Apartment not selling - any suggestions?

Heidi_Jane

Purchased last June for £116
70% of the building is now privately owned
There are 32 apartments over 6 floors

pinkshoes

I think putting the measurements in feet and inches would be a good idea, as if I see room sizes in metres, it puts me off as I have to find a conversion calculator! I'm in my late 20s, but still prefer room sizes in imperial!

Lounge look dark and dingy.

The dark sheet on the bed makes the room look dark and small.

The pot plant in the bathroom looks crammed in, thus implying a small room. Maybe move the towel too, and open the blind?

Kitchen?

irnbru_2

Heidi_Jane wrote: »

Here is the property as advertised on Rightmove

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-19001099.rsp?pa_n=1&tr_t=buy

The title states £139,950 but the main text states £144,950.

Heidi_Jane wrote: »

Purchased last June for £116

116K in 06/2007?

Now for sale at 140K in 02/2008?

Is that correct?

Doozergirl

irnbru wrote: »

116K in 06/2007?

Now for sale at 140K in 02/2008?

Is that correct?

I know that prices in Birmingham have not risen for a few years. yonks.

If it was worth £116 in 2006/2007 it's worth £116k now. I'm really sorry OP, I bet you've spent a fair bit on it, but the reality is that kitchen and bathrooms really don't improve the value. Trying to turn a profit on a flat in Birmingham City centre just isn't going to happen - why was it worth £116k then and £140k now? That's a 20% increase in an overall flat and, dare I say, declining market for apartments.

barnaby-bear

Doozergirl wrote: »

I know that prices in Birmingham have not risen for a few years. yonks.

If it was worth £116 in 2006/2007 it's worth £116k now. I'm really sorry OP, I bet you've spent a fair bit on it, but the reality is that kitchen and bathrooms really don't improve the value. Trying to turn a profit on a flat in Birmingham City centre just isn't going to happen - why was it worth £116k then and £140k now? That's a 20% increase in an overall flat and, dare I say, declining market for apartments.

That flat's sold a lot over the past few years - possible the bathroom/kitchen were a previous flip... (I can see the ceiling price for the blokc (£116k) and the previous selling history putting some people off)

31/05/2007£116,000FlatLNoMap240, Flat 24, Great Colmore Street, Birmingham, West Midlands, B15 2AS

29/04/2005£108,950FlatLNoMap240, Flat 24, Great Colmore Street, Birmingham, West Midlands, B15 2AS

16/07/2004£83,500FlatLNoMap240, Flat 24, Great Colmore Street, Birmingham, West Midlands, B15 2AS

Why moving so quickly is this a flip-project?

brit1234

Realistically a price of 120k is about the maximum especially in a falling market and being a ex council flat. I take it that you are responsible for the repair bills of the whole building as well. That must be pricey if something was to go wrong.

Heidi_Jane

Moving back home which is overseas.

We did make improvements to the flat and did not expect to have to move so soon.

As for the marketing price - we just went with what the agent said & I have yet another appointment with him to 'edit' the description of the flat on Rightmove and to take better photos. I think that there is lots of room for improvement with how they are marketing it.....

If all else fails then we will have to get tenants in - ouch!

full-time-mum

I agree that the pictures don't necessarily do the flat justice.

It looks immaculate but wonder whether it needs to feel lived in. I've only ever done family homes and walking into a 'show home' never did it for me. I want it to feel like a home - I needed to be able to imagine living there. Not sure how you achieve that feel in a flat or whether it is appropriate - just a thought. All the property programmes go on about selling a lifestyle so I guess you need to consider your target market and 'dress' the flat accordingly.

I assume that you had several valuations to get the price.
What does the estate agent say about the lack of interest and what are they doing about it? If you haven't been hassling them then now is the time to start - make them earn their money.

twinklyspecialkag

The price is different in text & the title. Also the pictures are to dark. People just dont seem to be buying at the moment..all waiting for a drop!! Good luck.

jamesd

My first reaction on seeing the asking price and past sale prices was to grin/giggle. Really. Flat 31 is reported as sold for 105k in August 2006. How do you justify asking one third more after just 18 months in a highly competitive market like that? That's 21% a year in apparent price increase. How does yours differ from flat 31 to make it more valuable?

But it's worse. The same flat sold for 116k last June. So your current asking price is at an annual price increase rate of 33% when all the talk since then is of a market with prices dropping. You're going to have to find some way to explain and justify that price increase in such a short time.

Even here I'd be laughing and not even bothering to enquire because your pricing looks unrealistic. If I wanted the place I'd be looking to offer you something in the 100-105k range initially, based on 8-10% below your purchase price, not your asking price.

If you want a chance you're going to have to clearly explain why your place is worth so much more in today's market and compared to past sales. A plan showing where yours is compared to 31 and the other past sales may help if yours is in a better location or is bigger or in some other way better. But it still won't help against the history of this flat - you'll need to emphasise how much work you've done to improve it to try to prove that the price you bought at is no longer the fair price. Recently renovated descriptions won't do it because they don't say it happened after you bought.

It's leasehold but you don't say how long the lease is. That makes me wonder if it's 50 years or something else potentially problematic.

It looks as though it might be a former local authority place. If it's not, say so. It's greater mortgage hassle if it is ex-local authority and that could also imply not a great area, so you need to eliminate those thoughts if they don't apply.

Why should I buy now instead of waiting a year to see how much further prices fall? What incentive is for me to choose to buy your place today? Can you find one?

"We are set among new builds, parks, schools and walking distance to the city centre". Where are the distances and photographs showing the views? Links to the reports saying how good (I hope!) the schools are? Pictures of the nearest parks and walking time to them?

Your thoughts about the area improving look right but you don't seem to have had enough time for it to really happen, so you're suffering. If you can find a tenant and hold the place for five years maybe you'll do better and get some benefit from that good planning.