House won't sell, aaaaagh!!!!!!!!!!!

Ulfar

If you don't have to move then don't, if you do you aren't going to get the price you need given your competition. This means you will need to pay more of the mortgage, so its time to get saving and/or work more.

As for the pictures, the estate agent should be shot taking them at dusk is even worse than taking them at night.

Also every one of them makes your house look cramped and small. De-clutter get better pictures taken on a bright day.

GDB2222

mommy2princess wrote: »

I think I will definitely be changing agents as of Monday - any recommendations?

My other worry is that the repo that sold this year started off at 105 or 110k (can't remember) but they told me they had absolutely no interest until it dropped to 75k. They were on with Dixons. Surely that is a bit low?

Everybody (almost) has this idea that repos sell for next to nothing. The reality is that they get lots of exposure to the market. The vendors normally get two surveyors to value the place. And the repo label actually attracts interest. OTOH it is standing empty until sold, so the lenders are under some pressure to sell it rather than hang on for a better bid to emerge. The ones I have looked at have not sold remarkably cheaply - maybe 10% below what other places have sold at where the vendors have had more time to sell.

In any case, it's not just this one sale you need to consider. Make a list of say 10-20 houses that have sold in the past year within 1/4 mile of your house, with the actual sale prices. Go round to each one and score it compared to yours. You will then have a good idea of what your house is really worth.

Werdnal

You already know the photos are cr&p so thats your first step - get onto the agents first thing on Monday. You shouldn't have to tell them how to take photos, but by the standard of those they have come up with, you obviously now need to take charge!

First point, make sure you get the new photos done on a bright sunny day - even if you have to wait for a few days to get the right conditions. The effect of some sunlight will not only freshen up the outside, but also add some better perspective to the indoor shots. Currently, although I agree its nicely decorated etc, the rooms look drab because there is no natural daylight! You'll be surprised what a difference it makes to the whole ambience of the place. Difficult to see how long the back garden is too, and at first glance I couldn't even see whether it was grass or all paving slabs! Maybe ask them for a shot from the end of the garden looking back at the house instead.

In the kitchen, take everything except the appliances off the counter tops, and remove the notes on the fridge, hanging teatowel etc. Bathroom, remove the towel, bottles of shampoo etc. I'd personally give the office/study shot a miss altogether!

Outside, the front on shot seems a little too "square" to me - might help if they take it slightly angled from the left, better showing the length of the driveway, and the front to back depth of the house - it looks a bit 2 dimensional at the moment. Also appears to show next doors garage rather than yours!

If its sunny tomorrow, and you have a camera, go round and try a few sample shots yourself, rather than wait for the agent to come to see how you can improve them. Then you can show them what you have, and tell them what you want them to achieve with theirs!

PS, just checked the Google Street map view and even that looks better than your photos as its done on a brighter day. Any chance you could give the shrub by the wall a quick haircut too, as it distracts the eye from the front door!

Bogof_Babe

I'd also not have the car in the photo that shows the garage, as it could give the impression that the shared driveway might be a problem if your neighbour obstructs it. Without the car in view, people might not immediately think about the driveway being shared.

tescobabe69

So, the house is worth around £90k and you dont want to sell it for that ?
What is the price of the property you want to buy, i.e. how much are you planning to extend yourselves by ?
You of course realize that when your property goes up by 10% to enable you to get £100k the one your planning to buy may have gone up by 12% .

GDB2222

tescobabe69 wrote: »

So, the house is worth around £90k and you dont want to sell it for that ?
What is the price of the property you want to buy, i.e. how much are you planning to extend yourselves by ?
You of course realize that when your property goes up by 10% to enable you to get £100k the one your planning to buy may have gone up by 12% .

The trouble is with the deposit, I imagine. If they sell for £10,000 less, that means £10,000 less deposit, which means they may not be able to move at all given the minimum 10% deposit needed these days.

Bluemeanie_2

Overpriced. Shared drive would put me off. Anywhere with any form of shared/joint responsibility I would run a mile.

mommy2princess

the problem with dropping to 85-90k is as GB222 says, the deposit. If I drop it too much and end up with no deposit or low deposit, I'm going to end up struggling to buy elsewhere unless I take out a 95-100% mortgage - of which there are only a few available and not at brilliant rates (except for HSBC, who's rate is ok) and I would rather not do this.

meercatsunited

I am not of the younger generation but I like your decor.

the third bedroom should be made to look like a bedroom, as it is it gives the impression that the house is small and you are bursting at the seams.
in my last house the smallest bedroom was 7'x6'. I had a box the size of a single mattress, propped it up on more boxes, covered it with a double duvet but used childrens bedding which I had borrowed. the room just had this and a shelf with a few toys again borrowed.
we cleared everything out of other rooms to make them look spacious just for the photos then got out what we needed to use but they disappeared again at each viewing.

change your agent, when a property has been on a long time they lose interest.

I am currently selling my property at below what it has cost to refurbish etc. everyone who has seen it loves it, we have been for sale 4 weeks and anticipate an offer on monday from one couple.
we have been for sale at a lower price before on another property and found because of increased interest and viewings you sometimes get people bidding against each other.

I have looked at the competition within 1/2 mile radius of yours and yours does not look overpriced to me but I do not know the area. good luck wit the sale

mommy2princess

I like the idea of making the 3rd bedroom look like a bedroom - I think that will really work. It shouldn't be too difficult to get a bed or even fake bed!

We had some great photos that we took ourselves, would we be allowed to use these or does the EA have to take the photos? (god forbid)