House on market for 2 weeks, no viewers = overpriced?

mufi

Why oh why can't EAs move stuff and do some 'stage management' when they come and take photos? We are mostly lay people, most with little or no experience of selling houses, and need all the help we can get in exchange for their fees. Our EA just pointed and shot, as it would appear do most, and we had no idea how pathetic the photos were until we asked to see them before they went on Rightmove.

It seems so simple, would take a small amount of extra time, would save them having to come back and re-do them, and would make us feel they were going a little way to actually earning their percentage.

Neddles

Wow! You guys are brutally honest. But considering you're all buying/selling/have an interest, you are a target market and must have similar opinions as our potential buyers. It is very useful.

The ea is coming tomorrow to reshoot and I'll be more assertive with them to (hopefully) make the pictures better.

To answer some of the points:
Our bedroom is really quite big, 5 foot bed, built in wardrobes about 5 feet from the end of the bed - also got some drawers and a dressing table in there.
We've recently redecorated, all the rooms are plain light colours and hopefully look alright in person.
Fireplace was originally white painted brick, was painted to match the walls by ins co last year following a claim.
The table in the lounge/diner is actually about 4 foot across, and 5 of us eat there every night, so quite useable, although the pic doesn't convey that.

Eric1

mufi wrote: »

Why oh why can't EAs move stuff and do some 'stage management' when they come and take photos? We are mostly lay people, most with little or no experience of selling houses, and need all the help we can get in exchange for their fees. Our EA just pointed and shot, as it would appear do most, and we had no idea how pathetic the photos were until we asked to see them before they went on Rightmove.

It seems so simple, would take a small amount of extra time, would save them having to come back and re-do them, and would make us feel they were going a little way to actually earning their percentage.

sorry to be sceptical, but don't think nice photos or 'stage management' really make that much difference. Yes, you may get a few more viewings but in the end the most important thing is the price. Some buyers (like myself) couldn't care less about paint colours or kids' toys.
This one needs to have total square footage of the property/gardens and floorplans.

Fire_Fox

I agree with the comment about the pictures being of the furniture and not the rooms, I need to see some floor space especially in the bedrooms. The boys bedroom looks awkwardly laid out - can you put the beds one to the left of the window and one to the right, parallel to one another?

I like your dining table and there is plenty of room for it in the living room, also I think a family home should have a dining space if possible. BUT you need to move the television which is blocking access to it and appears to be the focus of the room. Can you pack away the TV stand and have the TV on the wooden cabinet in the foreground?

Also agree the back garden looks like a yard, put ALL the kids toys in the garage and hire a pressure washer (before painting or planting!!) to clean the patio. Then cover the whole of the garage wall with trellis. Get a couple of fast growing flowering climbers - perhaps Russian vine, Clematis montana, honeysuckle or even sweet peas - two different plants that flower at different times if possible.

If you can see your way to painting the trellis and side fences with light blue or light green wood stain even better. Once you have done all that you might move your kitchen table into the yard on sunny days for viewings, let your viewers imagine you could actually sit out there and enjoy the flowering climbers with a glass of wine or beer or have a family barbeque. :beer:

At the front of the house you have space for a few troughs plus a hanging basket full of cheap bedding plants. Can you find a space to put the wheelie bin as it is not photogenic?

Neddles

Fire_Fox wrote: »

I agree with the comment about the pictures being of the furniture and not the rooms, I need to see some floor space especially in the bedrooms. The boys bedroom looks awkwardly laid out - can you put the beds one to the left of the window and one to the right, parallel to one another?

I had a really hard time trying to get a good pic of the boys room. If the beds are parallel, there's not much room between them. It's the best I could do really, the bigger bed looks huge on the other wall

I like your dining table and there is plenty of room for it in the living room, also I think a family home should have a dining space if possible. BUT you need to move the television which is blocking access to it and appears to be the focus of the room. Can you pack away the TV stand and have the TV on the wooden cabinet in the foreground?

You've obviously met my dh! The tv is the focus unfortunately and there isn't anywhere else to put it. All the sockets and aerials are behind it. I could move it over some and see if that helps.

Also agree the back garden looks like a yard, put ALL the kids toys in the garage and hire a pressure washer (before painting or planting!!) to clean the patio. Then cover the whole of the garage wall with trellis. Get a couple of fast growing flowering climbers - perhaps Russian vine, Clematis montana, honeysuckle or even sweet peas - two different plants that flower at different times if possible.

If you can see your way to painting the trellis and side fences with light blue or light green wood stain even better. Once you have done all that you might move your kitchen table into the yard on sunny days for viewings, let your viewers imagine you could actually sit out there and enjoy the flowering climbers with a glass of wine or beer or have a family barbeque. :beer:

I'll remove the toys for pics and viewings, we've got a table and chairs out already.
Will also look at some flowers etc to make it look brighter. I used a pressure washer on the patio just before pics so it should look ok. [/quote]

At the front of the house you have space for a few troughs plus a hanging basket full of cheap bedding plants. Can you find a space to put the wheelie bin as it is not photogenic?

You confused me there as ours bins live out the back. That's actually next door's bin.



Thanks for the feedback.

Neddles

mufi wrote: »

Why oh why can't EAs move stuff and do some 'stage management' when they come and take photos? We are mostly lay people, most with little or no experience of selling houses, and need all the help we can get in exchange for their fees. Our EA just pointed and shot, as it would appear do most, and we had no idea how pathetic the photos were until we asked to see them before they went on Rightmove.

It seems so simple, would take a small amount of extra time, would save them having to come back and re-do them, and would make us feel they were going a little way to actually earning their percentage.

It's hard isn't it?

I tried for ages to get some decent pics,so when the ea came round I thought he would be a pro. His camera was just a cheap digital and he only took one try at each pic.

Surely a freelance photographer would be a great addition to local eas?

jackieb

I don't know much about house prices in your area, but this is the house above you on your EA's website - for only £10k more. Are you sure your one isn't overpriced?

http://www.connells.co.uk/detail.asp?type=0&src=property&cs=14&bs=POE&br=-1&prop=100003&min=150000&max=200000&bed=-1&page=1&id=POE301361

Also, I see that your livingroom is 19ft8 x 11ft3 - that's about the size of my room and your pictures certainly don't show that.

I'm very surprised some estate agents take such poor photos. When we sold our house, the lady who came round to take our pictures even asked if I wanted to move my kitchen bin out of the way before she took a picture. She says a lot of people say that they wished they'd moved stuff once they see the photos.

It says you have a garage. Can you put some stuff in there - and just use the table in the kitchen for now? When we were selling our house we had no garage, but we did a huge clearout, and the rest of our clutter went into my sister's loft!

hethmar

Agree with everyone here, Im afraid the photos dont give the best impression. Get some new quality bed covers for at least the master bedroom with a few luxurious looking cushions. And the fan, erm, take it down and have a blank wall or a modern colourful framed print. The fan makes the house look very 70's.

Some big pots full of flowering plants - theres some fab ones in B and Q at the mo would make such a difference to the garden. Ditto in front of the house and add a nice hanging basket by the front door.

Could you get a nice modern, colourful rug for the living room to brighten it up?

Fire_Fox

Neddles wrote: »

I had a really hard time trying to get a good pic of the boys room. If the beds are parallel, there's not much room between them. It's the best I could do really, the bigger bed looks huge on the other wall

You've obviously met my dh! The tv is the focus unfortunately and there isn't anywhere else to put it. All the sockets and aerials are behind it. I could move it over some and see if that helps.

What is practical for daily living and what is the best for photos and viewings are rarely the same thing. Change things round on a viewing and back for real life! I am fairly confident the beds will look better parallel and the viewers will not be walking between them. A TV is the focus of everyone's living room of course, but can you push the TV stand flat against the wall next to the fireplace? If not are there definitely no sockets elsewhere? You can buy a looooong TV aerial extension cable from the £1 shop. :money:

Ulfar

jackieb wrote: »

I don't know much about house prices in your area, but this is the house above you on your EA's website - for only £10k more. Are you sure your one isn't overpriced?

http://www.connells.co.uk/detail.asp?type=0&src=property&cs=14&bs=POE&br=-1&prop=100003&min=150000&max=200000&bed=-1&page=1&id=POE301361

sister's loft!

This is in direct competition with the Op's house and while some of those rooms are quite full it doesn't look cluttered. This house has been dressed for the photos and whoever took the photos did a nice job.

Your houses are pretty much the same size excluding garden ( I don't know if they are the same size as measurements aren't given). I presume yours is smaller due to having a garage.

In addition to photos have a look in the differences of the descriptions.

I know you probably don't want to spend money on yours but the difference or perceived difference is quite scary. If it came to a choice I would buy this second house and offer your asking price or a bit lower.