Why isn't my flat selling?

[mynamechange94]

I've name changed for this, for obvious reasons. It's been on the market since June, we sold it at one point for £440k but the buyer pulled out. We're out of exclusivity with our agent next month so trying to work out if it's worth doing anything different with the flat before we move agents. What do you think?

Here's the listing...

I would make a mezzanine living area above the kitchen diner and have the living room as a bedroom.

You have an agent problem. I wouldn't be relisting with them.

It's also their fault re:pictures of the kitchen. There is a way to manipulate the camera so it's either taken from the back left corner (I'm assuming looking out to the bright dining area?) Or stepped back from the fridge looking towards the kitchen. They've used a lens usually used to elongate rooms, but in this instance it's made your shiny fridge look gigantic and the kallax in the sitting room look massive. I'd wind up my contract with them and go elsewhere but do use an agent - a skilled estate agent can sell and get viewings in quickly.

It took me a while to realise that pics 1 and 6 are the same room! 6 makes it look awfully cramped!
For some reason I find it hard to picture myself living in it...maybe better dressing would help that.
I'm no expert just love looking on rightmove 🤣

The photos are crap. Their purpose is to entice the buyer and make the buyer feel curious enough to view, they shouldn’t try to show everything and replace the viewing. One great photo is better than 29 boring ones. There are too many photos here, and they’re taken by someone with no understanding of either photography or sales. The first picture the buyer sees in particular should have wow factor.

No idea of price, I think you’ve been unlucky and have a lazy agent. Start againand remember to haggle over their fee.

Oh now this is a great idea OP. If you can get the couch up the stairs then I would do a swaparoo. Then the window hatch over the kitchen would make sense in a way.

Sidebar OP
may I ask if you enjoyed living there? It’s on my list of possibles but out of my budget sadly.

thanks

I think it looks like a lovely building and the dining space is really eye catching too. There's too much furniture in it though and that makes it look tiny. I would change the opening picture for the front of the building and ditch the video - it does the flat no favours.

Get a small storage unit and put away all of the kallax including the one on its end in the kitchen, the coffee table and the fridge freezer because this will open up the floor space and make it seem bigger. You might then need a rug and new cushions in the living room to brighten it up.

Paint over the pink in the bathroom with white. Buy some house plants and fluffy towels for in there. Hide the bleach for the photos.

Make the beds properly. At the very minimum tuck the sheets in so they cover the mattress, but consider getting fluffier pillows, cushions and throws to dress the beds properly. I like to see little vases of floors on bedside table and it can really brighten up a room. Go to the supermarket and buy a load of cheap flowers and some vases if you need them just before you get the photos redone.

I've seen you say that you can't afford to spend money on things like a smaller fridge, but sometimes you need to spend a bit of money to sell a house. Can you afford to be stuck there for years?

I think people are being very harsh on this thread. Your flat looks nice. I just don’t believe people wouldn’t buy your flat because the furniture isn’t to their taste. Seriously, if a buyer can’t imagine a room with their own furniture and art, then they probably are not ready to buy property.

Unfortunately, this boils down to the price. If it’s not selling, then it’s probably too high. I don’t know if you’ve answered questions on this thread about management fees and lease, but I would also look at getting those in the listing.

If I was in the market to buy a flat in London, I would be registering with every single local estate agent. So I don’t think it makes a huge difference who your agent is - they should all have access to the same buyer pool.

Could you have the kitchen cabinets painted? That colour wood isn’t fashionable now

The video is terrible.
It looks uninhabited and the furniture looks cheap. Where are your personal possessions and pictures?
There is nothing in your bathroom or kitchen, not even wash things/shampoo etc or washing up liquid!

You need better pictures of your living room, the video makes it look much bigger than the pictures.

paint all the walls white and remove as much of the cheap IKEA and Kaplan units as you can. Put some plants, bowls of fruit and cushions around, make it look homely

London flats without an outside space are really difficult to sell post pandemic. Looking at local places for sale, yours seems overpriced as well.

The photos aren't great: they make it look small and dark. Better angles and lens would help.

Lease and service charge are major omissions too. Are they poor, which is putting off buyers?

I like the flat a lot. I think flats are moving very slowly at present, with working from home fewer people need to be so close to London and for the same price can buy a house outside London.

A few of my friends took ages over the last two years to sell their London flats and in both cases eventually that buyer who loved it came and bought it. I think it’s a waiting game.

Would agree with changing the video and adding a few plants.

There’s just nothing aspirational about it, and if you’re paying the guts of 1/2 million on a flat with no outdoor space, it needs to have something which feels a bit special or interesting.

It looks like a clean, well kept rental, where the landlord did a SuperMarket Sweep in Ikea.

Why are there there so many Kallax units?!? That would worry me, that there wasn’t any decent storage.

I agree with @mynamechange94 . If it was an arrear that I was looking to live in I'd definitely consider it. I think it's a good price too. There is nothing wrong with the photos, it's a good flat but the market is not good at the moment which is hardly surprising given inflation and everything else that's going on. I have no doubt that it will sell but you're going to have to be patient. I know that's hard but it is how it is right now.

Also I think pink bathrooms rock! And if your buyers don’t like it, it takes half a day to change 🤷🏼‍♀️

But it’s true that the video tour isn’t great. It doesn’t really give a sense of how the space flows together. And the Vaseline lens filming makes me suspicious… there is too much of the EA on screen. I’d rather just see the flat, not the EA.

I love that you have masses of books - that would make me positively prejudiced 😁

How long is left on the lease?

The more I look at it, the more I like it. But I found it hard to work out what was what from the photos. Honestly I'd be changing agents. Different photos would make such a difference and entice more viewers.

Photos are poor (whoever has taken them - odd angles) photo 1 doesn’t grab you it’s an odd choice. Coffee table too high. I’d add a few accessories to kitchen.
It looks very clean and light.

The sofa and the table need to go

I haven't RTFT but I suggest adding in a pic of the residents gym. That's what sold me on the arsenal!

Retake the photos, they are currently showcasing the furniture not the rooms!

The lounge looks mega tight with that sofa and coffee table and the angle of the kitchen one the fridge looks overbearing. People should walk round though and realise your furniture won't be there but most people aren't capable of that unfortunately!

You can check sale prices on the land registry or other price tracker websites and see what other flats in your block sold for and when. There are bound to be comparables probably with identical floorplans. Your agents may even be able to tell you/should know.

Play the 'right move' listing trick. Take it off for a week and put it on again (or tweak its listing band e.g.499K) so that you go to the top of the search list based on most recent, (and price band). Although keep it live for the bank holiday as there's always a surge of online viewings for public holidays. Christmas period etc.

Photo 1 should be exterior or the dining room / window view

Photo 6 makes it look titchy. Could you remove that Kallax and wall hang the TV?

Because it is too expensive.