No viewers! ARGHHHHH!!!!

pickledpink

Hi Janie,

The estate agent is working for YOU. You have employed him as your agent to sell your house, and he isn't marketing it to your liking i.e. poor description, badly-taken photographs' etc.........therefore you should terminate your contract with them.

Go to another agent, thell THEM exactly how you want it marketed; what details to include as regards close links to the station, schools etc. Good points about the house itself, and make sure the photo's are taken to its best advantage.

As for refurnishing the house.......I'm afraid it is very dated, and looks cramped. The lounge carpet is truly horrid. All the furniture you have in there makes the house seem very small.

If I were you I would strip the house of its furniture and carpets and move in with some friends/family - while marketing it with no furniture whatsoever. That way you will have totally depersonalised it; made the house look much LARGER; and saved yourself money not having to buy new carpets/furniture etc.

Regards
PP

RHemmings

slipp_digby wrote: »

If your property is 'bang in the middle' of the three bed terraced house prices in the area this means there are presumably lots of cheaper properties.

No viewers means either the house is very good and not being marketed very well, local market is saturated with similar properties or its overpriced.

Being in the middle is good if there is strong demand and a sellers' market. As not all the buyers will get the cheaper properties. What is the market like in your area? "No viewers! ARGHHHH!!!!!" implies things are quiet. In which case the better value houses (all things considered) may be mopping up what willing and able buyers there are.

How about pretending to be a buyer and make enquiries about properties cheaper than yours. See if they have any offers, or if the EA is biting your hand off. (get a friend to do it if you're worried about EAs recognising you now or later).

SuzySu

I agreed with Pickled Pink......the decor does look very dated. I know people can see beyond this (if they want to) but the fact is that there are a lot of properties that are similar on the outside, but more modern than yours inside and I know which I'd choose.

Is it possible for you to lift the carpet in the lounge and see what is underneath? If it is wood then a weekend with a hired sander and a pot of varnish will transform the place and it won't cost the earth either.

Personally I wouldn't touch Bairstow Eves with a cattle prod. There are a few 'alternative' names that they are known by - none of them is very flattering!

I was advised that less = more when it comes to photos on Rightmove - make the 3 or 4 that are taken really work for you. If you put a photo of every room on, people will already have 'viewed' online and therefore might feel they don't actually need to see the property. You want a few stunning photos that make people think "wow.... I wonder what the rest of the house is like". Getting them through the door is half the battle and I think you would feel more positive if you got some viewings.

How much are your EA fees? Anything over 1-1.25% and you are being ripped off - at least in terms of what you are getting for your money. They are working for YOU and they should be phoning people after viewings to get feedback. A good agent won't need to be asked to do so. Make them earn their fees.

We are trying to sell our house and I know what a frustrating time it is for you. Good luck and keep us posted.

janie161

Thank you all so much for your views and taking time to reply.

I have today stripped my home of all clutter, rearranged furniture, bought cushions and throws and a large rug and it's amazing the difference it has made. I am now going to spend a while this afternoon taking some photos myself and give them to the estate agent as I really do feel my house looks poor in theirs, as you quite rightly all say, very dull and blah!

I am really tempted to take it off the market just to get away from Bairstow Eves (still locked in for another 8 weeks though so wont be able to market it elsewhere) and I do feel that I have been ripped off. Their fees amount to around 1.75% and I paid £499 for a HIPS through their surveyors too (my fault and naivety I know)

Anyway, your imput kept me awake all last night thinking about your comments and I have started to put in place today all your suggestions. Off to write up my own property blurb now to accompany my own photos. Will let you know how things progress from here.

SuzySu

Well done Janie. You will feel heaps better now that you are taking control of things. It's your house - you know the features that will make it sell so mention these in your particulars. Don't forget to let us know when the new photos are on so we can tell you how well you've done .

dannyboycey

slipp_digby wrote: »

"Viewings come advised to appreciate the accommodation on offer."

!!!!!!?

The agent sounds like an idiot IMO.

It's like some kind of word scramble from the quiz page of the Sun. :rotfl:

EA's aren't always the sharpest tools in the box.

welshnoonoo

Well done Janie - Estate Agents can be intimidating people, but as someone else has said, remember - they work for YOU. Be sure to ring them regularly as you have been doing.

It sounds to me like you are doing all the right things and i totally disagree with the person who said that only houses that are cheaper than others are selling in this market as we have just sold ours for the full asking price. Our property has been on the market since last September and to be honest, there was nothing doing up until Easter then we had 5 viewings booked in for 1 week!

We de-cluttered and did move out a large piece of furniture into a friend's garage.

Also make sure each room is clearly defined.

I would agree on changing carpets wherever you can to something neutural and i would also move away any large pieces of furniture from windows - again, ask a friend if they can store it for you.

I personally wouldn't take the property off the market as that would not improve your position if you can't swop to another agent for another 8 weeks anyway you may as well let them continue to market it for now and in that time go into other Estate Agents in your area as a 'buyer' and see how they deal with you and how you feel about the way they operate. That was how I chose my agent.

Good Luck!

janie161

Well done welshnoonoo! Fantastic news and very encouraging too.

I have just emailed my version of the property details and attached ten photos. Spoke to the estate agent a minute ago and she is happy to make the changes for me so the results should be on rightmove in the next day or so. I will post you all a link so you can see the results.

Thanks again to all you kind people, been a very stressful time but I feel much more positive about it all now.

f1re_cr4cker

hmm tbh i think that if you are getting no viewings whatoever that says your house is overpriced...be interesting to see if your new write up on rightmove makes a difference, fingers crossed!

rose101_2

I can sympathise so much. Our 2 bed ground floor maisonette is also on the market with Bairstow Eves. We have only one viewing in two weeks and I also now find their attitude very negative and disheartening:

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-17254315.rsp?pa_n=2&tr_t=buy

When our property (the same one) was on for sale last year we had over 20 viewings and three offers within a week. Unfortunately our chain collapsed (our seller pulled out and we could not find another suitable house). Now we are in the exact opposite position, we have had an offer accepted on a house and can't sell ours, and seem to be stuck with Bairstow Eves. Luckily when I signed the agreement I said 12 weeks sole agency was too long and they agreed to reduce it to 8, but we may lose our house by waiting another 6 weeks as our vendor is keen for a quick sale.

I have told Bairstows we are not happy with the level of viewings, they have just said the market is slow and their only advice is to reduce the price. We would have been quite happy to price it at a lower price to start with, we took THEIR suggestion on pricing and now don't want to look desperate by reducing it after only 2 weeks, and buyers know they can make lower offers anyway. There are 2 similar properties on the market at £5k higher than ours and I think (I hope unbiasedly!) that ours is better (has nice big garden and a very long lease which the others don't have).

Is there any way to get out of a sole agency contract?

My ideas are: to write a formal letter of complaint and then perhaps speak to the Estate Agents Ombudsman to ask if we can be released. I can't face losing our house and going through the whole process for a third time.
Or may try selling privately as I believe this does not breach the agreement?

Any advice would be appreciated and janie you are not alone.