Flat not selling after one year...need to move!

msmarples

Hello,
Any advice on selling our 2-bed flat?? (rightmove link: property-for-sale/property-32632987.html)

It has been on and off the market since November 2010. We had an offer in February 2012 for 236,000 but the buyer withdrew without reason two months down the line. W have since lost the house we intended to buy so back to square one.

The sale price has been steadily reduced from £275,000 in November 2010 (did not know better) to £230,000 currently. The average for the area on Rightmove is £224,000 and we paid £244,000 in 2007. It was initially overpriced but since I have seen similar flats sell in the area sell quite quickly with similar asking prices to what we have now and we had one offer in that ball park earlier in the year.

Since our buyer withdrew we had 4 viewings a week for 3 weeks and now the viewings have dried up. Most viewers say it is too small for them and do not like that the garden has only side access.

Options:

1) Do I reduce the price further with a new agent and new photos and wait more - any price suggestions
2) Give up and face a two hour commute to new job until things improve
3) Go for part exchange with newbuilder, loose 2.5% mortgage rate and double mortgage repayments for a 3-bed new build town house??

Any thoughts??

LandyAndy

No sale after a year?

It has to be the price.

That is what your viewers are telling you when they say 'too small' or 'don't like the garden'. They mean 'for the price'.

I would certainly investigate the part-ex in order to be sure of the associated costs. It might yet be the cheapest option.

Is that two hours each way? That's not really sustainable in the long term.

ETA: Here is the link. http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-32632987.html

pimento

I can't comment on the price but it looks too small. Every cupboard has stuff on the top of it, there are DVDs crammed under your TV storage, it looks like you have stuff stored under the sofa, and there's no room for a bed in the second bedroom.

Kynthia

I haven't seen the link but if it looks like the flat is too small for you, buyers will think it's too small for them. You need to massively declutter, to the point that it doesn't feel like your home anymore. Maybe even remove some furniture to make some rooms look bigger. Buyers also need to see a bed in the spare room.

theGrinch

has it been on the market all that time with the same agent? If so a change is long long overdue.

googler

pimento wrote: »

I can't comment on the price but it looks too small. Every cupboard has stuff on the top of it, there are DVDs crammed under your TV storage, it looks like you have stuff stored under the sofa, and there's no room for a bed in the second bedroom.

Seconded.

There's miscellaneous bits on top of the wall cabinets in the kitchen, clutter on the worktops

The agent has given us a nice shot of the lampshade in the main bedroom, but not given any idea of the space.

The clutter in the lounge needed to be boxed up and put in a cupboard or sent to self-storage.

Lose the coffee table in the lounge. If viewers have to walk round it, it'll make the room seem smaller. Give them room to move.

As was said, there doesn't seem to be a bed in the second bedroom. Is there scope for sending everything in here to self-storage and putting a bed in to sell it as a real bedroom?

Is the fold-out table in the kitchen is the only place you sit down to eat? If so, I'd be tempted to re-jig the lounge into a lounge/dining with a small table in there. Take away the armchair, move the sofa, put the table at the far end away from the TV

DPJames

It's the price. IT IS ALWAYS THE PRICE. Nothing to do with stuff on top of cupboards, prime colours or vases full of twigs and lights. It's always the price.

People are viewing it, so they must be very interested and there must be a high demand. You've said there are loads of similar flats around, and that yours is priced slightly higher than average. Knock £20K off and it'll be sold this time next week.

You'll save that much in commuting over a few years.

edgex

msmarples wrote: »

Hello,
Any advice on selling our 2-bed flat?? (rightmove link: property-for-sale/property-32632987.html)

It has been on and off the market since November 2010. We had an offer in February 2012 for 236,000 but the buyer withdrew without reason two months down the line. W have since lost the house we intended to buy so back to square one.

The sale price has been steadily reduced from £275,000 in November 2010 (did not know better) to £230,000 currently. The average for the area on Rightmove is £224,000 and we paid £244,000 in 2007. It was initially overpriced but since I have seen similar flats sell in the area sell quite quickly with similar asking prices to what we have now and we had one offer in that ball park earlier in the year.

Since our buyer withdrew we had 4 viewings a week for 3 weeks and now the viewings have dried up. Most viewers say it is too small for them and do not like that the garden has only side access.

Options:

1) Do I reduce the price further with a new agent and new photos and wait more - any price suggestions
2) Give up and face a two hour commute to new job until things improve
3) Go for part exchange with newbuilder, loose 2.5% mortgage rate and double mortgage repayments for a 3-bed new build town house??

Any thoughts??

asking price =/= selling price


you need to look at what the selling prices are for those flats, then thats your asking price (if you want a quick sale)

GDB2222

I am sorry to be brutal, but this is not the nicest flat, is it? The bedroom windows both look out onto the side passage way, at the next door house 2 m away. The reception room is long and narrow, with just one window at the narrow end. It is all okay, at the right price, but you need to price in the disadvantages.

Apart from that, you probably should window dress the flat better. Getting rid of some of the clutter will help sell it. I would make the 2nd bedroom look like a bedroom, rather than a study/storage room. You can rent storage space and stick your stuff in there.

If you are saying that the kitchen is a kitchen/diner, you really need to demonstrate that a bit better than just having a tiny fold down table with a single chair. At least add another chair! Just because there is a spot to sit down and eat your porridge in the morning does not really mean that it is a kitchen/diner.

As others have suggested, but a small dining table in the living room (and put the displaced furniture into storage, do not just scrunch it up a bit more).

So plan of action is: –
sensible price
make the 2nd bedroom look like a 2nd bedroom
put stuff in storage
new agent

Good luck.

DannyboyMidlands

If you need to move so quickly I'm not sure why you stuck it on at £50k over the odds in the first place. £50k?!

Anyway it's no big mystery. Price is the key. You are still above the average asking price for the area and at this rate you'll be chasing the market down for the next 5 years.

As DPJames suggests, drop it £20k and you'll sell in a week.

littlesaint

As someone who is looking at 2 beds in a nearby area, I'd like to give some feedback. We also looked online at places in Leytonstone so may have come across your place before. Here are my feelings about it:

Pros:
Massive garden
Bushwood - nice area
Nearest tube in Zone 3
Off road parking

Cons:
Price - personally, I'd be looking at closer to £200K for a flat.
Rooms not that big.
Not that close to the nearest tube.
Conversion - lots of people prefer purpose built

Also, a couple of questions. Is this leasehold? If it's SO Freehold that's a bonus that you should be highlighting. As is a long lease. Also do you have access to the loft from your property (I see Veluxes)? If so, it would provide some extra space which is an asset to any flat.

The thing is, the kind of people willing to sacrifice proximity for the tube for living in a nice area with a nice garden are either people with cars who work outside of London and need good road access or people with families who are likely to be looking for a larger property anyway. Bit of a generalisation but never mind.

So you are probably looking at appealing to first time buyers with cars who don't plan on having a family for a few years - a very price sensitive market. They would be looking at something closer to £200,000 and would put price over less desirable areas - that's what we are doing anyway.

If the schools are good round your way you might appeal to someone with a very young child who can't afford a house. With prices for a small two bed terrace in less desirable areas around £250K upwards you would have to offer a price that makes your flat a good alternative.

I think changing agents would be worth considering. The property has many positives - don't get me wrong - definitely worth highlighting the area and off-road parking. I would be inclined to drop to £215 - £220K (the £220K mark is a psychological watershed for me when it comes to flats) or if you really want to make an impact, overs over £200K and hold out for a really good offers.

If you go for the latter chose an agent who do block viewings - that always seem to help ramp up prices for a place in my experience as a FTB in the area! Hope this helps.