Flat has been on the market for 3 weeks now, and I've not had many viewing requests - is there anyth

poseidon1

Chief_of_Staffy said:

Personally I wouldn't buy leasehold again, but back when I was looking at them I would immediately discount any listing that said along the lines of, "For details of the leasehold, including the length of lease, annual service charge and ground rent, please contact the agent"

I refused to ring an agent, waste my time with answerphones and callbacks, listen to their sales talk, give my details and get put on their 'marketing list' just in order to get a key piece of information that should have been provided in the first place.

And I don't think I'm alone here. (Edit - and if I'd read the thread fully I would have seen that I'm not)

My sentiments exactly!

Brie

I'm surprised that there's no indication of how far away the train stations are.  Listings local to us (south coast but a commuter town to London) say the distance to 2 or 3 of the stations and may also include time to walk there for one that's really close, otherwise what parking or buses might be available.

Yes and definitely declutter, tidy, iron as others have suggested.  

That said - it's a nice enough place and would likely be a good one to highlight to a nearby company/college as they might have a ready supply of potential buyers.

Slashrfnr

Brie said:

That said - it's a nice enough place and would likely be a good one to highlight to a nearby company/college as they might have a ready supply of potential buyers.

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but what do you mean by this?

RedFraggle

This one is under offer and cheaper.
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/164816666?utm_campaign=property-details&utm_content=buying&utm_medium=sharing&utm_source=copytoclipboard#/&channel=RES_BUY

Altior

RedFraggle said:

This one is under offer and cheaper.
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/164816666?utm_campaign=property-details&utm_content=buying&utm_medium=sharing&utm_source=copytoclipboard#/&channel=RES_BUY

ANNUAL SERVICE CHARGE £3770.4 

RedFraggle

Agree on the lack of cladding info or service charge, lease and ground rent.
I can see it's gas central heating from the pictures - is that individual domestic supply or a communal/district system? The former is an asset in a modern flat, the latter a potential nightmare. 

It's also against forum rules to post a link to your own resident property 

poseidon1

Altior said:

RedFraggle said:

This one is under offer and cheaper.
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/164816666?utm_campaign=property-details&utm_content=buying&utm_medium=sharing&utm_source=copytoclipboard#/&channel=RES_BUY

ANNUAL SERVICE CHARGE £3770.4 

As well as £450 ground rent.

Had the OP led with these  important nuggets of information their predicament would have been obvious. Maybe they were under the mistaken impression  these costs are normal for flat dwellers, but certainly  explains why the agent did not include  in their listing.  

Adding this information to the listing, would likely mean even fewer viewings if there is not an accompanying substantial reduction in asking price.

MyRealNameToo

poseidon1 said:

Altior said:

RedFraggle said:

This one is under offer and cheaper.
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/164816666?utm_campaign=property-details&utm_content=buying&utm_medium=sharing&utm_source=copytoclipboard#/&channel=RES_BUY

ANNUAL SERVICE CHARGE £3770.4 

As well as £450 ground rent.

Had the OP led with these  important nuggets of information their predicament would have been obvious. Maybe they were under the mistaken impression  these costs are normal for flat dwellers, but certainly  explains why the agent did not include  in their listing.  

Adding this information to the listing, would likely mean even fewer viewings if there is not an accompanying substantial reduction in asking price.

Admittedly this is zone 4 London rather than central London but £3,770 per year isnt a vast service charge and it naturally also depends on what's included. I've known some that are 2-3 times that and they were share of freehold so in principle no greedy freeholder skimming money off the top. 

Buildings insurance is a fair slug in London, normally it includes your water supply too. 

Not keen on the photos, a lot of distortion from the lens used which is normally done to make the rooms look bigger but on the cheap as professional solutions fix the distortion. 

Lots of the image scream that there isnt enough storage with the wardrobe in the dining room, lounge dominated by a work station, looks to be a problem with the bath panel and bedroom 2 is a corridor. The first balcony image is an odd angle making you assume its got a bad view which is somewhat later proven when its of a supermarket carpark.  I'd move or lose the wardrobe and desk into bedroom 2 or gone. Fix the paint on the bath panel and ideally get better quality photos. 

Albermarle

Chief_of_Staffy said:

Personally I wouldn't buy leasehold again, but back when I was looking at them I would immediately discount any listing that said along the lines of, "For details of the leasehold, including the length of lease, annual service charge and ground rent, please contact the agent"

I refused to ring an agent, waste my time with answerphones and callbacks, listen to their sales talk, give my details and get put on their 'marketing list' just in order to get a key piece of information that should have been provided in the first place.

And I don't think I'm alone here. (Edit - and if I'd read the thread fully I would have seen that I'm not)

I would guess that the Estate agents will do what they think is more likely to get a sale, as that is their prime motivation.

So they have probably worked out that publishing the service charges etc., will put more people off than not publishing them. So more viewings, and therefore more likely a sale.
Of course some interested viewers will pull away when they find out the service charges, but better that than getting a lot less viewings. I would guess that is the reasoning.

Slashrfnr

Thanks everyone! Just to add, my ground rent is £300, I'm not sure why the other one is listed as £450, as theirs should be the same as mine? And yes service charge is high, but about £1,200 of that goes into the Sinking Fund (which I still recognise is very high) and  increases by inflation each year. 

I've got a lodger at the moment which is part of the reason why the place looks quite cluttered, but she should be moving out mid-October, so I'll be able to declutter quite a bit!