Struggling to sell flat-no offers

siimmon

Thanks the responses guys, lots of food for thought.
We've taken out the sofa bed and replaced with a double and got rid of the TV, which I think showcases the room much better.
With regard to lease, it's long, over 100 years. Service charge is about £1200 per annum, with ground rent around £250, so nothing too excessive.
I'll have a chat with our EA and consider our options.
Once again, really appreciative of all the feedback.

lessonlearned

I was in a similar position.

Loads of viewings for the first two weeks, one silly offer. Then viewings dried up. Two weeks of nothing so I Reduced price, renewed interest and then had multiple offers. Took just 4 weeks to sell.

When a property goes on the market you have a window of 2 to 3 weeks, which you need to exploit. If it starts to stick and you get no sensible offers then it's usually the price.

boliston

I've been on street view and the main issue for me would be that it is built on a maze-like system of similar looking estate roads so would feel a bit trapped - I can see the design is made to mimic the original historic grand building but the result is theme-park-esque. A suburban london apartment near a decent tube will sell easily if priced right but getting to the nearest tube or rail station does not look straightforward.

Crashy_Time

bouicca21 wrote: »

Given that the London bubble is over, I suspect it's about price.

Yep....people may just have finally woken up, or maybe their lenders have?

csgohan4

Drop the price as everyone said, but what ever you do, do not go for those quick sale buy any house companies, you will get gazundered just before exchange hoping you have spent the money and you will get desperate

Mickygg

20 viewings and no offers means there is an issue.

When I was last trying to sell I had about 25 viewings and no offers. I had steep steps to the front door and when people came they didn't want to mention them as the reason as I insisted on EA telling people before viewings due to so many people saying they didn't want steps.

I then heard several of the viewers put offers in the area on houses very similar to mine but with no steps.

20 viewings to me says price isn't an issue until they view. Looking at floorplan the second bedroom is an odd shape.

Also the description says ideal for first time buyers. I can think of 375k reasons why this isn't ideal for a first time buyer.

Speak to your EA and find out why no offers, there has to be a main reason and probably is price once viewed. At 600sq feet you don't get a lot for your money, maybe people are finding bigger space for the money?

Crashy_Time

I can think of 375k reasons why this isn`t ideal for any buyer.

JayRitchie

siimmon wrote: »

Thanks the responses guys, lots of food for thought.
We've taken out the sofa bed and replaced with a double and got rid of the TV, which I think showcases the room much better.
With regard to lease, it's long, over 100 years. Service charge is about £1200 per annum, with ground rent around £250, so nothing too excessive.
I'll have a chat with our EA and consider our options.
Once again, really appreciative of all the feedback.

Hi - I know the area and have looked in that block.

- Could you check the measurements? The flat is described as 61 sqm - it looks far bigger than others I see of near to that size.

- I dont think photos matter too much (not like family houses) but the ones you have look very artsy. I don't think they show the size of the flat properly. I've viewed places which are far smaller than I've thought from the photos and I'm sure others have had that disappointment. You are underselling the place.

- I'd have more photos of the block. A lot of competitor flats are in blocks that look a bit shabby.

- state the lease length and monthly charges - these are selling points.

The big problem is location. The flat won't come up on searches within 0.5 miles of stations. Also it looks a really bad journey to a station. What is the core market? I'd guess professional couples (when I looked these were going for £220k so a single person who wanted more space and possibly drove to work was in the market).

I think if there are buses to stations you need to state very clearly how regular they are and how long they take.

I'd be tempted to try a few agencies as I think people will miss out on viewing the flat as it wont come up on rightmove searches. Likewise you need to state if allocated parking.

Crashy_Time

JayRitchie wrote: »

Hi - I know the area and have looked in that block.

- Could you check the measurements? The flat is described as 61 sqm - it looks far bigger than others I see of near to that size.

- I dont think photos matter too much (not like family houses) but the ones you have look very artsy. I don't think they show the size of the flat properly. I've viewed places which are far smaller than I've thought from the photos and I'm sure others have had that disappointment. You are underselling the place.

- I'd have more photos of the block. A lot of competitor flats are in blocks that look a bit shabby.

- state the lease length and monthly charges - these are selling points.

The big problem is location. The flat won't come up on searches within 0.5 miles of stations. Also it looks a really bad journey to a station. What is the core market? I'd guess professional couples (when I looked these were going for £220k so a single person who wanted more space and possibly drove to work was in the market).

I think if there are buses to stations you need to state very clearly how regular they are and how long they take.

I'd be tempted to try a few agencies as I think people will miss out on viewing the flat as it wont come up on rightmove searches. Likewise you need to state if allocated parking.

When did you look? IMO people are looking at size and price plus location, let them figure out their commutes for themselves if they are interested, going into how there is a bus every 15 minutes to get them to another bus stop that takes them close to a tube station that then gets them to within running distance of their work just sounds desperate. Price it properly and it will sell.

JayRitchie

Crashy_Time wrote: »

When did you look? IMO people are looking at size and price plus location, let them figure out their commutes for themselves if they are interested, going into how there is a bus every 15 minutes to get them to another bus stop that takes them close to a tube station that then gets them to within running distance of their work just sounds desperate. Price it properly and it will sell.

I think I looked in around 2011. Lots of people will look at the map and not bother viewing - it looks a hell of a trek to a station if you go to London each day. If there is an easy way its best to show.

The OP has to compete with this: http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-71338187.html

Probably not as nice and a shorter lease but right next to a station and gym.

Or this : http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-62998408.html

Again - far better if one or both of a couple commute into central London.