No viewings in 6 months

Grenage

I think it looks reasonably smart (and I don't even dislike the wallpaper); as others have commented, I think price is your issue.

Short of the marketing photos revealing a working slaughterhouse, or a burglar assaulting the resident, it's almost always price that puts people off viewing.

moneyistooshorttomention

Wouldnt want to answer that insurance company question about "How near is the nearest water course?" as "errrm...literally at the bottom of the garden".

I wouldnt see the point of removing service charge/etc details:

a. People would probably realise there would be such charges - with it being a flat.
b. They'd think "Vendor less than straight at the outset.....hmmm....it doesnt augur well."

I'm still wondering why you referred to it as a "house" in post 1 and then proceeded to post details of a flat - but, presumably, you've posted correct details...

bluesnake

You can sell anything in any condition for the correct amount.

This is 9K less, a good bit bigger, 0.04 miles away, and been on the market since 21/4/2016 and has still not sold. http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-53892424.html

Also besides what the others have pointed out, the garden seems shared.

Also if it floods, as a buyer I would expect to see extremely high maintenance charge forced up me. The current charge is already high, nearly twice the price of my much bigger London flat.

Pictures do not marry up, picture 13 of the garden fence with a gate in it connecting to a back fence?, well no two wooded fences show up on picture 2.

Throw a mat over, or put a bin by that no fowling sign on pic 13, as it also emphasizes the gate in the shared garden/no privacy general access.

Also considering that the interest rates will rise in this time of uncertainty. Unless you want to take a big hit, think you are going to have to live with it a bit longer, or rent it out if you have elsewhere to go.

bitsandpieces

Someone previously suggested arranging a dummy viewing through the agent. Have you tried that? You could also get a local agent or two round to see what they think they could sell it for (though take this with a pinch of salt - they're pitching for your business).

Assuming the current agent aren't spectacularly obstructive, though (and there aren't other major problems, like regular flooding or subsidence) my uneducated opinion is that price is likely the real problem. Enough of the target market for this type of place will be using Right Move that some people would at least have taken a look, if the price was even close to right and it didn't look like a total hell hole (it doesn't!) If you can't drop the price, do you need to move? Staying put and overpaying the mortgage would give you more flexibility in future.

A couple of things you might try to help it sell:
- specify what the service charge gets the buyer. As well as parking (an allocated parking space?) any other perks?
- you say you've nowhere else to put your stuff. When I sold a small flat, I moved a fair amount of stuff into storage. When you've got the property on at a competitive price, a few £s spent on this might pay off.

Callie22

Grenage wrote: »

I think it looks reasonably smart (and I don't even dislike the wallpaper); as others have commented, I think price is your issue.

I don't think it looks smart at all. It looks grubby - stuff like the smeary fridge, slightly grotty bathroom and knackered sofa would put me off viewing as it suggests that the property hasn't been 'cared for'. Honestly, I saw the pictures and thought 'ex-rental'. If I was looking at the flat as a FTB the pictures would make me wonder what else hasn't been maintained, and whether I'd be able to afford to fix it taking into account the higher price.

Person_one

Its really really small, that's the problem.

Its being marketed as a 2 bed flat, but really there's only just room for one person to live in that space and even then there will be problems. It wouldn't be easy to have friends round as there'd be nowhere for them to sit, and that kitchen is not designed for anything more than heating up ready meals for one, there's no proper surface space anywhere to do any actual cooking. Also, do you have to go to a launderette? There's no space for a washer or dryer, and no space to put a clothes horse up to dry indoors in winter either.

If I were you, and I really needed to get it sold, I would price it and market it as a 1 bed flat. You aren't going to sell it to a couple, or to a single person who can afford a decent sized two bed.

Is that outside space private and part of your property? If it is you need to make that much more of a selling point.

BMTH

Callie22 wrote: »

I don't think it looks smart at all. It looks grubby - stuff like the smeary fridge, slightly grotty bathroom and knackered sofa would put me off viewing as it suggests that the property hasn't been 'cared for'. Honestly, I saw the pictures and thought 'ex-rental'. If I was looking at the flat as a FTB the pictures would make me wonder what else hasn't been maintained, and whether I'd be able to afford to fix it taking into account the higher price.

Not sure there's any need for that. Is the smeary fridge and grotty sofa gonna be staying there if you moved in? I'm not asking for individual pick outs of my furniture, just wanted a general idea of why no viewings, ok, the price is the main issue. Your post is touching on offensive and I find that highly disrespectful. I don't mind good constructive feedback if you people but so many of you have turned into vultures since I posted the link up. Never got anything nice to say, so you wait for moments like this. Funny! Anyway, thanks to those who've done a bit of research for me, there's a lot on the market for less by me

Person_one

BMTH wrote: »

Not sure there's any need for that. Is the smeary fridge and grotty sofa gonna be staying there if you moved in? I'm not asking for individual pick outs of my furniture, just wanted a general idea of why no viewings, ok, the price is the main issue. Your post is touching on offensive and I find that highly disrespectful. I don't mind good constructive feedback if you people but so many of you have turned into vultures since I posted the link up. Never got anything nice to say, so you wait for moments like this. Funny! Anyway, thanks to those who've done a bit of research for me, there's a lot on the market for less by me

It is relevant, you should always make sure your place is absolutely spotless when the photos are taken for Rightmove. Not a single bit of dust anywhere, not a smear on the fridge or the windows, not a crease in the duvet cover! I think I cleaned and spruced and generally sorted for about a week before my last place went on the market. I was exhausted by the time it went online but it sold to the second viewer with a week.

Its about the overall impression, buyers know they won't be keeping your fridge, but if the place is sparkling clean then the impression it gives it that the place has been well looked after by somebody who takes pride in maintaining their home. Even subconsciously, a slightly grubby or cluttered place affects how people feel about it.

BMTH

Why did my EA not tell me about this before putting the photos on then? Isnt all this what he's supposed to be doing? Giving my a heads up with things like this

Callie22

BMTH wrote: »

Not sure there's any need for that. Is the smeary fridge and grotty sofa gonna be staying there if you moved in? I'm not asking for individual pick outs of my furniture, just wanted a general idea of why no viewings, ok, the price is the main issue. Your post is touching on offensive and I find that highly disrespectful. I don't mind good constructive feedback if you people but so many of you have turned into vultures since I posted the link up. Never got anything nice to say, so you wait for moments like this. Funny! Anyway, thanks to those who've done a bit of research for me, there's a lot on the market for less by me

I don't think it's offensive - when we were looking for a house we discounted those that weren't reasonably well maintained and/or clean as that suggests a general lack of care and maintenance that goes beyond cosmetic issues. Those kinds of things cost money to fix and we had to take that into account when choosing properties to view and ultimately offer on. If a house looked like it might be too much work, then it wasn't for us as that's not where we are in our lives and I don't think we're unique. I would think that the majority of people looking at properties like yours are going to be either FTBs or landlords, both of whom are more likely to want properties that can just be moved into without a lot of redecorating and maintenance. Most people view properties assuming that the price is somewhat flexible, but if you're not getting the viewings and other flats in your area are selling, then perhaps there's something about your pictures that's putting people off.

Or, perhaps not many people in your area are confident in online estate agencies. Or maybe your agent isn't great at responding to queries - have you tried getting a friend to arrange a viewing to see if there's a problem there?