Why am I Getting No Viewing of My House?

Welshy123_2

Thanks for your input here...

My PC doesn't work properly with Firefox so can;t use Propertybee.

madnessofBruno wrote: »

Welshy I did struggle to find your property on the Ea's website does not stand out from similar properties.
I did find the Ea's music annoying and that they have not bothered to update the website with reference to HIPS.(my niggle and should not effect you trying to sell)
Agree with the constructive comments concerning fluffy toys photos, clutter and POA (set a valuation).

Do you use propertybee?

haras_nosirrah

I agree

POA would put me off (Also seems pointless as is in the blurb but some people may not read that far. They will just see the POA and move on)

185-195 asking price would put me off - why would anyone offer 195k if you have indicated you would take 185k?

The rooms look dark and quite small - The pics don't do any justice

The main issue I can see is that if someone does offer enough to qualify for the 5% gifted the surveyor will look at the details and see that you would have taken 85k

95k - 5% = £90,250. The surveyor may just value it at 90k or 85k as without this incentive you wouldn't have been able to sell it for what you have (the buyer has to declare any incentives and the surveyor will usually be asked to take this into consideration.

If I were you I would put asking price 90k, get rid of the POA and the 5% deposit and hold out for 85k if this is what you need. Get the pics retaken so that you can see the actual room not just your bed (as nice as it is), maybe neutralise the pink room, declutter a bit and make it clear that it is a private garden and the parking situation.

Good luck

Welshy123_2

I think the problem with the 5% deposit situation is that the EA hasn't marketed it very well and people don't understand it 100% maybe....

I have got to admit, it took me a while to get my head around how it worked.

But like I say, they recommended this as an "innovative" way of standing out in comparison to other flats on the market at the minute. They said that the Deposit paid bit would attract enquiries etc. We just took their advice to be honest.

Well it ain't working and I am pretty frustrated that we arn't getting any viewings etc.

We are tied in for 3 months with this EA as well.

the_realist wrote: »

Seems complicated. So its a bit like a lucky dip? hit the magic figure and win the deposit?

You sure that out of the few that understand this any believe that it will be honoured and there is actually magic figure? I wouldnt.

The POA means I dont give it a second glance tbh.

Offers in region of £85k-£95k means the price is £85k to me.

bristol_pilot

Gifted deposit and POA both give the strong impression that it is overpriced (even if it isn't).

What you need to sell it for is not relevant to what someone will pay for it. This is a recipe for 'chasing the market down' if prices start to fall. What proportion of people with jobs work in the public sector in your area?

£90k is a difficult price point - a single person on a typical local wage may struggle to afford it, a couple could comfortably afford something better.

What would the flat rent out for? Multiply the gross annual rent by 20 and that will give you what it is really worth. Could be good or bad news.

googler

Welshy123 wrote: »

The house is fairly neutral anycase so we havn't re-decorated.

The house isn't cluttered really, we have fairly a good idea what we need to do before any viewings (if we get any!)

If you have a fairly good idea of what to do, why didn't you do it before the photos were taken?

You've got a kitchen photo with a yellow dishcloth or similar on the sink, two bottles of Fairy Liquid at the back of it, a horrendous patch of fridge magnets on the fridge/freezer and some vaguely unidentifiable stuff under the boiler. It also would look more attractive if there wasn't a pile of your clothing in the washing machine.

The Pink Bedroom needs a major de-clutter, as does the bathroom. Are the facecloth hung over the side of the bath, plastic waste bin, piles of shampoo under the basin, toothbrushes and toothpaste, etc etc all artfully placed to add appeal to this room, or were you basically too lazy to tidy it up?

The two items on the lawn - are they permanent fixtures?

Welshy123_2

Thanks for the.... ahem.... "constructive" criticism.
Its taken on board.

I agree that clutter isn't great, but surely fridge magnets and a few bottles etc don't put people off THAT much?? Surely not??

I definetely agree with having our daughters cuddlies out isn't great.

Things like that don't put me off when viewing a house, it's personal taste is all. It's like the old saying "You've got to look past the decor when buying a house"
To me, it shows like a house that's being lived in.
Not that I am saying I am right or anything, my opinion that's all.

We asked the EA if we needed to do anything else before the photos were taken and their reply was "the house is clean and tidy"
We told them what we had moved out and they said "You've cleared out enough, it looks fine"

We assume that the local Estate Agent knows better than us, so it wasn't a case of "lazy" as you so elegantly put it......

We had already cleared out the place with objects such as magazine racks, washing basket, "clutter" from the top of wardrobes, etc.

I do agree with you to the extent that new photos are probably needed.

PS The solar lamps in the plant pots in the garden are not permanant, just placed there.

googler wrote: »

If you have a fairly good idea of what to do, why didn't you do it before the photos were taken?

You've got a kitchen photo with a yellow dishcloth or similar on the sink, two bottles of Fairy Liquid at the back of it, a horrendous patch of fridge magnets on the fridge/freezer and some vaguely unidentifiable stuff under the boiler. It also would look more attractive if there wasn't a pile of your clothing in the washing machine.

The Pink Bedroom needs a major de-clutter, as does the bathroom. Are the facecloth hung over the side of the bath, plastic waste bin, piles of shampoo under the basin, toothbrushes and toothpaste, etc etc all artfully placed to add appeal to this room, or were you basically too lazy to tidy it up?

The two items on the lawn - are they permanent fixtures?

madnessofBruno

Welshy

Are you any closer to deciding what action to take to get the house sold?

DVardysShadow

carolt wrote: »

AFAIK, gifting deposits in this way is illegal - your EA should NOT be recommending it.

Sorry carol, it is quite legal, but worse than illegal, it is merely totally pointless. A prospective buyer knows how much mortgage they have available and how much cash. Welshy, you know how much you want for it. Don't make the arithmetic complicated.

The gifted deposit nonsense was merely a game played in a booming market - not for the benefit of buyers - more to allow lenders to knowingly fool themselves.

The truth is that during the boom times a buyer with 0% deposit could have gone for any property and asked for a 5% 'gifted deposi't for an offer 5% above the asking price of the property. Most lenders would have signed it off as a 95% LTV loan.

Now we are out of the boom time, offering a gifted deposit looks like you are well out of touch with reality. And it cuts no ice with the lenders, so it is a waste of time.

Welshy123 wrote: »

No the 5% is not given by default, they have to offer us a certain amount to qualify for it. If they offer us that amount then they will be informed that they have qualified for the 5% vendor gifted deposit.
I can't reveal the amount on here that we are prepared to accept for the buyer to qualify for the 5% vendor gifted deposit.
All I will say is that it is towards the "higher end" of the £85K - £95K guide price.

I have checked this out with both my Independant Mortgage Advisor and Solicitor, they both say it is 100% legal.

But if it is pointless, why bother? And if it complicates the arithmetic, why bother?

Someone offers 92,999 and you offer no gifted deposit. Someone offers 93,001 and they get 4650, which means they get it for 88351. Does not make sense and it looks like you are playing silly games. This all counts against you.

Welshy123 wrote: »

I think the problem with the 5% deposit situation is that the EA hasn't marketed it very well and people don't understand it 100% maybe....

I have got to admit, it took me a while to get my head around how it worked.

But like I say, they recommended this as an "innovative" way of standing out in comparison to other flats on the market at the minute. They said that the Deposit paid bit would attract enquiries etc. We just took their advice to be honest.

Well it ain't working and I am pretty frustrated that we arn't getting any viewings etc.

We are tied in for 3 months with this EA as well.

If you didn't get your head round it ...

Mrs Shadow and I looked through over 20,000 rightmove listings when we got serious. To be fair, we were looking for different properties to yours, but if we had seen your offer, we would have laughed and moved on. We did on several occasions. Innovative schminnovative, its bllx.

OK, you are tied in. So you need to go in and tell your EA he is wasting your time and he puts it on with a straightforward price, because

• innovative schminnovative is bllx
• you want your house sold
• you don't do bllx and the sooner he sells your house the sooner he can get back to doing his innovative schminnovative bllx

Apart from that, the pix of the teddies needs dealing with, but frankly, you could leave that up as long as you get rid of the bllx pricing.

googler

Welshy123 wrote: »

Thanks for the.... ahem.... "constructive" criticism.

I'm afraid I don't beat about the bush when people ask about their presentation and staging. Sometimes people around here need a metaphorical slap in the face to bring them into 2010.....

Welshy123 wrote: »

I agree that clutter isn't great, but surely fridge magnets and a few bottles etc don't put people off THAT much?? Surely not??

If you agree that clutter isn't great, why are you presenting your home to whole country with the clutter in place?

Welshy123 wrote: »

Things like that don't put me off when viewing a house, it's personal taste is all. It's like the old saying "You've got to look past the decor when buying a house"
To me, it shows like a house that's being lived in.

You're assuming that everyone looking at your online listing shares your point of view. You're expecting people to look past the clutter, not your decor..... You're not selling your way of life, and all the daily items that form part of your life - you're selling the house.

How can people imagine their own stuff being placed in there, when yours is in the way?

Welshy123 wrote: »

We asked the EA if we needed to do anything else before the photos were taken and their reply was "the house is clean and tidy" We told them what we had moved out and they said "You've cleared out enough, it looks fine"

We assume that the local Estate Agent knows better than us......

I'm afraid it sounds to me as though the EA was led in by his trusty Golden Labrador carrying his white stick...... and that he needs a lesson or two in presentation.

Welshy123 wrote: »

We had already cleared out the place with objects such as magazine racks, washing basket, "clutter" from the top of wardrobes, etc.

Why did you stop? Why didn't you clear away the dishcloth in the kitchen and the washing-up liquid?

Welshy123_2

Thanks for your advice guys.....

I think we are goin to sort out the following:

Change Asking Price to Offers Around £85,000

De-Clutter / Make the place more appealing and then get EA to sort out new photopgraphs