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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to wonder why nobody wants to buy our flat?

300 replies

pimsandlemonade · 30/04/2015 11:26

or to even see it?
We are trying to sell our 2 bed flat in London zone 2.
We have already found a lovely house we like (out of London) and our offer is not officially accepted until we get an offer on ours.

When we listed the flat the estate agents made it seem like it will be superfast considering a fairly central location, very good condition of the flat, lovely views etc.
Before the listing was up on Rightmove we had 2 viewings booked - 1 was a rental investor, made a very low offer which we won't accept. The other one cancelled the viewing and now, nearly 2 weeks later we have not had anyone to even see it!
I just don't get it!
We have already dropped the price a bit as we thought maybe the initial asking price was too much (again, the initial price was recommended by the estate agent, I suppose to get up to choose them), but still nothing.
The estate agents are saying that because of the election everything has slowed down and they expect it will get better next week...
I'm struggling to believe anything they say at this point.

Any advice, comments?

OP posts:
Original poster
pimsandlemonade · 30/04/2015 12:07

LaurieFairyCake theone at 440 is a ground floor, and a smaller flat.
The one at 475 I'm not sure about, the pictures they have online don't match up with the location (wrong views etc), so I'm not sure if there is a mistake in the listing

OP posts:
TravelinColour · 30/04/2015 12:07

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

LaurieFairyCake · 30/04/2015 12:08

I'm also going with oversupply. There are 88 2 beds under 500k. Your flat has a really lovely view but is far from tube/transport - theres a 2 bed the same square footage as yours for 375 close to Surrey Quays stop.

ghostyslovesheep · 30/04/2015 12:09

poor photos - it looks cramped, isolated and characterless - which I am sure it's not

get your agent to retake them - there's no wow factor

I feel your pain though - houses here are selling like mad but I've had one viewing in 2 weeks so I may post mine and see what people think

MillionToOneChances · 30/04/2015 12:10

You need to dress it for sale, 100%. Remove the ginorma-bed and replace with a standard double or even a king, remove the mountains of cute cardboard boxes in the bedroom that look like you have a woeful lack of proper storage, remove the food mixer whose trailing cord emphasises a lack of plug sockets and remove one of those sofas, possibly borrowing an armchair to replace it. Get 3 separate friends/family members to walk through and be as critical as possible, fix issues and then insist on new photos.

The property market is stagnating due to the election, though. A friend in the business says many houses have been removed from sale until afterwards.

MillionToOneChances · 30/04/2015 12:11

Bedrooms need a bed and at least one bedside table. If you don't have a pic of the bathroom and it's so small it's labelled outside the floor plan, that's off putting. Plus the floor plan with bay in kitchen is odd.

LaurieFairyCake · 30/04/2015 12:13

Both the bedrooms and the living room are very close to being the same size as yours, your extra space is in the hall?

Its a personal preference but I'm only looking at ground and top floor flats so that there is a least no noise from one direction. I prefer ground floor flats the most,

PinkSquash · 30/04/2015 12:13

I love the flats round there, for new builds they're surprisingly big but the photos do it no justice at all.

The price is high, but I don't think spectacularly so for the area.

I would be careful to not keep dropping the price, it'd put buyers off as you must desperately want rid.

Also I hate OIEO and OIRO, they make me think the vendors will be a pain, but that's just me.

Nomorefilm · 30/04/2015 12:13

I think the pictures of your bedroom need to be redone, if you can get a smaller bed I would. It looks massive and also isn't dressed nicely looks very plain, some nice bedding and cushions would make it look smarter. Also all the boxes make it look like there is a storage issue and that's something that worries buyers. It just needs decluttered and presented slightly better, why are the curtains open fully on one side and closed more on the other? Is there something bad behind it?

The kitchen picture isn't a great angle, the light hangs too low and its all my eye looks at when I see that picture.

LaurieFairyCake · 30/04/2015 12:14

You could also swop your living room round to retake the photo - the sofas facing each other and the tv in between. Even if the actual tv cables wouldn't stretch you need to do it for the photo as it looks like your sofas don't fit and they do.

afloat · 30/04/2015 12:15

I like Rotherhithe, lived there for a year and a half. It has a feel of the suburbs and the fact that the river is right there makes the area so peaceful, with lots of paths and parks, though it's very quick into town. However, I am half of one of those young couple/first time buyers that I image this flat is suitable for. My DP and I have full time, decent salaries, earning well over the national average, and we couldn't come close to paying that much for a (trying to be kind) unexceptional two-bed flat. People are not buying because it's too expensive - the prices can't rise forever.

Pipbin · 30/04/2015 12:15

See my Expensive Flats thread on Property and DIY to show that you can photoshop yourself out of mirrors.

I agree. The bed makes the bedroom look tiny. Can you dress the bed with cushions, throws stuff like that?

StatisticallyChallenged · 30/04/2015 12:16

Agree with PPs, you definitely need more and better photos. Those photos are making it look a lot smaller than it is and also aren't showing the layout well - for example it looks from the floorplan like the kitchen is semi open plan through to the livingroom.

Is there any other way you can arrange the livingroom furniture? The two sofas look really wedged in which looks awkward to me, and makes the livingroom look a lot smaller than its dimensions suggest.

The bedroom photo is poor too. It looks like a photo of your bed, not your bedroom! Needs to be a wider shot (I;d say your EA needs a wide angle lens frankly). Try dressing the bed more too - plain white bedding doesn't photograph well. It shouldn't matter but in terms of photos it does.

Need photos of the other rooms, and I'd suggest a photo of the kitchen taken from the other angle as I think it's probably getting natural light from the bay window (from how you've described it) which you can't see.

thanksamillion · 30/04/2015 12:16

Can you re-arrange the sofas so for example they were opposite each other? I know that might not work so well for TV watching but as they are it doesn't make the room look great.

Definitely fewer outside photos and more inside ones, and it's hard to match the photos to the floor plan.

The agent is working for you and needs to try harder!

Rousebarnlane · 30/04/2015 12:16

Floorplans are drawn wrong. Makes it appear there's no windows in the living room.

£2,500 roughly annual service charge and ground rent? Wow! You can tell I don't live in London.

Is this a residential conversion from commercial? It looks it. Nothing you cando about the outside though I suppose.

I'm wondering why your agents aren't using wide angle photos inside with a disclaimer as they employ this as standard even on tiny little terraces round here.
For half a million, I'd want photos of very single room and nook and cranny. You're paying your agents horrendous corn to Provide a service for you and they can't even get the fundamental photos right.

Living room layout has bad feng shui whatever it's called Grin the tele looks crowded on that wall and your sofas are placed end to end which again looks like they've been shoved up against eachother because there's no room.

Too many shoe boxes in the bedroom! Makes it look like there's no storage space.

It also looks a little too neat and show homey, but that's just my personal opinion and I know nuffink. Like a corporate rental. Bit soul-less. My sincere apologies if I've caused offence, but you did ask for opinions Blush.

What market are you aiming at? It looks like a bachelor pad yet it has schools nearby and two bedrooms so is it for families, or couples? It's certainly can't be a starter home at that price.

StatisticallyChallenged · 30/04/2015 12:17

xposted witheveryone- wrote post then forgot to post

Monty27 · 30/04/2015 12:18

Hi it's very nice but doesn't stand out very well at all and it looks pricey, unless you particularly want to live in Rotherhithe.

The photographer could have done much much better. Tidied the bedroom curtains for example, used a selfie stick or something to get a photo of the bathroom, you need to lose the shoe boxes or whatever they are in the bedroom and do something with those sofas!

Really bad effort on the EA's behalf.

Goanddoapoothen · 30/04/2015 12:19

Terrible pictures. Misleading to show the WC as a store room, I like having a loo for guests to use! I'm guessing the target market is young (ish) professionals, so dress it for sale to appeal to them. Remove all clutter, show 2 nice sized bedrooms, smart bathroom and kitchen, rearrange the layout of the lounge completely. Also OIEO is unnecessary-by your own admission you've not had hoards of desperate buyers! It's hard seeing your home in an unbiased manner, but that's what you need to do to secure that house you want. HTH

JassyRadlett · 30/04/2015 12:20

I agree with others - you need better photos, your agent should be paying a professional to do them.

We shelled out for a storage locker when we sold our flat. It was worth it. I'd put your bed, excess stuff and one of the sofas it in as a minimum - there should be nothing in your pics suggesting 'this is cramped'.

You should feel about your photos like we did: gosh, our flat is gorgeous and huge, why are we moving again?'

And definitely get rid of 'in excess of'.

How much do you need to get to finance your new place?

HaplessHousewife · 30/04/2015 12:20

No idea why it isn't selling but I rented one of those when I was a student! We were on the ground floor facing the Thames and used to be able to feed the ducks out of the window!

Original poster
pimsandlemonade · 30/04/2015 12:21

I agree with the bedroom comments - the bedding is plain because there is absolutely no choice at this size, but if we get a new smaller bed i can fix this easily also we have a massive wardrobe in there but I have a shoe hoarding problem, hence the boxes, which I will remove (I didn't think these were going to show up on the photos actually) and the sofas and of course the fact there is no bathroom photo and the second bedroom.
I will speak with DH regarding buying a new bed perhaps.
Maybe removing one sofa for a bit and replacing it with an armchair (we do have one in storage somewhere).

OP posts:
shakemysilliesout · 30/04/2015 12:21

Hi

Your estate agents should be drumming up business. Get on them. First few weeks should be busy.

Ground rent and service charge would put me off. How is your lease looking?

Offers in excess puts my back up as its not usual for English market. Both sides of the sale need to be flexible.

PrimalLass · 30/04/2015 12:21

Try taking your own photos - hundreds of them, from every angle. Then tell the agent to use the best ones. You are paying - tell them what to do.

PrimalLass · 30/04/2015 12:22

I would also move the sofas about and get a table in there somewhere.

ChazsBrilliantAttitude · 30/04/2015 12:22

I'm with the others. The EA has done you no favours at all. The photos are bad and make the rooms look smaller than they really are. Declutter and get a smaller bed in your bedroom. I am always suspicious when there are only a couple of photos of the inside and quite a few of the outside; I wonder what they are hiding or unwilling to photograph.