Another RightMove advert to critique

thelem

My flat has been on the market for a few months. There has been interest, but no proceedable offers. We're preparing to switch agents, so I'd like to know what people think of our current advert and what we can improve for the new one.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-69686591.html

I know these threads usually end up with people saying to reduce the price, and I agree that £270k - £280k is a lot for a one bed flat. But please check out the local area. This is central Brighton - a one bed round the corner sold in October for £330k, and there is another one SSTC at £330k. There aren't any one beds nearby for less than £200k (ignoring retirement flats). So, if you think the price should be changed, please explain why.

Things we've considered:
* Removing coats from living room (easy)
* Desk in lounge dominates a bit in the pictures (it doesn't when you're in the room)
* Replacing the carpet in the hall. It's quite worn, but first agent suggested it didn't need to be replaced. Cost £250 - £1000 depending on what we did it.
* Painting the wood in the garden. That's pretty hard at this time of year, but we'll definitely be looking to do that when the weather warms up.

RiversTam

The zoomed in photo if the dining table - all I can see are the blue bins outside, that would put me off.

I think the living room looks cluttered - I know you say it doesn't irl but you've got to get them through the door first.

I think brightening the garden up with some pots would help until weather is good enough to paint.

Aylesbury_Duck

A quick look through and these are the things that leapt out at me:

Garden needs a general tidy-up, not just the wood treating. The foliage needs cutting back, grass mown, etc.
Picture 7 is odd on the RHS. What is that? Could it be shot from a better angle?
Lovely bay window with a delightful view of....three wheelie bins!
No need for picture 8. It doesn’t add anything to the other two shots of the room and actually makes it look very narrow.

Red-Squirrel_2

Living room is too cluttered, having two dining tables in there (one as the desk) really shrinks the space too. I'd declutter, keep that nice window clear and then take your photos again with better angles.

What's going on with the kitchen workspace on the left in the first picture? What's on there? Looks weird anyway, clear it!

Your bedroom looks so tiny that you can't even walk past the foot of the bed properly. Is it a bad photo or is it really that cramped?

JoJo1978

Is it also comparable in terms of price per square foot, or does yours come up more expensive on that basis versus the 300+ ones you mention?

I'm also wondering if being raised ground floor (steep front steps?) puts off those with a baby or older buyers? We drew attention to our houses big weakness in the write up so it wasn't a surprise to viewers and anyone it wasn't suitable for rejected it at the research stage.

Rug in hall as cheaper fix? Remember your first agent hasn't sold it though so take their advice with a pinch?!

How many months and which months have you been on, and was it with one agent? We got tied in for three months with one agent, no offers. Took it off for two weeks to rest it then it got three offers in a week with our second agent. New photos and write up even if you think OK. Our photographer moved large furniture out of shot although we kept it as we had it for viewings. For our second agent we only agreed to a six week contract.

We actually sold to someone who had viewed with the first agent and had been watching it and other houses - buyers are becoming cautious and some will now hold off until more stock is listed in spring. We also had ours revalued (if you've been on for months price may be too high now) and scrapped guide price in favour of a single asking price. We accepted an offer within 2% of that.

You don't sound in a massive rush if waiting for warmer weather to paint. In which case take it off the market until that time?

You don't say what the feedback from viewings has been? If you're not getting it, ask your agent why. If changing agents ask for a list of leads and viewings from the first. It will help if later disputes about who introduced a buyer.

lincroft1710

The bedroom is small

jimbo747

Did the other flats have a bath?

Cakeguts

jimbo747 wrote: »

Did the other flats have a bath?

This one does and it was cheaper and it is sold. http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-61652644.html

EachPenny

The shared garden rings alarm bells for me.... how does that work? Is there a gardener, or do you take turns to do the maintenance. The 'less than looked after' feel of the garden then becomes more significant - am I going to be expected to do all the work in the garden myself, and what happens if the other flat owner doesn't agree to any changes I want to make or contribute to the costs?

The shed in picture 2 doesn't enhance the garden (painting it green or brown would make it look better). Also the grey rectangle (neighbour's house?) behind looks strange - almost like the picture has been photoshopped to hide something I'd be inclined to forget picture 2 and re-shoot picture 11 from further back - perhaps standing just inside the shed to maximise the depth effect of the garden.

Like Aylesbury Duck, picture 7 stands out - presumably that is the hallway/landing? If you had a door there I'd suggest closing it, but it appears there isn't one. The space looks small and pokey, and I can see carpet and kitchen and immediately think 'keeping it clean'. Unfortunately it (and the boiler pipe) distracts from an otherwise really nice kitchen - perhaps taking the picture again from a higher position (to hide the boiler pipes) and looking further to the left to reduce the proportion of the doorway in shot (currently nearly a third of the frame).

Finally, it is not clear in picture 1 which building the flat is in. If it is the one right of centre then are the steps meant to be green? If it is algae then I'd give them a clean. If yours is the one with red steps then you need to make it a lot more central in the picture. Try and make the centre line of the flat in the centre of the picture.

somethingcorporate

Cakeguts wrote: »

This one does and it was cheaper and it is sold. http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-61652644.html

This has a better layout, a larger bedroom, a bath and is very nicely presented.

In the OPs favour it is 15% bigger but if that is in unusable/hallway space then it won't add much to the price. Clearly price is an issue in the OPs flat.

thelem

RiversTam wrote: »

The zoomed in photo if the dining table - all I can see are the blue bins outside, that would put me off.

I think the living room looks cluttered - I know you say it doesn't irl but you've got to get them through the door first.

I think brightening the garden up with some pots would help until weather is good enough to paint.

Thanks. I hadn't even noticed the bins were so visible in that photo. I agree it's unnecessary so I'll just get it removed. It's actually quite a nice view when you look past the bins, but they do spoil it a bit.

Will look at tidying living room and garden.