I sunk £50k into an unsellable flat.

Boat_to_Bolivia

Brie said:

Initial glance at the listing has a lot of things missing - length of leasehold, etc but some of that info is buried.  The EA is doing you absolutely no favours by making people look for things.  And yes, more photos and better photos required.

Lease: 107 years remaining ....very easily seen on the listing!

ariarnia

looking on right move for 2 and 3 bed flats in the area might help the op understand what we're saying about presentation and pictures. 

the empty 'show homes' look bright and airy and you can see every room. or the other way is showing how it looks as a lived in home so people can imagine there things there.

the one we think it is doent look like home (maybe because the op doesn't feel like its a home any more. you have to 'sell' it to the viewers). but also doesnt feel bright and fresh like a show home. 

definitely better pictures will make a difference. 

i also can't really tell from the pics but the lobby seems a big wasted space. 

if you could afford and do some work then moving the toilet to the bathroom as suggested would be good. then maybe make the lobby the lounge and the lounge a dining area to make the layout more conventional?

you could leave the old toilet room as a small office or store room (I can't see the size) or knock it out to make the room bigger. 

RAS

Boat_to_Bolivia said:

Brie said:

Initial glance at the listing has a lot of things missing - length of leasehold, etc but some of that info is buried.  The EA is doing you absolutely no favours by making people look for things.  And yes, more photos and better photos required.

Lease: 107 years remaining ....very easily seen on the listing!

It's very unstable; sometime the information about lease, CT is visible and sometimes it's blank.

OP, dispose of your current estate agents as soon as you can (read your contract) and sign up with someone who uses Rightmove.

Clean everything and declutter. Then get some pops of colour. Towels and toiletries in the bathroom and loo, bedding, oven gloves etc. No one's going to spot the bright blue shower gel came from Aldi @ 36p so it doesn't have to cost the earth and you can take it with you.

1616six

Although the property itself looks very unattractive, I think your main issue is the agent if I’m honest.

3 interior photos which are terribly taken anyway, no room by room description either

What on earth is the agent thinking? Seems really odd. Those photos are the sort of thing you see someone posting on Gumtree when they want a council flat exchange, not professional shots designed to sell the property.

When someone browses Rightmove, they want a feel for the property and to be sold it by pics. When you scan through those you’ve got 2 exterior shots which to me scream it needs painting outside, the interior where you can’t get a feel for the size of the room and eyes are drawn to the poor quality carpet that is rippled. 

I’d be having a serious word with your agent to ask that they pull their finger out and take some proper pics, write a proper description and do their job.

I don’t suppose you’ve got the advert or pics saved from when you bought it? Im
sure they must be better than this! 

JReacher1

RAS said:

Boat_to_Bolivia said:

Brie said:

Initial glance at the listing has a lot of things missing - length of leasehold, etc but some of that info is buried.  The EA is doing you absolutely no favours by making people look for things.  And yes, more photos and better photos required.

Lease: 107 years remaining ....very easily seen on the listing!

It's very unstable; sometime the information about lease, CT is visible and sometimes it's blank.

OP, dispose of your current estate agents as soon as you can (read your contract) and sign up with someone who uses Rightmove.

Clean everything and declutter. Then get some pops of colour. Towels and toiletries in the bathroom and loo, bedding, oven gloves etc. No one's going to spot the bright blue shower gel came from Aldi @ 36p so it doesn't have to cost the earth and you can take it with you.

It’s on Rightmove. 

RAS

JReacher1 said:

RAS said:

Boat_to_Bolivia said:

Brie said:

Initial glance at the listing has a lot of things missing - length of leasehold, etc but some of that info is buried.  The EA is doing you absolutely no favours by making people look for things.  And yes, more photos and better photos required.

Lease: 107 years remaining ....very easily seen on the listing!

It's very unstable; sometime the information about lease, CT is visible and sometimes it's blank.

OP, dispose of your current estate agents as soon as you can (read your contract) and sign up with someone who uses Rightmove.

Clean everything and declutter. Then get some pops of colour. Towels and toiletries in the bathroom and loo, bedding, oven gloves etc. No one's going to spot the bright blue shower gel came from Aldi @ 36p so it doesn't have to cost the earth and you can take it with you.

It’s on Rightmove. 

Thanks, see what everyone means about the pictures. And it's fully greige. Washing up liquid and half used pop bottles weren't what I meant by adding pops of colour.

It's impossible to tally the plan with the photos, neither of the doors is visible from the outside, and neither of the visible windows appears to be in the external shots either. There doesn't appear to be any storage? Or is all that in the other bedrooms? 

Get some daylight bulbs to install for the pictures. Put up some wall art. And move the decent rug to cover the ruckled carpet in the sitting room?

NameUnavailable

You're 23. I'm guessing the flat was bought with the idea of living their with a partner?

Turn it around, you have a property which you should look at more practically. Could you live there and get a lodger or maybe 2 in? Income to help you pay the mortgage/bills and make improvements over time. Instead of living at home for 2 years see it as a 2 year plan to prepare to sell it and move on then.

Sharing will maybe make the place feel less like 'yours' and just a place where you're living at the moment.

Also I understand that Aldershot is having money spent on the town centre and should show improvement in both facilities and prices in time.

Jonboy_1984

Had a flat with a quirky layout (nicely proportioned 1 bed that had been rearranged into an awkward 2)  listed end of 2021, it sat on the market for 8 weeks, we lowered the price a small amount, it sat on the market another 5 or 6 weeks and then one of the first viewings (of around 20 over the period) bought for the asking price.

It did have much better photos and a very active estate agent, not the cheapest, but a local office with a reputation and recommendations for actually selling.

Boat_to_Bolivia

@biberal you've had lots of replies/advice; hope it's helped.
Come back and let us know.

Helplesssheep

Some of these messages are a little harsh considering this is a 23 yr old clearly going through a hard time!

OP, definitely add some colour and homely feel. Get as much as you can from freecycle or a local Facebook group, people often are willing to give away lots of the kind of stuff you are looking for for free