house is jinxed?

Gizzygirl

Hi, I am sure that i am not alone but we are currently unable to sell. We have been on with our current agent since July and a previous agent from March 2010 and have yet to get even a cheeky offer. I have now since noticed that a different agent (a local agent) has sold 3 of a similar type of property on our 'estate'. I have spoken to the agent and booked an appointment for the new year. Should I change agent again? Even our current agent is not sure as to why we have not sold, but we receive little or no feedback from them at the moment. I am told the other properties that have sold are going for more money, most have 1 less bedroom (ours is a 4bed). We have dropped the price below what we paid for it and cant go any lower. I desperately need to get moving due to our relationship breakdown. If anyone has any advice it would be much appreciated.:(

CloudCuckooLand

post a link to it, maybe there is something obviously wrong with it, that you cannot see - being too close to the woods to see the trees, so to speak..

petebeale

Hi Gizzy,

My first thoughts were - the first pics shows the lawn dead in the summer - this needs retaking in the spring all green and nice - it's a big first impression. Also dont have all your windows open in the first shot - it makes me wonder if your house smells or if you're trying to cover something up!

I like alot of your other internal shots. Garden shot, have a little less stuff in shot, make it look a bit bigger?

Good luck

Pete

Nixxx

you can get a new build half a mile down the road for a little bit cheaper

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/new-homes/property-17233461.html

CloudCuckooLand

As its on for OIEO £289k, I've assumed you must have bought for £293,500 in 2007 - the only house ever purchased above that figure...right at the peak of the market? Bad timing. http://www.houseprices.co.uk/e.php?q=sl1+5eu&n=25

Even though average prices for the postcode are only 3.5% down from May 2007, that would still mean the price today should be £283k. Asking for OIEO £289k is very ambitious. Being on at £299,950 in September may have alienated those who might once have been interested, as way, way too ambitious ('greedy' - if being totally honest).

Of course, house-hunters may not be so precise in counting the months involved, and may instead simply look at the graph and think prices are 10% down from peak, so £30k needs to come off the price...too much to even be worth a cheeky offer.


[IMG]http://www1.landregistry.gov.uk/houseprices/housepriceindex/report/default.asp?g=1&gt=1&a=Slough&s=01 May 2007&e=01 October 2010&t=1[/IMG]

To me, for a 4-bed place, the kitchen is too small. And the headroom for the top-floor bedroom looks dubious. And looking at prices for the rest of the street, it appears over-priced at the time of purchase. See no 21, who paid £20k less...if only you had got that one...

Now, its difficult to find enough detail on old sales, to be sure of comparing like with like, so it may not all be so bad as it appears.

But if you use http://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/map.html?outcode=SL1&incode=5EU&index=0&propertyType=0 you see the established streets going relatively cheaply. The sold prices around and above your figure appear to be in newer areas, where the streets have no names? So it could be they are paying a premium for new build, or the developer is reporting the pre-discount price...a common trick.

In today's tight mortgage lending situation, perhaps people just don't have big enough deposits to stretch to a 4th bedroom, unless they absolutely have to have one...and if they have a 4+ person household, that kitchen would be a limiting factor, imo.

For another £15k - and who knows what discount/sweetners the developer will throw in - they could get bigger rooms and shiny newness... http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-28454968.html

Its a common problem when new builds go up around older parts of an estate. The old ones get pushed down by the developers schemes for the new ones.

Some better photos to show rooms better might get someone in the door. But if you really want to sell, then it comes down to beating the others on price. A recent report shows prices may fall by 7% next year - you either beat them to it and sell, or get lodgers in and ride it out.

Arthritic_Toe

You're on at an awkward price here, being 12% over the stamp duty threshold. Anyone looking at your house will probably want it for 250. The fact that your price is quoted as "offers in excess of" implies that you wont be willing to drop. Whether or not you are negotiable on price, I would lose the 'offers in excess of' as it will be putting people off even coming to look.

Looks like a nice house, but it doesn't look like the agent is making much of an effort - the descriptions are all very brief. This probably reflects the fact that they don't think it will sell either and are focussing their efforts on other properties.

I would also get the photos retaken with absolutely no clutter (and smooth out the bed covers!).

jamesperrett

To me it all seems a bit cramped. The room sizes are small so you need to find a way to remove some of the clutter and emphasise a feeling of cosiness. To me it would help if the pictures had been taken on a sunny day - the house just looks a bit drab as it is.

James.

Gizzygirl

Many thanks for your replies. We dont seem to have a problem in getting people to have a look round (photos have never been an issue) The houses priced cheaper to which you refer are of a different design and are very much smaller. The ones that have sold similar to our of late have sold at the £295k mark. There are new builds nearby but again they are considerably smaller.

Mr_Thrifty

The photos are just awful, especially that one of the bed with the ceiling about 2 inches above the head area. The photos make the house look very cramped.

Plus, you can get a bigger house for the same price in better areas.

Also, it's described as detached but the photo makes it look like link detached.

The truth is, it looks like a bit of a rough neighbourhood and it's in Slough. It's described as a 4 bed detached yet when you look at the photos it looks like a cramped little newbuild. Additionally, for the same price you can get bigger houses in nicer areas.

I think your issue is price.