What should i ask EA to do to get more viewings

spookytoy

Hi folks..
situation so far..
House has been on the market (scotland) for 2 months

Currently advertised with local EA , and in Aberdeens property centre, as well as the Monthly property register in print.

Only 1 viewing so far, and 8 people have looked at the home report online.

I have been looking over the EA's schedule and what they have put up on the property centre and Im sure they can do more to help sell the property...

My EA thinks with the schedule pictures sell the property more than reams of text but both their schedule and the listing on the property centre seems to be 'lacking' something.

Can anyone give me a few pointers on what they should put in to help sell the place. the property is well priced for the size and location but I need more interest as I have found the property we want but need to sell this one first .

I have also put some more bumph on a webpage if anyone needs more info ... use my username .com to get to the page. this also links to the property on the ASPC and the EA's page.


Cheers,
Gordon.

www (dot ) spookytoy (dot) com

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Personally I think your photos need to be retaken in strong sunlight, looks very glooomy. Also, I would have removed things like the pet's bowls, notices from pinboard, taken all rubbish out (plastic bags), put everything away - just so it looked clear and crisp. I don't think the house looks 'dressed' enough. It looks like a large dwelling with lots of room outside, however, curerntly I wouldn't view it from the photos on the site - sorry I don't mean to be rude or harsh at all - just a personal opinion. Wish you all the luck in selling it.

googler

Do you have an ASPC ref no?

I would assume, similar to ESPC, that your agent has displayed your home in a central showroom, will hand out schedules from that showroom, it's on their website, they've put a sale board up and it's in their property paper (the register as you call it?). What else are they doing at the moment (if anything) ???

spookytoy

Hi,
thanks for the responses so far..

The reference on ASPC site is 279390.

The things the EA has done so far is :
Board in the windows
on their own website and property paper
advertised on both local branches of the EA
on the ASPC website and property journal
on Globrix website

and thats it.

They did say they 'could' come back for more photos when it was a better day as the day they were round it was raining.

I wasnt happy with a few photos the EA took but I was desperate to get it onto the market . I did email them a few I had retaken but my camera doesnt have a wide angle so not great at showing rooms and have not been used.

It is a large house, with plenty of ground.

I will take onboard ALL comments and nothing taken personally as its so handy for someone else to point out stuff!.

One problem we do have is we have so much stuff!!!! ( 2 of the bedrooms so far are wall to wall storage rooms - now due to a de cluttering before the photos were taken!)

thanks,
Gordon,

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Hi Gordon, you can always ask them to take more photos. Keep up the advertisment whilst you 'freshen' up the place a bit and then have new photos replace the old ones. It looks like a big house with loads of space outside - bright photos of well maintained clean areas would make such a difference - encourage people to view. Get everyone together and have a clear out day - put items on freecycle, take to a tip, have a stall at a market on a Sunday - clear out. Can you freshen up by stripping back wallpaper and painting white? Always gives the property a lift and if you all work together, can not be too hard of a job.

Once you've cleared the house of clutter, dress the house - fresh flowers, white ironed bedding, crisp linen & setting on the table (for the photos/ viewings) - remember you are selling a lifestyle to a potential buyer - they need to see themselves in the property. Having breakfast at the table lookign out of the window.

You need to get them in there - once they're in you can sell it but if you can't get people past the first stage of making an appointment to view then a sale just won't happen.

googler

Not looked at your ASPC listing yet, but from the photos on your own website, rather than trying to shift any blame onto your agent....


You've got a LOT to learn about homestaging, or presenting your home for sale.


Is this REALLY your house at its best? If not, why have you photographed it without making it look its best?

You seem to have more pictures of the garden, outbuildings and sheds than the house itself. Are these REALLY the main selling points? What are the main selling points?

The 'reflection' below each photo is just a distraction. The small photos in a plain black background just make everything look gloomy. Why are some of the pictures in the slideshow so small, some large? Why don't you have them all the same size?

The picture of the house in the snow, with the icicles hanging down from the gutters, isn't attractive, and all it says to me is that the gutters were overflowing or weren't coping with the snow, which then froze on its way down from the gutters.......

What's the blue mass under the bed in Bedroom 1?

You need a better angle for the shot in Bedroom 2

The Dining Room would look much better if you made the dark table the centre with some nicer chairs than the godawful folding ones that are pictured at present

The lounge just looks horribly cluttered

Take the towels off the front of the cooker, the draining tray off the sink and de-clutter your worktops and tops of wall units.

In kitchen_a, clear the clutter at the left, de-clutter the worktops

The house floorplan and garden plan should be LAST in the slideshow

In Exterior Rear, are you selling the black cat in the foreground with the house? If not, why couldn't you have moved it, along with all the clutter at the back of the house?

The "Rear Gagage and Garden" photo shows us your car (is that included in the sale), some broken concrete hardstanding, and your clutter.

First photo of the outbuildings shows very well all the clutter in front of them.

A house with a total of 14 rooms screams out to be a family house, and the 'wildlife garden with pond' also screams out safety hazard for children

'Garden in January 2010' - do you REALLY want to show your buyers the brown patches on your lawn, the salvaged car tyres?

The 'view from back of garden' just looks like a cluttered mess

The view of the potting shed is fair enough, but couldn't you have tidied away the white plastic bin and the other clutter from the front?

The picture of the garage is titled 'inside the garqafe' ..... and it's a MESS - you can't see the garage for the clutter. The open toolbox, the discarded cardboard/polythene packaging, some kind of cage held together with brown vinyl tape...... sheesh

Shed 1 - same

The exterior shot of shed 2 merely shows more clutter, the inside shots pile the clutter on again....

tyllwyd

It is a very interesting property, but I'm not sure if you are trying to sell it as a residential home or somewhere to run a business? The back yard/garage/potting shed look very much like farm buildings to me, and you obviously do a lot of gardening with so much equipment.

For me, I'm looking for a family home, and it would put me off that the space outside the back door is effectively a carpark with the garden further away. Is it possible to create a bit of a sitting area nearer the house, maybe with a bit of fencing and some pots, so if you had young children you could let them play outside by themselves?

spookytoy

ok.
For GOOGLER:
the site I stuck up today with all the photos was to try and give the people on the boards here an idea of the property... the refelction was part of the basic web software i used.

The garage etc with the clutter were taken this morning. with an idea to show the space and are NOT being used anywhere to sell the property.

mabye is should re-iterate. the page at the website with my username I made today to try and show some more of the property to give a better example of the place then the EA has. using existing photos and some I took this morning. Joe public is not using this and its only to try and give a bit of background to the house.


as for the photos taken by the actual estate agent:

---

What's the blue mass under the bed in Bedroom 1?- ITS A STORAGE BOX WHICH WILL BE REMOVED FOR THEM DOING PHOTO RESHOOTS

You need a better angle for the shot in Bedroom 2-OK WAS DOWN TO THE EA, WILL ASK THEM TO RETAKE.

The Dining Room would look much better if you made the dark table the centre with some nicer chairs than the godawful folding ones that are pictured at present:- THE ONLY CHAIRS WE HAVE ARE THE FOLDING ONES ... WOULD IT BE BETTER REMOVING THE TABLE & CHAIRS TOTALLY?

The lounge just looks horribly cluttered: OK. POINT TAKEN.

Take the towels off the front of the cooker, the draining tray off the sink and de-clutter your worktops and tops of wall units. : OK WILL DO. EA TAKING PHOTOS NEVER EVEN ASKED FOR THE TOWELS TO BE MOVED.

In kitchen_a, clear the clutter at the left, de-clutter the worktops: OK

______________________

Keep the comments coming... I think I will have to put some more stuff into storage.

The house does need rephotographed and 'dressed' but at the same time we do have to live in it..

on thing im interested in is does anyone find the lack of written details on the EA and ASPC site detrimental or is it a case of ' a picture paints a thousand words' ?


Thanks,
Gordon.

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HI Gordon, hope you don't feel downheartened - people are genuinely trying to give advice and help - please believe me that it's not out of malice.

Good point re have to live in / dressing house up - thus I mentioned dressing the house and freshening up then taking photos. When you receive viewings you'll be given notice so you'll have enough time to throw the usual daily clutter somewhere and redress with fresh flowers and the suggstions above.

I do really think you'll need new photos tho, sounds like the house could and should be shown in a better light.

With regard to the written details - what would you add/change? Write it all down and then aproach the EA and ASPC to change it!

googler

You can bleat about the EA not prompting you to remove towels, etc when they took the photos, but the fact is that you invited them into your home and didn't stage it beforehand, and -

The photos have been like this on the EA and ASPC site for two months, and you haven't protested, or asked for them to be changed or updated.

I freely accept that the EA should have coaxed you into staging it, but at the end of the day, it's your house and you should be getting it ready for sale.

You say you took the photos of garage and sheds just to give us an idea of the house - if a viewing materialised tomorrow, is this how you would show them to prospective buyers? Is this how they are kept from day to day?

I've just looked at the ASPC listing.

Kitchen alternative angle 2 - you could have removed the dog's feeding bowl, food bowl, and ..... please tell me that's not a cat litter tray in the picture...... please.

It's not about showing the general public how you live from day to day, it's about showing the public a marketable PRODUCT that they will want to buy.

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Googler I agree with what you're saying however, there are nicer ways of saying it - I have mentioned items you've listed in my posts up the top - I know there's no excuse for leaving things out, especially icky pet things - but this is someone who is asking for help, obviously not understanding what they need to do and is willing to help change it