Selling house - Agent has sent no viewers

gratefulforhelp_2

The garden pic is def a bad one, wrong angle, wrong time of day. They have done a shoddy job of the pics. I would get the agent back as many times as needed to get the pics right.
House looks lovely and uncluttered, but it does look a bit clinical. Is it empty?
I would suggest adding a few things like throws on beds in a colour that will stand out and some plants in post in the front garden?
If the agent does that kind of job of the pics, what kind of job will they do of the viewings, or do you have your answer for that already?
Good luck!

eta and pester the estate agent a lot!

dander

A few other things struck me about this house. Firstly when I clicked on the agentts "view other properties" link there was an enormous range of different stuff at this price range, from 6 bedroom houses to 2 bedroom bungalows - which made me wonder if there's really nothing much selling in this area and things have been dropping down to this price range in a desperate hunt for a buyer. It also made me think, there's a lot of choice for anyone with this money in your area and it's not clear what wold make yours stand out amongst it. I also noticed that the area is quite a distance from larger towns and I found myself questioning where the schools are - are you trying to sell a family house where children are going to have long journeys to school - that could put a lot of people off. Equally I questioned where the work is for someone with that kind of money? How far do you have to travel on your daily commute. In general I wonder if you are trying to sell a house in area where people simply aren't looking at the moment?

DVardysShadow

5 pages of it.

Fred, something strikes me here very much. You think of solutions but you do not understand problems.

So don't dump the Agent just yet, but try and work out what is going wrong. I think it was Doozer said that Agents put the effort into the houses they think will sell. So do 2 things before you sack your Agent

• get your Agent's opinion on the house, because after you sack him, he won't have an opinion. Never mind snow or Stamp duty etc, you want his opinion on the house
• Get a pal in as a mystery shopper, looking for the spec of your house. See what happens. Understand whether the Agent is being a problem

Think about the comments. Doozer was quite salient with 'cheap devalues the expensive'. House dressing is also an issue. No, not bows on towels, smellies, gaaah!!! - I don't think that was every seriously intended. It is a question of 'interpreting the space' for the potential buyer.

You've had good advice here, I doubt there is more to come. But do try to understand the problem rather than thrash around for solutions. Once you understand the problems, the solutions will be far more obvious.

MissMotivation

fredmila wrote: »

I'm sorry but I have said it many times: how to deal with this and other estate agents. I am asking people to help me decide whether to dump my existing EA or give him another chance and what to tell him to do.

Firstly I would listen to the advice that Doozergirl has given you, she really knows her stuff! You have had a lot of good advice on here, whether you act on it or not will decide whether you actually sell this house...or not.

Secondly, from an EA's perspective, does the EA actually know that you are not happy with the photographs? They can't change unless they know that you are unhappy. What recommendations have they made to try and get the house sold? If they have had no viewings ask them why they think this is. What is the activity like on Rightmove.....this will show levels of demand etc. I agree that you should probably change agents as this one does not seem to be particularly motivated, however, a couple of weeks will not hurt to give them a chance to put things right.

One thing I have learnt...as an EA, Vendor and Buyer is that first impressions are key! Good external and internal photographs, floorplans and detailed descriptions are essential when trying to sell a house. The internal photographs are awful.....I cannot believe you have let the EA market the house like this. If you have taken better photo's yourself and refused to provide the EA with them OR made the EA come back out and take decent photographs with a wide angle lense and a decent flash then you only have yourself to blame.

I realise that a lot of Vendors are looking for someone else to blame and quite often it falls on the EA's shoulders, however, there are things that you could have changed and either couldn't be bothered to or didn't see why you should.

There are lots of houses that never sell, don't let yours be one of them because of stubborness.

ILW

I may be a bit thick, but I do not think fancy finishes etc actually add much value at all (apart from on the telly designer programmes). In the end there is usually a maximum price for a house of a certain size in a particular area. I think it is just overpriced compared to similar (if not so spruced) properties.

Felicity

The driveway photos totally put me off, to the extent that I would not consider viewing. I initially thought that it was unfinished with weeds growing through and that you had done no work to it.

I would be a lot happier with the gravel and leaves situation, but as a potential viewer, I would have never known that from the photos.

Sorry, but I dislike the windows and feel they make the house look dated and dark. The rest is lovely, I love the floors in particular.

The details make reference to a galleried landing, why no photos?

The photos are bad, really, really bad. You say you have got some better ones yourself but dont want to give them to the estate agent? That is just plain mad. Do you want to sell the house? Yes, you shouldnt have to give them to the estate agent but by not doing so you are cutting off your nose to spite your face.

In fact, I would definitely sack the agent, by showcasing the house on right move in this shoddy fashion, they have failed to a do the basics and I fear they will not help you sell this house.

You should consider dressing the house, even to a small extent. Certainly do something with the driveway, plants, pots etc.

Judging by the front of the house / driveway, you have run a marathon but forgotten to cross the finish line. You must have spent thousands upon thousands of pounds and hundreds and hundreds of man hours on this project. Why not spent that last few to finish it and achieve your objective? If you dont, I fear you will regret it and this house will still be on the market in 12 months time, possibly with multiple price reductions.

fredmila

Before I re-start, I had this nightmare, last night, that I was surrounded by all these female designers all waving a rolled-up plan at me.

I will tell you why I am not following the design advice given here. When I was at college one of my tutors (a famous designer) told me:
"You don't design for other designers, you design for those who are playing football in the street"

And this is mine:

"Ultimately everybody is a designer, and better than you, so with clients and people who buy the things that you design, make them think that it was them who designed it, that is good design"

fredmila

ILW wrote: »

I may be a bit thick, but I do not think fancy finishes etc actually add much value at all (apart from on the telly designer programmes). In the end there is usually a maximum price for a house of a certain size in a particular area. I think it is just overpriced compared to similar (if not so spruced) properties.

Yes, I agree, but on this house, I got the fancy things abroad for a good price and it is very important to differentiate an individually located and designed house from the estate houses of a similar size, with their laminate floors, white UPVC windows, etc. but without trying to make it like the houses priced £600K to £900K that people have linked here, There is no chance that you can get that kind of money in this area.

This is a good area with nice houses, but no new houses could get planning permission for designs like the £600-£900K above; or sell for more than £350K (on 5 bed houses)

fredmila

dander wrote: »

A few other things struck me about this house. Firstly when I clicked on the agentts "view other properties" link there was an enormous range of different stuff at this price range, from 6 bedroom houses to 2 bedroom bungalows - which made me wonder if there's really nothing much selling in this area and things have been dropping down to this price range in a desperate hunt for a buyer. It also made me think, there's a lot of choice for anyone with this money in your area and it's not clear what wold make yours stand out amongst it. I also noticed that the area is quite a distance from larger towns and I found myself questioning where the schools are - are you trying to sell a family house where children are going to have long journeys to school - that could put a lot of people off. Equally I questioned where the work is for someone with that kind of money? How far do you have to travel on your daily commute. In general I wonder if you are trying to sell a house in area where people simply aren't looking at the moment?

Many people in this village are retired but live in large houses because it looks like they ended up with a good pension. As for families, the near town of Sleaford, where my kids go to school, boasts a number of schools which are at the top of league tables. The EA should be using this to sell the house! Why don't I just market the house myself with my photos, description, viewings, etc.
Yes it is not near the M1 or Manchester and there are fewer buyers who commute here. I am looking for escapees from large cities or the south, pensioners or people who are prepared to travel to Sleaford, Grantham, LIncoln to work.

fredmila

Felicity wrote: »

The driveway photos totally put me off, QUOTE]

BTW, as the house was finished at end of the autumn we did not think of planting grass (or more expensive turf) on the front, as we thought it might just die; so there is just the soil. I am a garden ignorant, but in the spring it may be better to plant the grass.

I am drafting a message to the EA as follows:

-I suggest you reduce the asking price by £5000 to encourage people to view (another EA suggested this).
-Lower your fee from 1.75% to 1.5% (this is their punishment for wasting 4 months)
-Add the plans that I gave you to the site and printed description.
-Give me any feed-back you have

If they don't agree to any of this, I will give them notice.
I am doing this while I talk to other EAs, and to get feed-back from the present EA before they go. I am likely to fire them anyway. There are other EAs, who have sold some properties in the past months, and who are asking 1.5% commission.

Also, I had forgotten, they do not have my property listed in their own website!:mad: