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

Sunsaru

OP,

The kitchen is the one thing that would put me off. Just doesn't look right, not enough of it. I've seen more kitchen in a caravan in Blackpool!

Other than that, I know the area well through family and the price is reasonable IMO (if it wasn't for the kitchen).

gab3x

• you just started, it takes longer to get viewings today than what you might remember in the past
• you're in a cool market, check out https://www.theadvisory.co.uk/propcast/. You will see most of London is ice cold whilst rest of UK is hot. I am in SW London surb and it's crazy how quickly things get snapped up here
• design conscious person sees 20-30k of cost to put a new kitchen and get the flat decorated so you compete with flats that are in good or great decorative order out of the box
• privacy and security focused person would really dislike communal patio with direct access to flat
• Ground rent, service charge will add considerable cost over the lifetime of tenure compared to shared freehold or just freehold
• don't change the price so soon but maybe hire a high street estate agent, some people hate online only (myself included). remember in cold market your buyers have so much choice that they will simply move on for slightest 'fault'

poolboy

Sorry I have not read all the posts but the London flat market is poor for selling, rentals are holding up.  As flats are not selling the supply of sales is growing and so pricing is key.  If it were mine I would rent it out to buy some time for the market to improve.  I have a 2 bed flat a bit further out, peak sale price in the block was 410k in 2016, there are now 3 for sale at 350-360.  If I was buying another I would be offering 325 and seeing if I got a bite. Mine has been let for 16 years so I am not far off getting my purchase price back, cgt is a killer and dies with me so I intend keeping it.

Good luck with the sale but don't chase the market, plenty of investors with cash ready to buy it but only at distress type prices.

Crashy_Time

keiratea said:

Crashy, don't you think there is a bit of a minimum floor on the price due to benefits?

Wandsworth Council will pay £350/week of Local Housing Allowance for a 2 bed flat ( www.wandsworth.gov.uk/local-housing-allowance ), so funnily enough you'll rarely see properties rent for less than £1500/month (350 x 52 / 12).

e.g. very nearby - www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/86118322#/

Landlords seem to be happy to accept as little as 4% gross return atm (still beats savings!), so 1500 x 12 x 25 gives £450K as a reasonable price for a landlord.

Yes, but a tenant may decide they want a garden and less fire risk?

theoretica

Purely being nosey - it is now two weeks.  Have you had more interest?

Crashy_Time

poolboy said:

Sorry I have not read all the posts but the London flat market is poor for selling, rentals are holding up.  As flats are not selling the supply of sales is growing and so pricing is key.  If it were mine I would rent it out to buy some time for the market to improve.  I have a 2 bed flat a bit further out, peak sale price in the block was 410k in 2016, there are now 3 for sale at 350-360.  If I was buying another I would be offering 325 and seeing if I got a bite. Mine has been let for 16 years so I am not far off getting my purchase price back, cgt is a killer and dies with me so I intend keeping it.

Good luck with the sale but don't chase the market, plenty of investors with cash ready to buy it but only at distress type prices.

Nearly a 100k price drop in 4 or so years is probably not what people expected when buying?

musehead

theoretica said:

Purely being nosey - it is now two weeks.  Have you had more interest?

No I've not - but I've taken on some of the advice given here, did some rearranging and had some much better professional photos taken (I've cut down on the number of photos and only sent the agent 8 in total). Modified the floorplan to remove the patio and changed the description. It's not been changed on RM yet. I'll post an update on my changes when it's been uploaded.

The kitchen is a bit of a bigger project and if I don't sell within a few months, I'll probably replace it with a bigger and higher spec one (might as well replace all the laminate in the flat at the same time too if it comes to that)

I don't really want to rent it out, the net yield will be poor

Obviously the price may be the main sticking point here, if I'm getting no interest when the flat is better presented!

FTB_Help

musehead said:

theoretica said:

Purely being nosey - it is now two weeks.  Have you had more interest?

No I've not - but I've taken on some of the advice given here, did some rearranging and had some much better professional photos taken (I've cut down on the number of photos and only sent the agent 8 in total). Modified the floorplan to remove the patio and changed the description. It's not been changed on RM yet. I'll post an update on my changes when it's been uploaded.

The kitchen is a bit of a bigger project and if I don't sell within a few months, I'll probably replace it with a bigger and higher spec one (might as well replace all the laminate in the flat at the same time too if it comes to that)

I don't really want to rent it out, the net yield will be poor

Obviously the price may be the main sticking point here, if I'm getting no interest when the flat is better presented!

Its a tricky one as this flat is definitely aimed at a young ftb, but as many have mentioned the price may be a little high for ftb.

I think the kitchen is a big issue for many here, i think you may need to play around with zoning out the kitchen area a bit and possibly put more work tops/ cupboards to the left hand side and possibly the right too.

The sofa position is just really off putting, again this is something that anyone can change but not everyone can see pass things like this.

You might need to move it around as right now it looks awkard just lumped in the middle there, get a rug to break up the orangey colour.

I think price is definitely a big key, especially as around the 500k mark, your neighbour upstairs looks a lot more appealing with it not being on the ground floor and having a better kitchen layout.

The parking is a big bonus but if we're being realistic most people living within zone 3 of London don't really have a need to drive and many don't own cars.

I think give it a week or 2, if no interest definitely drop the price by a big chunk 25-50k, half a mil is a bit unrealistic for a ftb ground floor flat.

Let us know how you get on

Thrugelmir

Some years since I last lived and worked in and around London. For spending that amount of money I'd happily commute everyday.   The annual service charge doesn't help either. With the growing ability to WFH for many. Perhaps some sectors of the London market are possibly beginning to suffer. 

Weathergirl_76

Hi. I don’t know anything about prices in London but it’s a lovely flat with good sized outdoor space and parking which at the moment is a huge bonus. 

I would add a nice big rug in the lounge (Facebook marketplace have loads and good value, also eBay etc) and I would open up the dining table and maybe put some flowers in a vase (even a bunch of daffs will work) on there. 

I love the garden space, but wonder if you can make it a bit more private? Can you put some mobile screening up to make it a bit less see thru? There is a trend at the moment for Venetian panels, they still allow you to see outside but offer some privacy, or maybe some good sized established plants in the planters, like laurels, to give some screening. That would be a bonus for me, as id feel too exposed otherwise sitting out there. 

Your main bedroom is an excellent size. I have also turned my second bedroom into an office and removed the bed. I don’t think it would stop people viewing, but if you wanted to stage it as a bedroom for the photos, maybe borrow a sofa bed or as another person suggested use some boxes to create a bed. Even if just for the photos. It’s tidy and clean and nicely presented. If you are not getting viewings at all it’s usually down to price (that’s what I have read) but you have followed the agents advice. Your agent should be able to run the stats from Rightmove and see how many people are looking at the online details and feedback from there. Good luck.