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

There are too many photos of bedroom 1 and not enough of the other rooms.

The living space is tiny. I'd market it as a three-bed - I think people looking for four bedrooms are expecting something with a bigger overall footprint.

Living rom is very small and there is so much wasted space in the eaves. How do you get out of the bath without bashing your head?

I wonder if for 3 beds people are a bit reluctant to pay the '3 bed' premium when one's a box room and there's no outside space. Flats with that outdoor space have generally become harder to see since covid as well, although at the same time, box rooms have become of more interest as home working space.

I wonder if we generally need to see re-pricing so there's more differentiation between '3 beds' and actually '2 beds and a home office' and advertising them more honestly. Home offices can sometimes be baby rooms, but no more than that.

It's nicely presented but yes, the reception room feels quite small.

Without wanting to be harsh there isn't anything that would make me say 'that one. I want the biggest purchase of my life to date to be that one!'

I know people normally don't advocate doing houses up to sell, but if I were you I would spend £1,000 or so on painting the kitchen cabinet doors in a statement colour, buy in a couple of the massive paper tapestries Anthropologie sell (instant wow) and consider asking to have the photos redone to focus on nice bits like your lovely shelves and not show furniture which makes it harder to imagine how it would look as someone else's home.

In the living room I would wall mount the TV, lose the dining table or get a fold down one and try to add an arm chair. Add some nice artwork and a big mirror to improve the size feel of the room. Get a corner sofa that can go down the end wall, lose the furniture under the window. Use the walls more - bookshelf? Wall hanging the TV may leave space for a small coffee table too.

Can you wallmount the TV, that would make a difference I think. Lounge doesn't look very cosy is my only thing. When we lived in a flat with a similar lounge, I had a drop leaf table with chairs stored in it so it wasn't taking up space the whole time - kind of like this https://interdesignboutique.com/products/butterfly-dining-set-with-4-chairs-natural?currency=GBP&variant=43583136039127&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=Google%20Shopping&stkn=06fb952c0d0a&gclid=CjwKCAiAxreqBhAxEiwAfGfndOp7W8bWdOcJhSLJQB6mE9UTAFKWt9PIOaKnVp49C1hAATDIzcLo2RoCpr4QAvD_BwE

It's really small for a four bedroom. I'd expect that square footage for a 2 bed flat really.

You must know it's an awkward layout. Why did you buy it, what convinced you? Maybe that will show you the kind of buyer you can hope to attract

What's the ground rent? I couldn't see it. Service charge is high. Is the building well maintained with a sinking fund?

Extortionate service charge. Can you offer to cover it for say 5 years?

I keep coming back to this. OP do you actually live there or is it a rental or (what I suspect) are you the estate agent? It doesn't look like anyone lives there. The more I'm looking at it the more faults I'm finding.

I think what puts me off slightly is the arrangement of photos on Rightmove. It seems like they jump around a lot so there’s lots of images of the master bedroom but they aren’t together so it’s a little annoying.

The living room space seems small compared to the bedrooms, it feels very busy with the amount of furniture. The tv in front of the radiator is off putting, any chance you could wall mount or move the furniture around to create more space?

The third and fourth bedrooms are really small and the living room wouldn't accommodate 4 people. What is your family situation OP?

In terms of what you can change, get rid of the TV and stand (you could put the TV on the wall and free up a lot of space) and the kitchen looks dated. Is there any possibility of just retiling? The tiles look much older that the style of the cabinets.

Kitchen space is small. Lounge difficult shape. Only one toilet for a 3 bed, and that is integrated with the bathroom. Relatively poor EPC rating.

I think it is overpriced.

I like it, but would probably make the largest bedroom into a living area, and use the d/s living room as a diner with a sofa bed as an escape room!

I don't know or live anywhere near London, but why am I so surprised that this flat in S. London is on at just over 400k? I thought everything was near a million in the capital! It is cheaper than my two bed terrace in the sticks TBH.

The bedroom with the bookcase is beautiful- can you swap that with the living room? I'd also be tempted to market it as a 2/3 bed. 4 bedrooms but with such a small living area/no outdoor space is an odd combo unless you find somebody who wants to let to students.

It looks nice in general but agree with other PP. I wouldn’t buy a house with sloped ceilings like that, I’d worry about storage (gorgeous book shelves though) and living space looks cramped. If I was buying, I’d expect to put a new kitchen in so that might put people off

I’d change the first picture to one of the living room, move the dining table out, it makes it look cramped and replace it with one of the chairs from the main bedroom. I’d potentially move the tv off the glass table and put the wooden cabinet there and the tv on top. And get rid of the clutter in the office, as it makes it look small

Agent needs to not iist it as a 4 bed. If someone is searching on rightmove for a 4 bed flat they will set the search bar to min 4 beds and I'm sorry but the office is not bedroom sized so people would immeadiatly discount it for that. Listing the flat as a 4 bed is not helping it. Also as another poster pointed out the first picture should be of the outside (it's not an ugly building so don't know why they wouldnt). If someone is scrolling thru a list why would a pic of a bedroom make someone want to view the whole ad. Also too many repetitive pics. Otherwise I think it looks clean and tidy. You can't change the room size etc so think you need to ask agent to change the ad

Leasehold & charges of £2400 would put me off, sorry

Can you weed the drive and around the front wall and get rid of the traffic cone and rubbish bags?

Agree. Is there space in the kitchen for the table? The cabinet under the window is v big and dark, can you swap it with something in another room maybe? Something white like an ikea Kallax could work. In a small room like that, you want as little furniture as possible but more seating - add an armchair. The side table is just wasting space as it offers no storage.

I would list as 3 bedrooms. The lounge and kitchen don’t really support anyone who is going to use that 4th room as a bedroom.

to make the lounge look bigger cheaply, mount the tv on the wall and get rid of the current stand.

then play with the layout a bit and figure out if there is a way to add a small comfy chair. It needs a bit more seating to support 3 bedrooms. How does everyone pile in and hang out together? It might not be possible, but you can use an online room layout tool to play with this pretty easily.

finally, I know this is nit picky, but I hate when the photos start on an odd room like the bedroom. Also there are too many photos that are basically the same, they aren’t really different perspectives giving a better picture of the space. It makes the shopper feel like there is something to hide.

I’d present the downstairs reception room as a dining room/occasional bedroom, present the large ‘bedroom’ as the living room/main family space and leave the others pretty much as they are. That still leaves 2 double bedrooms and a study and puts the main living space on the same level as the loo. I’d say your market is couple with at most 2 kids, which that configuration would work for.

Repeating what others have said:

• Can you re-dress the living room as a dining room, and the bedroom with books as the living room? This then turns it into a 2 bed flat with study and separate living room and dining room, which I think is far more appealing.
• Everything looks quite sterile and small and the bathroom reminds me of a care home for some reason - can you bring some life to it?
• First picture of the listing is terrible - switch it to the room with books? Also the second picture of the outside is quite grim - can you get something better? Looking at Google Streetview, the road itself is very pretty.

But the price is good and the area nice. I disagree with a pp who said it's no-one's dream home - a friend of mine has just bought somewhere that (to my eyes) is pretty bleak, with rot and moths and shonky windows, and she's delighted because it's hers.

You marketed it as a four bed but people looking for a four bed could be a family of five or six who will need much more living space. It isn't going I to the right searches. Even a family of four would find the living space tight. Not sure there's much you can do about it though, just one of those awkward things about conversions. FWIW I loved the look and the waves personally, and the idea that a perfectly nice kitchen needs replacing because it's 'tired' irritates me. It's fine and looks good.