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

Slashrfnr

I forgot to add. I did ask my EA about including those details but they advised against. I realise it may be off putting for some especially once they enquired, but at this stage, I was concerned that I wasn't getting any enquiries whatsoever and whether the advert was bad. However, it's useful to know people instantly ignore advert that don't have this information

mta999

born_again said:

mta999 said:

Agree totally with @poseidon1 - the listing should include these otherwise many won't even look at it

Another to agree. Daughter is looking to move out. This is her biggest complaint about flats. The most important thing that has to be factored into affordability.
Pointless viewing & starting process, only to find later on that no way can you afford the flat due to fee's.

Should really be compulsory in estate agents sales details.

funny you should say that - it is, and has been since 2022

https://www.juliewestsolicitors.co.uk/news/2022/2/23/setting-the-standard-new-rules-on-marketing-property

Albermarle

Slashrfnr said:

I forgot to add. I did ask my EA about including those details but they advised against. I realise it may be off putting for some especially once they enquired, but at this stage, I was concerned that I wasn't getting any enquiries whatsoever and whether the advert was bad. However, it's useful to know people instantly ignore advert that don't have this information

However most likely less people than would be put off by seeing a high service charge in the details.
The EA will want to get as many viewings/enquiries as possible, and presumably from experience knows that not including service charge details is likely to achieve this, even if it is not quite the correct way.

MyRealNameToo

Albermarle said:

Slashrfnr said:

I forgot to add. I did ask my EA about including those details but they advised against. I realise it may be off putting for some especially once they enquired, but at this stage, I was concerned that I wasn't getting any enquiries whatsoever and whether the advert was bad. However, it's useful to know people instantly ignore advert that don't have this information

However most likely less people than would be put off by seeing a high service charge in the details.
The EA will want to get as many viewings/enquiries as possible, and presumably from experience knows that not including service charge details is likely to achieve this, even if it is not quite the correct way.

And presumably if the person says the service charge is too high on the phone then they can pitch to them other properties with a lower SC

Chief_of_Staffy

Slashrfnr said:

I forgot to add. I did ask my EA about including those details but they advised against.

I can see how that helps them, but not you. Viewings don't benefit you unless something comes of them. Nobody who gets told the service charge after their viewing is going to say, "Wow, I wouldn't have even viewed if I'd have seen that charge on the ad but since I wasn't told until afterwards I'll just go ahead and make an offer." Maybe if your property has some esoteric magnificence that could only be appreciated by someone physically present within its walls then perhaps, but otherwise, not so much.

Wyndham

Slashrfnr said:

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!

That maybe comes into it as well. She *should* be moving out mid-October. But she may not, and it's another potential complication. Not saying it's the dealbreaker, but with the other things mentioned it all adds up to a more unattractive picture than other properties in the same area.

Albermarle

Chief_of_Staffy said:

Slashrfnr said:

I forgot to add. I did ask my EA about including those details but they advised against.

I can see how that helps them, but not you. Viewings don't benefit you unless something comes of them. Nobody who gets told the service charge after their viewing is going to say, "Wow, I wouldn't have even viewed if I'd have seen that charge on the ad but since I wasn't told until afterwards I'll just go ahead and make an offer." Maybe if your property has some esoteric magnificence that could only be appreciated by someone physically present within its walls then perhaps, but otherwise, not so much.

My guess is that the EA is actually hoping something along those lines will happen.

In other words that one of the viewers will really like the property and are fed up with searching.
So will make an offer even when they find out about the service charge. Probably they assumed there would be one anyway , even if it was more than expected.

ReadySteadyPop

Slashrfnr said:

I've had my 2 bedroom, 2 bath flat located in South East London on the market for 3 weeks now but I've only had 7 enquiries, of which 4 turned into viewings (1 of the viewers liked it but wanted a more modern kitchen, 1 of them the state agent was convinced was going to make an offer the following day, but then disappeared). I can understand people enquiring and then deciding against viewing if they find out more and realise it doesn't meet their specs (e.g the block doesn't have a lift, and they have a young child in a pushchair)

I know the market is not great at the moment and people are wary of leasehold, but is there anything in the advert which is putting people off at last enquiring about the property, and any suggestions on how I can improve the listing? So far I've been led by what my Estate Agent thinks is best.

It won't let me post links, but if you add [Removed by Forum Team] after the rightmove web address, you will find it.

I know price will come up in the comments, so some context. I had 6 Estate Agents come round to value it

• 1 estate agent valued it at £295,000 to £315,000, and wanted to put it on at Offers in Excess of £300,000 (but I've seen what people say here about OIEO)

• 3 valued it at £300,000 to £325,000 (one said it in a more normal market and without general concerns about leasehold, it would be £350,000-£375,000). They all wanted to list at £325,000 to factor in offers under

• 1 valued it at £325,000 to £350,000, wanting to list at £350,000, which priced in offers under

• 1 valued it at £350,000

I ultimately went with the Estate Agent who valued it at £325,000 to £350,000. They had the best stats out of the 6 in terms of number of instructions to completions, and similar or better on achieving the sale price. However, given the majority of people my valuations had come in at £325,000, and I'd seen similar properties in my area sell at that price (e.g /properties/163340717#/?channel=RES_BUY), I chose to list at £325,000.

I bought this in 2019 for £325,000, so not at the mad prices of 2022. That said, I'm realistic that the economic climate is different now, and that I may not get £325,000, so it's priced at £325,000 to factor in that people will offer under the asking price.

I did have a conversation about lowering the price, but my estate agent (who is on a fixed fee so sale price is irrelevant to his final payment) was dead against it at this stage, given it's quite big compared to other flats in the area (2 large double rooms, and 2 bathrooms, and a large open plan kitchen and lounge), adamant it was worth £325,000. He also felt that if I lowered it, people may wonder if there is something wrong with the flat (which is something a neighbour experienced when they were trying to sell last year). I didn't bother getting into it with him about the market is the ultimate decider of what something is worth.

He did say the market is just very subdued at the moment, and they aren't seeing as much interest in many of their properties ( they listed a house at the weekend and would normally expect 175-200 clicks on Rightmove, but only got 90)

You would think an estate agent of all people would know that wouldn`t you?

ReadySteadyPop

Slashrfnr said:

I've had my 2 bedroom, 2 bath flat located in South East London on the market for 3 weeks now but I've only had 7 enquiries, of which 4 turned into viewings (1 of the viewers liked it but wanted a more modern kitchen, 1 of them the state agent was convinced was going to make an offer the following day, but then disappeared). I can understand people enquiring and then deciding against viewing if they find out more and realise it doesn't meet their specs (e.g the block doesn't have a lift, and they have a young child in a pushchair)

I know the market is not great at the moment and people are wary of leasehold, but is there anything in the advert which is putting people off at last enquiring about the property, and any suggestions on how I can improve the listing? So far I've been led by what my Estate Agent thinks is best.

It won't let me post links, but if you add [Removed by Forum Team] after the rightmove web address, you will find it.

I know price will come up in the comments, so some context. I had 6 Estate Agents come round to value it

• 1 estate agent valued it at £295,000 to £315,000, and wanted to put it on at Offers in Excess of £300,000 (but I've seen what people say here about OIEO)

• 3 valued it at £300,000 to £325,000 (one said it in a more normal market and without general concerns about leasehold, it would be £350,000-£375,000). They all wanted to list at £325,000 to factor in offers under

• 1 valued it at £325,000 to £350,000, wanting to list at £350,000, which priced in offers under

• 1 valued it at £350,000

I ultimately went with the Estate Agent who valued it at £325,000 to £350,000. They had the best stats out of the 6 in terms of number of instructions to completions, and similar or better on achieving the sale price. However, given the majority of people my valuations had come in at £325,000, and I'd seen similar properties in my area sell at that price (e.g /properties/163340717#/?channel=RES_BUY), I chose to list at £325,000.

I bought this in 2019 for £325,000, so not at the mad prices of 2022. That said, I'm realistic that the economic climate is different now, and that I may not get £325,000, so it's priced at £325,000 to factor in that people will offer under the asking price.

I did have a conversation about lowering the price, but my estate agent (who is on a fixed fee so sale price is irrelevant to his final payment) was dead against it at this stage, given it's quite big compared to other flats in the area (2 large double rooms, and 2 bathrooms, and a large open plan kitchen and lounge), adamant it was worth £325,000. He also felt that if I lowered it, people may wonder if there is something wrong with the flat (which is something a neighbour experienced when they were trying to sell last year). I didn't bother getting into it with him about the market is the ultimate decider of what something is worth.

He did say the market is just very subdued at the moment, and they aren't seeing as much interest in many of their properties ( they listed a house at the weekend and would normally expect 175-200 clicks on Rightmove, but only got 90)

And that is just clicks, people often click on properties for something to do, they have little intention of viewing or buying. Demand is way down in many areas now I believe but that is still a big drop in online interest. Ultimately it is a buyer (and their lender) that will decide the value, most of what EA`s say isn`t to be taken too seriously in my opinion.

ReadySteadyPop

Albermarle said:

Chief_of_Staffy said:

Slashrfnr said:

I forgot to add. I did ask my EA about including those details but they advised against.

I can see how that helps them, but not you. Viewings don't benefit you unless something comes of them. Nobody who gets told the service charge after their viewing is going to say, "Wow, I wouldn't have even viewed if I'd have seen that charge on the ad but since I wasn't told until afterwards I'll just go ahead and make an offer." Maybe if your property has some esoteric magnificence that could only be appreciated by someone physically present within its walls then perhaps, but otherwise, not so much.

My guess is that the EA is actually hoping something along those lines will happen.

In other words that one of the viewers will really like the property and are fed up with searching.
So will make an offer even when they find out about the service charge. Probably they assumed there would be one anyway , even if it was more than expected.

Not sure people are doing that nowadays, I think COL and higher mortgage debt costs are making people super wary of getting trapped in expensive service charge properties.