I sunk £50k into an unsellable flat.

silvercar

At the end of the day, if you don’t want any comments there is no point starting a thread.

if you feel that posts don’t follow the forum rules link, then hit the report button. If you are unhappy about something on the forum, you can email the forum team forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com.

If you want to put a link eg to Rightmove, you can always ask people not to quote. No guarantees, but if I see a comment “don’t quote, will delete” I wouldn’t quote and wouldn’t be impressed with any poster who did. Again, you could email the forum team to delete the quote if necessary.

silvercar

inkydolphin said:

EssexHebridean said:

I thnk comments are fair enough - basically posting someone’s home address though really doesn’t feel right to me. 

@RedFraggle - fair play. 👍🏼

I agree. The two links are still on the thread and the OP is not interacting so they may not even know. They may have wanted to post on a theoretical basis rather than looking for an assessment of their actual listing. This thread could prejudice the sale of their property.

Adults. Posting on the internet carries some personal responsibility. I’ve outlined what they should do if they are not happy and are watching rather than posting. 

Sarah1Mitty2

Muttleythefrog said:

Sarah1Mitty2 said:

Muttleythefrog said:

gwynlas said:

I was going to respond to the OP but I see they have not replied to any of the advice expressed by others. Whilst they might not hve daily access to the net I would have expected anyone seeking advice to have given us an update by now

They did make one reply but it seemed to fall foul of moderation and got removed.... along with rather more useful posts that quoted it. Doesn't look much like they'll meaningfully engage.

A lot of the advice about changing photos and doing "work" on the flat are not really relevant though, people will view based on location, size and whether they think they can afford it, they will then decide for themselves how much work might need done.

Photographs are relevant.... this is what is going to be significant in attracting interest in the first place (or putting people off!) which leads to viewing and/or offers... and quite often on these portals I imagine people look at what is coming onto the market as it comes onto the market so first impression quite valuable. I agree on work... in this case it doesn't sound like doing any works (barring basic cosmetics) is really going be relevant due to the apparent urgency to sell and move on. The estate agent has let them down.. it's a really poor effort and with 2 massive price reductions just days after marketing that also seems unprofessional unless it was the client insisting an apparent overvaluation to that level.

For the record.... I recently moved to Cornwall from other end of country... All offers we made on properties was without in person viewings (in a couple of cases we did have videos taken by estate agents) and the property we eventually bought (that at first we'd ignored due to ambitious overpricing to the point it ended up in local press - Op note!) we saw in person for the first time when we moved in on completion day. Most people of course will view if interested and our issue was hot market and distance as well as disability.. but photographs and any information we could get up front were massive factors in whether we pursued and I imagine similar for many. In reflection.... also the sale of our property which we completed in advance of a purchase... while we sold it to someone who viewed very quickly we did get later offers that were higher from people who did not view and quite frankly sounded as desperate as we must've when trying to buy..lol.. but I can only assume the information from Estate Agent and the listing with images (which were good and of all rooms and gardens including an honest reflection of where updating would be likely desired) was sufficient for them to be sure it was a sound purchase pre survey.

I don`t think seeing a property in person for the first time on completion day is the best advice for the majority of people, but if it worked out for you that is great! I still think that most people are looking at size, location and budget, and they also know that photos can be sometimes designed to present something not so great as better than it is, where bad photos of something they might like when viewing in person don`t matter so much.

theoretica

Sarah1Mitty2 said:

Muttleythefrog said:

Sarah1Mitty2 said:

Muttleythefrog said:

gwynlas said:

I was going to respond to the OP but I see they have not replied to any of the advice expressed by others. Whilst they might not hve daily access to the net I would have expected anyone seeking advice to have given us an update by now

They did make one reply but it seemed to fall foul of moderation and got removed.... along with rather more useful posts that quoted it. Doesn't look much like they'll meaningfully engage.

A lot of the advice about changing photos and doing "work" on the flat are not really relevant though, people will view based on location, size and whether they think they can afford it, they will then decide for themselves how much work might need done.

Photographs are relevant.... this is what is going to be significant in attracting interest in the first place (or putting people off!) which leads to viewing and/or offers... and quite often on these portals I imagine people look at what is coming onto the market as it comes onto the market so first impression quite valuable. I agree on work... in this case it doesn't sound like doing any works (barring basic cosmetics) is really going be relevant due to the apparent urgency to sell and move on. The estate agent has let them down.. it's a really poor effort and with 2 massive price reductions just days after marketing that also seems unprofessional unless it was the client insisting an apparent overvaluation to that level.

For the record.... I recently moved to Cornwall from other end of country... All offers we made on properties was without in person viewings (in a couple of cases we did have videos taken by estate agents) and the property we eventually bought (that at first we'd ignored due to ambitious overpricing to the point it ended up in local press - Op note!) we saw in person for the first time when we moved in on completion day. Most people of course will view if interested and our issue was hot market and distance as well as disability.. but photographs and any information we could get up front were massive factors in whether we pursued and I imagine similar for many. In reflection.... also the sale of our property which we completed in advance of a purchase... while we sold it to someone who viewed very quickly we did get later offers that were higher from people who did not view and quite frankly sounded as desperate as we must've when trying to buy..lol.. but I can only assume the information from Estate Agent and the listing with images (which were good and of all rooms and gardens including an honest reflection of where updating would be likely desired) was sufficient for them to be sure it was a sound purchase pre survey.

I don`t think seeing a property in person for the first time on completion day is the best advice for the majority of people, but if it worked out for you that is great! I still think that most people are looking at size, location and budget, and they also know that photos can be sometimes designed to present something not so great as better than it is, where bad photos of something they might like when viewing in person don`t matter so much.

True, but the property demonstrably isn't selling at the moment - and decent photos may well help (not everyone has the imagination to see past poor pictures) and certainly won't do any harm, and should be free or among the cheapest things to change. 

Muttleythefrog

Sarah1Mitty2 said:

Muttleythefrog said:

Sarah1Mitty2 said:

Muttleythefrog said:

gwynlas said:

I was going to respond to the OP but I see they have not replied to any of the advice expressed by others. Whilst they might not hve daily access to the net I would have expected anyone seeking advice to have given us an update by now

They did make one reply but it seemed to fall foul of moderation and got removed.... along with rather more useful posts that quoted it. Doesn't look much like they'll meaningfully engage.

A lot of the advice about changing photos and doing "work" on the flat are not really relevant though, people will view based on location, size and whether they think they can afford it, they will then decide for themselves how much work might need done.

Photographs are relevant.... this is what is going to be significant in attracting interest in the first place (or putting people off!) which leads to viewing and/or offers... and quite often on these portals I imagine people look at what is coming onto the market as it comes onto the market so first impression quite valuable. I agree on work... in this case it doesn't sound like doing any works (barring basic cosmetics) is really going be relevant due to the apparent urgency to sell and move on. The estate agent has let them down.. it's a really poor effort and with 2 massive price reductions just days after marketing that also seems unprofessional unless it was the client insisting an apparent overvaluation to that level.

For the record.... I recently moved to Cornwall from other end of country... All offers we made on properties was without in person viewings (in a couple of cases we did have videos taken by estate agents) and the property we eventually bought (that at first we'd ignored due to ambitious overpricing to the point it ended up in local press - Op note!) we saw in person for the first time when we moved in on completion day. Most people of course will view if interested and our issue was hot market and distance as well as disability.. but photographs and any information we could get up front were massive factors in whether we pursued and I imagine similar for many. In reflection.... also the sale of our property which we completed in advance of a purchase... while we sold it to someone who viewed very quickly we did get later offers that were higher from people who did not view and quite frankly sounded as desperate as we must've when trying to buy..lol.. but I can only assume the information from Estate Agent and the listing with images (which were good and of all rooms and gardens including an honest reflection of where updating would be likely desired) was sufficient for them to be sure it was a sound purchase pre survey.

I don`t think seeing a property in person for the first time on completion day is the best advice for the majority of people, but if it worked out for you that is great! I still think that most people are looking at size, location and budget, and they also know that photos can be sometimes designed to present something not so great as better than it is, where bad photos of something they might like when viewing in person don`t matter so much.

Well of course.... and it certainly isn't ideal. (I gave us an example of people who weren't just interested in the photos but significantly relied on them in the absence of in person viewings). But photos clearly are going to be relevant to significant attracting of interest... and of course there are many other factors, perhaps infinite but likely including those you give, which will influence whether someone is interested and/or pursues some property available. If pictures were irrelevant I suspect Estate Agents would have realised by now... but they seem to be going the other direction with more photos and more graphical content including sometimes video, interactive tours and drone footage... and hence I agree with many posters on the thread that the property could have been marketed better with more and better quality photographs.... even the floorplan is a poor quality image file which is difficult to read numbers on so I can only wonder if the agent was having a bad day or client provided documents.

That initial burst of interest when listing a new property to market I imagine is pretty key... and as someone who has had a keen eye on estate agents prior to listing properties they often will tease with images or engage to drum up requests for same within places like social media knowing there likely are very keen buyers sitting ready to show genuine interest... some so much the properties don't reach the marketing stage. I just hope in this case they are able to sell the property efficiently at decent price and move on.

Regarding the wider debate on privacy others raise... well.. people wanted to help... it's hard to find a balance and I think they got great advice... but it seems likely they never complained about privacy issue or read much advice. 

JReacher1

I genuinely don’t see the problem. The Rightmove/zoopla links are out in the public as the whole point of them is to get people to view and potentially buy the flat. 

diystarter7

silvercar said:

inkydolphin said:

EssexHebridean said:

I thnk comments are fair enough - basically posting someone’s home address though really doesn’t feel right to me. 

@RedFraggle - fair play. 👍🏼

I agree. The two links are still on the thread and the OP is not interacting so they may not even know. They may have wanted to post on a theoretical basis rather than looking for an assessment of their actual listing. This thread could prejudice the sale of their property.

Adults. Posting on the internet carries some personal responsibility. I’ve outlined what they should do if they are not happy and are watching rather than posting. 

Hi
It is good to see at time Forum Ambasodors interjecting. 
A fair, balanced and informative post.
Thanks

Sarah1Mitty2

Muttleythefrog said:

Sarah1Mitty2 said:

Muttleythefrog said:

Sarah1Mitty2 said:

Muttleythefrog said:

gwynlas said:

I was going to respond to the OP but I see they have not replied to any of the advice expressed by others. Whilst they might not hve daily access to the net I would have expected anyone seeking advice to have given us an update by now

They did make one reply but it seemed to fall foul of moderation and got removed.... along with rather more useful posts that quoted it. Doesn't look much like they'll meaningfully engage.

A lot of the advice about changing photos and doing "work" on the flat are not really relevant though, people will view based on location, size and whether they think they can afford it, they will then decide for themselves how much work might need done.

Photographs are relevant.... this is what is going to be significant in attracting interest in the first place (or putting people off!) which leads to viewing and/or offers... and quite often on these portals I imagine people look at what is coming onto the market as it comes onto the market so first impression quite valuable. I agree on work... in this case it doesn't sound like doing any works (barring basic cosmetics) is really going be relevant due to the apparent urgency to sell and move on. The estate agent has let them down.. it's a really poor effort and with 2 massive price reductions just days after marketing that also seems unprofessional unless it was the client insisting an apparent overvaluation to that level.

For the record.... I recently moved to Cornwall from other end of country... All offers we made on properties was without in person viewings (in a couple of cases we did have videos taken by estate agents) and the property we eventually bought (that at first we'd ignored due to ambitious overpricing to the point it ended up in local press - Op note!) we saw in person for the first time when we moved in on completion day. Most people of course will view if interested and our issue was hot market and distance as well as disability.. but photographs and any information we could get up front were massive factors in whether we pursued and I imagine similar for many. In reflection.... also the sale of our property which we completed in advance of a purchase... while we sold it to someone who viewed very quickly we did get later offers that were higher from people who did not view and quite frankly sounded as desperate as we must've when trying to buy..lol.. but I can only assume the information from Estate Agent and the listing with images (which were good and of all rooms and gardens including an honest reflection of where updating would be likely desired) was sufficient for them to be sure it was a sound purchase pre survey.

I don`t think seeing a property in person for the first time on completion day is the best advice for the majority of people, but if it worked out for you that is great! I still think that most people are looking at size, location and budget, and they also know that photos can be sometimes designed to present something not so great as better than it is, where bad photos of something they might like when viewing in person don`t matter so much.

Well of course.... and it certainly isn't ideal. (I gave us an example of people who weren't just interested in the photos but significantly relied on them in the absence of in person viewings). But photos clearly are going to be relevant to significant attracting of interest... and of course there are many other factors, perhaps infinite but likely including those you give, which will influence whether someone is interested and/or pursues some property available. If pictures were irrelevant I suspect Estate Agents would have realised by now... but they seem to be going the other direction with more photos and more graphical content including sometimes video, interactive tours and drone footage... and hence I agree with many posters on the thread that the property could have been marketed better with more and better quality photographs.... even the floorplan is a poor quality image file which is difficult to read numbers on so I can only wonder if the agent was having a bad day or client provided documents.

That initial burst of interest when listing a new property to market I imagine is pretty key... and as someone who has had a keen eye on estate agents prior to listing properties they often will tease with images or engage to drum up requests for same within places like social media knowing there likely are very keen buyers sitting ready to show genuine interest... some so much the properties don't reach the marketing stage. I just hope in this case they are able to sell the property efficiently at decent price and move on.

Regarding the wider debate on privacy others raise... well.. people wanted to help... it's hard to find a balance and I think they got great advice... but it seems likely they never complained about privacy issue or read much advice. 

Not saying that pictures are irrelevant, just that no matter how good they are they can`t change a bad location, price or size/layout, people will eventually see it for what it is (because most people like to walk around in the biggest purchase of their life before they buy it)

Muttleythefrog

Sarah1Mitty2 said:

Muttleythefrog said:

Sarah1Mitty2 said:

Muttleythefrog said:

Sarah1Mitty2 said:

Muttleythefrog said:

gwynlas said:

I was going to respond to the OP but I see they have not replied to any of the advice expressed by others. Whilst they might not hve daily access to the net I would have expected anyone seeking advice to have given us an update by now

They did make one reply but it seemed to fall foul of moderation and got removed.... along with rather more useful posts that quoted it. Doesn't look much like they'll meaningfully engage.

A lot of the advice about changing photos and doing "work" on the flat are not really relevant though, people will view based on location, size and whether they think they can afford it, they will then decide for themselves how much work might need done.

Photographs are relevant.... this is what is going to be significant in attracting interest in the first place (or putting people off!) which leads to viewing and/or offers... and quite often on these portals I imagine people look at what is coming onto the market as it comes onto the market so first impression quite valuable. I agree on work... in this case it doesn't sound like doing any works (barring basic cosmetics) is really going be relevant due to the apparent urgency to sell and move on. The estate agent has let them down.. it's a really poor effort and with 2 massive price reductions just days after marketing that also seems unprofessional unless it was the client insisting an apparent overvaluation to that level.

For the record.... I recently moved to Cornwall from other end of country... All offers we made on properties was without in person viewings (in a couple of cases we did have videos taken by estate agents) and the property we eventually bought (that at first we'd ignored due to ambitious overpricing to the point it ended up in local press - Op note!) we saw in person for the first time when we moved in on completion day. Most people of course will view if interested and our issue was hot market and distance as well as disability.. but photographs and any information we could get up front were massive factors in whether we pursued and I imagine similar for many. In reflection.... also the sale of our property which we completed in advance of a purchase... while we sold it to someone who viewed very quickly we did get later offers that were higher from people who did not view and quite frankly sounded as desperate as we must've when trying to buy..lol.. but I can only assume the information from Estate Agent and the listing with images (which were good and of all rooms and gardens including an honest reflection of where updating would be likely desired) was sufficient for them to be sure it was a sound purchase pre survey.

I don`t think seeing a property in person for the first time on completion day is the best advice for the majority of people, but if it worked out for you that is great! I still think that most people are looking at size, location and budget, and they also know that photos can be sometimes designed to present something not so great as better than it is, where bad photos of something they might like when viewing in person don`t matter so much.

Well of course.... and it certainly isn't ideal. (I gave us an example of people who weren't just interested in the photos but significantly relied on them in the absence of in person viewings). But photos clearly are going to be relevant to significant attracting of interest... and of course there are many other factors, perhaps infinite but likely including those you give, which will influence whether someone is interested and/or pursues some property available. If pictures were irrelevant I suspect Estate Agents would have realised by now... but they seem to be going the other direction with more photos and more graphical content including sometimes video, interactive tours and drone footage... and hence I agree with many posters on the thread that the property could have been marketed better with more and better quality photographs.... even the floorplan is a poor quality image file which is difficult to read numbers on so I can only wonder if the agent was having a bad day or client provided documents.

That initial burst of interest when listing a new property to market I imagine is pretty key... and as someone who has had a keen eye on estate agents prior to listing properties they often will tease with images or engage to drum up requests for same within places like social media knowing there likely are very keen buyers sitting ready to show genuine interest... some so much the properties don't reach the marketing stage. I just hope in this case they are able to sell the property efficiently at decent price and move on.

Regarding the wider debate on privacy others raise... well.. people wanted to help... it's hard to find a balance and I think they got great advice... but it seems likely they never complained about privacy issue or read much advice. 

Not saying that pictures are irrelevant, just that no matter how good they are they can`t change a bad location, price or size/layout, people will eventually see it for what it is (because most people like to walk around in the biggest purchase of their life before they buy it)

You sort of did suggest they were irrelevant when saying that changing the photos wasn't really relevant. And again you seem to be missing the point - people will only view properties they are interested in (unless they're a disciple of Blanche Hunt).... and the chances are the first place they will gain interest is from some advert by an estate agent be it directly or via a portal like Rightmove they put it on. It's perfectly reasonably to suggest poor quality photos or lack of photos will reduce the number of people interested (and possibly increase the number of people who become disinterested).... and therefore those who indeed do view the property. The same will be true of the latest pie at Sainsbury's... if there's some helpful pictures of it in adverts or on packaging it's likely to get more people with their chompers into one.

Worth also adding viewings have limitations... often quite time constrained or rushed as you ask questions or are guided by a clever agent and in my experience you can miss quite a bit of detail that actually photos or videos can show... but yes of course hopefully most would view a property before buying it.... my point is that you've got to attract people to do that and if a handful of terrible pictures is the first thing most people see in relation to a property there's a good chance you're missing out on potential viewings and offers. This surely isn't rocket science but I do think it important to stress because while the Op may never return someone might read the thread one day and let their estate agent get away with poor service. The property description in this case seems fine but it is otherwise poorly marketed and with dubious pricing strategy. I should caveat that sometimes properties might be marketed with material like photos constructed not by the agent themselves but the seller (and I did wonder if this may be a case as the agent's other properties I scanned looked far better quality in marketing) and.. well... if you've got photography equipment and skills as I do then it is probably not advised...lol

74jax

Since 4 Jan nothing has changed on the Rightmove instruction. Photos and text just the same. I know so many have gave the relatively cheep (or free) suggestion to get new photos to entice people through the door. Op has chosen not too. 

If op comes back, maybe they can say how things have gone, what the agent has said is happening in the area and what they did decide. If only to help others in future with what worked/didn't work.