Why do buyers not do their research??!!

Windsorcastle

Wyndham wrote: »

Also, too many photos for a 1 bed house. Pick the best on of the garden, bedroom and kitchen, and maybe have two for the living area (one from each end) but no more. The fact that your bedroom pictures are split up in the chain of pictures may mean people assume it is a second bedroom after all.

Thanks. I always thought more photos was a good thing, but I will heed your advice and get them chopped down.

Windsorcastle

hazyjo wrote: »

Also, I'd get that first picture changed. Is it a flat or pitched roof? (Yes, I know I could look at street view, but can't view it at work on RM so have to go into google maps and would then have to find house.) I don't think it's particularly clear, and might be putting people off.

I think I'd put HOUSE in caps and/or bold. Will be a bonus for most looking for a one-bedder, or is it priced the same as 2 bed flats? If so, it might not go in your favour as generally people will go for the 2 bed option, even if it is a flat...

Jx

It's a flat roof. And yes, it's a bit of a pain! But I did get the roof replaced 3 years ago, and have it maintained annually.

Agree that HOUSE needs to be highlighted - will contact the EA now about that. Thanks.

hazyjo

The flat roof would be a big no for me. I suspect that's your biggest issue.

I would probably make it more obvious it is a flat roof then, or at least make sure you mention that you had it replaced 3 years ago on every viewing!

Am sure the average lifespan used to be around 10 years, but know there are better linings and waterproof measures around now so if you were told yours should last 30, or even 60 as I believe some can, make sure you say!

If I was viewing (only if unaware it's a flat roof), I would presume the worst (10 years). If you can provide paperwork saying more than that, do so.

Have you had any problems getting insurance? Apparently some can be fussy - can't remember if buildings or contents, but think I heard something about them being higher risk from damage (leaks?) or burglary... can't remember which, but both might apply. If yours isn't particularly expensive cos of the roof, it might be worth at least letting the EA know so that if they go back saying it's cos of the flat roof, the EA can say it's no difference on the insurance, and that it has X amount of years as a lifespan.

Jx

Windsorcastle

967stuart wrote: »

Honest view point.

I'd re-arrange the livingroom/dinning room to make it feel like it has more space.

I'd also get the fence sorted out properly, it just looks a mess.
I'd actually think about getting a big 8ft fence at the back so as to hide that god awful trampoline.
Get it all looking the same, nice clean and tidy.

I really think that would help sell it.

A friend of mine had his place on the market for 14 months with no joy, in the end I talked him into spending some money on it (he really didn't want to as he was leaving after all...)

We sorted the garden out and re-decorated some rooms and it sold on the first new viewing !

Worth thinking about.

Good luck.

Thanks Stuart, I appreciate an honest viewpoint. yes, as you and other have said, teh garden could do with a bit of attention. I havea really good handyman who does all my bits of maintenance so I'm sure he could happily replace the fence with a higher one pretty quickly. I never even registered the trampolie as an annoyance until everyone else mentioned it on here, so I'm glad I asked!!

Niv

Hi, Not commenting on price as I don’t know the area, but for what my opinion matters here are my ideas:

Front elevation, nice – make sure this is photo one. For me every time I don’t see the front of the house as photo 1 I think it must be an ugly house and every time I do view the rest of the pics my suspicions have been correct, so much so that I don’t even bother looking at properties that don’t show the front of the house anymore.

I would remove one of the garden photos (photo 4 to me – but you have it rotating?) the one facing away from the house but showing the garden store. I would also try and straighten up the fences and give them a coat of paint, tidy the shrubs/tree and plant a few bedding plants for colour.

What is with a photo of the front door with some big patch thing stuck on it? Looks like someone has smashed the window in and it has had a poor temp repair done – remove that photo imo.

Remove photo showing the coat rack you have a much better one of the living room that does not show this.

I would remove one of the kitchen photos two is plenty.

I know you can’t do anything about bits of clutter so haven’t mentioned this. Overall it’s a nice house, the state of the garden lets it down though imo.

Niv

967stuart

Windsorcastle wrote: »

Thanks Stuart, I appreciate an honest viewpoint. yes, as you and other have said, teh garden could do with a bit of attention. I havea really good handyman who does all my bits of maintenance so I'm sure he could happily replace the fence with a higher one pretty quickly. I never even registered the trampolie as an annoyance until everyone else mentioned it on here, so I'm glad I asked!!

Good on you.
Must feel a bit harsh having strangers critique your home!
But these are only small things that could help.
You have to remember, some buyers literally seem to have no imagination so need everything laid out in a perfect way or they simply can't see the potential.

I kid you not, when me and my wife sold our flat, we had a lady decline to make an offer because it wasn't decorated to her taste !
(apart from the paint, she seemed keen ..... totally strange folk around!)

And yeah, whilst the trampoline may not annoy you, it could set alarm bells off if someone clocks it stuck right next to your fence.
It would actually annoy me if I was sat outside and kids kept bobbing up over the fence, so if you could block it off then I'd say it would be a plus in your favor.

Windsorcastle

Niv wrote: »

Hi, Not commenting on price as I don’t know the area, but for what my opinion matters here are my ideas:

Front elevation, nice – make sure this is photo one. For me every time I don’t see the front of the house as photo 1 I think it must be an ugly house and every time I do view the rest of the pics my suspicions have been correct, so much so that I don’t even bother looking at properties that don’t show the front of the house anymore.

Niv

Thanks for the constructive crit Niv, much appreciated. Yes, everyone seems to be agreed on the garden being a let-down. I will get onto the handyman tonight and get him on the case to sort out the fences at least. I can't do anything about the garden plants until the tenants leave in a couple of weeks.

I will also plant up the window boxes at the front.

There is a piece of paper stuck over the front door window with the address because someone nicked the house sign and no-one could find the house! However, I got a lovely new house sign fitted last week, so the paper can now come down. There is a very nasty net curtain there that I need to replace with something nicer but I'm not sure what.

Windsorcastle

967stuart wrote: »

Good on you.
Must feel a bit harsh having strangers critique your home!.

Thanks Stuart. Yes, I was really nervous about putting the link up because I know people can be harsh, but in fact it's quite liberating. And most people have been really constructive. There's no point getting all upset at someone criticising your home anyway, because they are only pointing out the things that viewers might be thinking, so I'd rather know.

Point taken about the trampoline - I'll get the fence put up a bit higher (but don't know if 6 feet will be high enough to hide it...) and will then take another photo.

Windsorcastle

hazyjo wrote: »

The flat roof would be a big no for me. I suspect that's your biggest issue.

Have you had any problems getting insurance? Apparently some can be fussy - can't remember if buildings or contents, but think I heard something about them being higher risk from damage (leaks?) or burglary... can't remember which, but both might apply. If yours isn't particularly expensive cos of the roof, it might be worth at least letting the EA know so that if they go back saying it's cos of the flat roof, the EA can say it's no difference on the insurance, and that it has X amount of years as a lifespan.

Jx

Thanks hazyjo. Wow! No, no-one's ever mentioned the flat roof being a deterrent. And it was not an issue when I took out my insurance either. The roofers gave me a 10 year guarantee on it 3 years ago, and I do have it maintained once a year.

hazyjo

Lots of people won't touch houses with flat roofs. Might be worth getting a few opinions... Big no-no for me. Not so much for insurance, more for lifespan.

Jx