House doesnt want to sell, advise appreciated

WolfofPotto

Hi All,

I have had my property up for sale since July 2018, originally it was up for sale by traditional sale at a price of £200k, shortly dropped to £195, 190 then 180K; by June this year I was sick of getting very little interest and only having about 5 viewings in that one year period. I decided to change to hunters online auction and drop the reserve price to £170k with a guide price of £155k. Within the 30 day period absolutely no bids, watchers or property views; and the property is absolutely priced to sell now, especially at a guide price of £155k (bought property 195k, zoopla valued 208k). I am at a loss why it isnt pulling interest, but I cant even get viewings; any advise why you think this is and what I can do is appreciated; seems destined never to sell at this rate! see link below

property is 12 argyll court, bingley, bd`6 4ny.

Thanks

Candyapple

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-72638455.html

MEM62

Can you provide a link to the listing?

With few exceptions the main reason properties do not sell is price. What feedback are you getting from the viewings?

Edit;
OK, seen the link.

It seems well priced compared to other three-bedroom properties in that post code. However, for me personally, the outside of the building and surrounding views are not very appealing. The lack of a garden might also be an issue. It is one of those properties the needs the 'right' buyer.

Some are also put off by properties that have been on the market for a long time. Take it off the market for a while and tray again in six months or so.

tasticz

link to property: https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-72638455.html

Seems close to the train station.

There is floor plan missing. Tell your agent to add floor plan

Some pictures are dull perhaps take on a bright day? The tree views aren't doing anything to me.

Add a photo of the allocated parking spot?

davidmcn

No floor plan, nothing about tenure or service charges (which would make me assume you're hiding something), hard onto a road with no garden (from a quick look I can see cheaper 3 bed houses nearby with gardens of some sort), presumably no parking beyond your one allocated space and parking restrictions on the street so where do partner / visitors park, etc.

sew_what

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-72638455.html

Brace yourself for other's responses, but my initial thoughts are;
No floorplan - not even any room dimensions in the description!
Awful pictures - dark, poor angles. Second picture is of a very cluttered kitchen - I'd give up at that point!
Price (it always is price) you bought at the height of the market, as a new build. 12 years on buyers will think it needs a new kitchen, bathrooms etc

You can't do anything about his, but I also think the lounge kitchen is too small for three double bedrooms - where do 6 people sit in the lounge area? ^ people around the table wouldn't leave much room for moving around.

Silvertabby

The house is nice enough inside - but your problem is something you can't do anything about. It's all about location. I assume that your property is a factory/mill conversion, but the surrounding area hasn't yet caught up (Pic 6 and streetview aren't doing you any favours).

What is your target market? I would rule out families with children and older down-sizers, so that only leaves you with first time buyers and buy-to-letters - so you many have to lower your price again (or sit tight until the surrounding area has been gentrified - if that is even on the cards).

MandM90

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/map.html?locationIdentifier=POSTCODE%5E3763752&minBedrooms=3&maxPrice=175000&minPrice=130000&numberOfPropertiesPerPage=499&radius=0.5&propertyTypes=&viewType=MAP&mustHave=&dontShow=&furnishTypes=&viewport=-1.83767%2C-1.82138%2C53.8455%2C53.8499&keywords=

Within a few streets you can buy a less industrial looking house, with a garden, often with £10-15k change for updates. Anyone with a family will want a 'proper' garden. I think the Zoopla estimate is way off.

E.g. you're competing against this new build: https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-67461034.html which has a drive and a back garden and is being marketed for £150k

Caitykinss

I'll be blunt and say I think it looks more like a rental/student type flat, rather than a family home.

As a young FTB myself, I think I'm probably your target market, however I wouldn't have even clicked on this as the picture of the outside of the building screams 'block of flats' rather than the town house it actually is. I know there's nothing you can do about the front of the building, but perhaps have a picture of the living room or kitchen as your first picture. I'd also plump up cushions, straighten everything and just generally dress it a bit more/better to make it look a little more cosy. Lay the table maybe to make it look fancier. The open plan living room/kitchen is quite sparse and again looks more of a flat than a house - if you could make it look more like a well loved home, and emphasise some of the quirkiness of the building by making it look a bit more luxury, I think I'd be more interested. On a similar note, as it doesn't have a garden, I would spruce up the balcony area a little bit. See if you can get a few end of season pot plants to give it a bit of colour and make it prettier.

Generally, the pictures are quite dark and at odd angles. Adding a floor plan would be very useful too, as the building is so unusual, it's not clear at all where everything is positioned.

Perhaps add something about the origin/history of the building to add to the quirkiness. I think you need people to look at it and think "What a cool building", rather than "What an odd building".

This is all just the view of a FTB. I'm sure more experienced people will say my advice is useless, but those are the honest opinions of your target market.

scottishblondie

• The wall behind the down pipe on the front of the house looks damp - is there an issue there that needs attention?
• Tidy up the kitchen - all the clutter and boxes on the worktop and on top of the wall units suggests to me that the kitchen is lacking in storage space. Hide the washing up bowl. In the later pictures of the kitchen this is already the case, but the first one shows it at it's worst.
• Tidy up around the front door - pull the weeds, get a few colourful plants to make it look nicer.
• Make more of the balcony. At the moment it just looks unloved, even though it is your main outdoor space.

Get new photos done (the current ones are really dreadful, dingy and at strange angles, as well as in an odd order), a floor plan and a better description. That might pull in a few viewers.

However, I think its a property with a very niche appeal. The lack of garden, the access at the back and the windows right on to the pavement would rule it out straight away for me. Also it sounds like there is only one parking space and I can see double yellows on the street outside. Again, not much you can do about that but it will put people off.

zagubov

There are plenty of threads and posts on this forum warning against the modern method of auction. This may be a factor.