Dealing with anxiety around selling

DullGreyGuy

ReadySteadyPop said:

youth_leader said:

The viewers can see the size before they view on your floor plan,  so their comments are odd - have you decluttered as much as possible?  There used to be a show many moons ago, The House Doctor, and they filmed viewers walking into properties - some of them took note of the furniture and made other ridiculous comments.  Have a good look at your home and see how you can make it appear bigger than it is.

People will twig to this and may walk away if they feel cheated, presentation isn`t really all it is made out to be, price for the size and location is what people are interested in ultimately.

Given many listings dont even say what the total square meterage/footage is I'm not sure how people would price for actual size rather than apparent size? 

I wouldn't suggest funny camera tricks etc that distort the size of the room but if you've downsized in the past but still have your oversized furniture in your smaller pad it can make rooms feel smaller than they actually are. Now maybe some will whip out their tape measure if the agent hasn't provided measurements and see for themselves its actually an ok sized room but many will see you have to squeeze by the sofa to get past it into the kitchen and think thats not for them. 

Went to see one flat when we were buying where the box room (more like a wide corridor) had an emperor sized bed in it for some reason so it was touching 3 of the walls. It was about 7.5'x12' so in principle an ok thing for a kids room or guest but the fact it was 60% bed undoubtedly made it seem smaller

Combenew

Herzlos said:

youth_leader said:

I had a small bedroom we used as an office and a few people apparently commented  it was too small for a single bed - I eventually borrowed one from a friend.  People can lack spatial awareness and imagination.

This is an important point. Buyers are terrible at imagination, so you need to present the house to them as well as possible for them to see themselves in it. Any clutter you have will make the space feel smaller, and having a room feel bigger is more important than the dimensions on a floor plan.

I'd have a serious gut out of what's in the house and sort it into 4 piles:

Sell - put it on gumtree, marketplace etc. If it doesn't sell, then drop the price or donate it to charity shop.

Out - get rid of it. Either a charity shop if it's good enough, or take it to the dump.

Keep for new house - pack it up and store it somewhere. Self-storage places are pretty cheap.

Need for now - make sure it has a decent place at home, or get it into a box / cupboard.

You want the rooms to look like advertised, so a bed in a bedroom, a dining table in a dining room etc. Make sure the walls are all fresh and painted in white (bright) or magnolia (warm), and make sure there's no odd smells for viewings (dogs, smoke, whatever). 

Make it as easy for your buyers as possible. 

As for the time scales, you're still pretty early in the process, I'd give it a few weeks before dropping the price.

Hi we are very minimalistic and the rooms are immaculately presented etc.

Mr.Generous

Combinew, just a couple of pointers. ReadySteadyPop is not a property expert. Probably closer the opposite. Experts, if they even exist, will have a variety of views and ideas as how to best deal in property. Most will aim at a particular market segment and stick to it, but openly accept that others have valid views, ideas and strategies that work for them. They will not be one trick pony's like a stuck record playing one message over and over, in this case drop the price. Ready sold his/her house and rented with the intention to buy it back after a 'massive price crash' that never happened. Ever since, they run a one person campaign to crash house prices by advising everybody selling to drop the price and everyone buying to offer thousands below asking price.

I'd agree with Beeblebr0x about buyers sending mixed messages, you can rarely tell who really wants it, some play it cool then ring agent as soon as they get outside and offer over asking, others say they love the place, discuss where to put the sofa etc they tell agent not interested. You just have to wait and see. The more viewings the better the chance of a sale, but it only needs 1 buyer to make it work.

Present the house well, be positive on viewings and have a good reason for moving on. Come across as the kind of people who will be easy and pleasant to deal with. I've been put off by both buyers and sellers who came across as being 'difficult' people, the process is hard enough without having someone disruptive in the mix.

ReadySteadyPop

Beeblebr0x said:

ReadySteadyPop said:

Beeblebr0x said:

In my limited experience, the buyers who seem the most enthusiastic when viewing aren't always the ones who make an offer.

Before we moved into our current house, we told local estate agents that we weren't interested in houses not on our shortlist, but we were still emailed details regardless.

Some things take time so just go with the flow. I'm sure things will work out fine for you given time.

This won`t work for the OP, they want to leave the house/area as soon as they can? They will have to actively sell the house in a quiet market, the best tool for that is price.

That rather depends on the OP's finances. What I'm saying is some things in life can't be dictated, so adding to the anxiety.

Fair point, you can`t change certain things so no point stressing?

Combenew

Just an update. I've accepted an offer today for above asking price.  It's taken 7 weeks so not too long in this market. Thanks to everyone for their comments

Yorkie1

Well done and good luck for the rest of the process!

Tabieth

Great news and good luck!

BungalowBel

Combenew said:

Just an update. I've accepted an offer today for above asking price.  It's taken 7 weeks so not too long in this market. Thanks to everyone for their comments

Congratulations and I hope the transaction completes without too much delay xx

Skiddaw1

Hurrah!! Hope all proceeds smoothly for you.