Want to put our flat for sale but other 3 almost identical also for sale...

lindanirvana

Hello all,

We would like to put or 2 bed flat for sale in the next couple of weeks, we haven't contact any EA but I've been following the threads here and writting down some very good dieas/advice which is priceless.

Our flat is quite small and with 4 persons living on it (2 of them being toddlers under 2) is really chaos most of the time, so we've been decluttering and cleaning as well as doing some minor repairs.

We believe we are now ready to let some EA come in and give us an idea on valuations and explore our options, however, I just checked this morning on rightmove and there are 3 flats from the same developmental (one of them from my building) on sale by 3 different agents.

They are all in top or second floor and they are empty, mine is first floor and obviously with us living there.

Based on what I mentioned, could you give me an idea what could I expect if I put it for sale against the other flats? Is this a good time to sell or should we just wait? we would like to sale the flat sooner than later, and I will be grateful for any of your replies...

Many thanks,:)

Linda

pastmybest

I am no EA or property expert but after a lifetime in sales and marketing I would say, even though it appears there are other similar flats, you need to work out your unique features and benefits. Your EA should but I am not that sure they are that good as a profession. Then you may feel you can offer tangible differences to the other flats in competition as so sell OK.

pastmybest

One further thought is I have been selling my 2 bed flat and at all times there have been a number similar and often a lot cheaper but in our case our flat is very very fully refurbished.

We have agreed sale a number of times with people dropping out but are hopeful the current sale goes through. Every viewer has loved it because of the condition and that the second bedroom is a real double. Often EAs don't stress the 2nd being a double and merely say second bedroom.

Good luck

princessamy86

I don't know whereabouts you are Linda and I'm used to the north west england market rather than London, but there's a development near me that constantly has very similar flats coming up for sale. Good points: You live there, people will be able to see how the furniture fits in and what it would be like to live there. Unfortunately, this could also be a bad point depending on the buyer! As pastmybest says, is there anything unique about yours? The best way to differentiate between similar flats is on price, but this tends to work best in a newish development and less well in conversions and older buildings.

Make sure the photos are good, and if you can afford to I would be looking at pricing very slightly below what the others are on at (if all are very similar). It will mean everyone comes for a look at yours, and more people through the door means more chance of an offer. Is there a lift? If it's just stairs I would have thought yours on the first floor would immediately be more popular. Carrying shopping up 3 flights of stairs is not fun.

lindanirvana

Great advice guys! I will definetly follow what you sugested...
What about using the same EA that the other flats are using? would that be just stupid from my side? I mean, I am clueless as you can see, is our first flat and we still very naive...

Thanks,

princessamy86

Don't worry too much about using the same EA, just go with the best one. Have a search on this board (search button is top right) there's a lot of advice available on choosing an EA. The cheapest aren't always the best, it's better to pay slightly more and have a better service in my opinion.

scooter_chick

It's a tricky situation. When I started selling mine the EA had another on the same road go on at the same time, and he'd take viewers round both. The viewers ended up wanting the 'best' bits of both properties & being satisifed with neither. Mine had a bigger garden, their's had better decor. Their's was chain free, but it backed onto the tube (mine doesn't).

In the end, I decorated & the other one got rented out instead. I don't think it did either if us any good. BUT at least with the same agent, I knew what was going on with the feedback from both. Now there's another on the same street with another agent. The viewers still look at both, but I don't really know how they're comparing them.

As well as working out the unique benefits of yours (e.g. less stairs!), work out what viewers might prefer about the others & find a way to respond to that. E.g. if the others are empty, what will YOU be doing to make YOUR sale go quickly.smoothly?

And good luck!

Fire_Fox

lindanirvana wrote: »

Hello all,

We would like to put or 2 bed flat for sale in the next couple of weeks, we haven't contact any EA but I've been following the threads here and writting down some very good dieas/advice which is priceless.

Our flat is quite small and with 4 persons living on it (2 of them being toddlers under 2) is really chaos most of the time, so we've been decluttering and cleaning as well as doing some minor repairs.

We believe we are now ready to let some EA come in and give us an idea on valuations and explore our options, however, I just checked this morning on rightmove and there are 3 flats from the same developmental (one of them from my building) on sale by 3 different agents.

They are all in top or second floor and they are empty, mine is first floor and obviously with us living there.

Based on what I mentioned, could you give me an idea what could I expect if I put it for sale against the other flats? Is this a good time to sell or should we just wait? we would like to sale the flat sooner than later, and I will be grateful for any of your replies...

Many thanks,:)

Linda

Most flats are bought by BTLs or FTBs who are gonig to be attracted by no-chain/ vacant posssession. Are you willing to move into rented? If you want to sell you are going to have to price your flat competitively, are you able to accept substantially less than the other flats are offered at?

Brallaqueen

I was advised by family in the property/building business that middle of the block flats are the best bet - ground floor flats can get drainage/sewage problems, top floors can have roofing/leaking issues. Plus the heating you get from below helps knock a few pounds off the bills

Maybe you pass this on to people at viewings to make your flat more attractive?

PasturesNew

Do you know how long the others have been on for? What price reductions (if any) they've had already? Property Bee will be able to tell you that.

adg1

Look at what has sold in your general area that is similar to yours and this should give you an idea of price to start with then get some valuations form local EAs.

Why not register as a buyer with the agents and go and view these other 3 houses - they may be very different to what you see online or even from the outside.

If all it does is enable you to present yours better then great. It also may give you an insight to the EA from a buyers POV - remember they are trying to sell your house to a buyer. If they seem useless when you see them as a buyer, think what they could be like if you are their client!