so inviting? Leave your lights on in all the rooms, candles lit over the fireplace in the dining room etc.

If someone wonders why it looks a little different when they come in... explain you're bought a new couch and that you sold your dining table because you want a new one in the next house? So it's loan only.

I would also ask the estate agent if they would recommend changing it for "Offers over £100k". Try and get all this done for September, as I have heard this is when a lot of people start looking.

Edit - knew I forgot something - reminded by post below. Mow your lawn - it looks like it is too much work for someone with no experience to take on. At least make it look simple (even though it probably isn't!)

barnaby-bear

Always wrote: »

Hi

I have been reading this board for years, but haven't posted in at least a couple - long enough to forget my original username anyway

I put my house on the market a couple (maybe a few) months ago. Although I did not expect it to sell quickly - the area is a slow moving one and with the recession... but still, I am surprised it has had no viewers. In fact except for me calling them once about six weeks ago (when there was a viewer booked but apparantly they cancelled) I have not heard ANYTHING from the agents. Honestly it's left me feeling like maybe they're not bothered - even the odd call to say nothing is happening or would I consider reducing the price would be nice.

So would really appreciate any ideas - am thinking of going multi-agency and/or reducing price (I paid £115k for it and have £97k outstanding on the mortgage, can't afford to be in negative equity)... I would like to get some viewers in at least to get some feedback.

The house is on rightmove, I can't post links but is rightmove . co . uk / property-for-sale/property-22281733 . html (without all the spaces).

Hope that works, and all advice appreciated!

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-22281733.html

I think your home looks very nice and the street names are lovely. I don't know your area but it seems very cheap compared to ours - usually any house will sell at the right price though.

I get the impression its an immaculate, clean home and you have decorated it very nicely - the pictures are not good and don't present it very well though
pic 1: next door to the left looks poorly rendered - can that be cropped a bit more on that side, perhaps a pot plant or two?
pic 2: hall - i imagine it looks very nice but in the picture a bit shiny and perhaps that wall paper designed to hide dodgy walls?
pic 5: dining room is bad - I'm not sure the table is cheap - just bare - it's not a picture of a room though - odd angle usually you'd take towards the window and just catch the fireplace.... shiny red wall and I can see what looks like a baxi bermuda back boiler fire front - gives old heating system impression - nice fireguard? More in the room, better angle - something that makes you think FTB, dinner party,
pic 6: Kitchen looks new - bit of an odd angle
pic 7: bathroom looks new but beige toilet rug makes look patchy and painting the exposed pipe to blend tiles would look better, looks a bt fuzzy
pic 8: pointy bed weird angle down the bed - what is that in the corner - a pitchfork/trident ???
pic 9: looks a nice kids' room
pic 10: nice nursery
pic 11: nice rural view - higher up order as may fit a dream
pic 12: nice big [STRIKE]jungle [/STRIKE] garden; looks great for kids but does suggest the people here too busy / overworked to cut the grass.... FTBers want a nice bbq and patio furniture to entertain -

pic 14: Yours hips potential to current is poor - suggests infrastructure a bit crumbly - very low, push it up a bit - TRVs, tank jacket, insulation, replace all the bulbs for the assessment, use a dodgy HIP guy attached to agent
http://www.energycount.co.uk/tips.htm

barnaby-bear

Always wrote: »

Hi

I have been reading this board for years, but haven't posted in at least a couple - long enough to forget my original username anyway

I put my house on the market a couple (maybe a few) months ago. Although I did not expect it to sell quickly - the area is a slow moving one and with the recession... but still, I am surprised it has had no viewers. In fact except for me calling them once about six weeks ago (when there was a viewer booked but apparantly they cancelled) I have not heard ANYTHING from the agents. Honestly it's left me feeling like maybe they're not bothered - even the odd call to say nothing is happening or would I consider reducing the price would be nice.

So would really appreciate any ideas - am thinking of going multi-agency and/or reducing price (I paid £115k for it and have £97k outstanding on the mortgage, can't afford to be in negative equity)... I would like to get some viewers in at least to get some feedback.

The house is on rightmove, I can't post links but is rightmove . co . uk / property-for-sale/property-22281733 . html (without all the spaces).

Hope that works, and all advice appreciated!

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-22281733.html

I think your home looks very nice and the street names are lovely. I don't know your area but it seems very cheap compared to ours - usually any house will sell at the right price though.

I get the impression its an immaculate, clean home and you have decorated it very nicely - the pictures are not good and don't present it very well though
pic 1: next door to the left looks poorly rendered - cna that be cropped a bit more on that side, perhaps a pot plant or two?
pic 2: hall - i imagine it looks very nice but in the picture a bit shiny and perhaps that wall paper designed to hide dodgy walls?
pic 5: dining room is bad - I'm not sure the table is cheap - just bare - it's not a picture of a room though - odd angle usually you'd take towards the window and just catch the fireplace.... shiny red wall and I can see what looks like a baxi bermuda back boiler fire front - gives old heating system impression - nice fireguard? More in the room, better angle - something that makes you think FTB, dinner party,
pic 6: Kitchen looks new - bit of an odd angle
pic 7: bathroom looks new but beige toilet rug makes look patchy and painting the exposed pipe to blend tiles would look better, looks a bt fuzzy
pic 8: pointy bed weird angle down the bed - what is that in the corner - a pitchfork/trident ???
pic 9: looks a nice kids' room
pic 10: nice nursery
pic 11: nice rural view - higher up order as may fit a dream
pic 12: nice big [STRIKE]jungle [/STRIKE] garden; looks great for kids but does suggest the people here too busy / overworked to cut the grass.... FTBers want a nice bbq and patio furniture to entertain -

pic 14: Yours hips potential to current is poor - suggests infrastructure a bit crumbly - very low, push it up a bit - TRVs, tank jacket, insulation, replace all the bulbs for the assessment, use a dodgy HIP guy attached to agent
http://www.energycount.co.uk/tips.htm

Bob_the_Saver

PLEASE DON'T READ THIS because You might not like this answer/you won't like this answer but.....

Anything will always sell if the price is right for the buyer.

It might not be a price that suits you, it might not be a price that you can afford to sell at, but if it's not selling it's too expensive. (our last one sold within 3 days Jul 09) because it was priced just right. If our situation had been different as is the case with sellers of a very very similar property a couple of doors away, and more expensive, our's would still be on the market as well. We priced under them, and I don't mean by a couple of hundred.
You can make a difference by doing all of the things suggested but is there is no interest over a period of time there is only one answer - it's too expensive for what's on offer. If you hang on you might get a higher price but if you are buying again that will have gone up as well.
If you advertised it for £1 it would sell tomorrow, if you advertised it at £2 it would sell tomorrow so what is the highest amount you could ask for it to still sell within your ideal time-frame?

Something/anything is only worth what someone will pay for it. This is not the answer you wanted to hear I suspect but it is a universal truth whatever you're selling.

I said that "you won't like this"

baby_fuzz

sounds like your estate agent needs to pull out his finger... Our esatate agent managed to sell out house 3 times (fell through each time) before getting a winner. OK we had to reduce the price, but your EA should inform you of what the market is doing, what you can do to make your hosue more appealing, and they shoudl be trying to get better shots of your house to put on your listing. Make them work for their money!