Reason for lack of viewings...

googler

twirlypinky wrote: »

i wanted to bring the table out from the wall, but it's made circular dents in the carpet and looks daft if we move it.

Take the photo at an angle to exclude the carpet, then.....

googler

I've just looked at your floorplan, and the description should be telling the viewer that you are in either a Duplex Apartment (in BIG, BOLD type), or that yours is a terraced house. It occupies the whole of the front corner nearest to the camera, from ground to roof, doesn't it?

There's similar down my way, lounge and kitchen on ground floor, 1 bedroom and bathroom on first, with attic space above, and the agents here have no hesitation in calling them houses.

twirlypinky

Yes it does, but we're not allowed to say terraced house because it says apartment on the deeds.

I'll email the agent now about changing the description to be clearer. Thanks

googler

kmmr wrote: »

I always think these guys: http://finlaybrewer.thebu2iness.com/salesPropertyDetails.do?p=86882&pricePer=0 are a master class in EA photography. The houses are more expensive, but internally not that different to yours - you see the value of professional photographers, and not just the office junior with a compact camera.

Holy cr*p.

£350,000 for 43 sq m ..... over £8,000 per sq metre ....... that's four times the average around my way.

Even with the so-called professional photographer, all that seems better to me is the lighting being a touch more even; and that can be achieved by merely using a better flashgun.

The professional STILL photographed the clutter under the desk, on the kitchen worktops, and the pile of spare toilet rolls in the bathroom ..... so I'm not too impressed.

puddy

dont jump out of the frying pan into the fire

how much is the mortgage on your current flat?

how much could you rent it out for?

how much would consent to let cost?

where is your work - maidstone or somewhere? how much are properties to rent in that area?

you are only 30, you have another good 10 years, you're making knee jerk reactions that could make your situation worse because you think you're running out of time and this is not the case

twirlypinky

We cannot rent it out, we're in negative equity, the mortgage company are not interested in even offering us a fixed rate at the moment - let alone a buy to let.

The mortgage is £91.5k

Work is in Dartford. We could get a small one bed for £500 pcm - which would mean we could save more than we are now, and save ourselves at least an hour and a half in the car each day, and put us in a FAR better position when we're ready to buy again.

I may well have another 10 years, but hubby quite rightly, doesn't want to be the dad at the school gates looking like a grandad.

kmmr

googler wrote: »

Holy cr*p.

£350,000 for 43 sq m ..... over £8,000 per sq metre ....... that's four times the average around my way.

Even with the so-called professional photographer, all that seems better to me is the lighting being a touch more even; and that can be achieved by merely using a better flashgun.

The professional STILL photographed the clutter under the desk, on the kitchen worktops, and the pile of spare toilet rolls in the bathroom ..... so I'm not too impressed.

Granted - I was looking for something as similar as possible to the OP's flat, rather than the best examples on the site. I think the point is that you can do a better job, even if it is as simple as using a better flashgun.

Re the prices - that's West London for you! At least it's not as bad as Holland Park next door!

puddy

twirlypinky wrote: »

We cannot rent it out, we're in negative equity, the mortgage company are not interested in even offering us a fixed rate at the moment - let alone a buy to let.

The mortgage is £91.5k

Work is in Dartford. We could get a small one bed for £500 pcm - which would mean we could save more than we are now, and save ourselves at least an hour and a half in the car each day, and put us in a FAR better position when we're ready to buy again.

I may well have another 10 years, but hubby quite rightly, doesn't want to be the dad at the school gates looking like a grandad.

you may not have to put it on buy to let, the lender gives you consent to let for a period of time but sometimes they charge a nominal fee like 100 quid or so, other times they will put the mortgage rate up a small amount

i meant how much is your mortgage per month, sorry. is there any way you can extend the period or go interest only for a few years?

millym

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-30248470.html

This looks almost identical to the OP's place, and is on at 'guide price' £76K, but when you read the description, it says guide price £76-96K! !!!!!!? So OP isn't neccessarily that overpriced.

Hope it works out with your 2nd viewing, but if not, I would do the following:

1. Retake exterior picture. Do a few at varying angles, and pick the best one.

2. Take a picture of the entrance. Normally I hate pics like that, but it gets home the notion
that you have your own private entrance.

3. Add a pic of the hall and stairs, so folks know it's on 2 levels - I didn't realise this at first.

4. Try and get a pic of lounge and dining area together, and try to show the high, sloping ceiling
as this is a feature you don't see in the pics atm. Can you remove the throw from the sofa and centralise the painting so it is directly above it? I would also remove the clutter from either side of the sofa.

5. Kitchen - declutter EVERYTHING. Remove the stuff from down the side of fridge and empty the space next to the drawers. Remove stuff from top of cupboards and microwave. Remove everything except kettle and toaster from worktops. Remove everything from corner shelves and put the candleholders from the butchers block one on each shelf. Remove everything from butchers block and put the 2 striped ceramic containers on it. Drape plain cream towels over the rail.

6. Bedroom - change to plain cream curtains. I personally hate not having a bedside table. Can you move the wardrobes to the other end of the room and put some in, or at least get rid of one wardrobe and put one table in the window corner? I think this would make it look more spacious as well.

7. Bathroom - get some bright towels and bath mat - possibly chartreuse green to echo the LR - and try and get more of the room in. Is it possible to get a picture of the utility cupboard with the washing machine? This I think is a big plus when you have an open plan kitchen/LR, plus it means you never have to drag washing up and down stairs!

8. Take pics of communal gardens from lots of different angles, and pick one or two good ones. Also a picture of the shed, since it's a proper brick-built building.

I never usually suggest this sort of nit-picky stuff, but I think your place is grossly undersold with the current pictures. The link I put above is your most direct competition, so you need to make yours more appealing than theirs.

You need to mention that it is larger than the other properties up for sale. Hope you don't think I'm being over-critical - I just really think you need better pics, and a wee declutter

[Deleted User]

twirlypinky wrote: »

No, we can't stay here any longer than 100% necassary.

it's killing our cars
we're travelling for too many miles a day
we're too far from family and friends
it's too small - my family are only going to be willing to store my belongings for so long
when i kick the drugs for my illness we want to start a family, which we cannot do in this house. We can't keep putting it off, i'm 30 and hubby is 37.

If we move into a rented small flat nearer to work we'll save a fortune on petrol meaning we'll get a deposit for a bigger house together quicker. We'll spend less time travelling up and down the M2, and we'll be happier.

Your health is worth MUCH MORE than money - I'm sure I don't have to tell you that (and I speak from bitter personal experience).

You're only 30 - lots of people these days aren't buying their first home until much later. You may lose money on the sale of this flat BUT the chances are that, in the future, things will improve and you will have a chance to make money (or maybe not; maybe in the future we'll look at houses as homes and not money making schemes). It's not your fault that house prices have dived - it's the economy. Those who made money out of their houses (and can be very smug about it), were just lucky not skilled.

BUT don't put off having children - we waited too long and weren't able to. Some things you CAN do later (like get back into house ownership) but you CAN'T put off having children.

In your position, I would make it clear, when the lady comes round for a second viewing, that you're willing to take an offer and take what she offers (even a low one) to get the hell out of there; find a place you're happy to rent near work, accept that you're going to spend the next 5-10 years paying off the negative equity and bringing up children. You'll then only be 40. Less than halfway through your life. Don't stress about it.

Get out. Get on with your life.