London 2 bed flat. Over 1 week listed but only 1 enquiry/viewing - please critique!

Skiddaw1

New pics are heaps better and love what you've done to change the office into a temporary bedroom. I think it looks lovely. Good luck!

Sunsaru

musehead said:

Thanks everyone for your kind input in this thread! I never thought it would get 10 pages of comments.
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/90714022#/
My listing is now updated and I've taken on board some of the points raised in this thread:

• Changed floor plan to remove patio
• Reduced mentions of patio and described it only as "communal"
• Added sentence in description to mention that the flat is in the rear/quiet part of building
• Reduce number of photos to 8 and removed exterior shots (apart from one of patio)
• Dressed the living room/dining area up a bit with more stuff, extra storage/display units. Set the dining table up
• Temporarily changed the second bedroom from an office into a bedroom for the photos
• Got better quality photos taken with realistic colour balance. I was amazed at the difference!

Some issues that were mentioned that I've not (yet) changed:

• Position of the sofa and layout of the living room in general, I couldn't find another way that works without making it more awkward with my current furniture. I also still have the original wooden/futon company sofa
• The kitchen
• The second bedroom shot should probably have a wardrobe + drawers unit instead of just a chest of drawers (but hopefully viewers can use their imagination)
• Online agent
• Probably most importantly, the price!

Price reduction is next assuming continued lack of interest. I can't believe two agents were pushing me to list with them at 550k!

Looks better already!

moneysavinghero

I thought the desk was the best bit about the old listing. I miss it now.

Crashy_Time

woodsford said:

Dusk1983 said:

For 500k a FTB can buy a 2 or even 3 bed Victorian house in need of some TLC, but still in Zone 3, such as somewhere like Stratford or Leyton.

Friends of mine just did exactly that, and crucially they’ve bought the room to extend up and out. That’s a 4 bedder in the making, with a decent garden still left over. Play it right and they’ll be set for life.

London flat owners are still not confronting reality. The market has been nothing short of gutted, and what’s left of it is focused squarely on a) period conversions with gardens and b) top spec “pied a terre” type places in prime locations.

Agreed. OP, I apologise in advance for this uncomfortable reading but hopefully it'll show you what people like myself (prospective buyer in Balham) was thinking and noticed in the Balham market.

I lived in Balham (Zone 3) and kept an eye on the market for the last 12 months (I'll come back to this part later). 
Not wishing to declare how much I paid or anything so here's an example of what I did.

Balham property in Zone 3 = X minutes commute, property is priced at 800k (fictional price) and the size is 100 sq m (again, this is just fictional).
A property in Zone 3 = X minutes commute, property is priced at 560k (fictional price) and the size is 200 sq m (again, fictional).

This is what I did - bought a property in Zone 3 with same commute (probably better actually) for the double the size and 30% cheaper. 

Over the last 12 months I've noticed the flats market struggling in Balham especially (other areas less so) and the prices are on a downward slope. I'd either do the following:

1) Drop a significant amount to get ahead of other flats waiting to sell and just move on. Even this is not guaranteed to get interest.
2) Hold until Coronavirus is over and things get back to normal in London (later this year or in 2022) then sell. Risk here is there will be a backlog of other flats waiting to sell so this may take a while.
3) Rent it out and rent somewhere else if you can afford it.

Personally, I'd do 2) but it is risky as I have noticed that flats who wait do lose out as other flats are reducing price. If I really needed to move then I would do 3), but again not easy.

All the best and I'm sure things will work out OK in the end.

No 1) is the way to go IMO, but as you say  even this is not a dead cert to shift it in this climate.

woodsford

musehead said:

Thanks everyone for your kind input in this thread! I never thought it would get 10 pages of comments.
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/90714022#/
My listing is now updated and I've taken on board some of the points raised in this thread:

• Changed floor plan to remove patio
• Reduced mentions of patio and described it only as "communal"
• Added sentence in description to mention that the flat is in the rear/quiet part of building
• Reduce number of photos to 8 and removed exterior shots (apart from one of patio)
• Dressed the living room/dining area up a bit with more stuff, extra storage/display units. Set the dining table up
• Temporarily changed the second bedroom from an office into a bedroom for the photos
• Got better quality photos taken with realistic colour balance. I was amazed at the difference!

Some issues that were mentioned that I've not (yet) changed:

• Position of the sofa and layout of the living room in general, I couldn't find another way that works without making it more awkward with my current furniture. I also still have the original wooden/futon company sofa
• The kitchen
• The second bedroom shot should probably have a wardrobe + drawers unit instead of just a chest of drawers (but hopefully viewers can use their imagination)
• Online agent
• Probably most importantly, the price!

Price reduction is next assuming continued lack of interest. I can't believe two agents were pushing me to list with them at 550k!

It looks much better now and more homely.

Understand that it must have not been easy hearing all these critique on this thread so well done!

Do keep us posted and fingers crossed for you.

Alan2020

Well done, looks a lot better now, and hopefully you start getting more viewers!

GDB2222

It looks much better, especially that shot of the patio looking outwards, rather than inwards!

Now, you need to do something to get all the people who glanced at it before to have another look. A price drop is the obvious thing, but it depends a bit on the RM mechanics. Does a £1k price drop have any effect?  I hesitate to suggest a £25k drop, to the next rung in the RM price structure, as I don't know the local market at all.

The house next door to us has been on the market for four years. 

Thrugelmir

musehead said:

Price reduction is next assuming continued lack of interest. I can't believe two agents were pushing me to list with them at 550k!

Better to start higher and reduce. Than forever think that you you could have obtained more. The pandemic has made many people reappraise their priorities. 

Owleyes00

I agree - looks loads better now and I think prospective buyers will be able to use their imagination a bit more.

I would also like to echo what someone else said, you’ve been an excellent sport taking all the criticism of your home - that can’t have been easy and you did well not to get defensive

Crashy_Time

Most of the criticism is of the price I think, not the home.