Why isn't my flat selling?

[ratemyflatplease]

Not really an AIBU sorry.

I'm selling my flat at the moment and not getting much interest. I know that ultimately it'll come down to price. But that aside, is there anything in the description or photos that would put you off?

It's in SE London. 3 fair size bedrooms, one tiny box which is only big enough for a single but perfect as an office (which is how I currently have it).

Top floor, so no chance of outside space, which I think lots of people are looking for. Lease has been extended.

Taking a deep breath and posting Rightmove link: https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/139866227#/?channel=RES_BUY

It’s advertised as 4 beds. It’s not. It says 3 well sized bedroom. They’re aren’t. The living space is tiny.

I think it’s overpriced. And there’s no real target market for it.

It always comes down to price in the end, but I think you know that. The photos look incredibly boring. I honestly think if you spent a few hundred quid on having it "staged", the outlay would be recouped. If you don't want to do that, there is great staging advice available if you Google it.

I wouldn’t market it as a 4 bedroom flat. That implies family, but with no outdoor space that will be a tough call.

It's a nice flat.

I would recommend putting the exterior as the first photo as I never trust listings that have an interior shot as the cover image. Try labelling it as 3 bedroom. It'll be a wonderful surprise to find there is an additional study.

Good luck!

@MrShady sounds like you are being done. Ours covers 4 days a week cleaning, gardening, communal electricity, lifts, minor running repairs and a sinking fund for a 64 flat block. Admittedly we aren't pristine - I had a grumble about the amount of leaves on the drive this morning.

But we are share of freehold so we choose and employ our managing agent and set our budget.

this. The living room is far too small.

Very little is selling these days. A couple years ago it would have been perfect for a landlord who could have rented out 3 rooms but with the current interest rates, I don't think many are interested.

Well I think it's lovely! Very smart. Are you sure you're not using the living room as a bedroom and vice versa? As that living room is small and remember, people (usually) spend a lot more awake-hours in the living room than anywhere else in any property

It's been over divided. Attic flats can be lovely and cosy, but only if they're spacious. Yours is a comfortable 1-bed at best. Entrance into floor with kitchen, dining, workspace, awkwardly arranged and narrow. Upstairs is one bedroom, a living room, the bathroom and a storeroom / wardrobe / nook depending on how the space is re-configured.

Most flats are leasehold though so you are saying you wouldn't buy a flat. Presumably people looking at flats on RM are looking for..........a flat!

Crikey I have just seen the size. That is only a few square meters bigger than my two bed flat and we have in addition to that a large private balcony, a garage and a parking space

I think you would be better off turning downstairs in to a kitchen diner, one of the upstairs bedrooms in to a living room, the study in to a walk in storage area/wardrobe and then marketing it as a two bedroom flat with huge amounts of storage.

@saveforthat Indeed! Freehold flats are very rare and pretty much unmortgagable in England!

Don't describe as 4 bed

Lounge & kitchen too small. It won't appeal to a family, but who else wants a 3 bed?

Its going to mainly appeal to young sharers, but they can't afford to buy.

Have you adjusted the price to reflect interest rates?

Take what you think it was worth 3 yrs ago, and go on a mortgage calculator and work out what the mortgage payments would have been on a 25 yr mortgage at 2% with a 10% deposit then.

Now take the price you have now, and work out what the repayments would be at 5% with 10% deposit now.

How much higher are the payments? Salaries have maybe risen 20% at best and of any rise, around a third is lost in tax.

Most people haven't realised just how much impact a 3% interest rate rise has on the value of a property.

Ahh I have just realised from the plan there is a staircase running between the kitchen and living room, so you can't merge both rooms. That is unfortunate.

It really is quite an awkward conversion.

I feel really claustrophobic just looking at it due to:

-Corridor-shaped thin narrow living space.
-Bedrooms in the eaves all with low sloping ceilings crowding in on me.
-No storage space or even room for wardrobes… (where would you keep tools, ironing board, spare stuff, clothes?)
-No access to outside space / fresh air

The other thing I’d do is weed the front of the property (where the wall meets the pavement) and move the traffic cone from your front yard.

It would smother me.

I don’t think you’re far off actually. Sure, it’s not comparable to a regular 4 or even 3 bed, but you’ve got about 75sqm of “proper” floor space in an area where that should be worth £400k at least.

But it’s more suited to the house share rental market, where living space is less important - and that’s a real tricky market at the moment for investors, given interest rates. So you either need to be patient, or reposition the flat to make it more appealing to a young professional couple, or cut the price to £400k.

I wonder if Foxtons’ reputation are contributing to your loss problem. I think a lot of people assume inflated prices with Foxtons and - by association - deluded sellers. Any reason why you didn’t use KFH or Winkworth, who seem to sell the most properties in your area?

I am not London based but general comments

• way too much bedroom space compared to living space
• kitchen/living room seem very narrow

I think you would do better to reconsider it as a 2-3 bed and free up more space for living area. Even if you personally wouldn’t want that arrangement. No one who needs 4 beds (I.e. several people/family) is likely to be attracted to such a small living space and tiny kitchen. You could turn current living room into a bedroom and largest bedroom into lovely sitting room. Or knock two smaller rooms together.

Outside of property looks unkept with weeds , a traffic cone , shut curtains ( not yours obvs but always looks bad in photos ).
Top floor flats not great for families, older people or mobility issuesso restricts market.
High service charge and for a conversion period flat lease is not that long, many conversions can have a 999 year one unless that's not the norm in London.
That said , a period conversion is much nicer than a new build as generally bigger and leases / service charges less.
The living room isn't great, corridor like. No feature like a fireplace. Small window.
1 Sofa facing a radiator with Tv in front isn't great in a 3 bed plus study flat.
I'd make the living room into a dining room maybe with a reading corner or put the sofa facing the window with 2 armchairs facing kitchen and a low table between.
Or make the bigger bedroom with bookshelves the living room.
Bedrooms whilst bright and lovely all have only sky views due veluxes.
You really can't see the outside plus no garden for such a large flat.
Bathroom lovely and big.
I'd move living room upstairs and sell flat as a spacious kitchen/dining area 2 bed with study flat or 3 bed flat.
Foxtons tends to over value and their photos aren't great, I'd change to a local agent.
Sell the area too by highlighting amenities/parks/transport links.
Best of luck !

@Ginmonkeyagain yeah we are stuck with a company that have a FB group of 20,000 people who all hate them
And there's nothing we can do about it as I can't get 50% of people to do right to manage. I said please send the gardeners less and they said ok but you'll pay the same

I’m sorry but it looks tiny and cramped with the low ceilings. If I had that budget I would not be jumping at it. I’d retake the picture with more light and less heavy furniture but I can’t escape the low ceilings. Try photographing from a lower vantage point.

We have a similar problem trying to sell a flat in London at the moment - even considered doing a post to ask what the problem is. I just don’t think flats are selling so well at the moment.

Have lived in London a very Long time. Foxtons are an aggressive good agent so they should sell it for you if anyone can. Price is very low for London though I don't know the area. It is probably just the market at the moment and you have already lower the price but you could dress the flat up a little as it is bit Spartan.

Don't take any critical comments personally OP. I think the overriding opinion is that it's actually bloody lovely and just needs a bit of a rearrange. It's a helllllll of a lot bigger than my entire house! (Including my garden & driveway)

Also - they have put too much floor space under eaves when converting. The wall heights where the slope meets the vertical are very low. If they had done it at a decent height your upstairs floor area would be much smaller. Id be pricing it on the much smaller footprint that is at a decent height.

The bathroom appears particularly bad for this.

The living space is off, it's a big flat but it's all bedrooms, the kitchen and living room are tiny. I'd probably get rid of the double bed in the single room and put a sofabed in there, move the living room upstairs to the second largest bedroom and set the current living room up as a dining room 🤷‍♀️

Why did you list with Foxtons? I have an instant downer on them as they used to have a reputation for being a bit "sharp", not sure if that's fair. But it wouldn't encourage me.