Viewers saying flat is too small

[AlabamaArkansas]

Has anyone else selling received feedback that their property is too small?

Our flat went on the market the day before lockdown so obviously no viewings. Since estate agents were allowed back to work we've had loads of viewings but consistent feedback that the flat is too small. Slightly confused as to why anyone would bother coming to look at it really as you can clearly see the size of it in the floorplan.

To be honest we didn't think there was much point keeping it on the market as we thought it'd never sell in the current climate, but as we had so much interest thought we might as well keep it on the market. But not much I can do about the size of it, is there! We've already decluttered as much as humanly possible and put stuff in storage.

If a lot of your interest is from first time buyers then many of them will have unrealistic expectations of price/ space.

What's your price per square foot and how does it compare to other places on the local market?

You don't have to post a link but could you do us a floorplan, aka that Mumsnet favourite, a DIAGRAM.

I got lots of "too small" feedback on my 500sq ft flat but eventually sold to a couple who loved it so much they sent a sort of "love letter to the flat" to the estate agent to persuade me to stick with them through long chains and mortgage approvals and gazumpers. They fell for the oddball decor and garden and compromised on size. You'll find a buyer who loves your flat (650sq ft sounds massive to me) and doesn't care about the size, but it maybe needs marketing to a different crowd, or a USP like being very tarted up or whatever.

They get asked to give feed back, most just pick random things. We get 'I'm not sure if I want an apartment or house' 🙄 well don't waste my time, I've got 2 kids under 2 and fed up of keeping a show home 🏡

Pack it up as if you’ve moved already and pop those bits in a shed or in storage . Pear everything down and paint everything nicely in neutral colours .

I think buyers are reading too much crap about how house prices have fallen and are trying it on.

My son and partner have their house on the market and are now getting viewings but some of the feedback is stupid beyond belief. The house has three bedrooms upstairs, downstairs is a large kitchen, a living room, another small room which my daughter in law uses as her study, a conservatory, garden, garage, and off road parking. The bathroom is huge with both a bath and a separate enclosed shower. They have no children so my son uses the small upstairs bedroom as his study.

They’ve been told the upstairs room is ‘too small’ to be used as a study - this despite my son working in there most days! People don’t like how the house is decorated. There are too many plants in the garden (?)

These are just a few of the stupid comments people are making.

I totally agree with @ThePluckOfTheCoward - get rid of time wasters!

Have you done your own evaluation? You can see what similar has sold on rightmove. Enter your street name and city into google, and you should see a link to rightmove to see property prices.

When we decided to look for a house, we found one, but felt it was lacking space. We then found another house in the same scheme that was just a bit bigger that suited us, not that the first house was bad, we wanted more indoor space. Once we had that comparison, we only looked for houses larger than that footprint. What we did find out was the floor plan for the house we purchased miscalculated the area of the conservatory. It is actually smaller than the floor plans documented footprint.

To be fair I’m shit at estimating floor plans so that would mean naff all to me until I’d actually been and looked around (and could see just how small it actually is)

Maybe ask the estate agents to tweak the write up bit to say the floor plan sizes are accurate - then at least people might actually measure it out 🤷🏻‍♀️

Sometimes it isn’t just the size...
we’ve been viewing properties and went to see a few places that looked lovely and spacious and light... when we arrived the place was tiny and very dark. It was disappointing but we fed back that it was a size issue because the photos made it look far bigger than it was and therefore was a disappointment on viewing!

Basically people are strange. We were selling a flat a few years ago- 1st floor Victorian conversion-no garden- very clearly stated on the listing-no garden. Soooo many people viewing were disappointed at the ‘lack of garden’ one woman looked wistfully out the back window (which looked out into other people’s gardens) and asked if it was ‘possible to get out there?’ What could I say- is it usually ok to hang out in other people’s gardens!!!!?
Things are a bit strange at the mo- hopefully more viewers will result in more sensible people.

I haven't read the full thread - but I got that feedback on my last house. I ignored them because it was finished to such a beautiful and high spec I knew it would sell to someone who fell in love with it. People buy Mini cars for the style not the space!

So I don't know the finish of your flat but we got way over asking, a record for the footprint and it got bought by someone who fell in love with it.

There could be a few reasons for this:
-Photos tend to make places look much bigger then they are especially the way estate agents take them
-Some people just say it looks small so they can probably haggle down the price
-Maybe the other houses they’ve been at that price have been bigger
-Too much furniture can make a place look smaller.

It’s too small... for them.

Just remember this, and someone will come along who loves it. Don’t despair!

If consistent feedback is that the flat is too small, I would be getting the impression that there's something amiss between what's seen on the screen and what's seen in real life.

I would enquire to the estate agent as to how THEY feel about the feedback and what solutions they can come up with. They are the agent selling your flat on your behalf. Do they get this feedback with other properties they are selling?

Estate agent pictures, as mentioned earlier, can give the impression of more space than is the reality which can mean people end up making a wasted journey for a viewing and it really wastes everyone's time in the end.

Best of luck with the sale.

Under the government guidance for moving home which was updated 2 weeks ago all initial viewings should be done remotely. For example the agent should be on the phone or zoom etc talking the client around a video of the property to ensure it fits their requirements.

Only those who are genuinely interested in making an offer should be going on a physical viewing.

I would be asking the agent how many remote viewings they have done prior to bringing people round, it doesn't sound right to have so much of the same feedback if the agent is properly doing the remote viewing? Yes photos can be deciving but the videos are less so

Too small means too expensive. Sorry but that is just it.

It is smaller than they were expecting, for the price, or compared to other things they’ve seen within budget.

10 years in property, and this is genuinely it

@AlabamaArkansas

I know you didn’t ask, but mirrors are a great way to “expand” a small space. Hang them in every room. Also a clear glass coffee table is better than a wood one.
Good luck!

I’m wondering if instead of a young family or even a couple, your ideal buyer might either be a couple with no plans for kids or a single. With wfh and just staying home more, people are realizing that they need space for work and/or hobbies if they can possibly afford it.

It is infuriating when people don't seem to have made any effort to even read the details, never mind research the area etc before they view a property - I can understand why you are irritated.
Our first house was a fairly small 2 bedroom bungalow, and as there was just the two of us at the time we used the second bedroom as a study. The Estate Agent's hand out (it was pre internet days) clearly stated "Bedroom 2 - currently used as a study" and had a picture, but we had several viewers complain that it was only a one bedroom house. At least another two were disappointed to find that there was no upstairs.
Our second house was a new build on an estate that wasn't yet finished. Comments from viewers that time included that it was too modern and that they didn't want to live on an estate.
If it is happening often it is probably worth asking the Estate Agent if there is anyway of making the details clearer before people come, but unfortunately there will always be time wasters. But don't give up. After all you only need one buyer. When we had our second house for sale we had loads of viewings but no serious offers and I was panicking as we were moving a long way for work and really needed to sell. We were about to drop the price when we got 2 offers in the same week and we ended up getting more than our original asking price.

Are you calling it a 2-bedroom flat or one bedroom plus ??

I think the agent needs to be more honest with people. Those wide photos they do are ridiculous to start with, and they're clearly not weeding people out.
Years ago when we were looking to buy, our must haves included off-road parking. Firstly we had to go through the rightmove listings where agents have ticked 'parking' but there isn't any, then we had to actually battle with the agents calling us up:
"I've got a lovely house just come on at £290,000"
"My budget is "£250,000"
"I know but it's perfect for you"
"Has it got parking?"
"Yes"
"A driveway?"
"No, on the street"
"Allocated parking?"
"No but there's plenty of room"
Then it turned out it was one of the busiest roads in the town. Viewers are stupid but agents are sneaky.

Also a house we sold had the second bedroom as a study but it could fit a small double bed. When we had viewings we made a pretend bed out of moving boxes and cushions, covered with sheets and a duvet, with the desk shoved to the side. It really worked well.

That's weird. All our Estate Agents give the room sizes in the particulars, so even if the floor plan means nothing, you can clearly see the dimensions.

Everyone always wants 10% more than they can afford and it’s early days. You only need one buyer. The fact you are getting lots of viewings is a positive. It’s still possible one of them will like it, or an ex viewer come back after some reflection. Tell estate agent your concerns but I’m not sure I would move on price in your shoes yet unless they advise or quite a few viewers have complained about it.

Have you space on your walls for some mirrors?
cover sofas with light throws if dark
bedding and duvets are plain and light colour?
Garden cleared back?
Maximum light in the house during viewings?
Any refurb potential (eg loft) you can talk up?

Good luck!

Estate agent photos are VERY deceptive and floor plans are OK but you need to see a property really. I have bought and sold many times so the one thing that is a must is that your estate agent only sends round live buyers, ie they have already sold their property or are cash buyers etc. You have to be strict with your agent on this as 80% of viewers are time wasters imo. If you are hosting the viewings yourself then great but if you feel that the agents are still sending round time wasters then suggest to the agent that they carry out all of the viewings from now on - you'll be surprised at how much it suddenly focuses them.
There is a property for everyone op and yours will sell. We had a cottage on the market for 18 months as from the front it looked tiny but was very spacious inside. I was dubious about a viewer who was 6ft4 turn up. He seemed totally unimpressed but was the one who bought our house. People are all different.

This is very early days after the easing of lockdown OP, and it was rumoured that prices would probably drop quite substantially after the easing of lockdown. You probably already know that viewing properties is just a hobby for some people, and I am wondering if the excuse to go out and do something different after lockdown has led to more people viewing "just for fun". I do think that if you are not desperate to sell at the moment eg haven't got your heart set on another property, or a baby on the way, then maybe you should wait for a while until things settle down a bit. If you do want to get moving asap, then have a word with your agent about wanting to set a realistic price for your flat, and them questioning potential buyers a bit more seriously. Good luck.

Size isn't just about floor plans. There's the height of the rooms as well. Few people can visualise a room in 3-D from just a plan.