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

As an estate agent flats are ready hard to sell at the moment ever since lockdown people are craving outside space. For that kind of money people are looking to buy a house and commute into London. We take on flats but are telling the sellers honestly that it’s not a great market. Your photos aren’t doing it justice either the first photo is awful

My guess would be a combination of...

a) Service Charge which, as £200pm on top of increased mortgage costs at the moment, are making this unaffordable to your target audience which has to be young, single or an early couple, professionals maybe.
b) the large number of bedrooms vs the living space. That kind of living space is maybe OK for a single person or a couple that are out the flat all day, but if you had more people living there, it's really not much space at all and nowhere to escape to quickly. Which means it's putting off those who might be able to afford it or who need that many beds.

It just feels like all the rooms are in the wrong place and that in turn feels expensive to fix. On the floor plan it seems like you'd want something more like the study in the kitchen, the sitting room in bedroom 1, the kitchen in the bathroom, the bathroom in the study?

Getting rid of the TV stand and putting it on the wall, pushing the table back against the wall etc would make the living room seem bigger. And get some plants and more cushions in there to make it cosier.

For me it's the sloping walls. You can't use the walls and you're limited in the furniture you can have. The wardrobe takes up the only useable bedroom wall in there. Sonyohr bed head has to be under low sloping ceilings. It's just not worth the agro.

Lounge diner to become kitchen. Kitchen to become utility room and toilet.
Master bedroom to be lounge.
Bathroom becomes a bedroom and one of the small bedrooms a bathroom.
Currently the layout is so unbalanced. My solution is expensive though!

Four beds would immediately make me think huge council tax. Marketed as 3 bed might be better, as others have said. Also, and nothing you can do about this, after that hideously hot summer 2022, living in the roof - however spacious - may put off people like me, who hate the heat! But it’s London, it WILL sell. 😊

I think your flat looks lovely! I would leave the small bedroom as an office, you already have three bedrooms and it is very small so a bed might make it look even smaller - offices are very popular nowadays as people wfh more.

Im not familiar with London prices or the location but I am in the process of selling my mums house in a popular suburb in S Manchester. The prices in the area have not reduced significantly with the interest rate rises, our buyer offered us slightly over the asking price as there were three people who were interested. You might check with the estate agent about prices in your area.

Good luck

Yeah the service charge really jumped out at me.

Agree with all the staging suggestions especially reconfiguring the living room

It's a lovely flat, but for a Scot I can't comprehend the price of it so I won't even try.

For selling purposes how practical would it be to swap the bedroom with the books for the existing living room? If I were moving in that's what I'd do I think.

For photos I'd remove everything from the office room, take the books out from under the screen, the bin, any paperwork, the bankers box, the laptop the pillows off the chair and make it look mega plain. It's a bit off putting to see that kind of stuff in my opinion.

Likewise with the tops of the kitchen cabinets and the small appliances on the counter tops.

The living room: I'd either wall mount it or take the telly and put it on top of the wooden cabinet for the photo, also the uncovered socket next to the radiator: thats already a job that a potential buyer might look at and think "thats just another job I'm to do". See if you could just stick it back on for photos.

The bedroom and bathroom photos look grand.

I would say that marketing is a 4 bed is really pushing it, the study is a study and I think you'd get more bites if you were selling it as a 3 bed. The study is barely big enough for a cot and a wee chest of drawers/changing station etc.

You can't compare a small 2 bed (albeit much better living space if you like the kitchen being in the lounge) with a 3/4 bed. Similar price and location doesn't make it comparable.

But also, unless I'm missing something, the one you linked to hasn't sold either. So it's questionable which would sell first.

OPs flat needs a rejig and some work done to modernise it imo. Or a price reduction to reflect the work needed, but the increased size does make it more appealing to some.

I see Foxtons and assume it's overpriced.

You should carefully think about who might buy it and market it that way. Maybe add some plants as no outdoor place. Isnt it quite an easy commute to the city from there so good for ‘professional’ couples?
Obviously an Estate agent would have the best advice but also look at flats that have sold near you.

I love these threads!

I think your flat has huge potential. It looks light and airy.

On the downside, the rooms look bare. You can do minimalist (which is far better than cluttered) but with a bit more warmth and character. Maybe some plants or vases of flowers, some cushions ( all of this could be for under £50)

I'd straighten out the duvet cover (the dark blue one) or maybe add a throw.

The bedroom with all the books and the chairs looks confusing- more like a lounge with a bed in it. Could you put the chairs somewhere else? Or move one of them?

The table in the living room is at an angle, which looks odd. Can you make it parallel to the walls?

I think you have to keep the living room where it is, given that the layout is living space/kitchen on one floor and bedrooms/office on the other. Doesn't make sense to redress it as a dining room, those aren't really a thing in flats.

I agree about it being better as a 3-bed plus office though. Not because the office can't be a bedroom, but people who want 4 beds, don't want a top floor flat. They'll be families who want outdoor space and more living space. So perhaps counter-intuitively, I wouldn't focus on the size/number of bedrooms, and instead make it more appealing to couples or people with older children, who would suit the set-up of this flat better.

It's a nice flat and I know the road well. It isn't the loveliest part of W Dulwich and it's not close to green spaces, but I still think it'll sell to the right person. Might just take a while at the mo. Price might have to come down closer to 400k, especially as the service charge is so much. And I'd always assume that Foxtons overprices. For EAs in that area, I'd try Pedder if you end up changing.

Probably too much work and I have no idea of what this would do to the price, but make the reception room a multi-function room with a dining table, desk/study area and a sofabed for occasional visitors. Make bedroom 1 the living room, knockout the wall between bedroom 2 & 3 to get an attractive bed room, and make the study into a childs room, it would be a far more lovely space than it is now.

Yes I'm glad the OP hasn't posted this in the Property/DIY thread as there are one or two posters there who rule the entire topic - if you post a query about selling they come on and say "you're asking too much" regardless of if you're selling a house identical to the one next door that sold for £500k last week and you're asking £400k, "its the price". (edit to say yes of course you can reduce a certain amount if you're able to, but that has to be proportionate - maybe OP can come back and tell us if they can afford to drop any more?)

Cramped living spaces, and you can't move the living room upstairs because the larger room is an attic and would still feel cramped due to the ceilings, besides being too far from the kitchen.

Two of the bedrooms are too small to be usable, and one has just been hacked out of a decent sized room.

The service charge is what you would expect to pay for a large modern block with facilities and maintenance staff, not a Victorian conversion which does not look as if money is being spent on the exterior. No pictures of the common areas, unless I missed them. It is not an attractive building, to be honest.

The price seems affordable for anywhere remotely near Dulwich though, so I'm surprised you haven't had people at least looking.

As others have said, imbalance between communal space and bedroom space.

We suffer from this as well in our 3 bed, although not nearly to the extent you do. Our flat is fine for us as 2 adults 2 teens, but I wouldn't have looked at yours with that tiny living room, sorry (and ours was on and off the market for ages as a result).

As others have said it's price, and space. It would make a nice space for a young couple I think but not much more than that in practice. There isn't much scope for storage.

I'd try and get rid of the wooden furniture under the window in the lounge, and the coffee tables placed there, move the tv over to that corner or alternatively consider facing the sofa toward the window. Take the dining table off of an angle and dress it - placemats, vase of flowers, candle.

The office I would (if possible) place the desk against the back wall.

If you can move the double bed in the 2nd bedroom to the wall and accomodate a small, dressed bedside then that would be nice.

All of the orange pine furniture that I'd keep I would paint to modernise it, including the wardrobes.

In the same way that the main bedroom has a nicer feel to it because you have texture - lovely books and a herringbone throw across the bed - the rest of the house is missing this. Some baskets in the bathroom would soften it - rattan/wicker, general dressing would make a real difference. I think at the moment the space is suitable for young first time buyers but the decor won't make them want it.

It’s a lovely flat OP. Yes the LR and kitchen are small, but that’s true of lots of London flats.

Personally I’m more put off by the fact it is marketed as 4 beds and only one bathroom. I think I would expect a flat with 3 or more bedrooms to have at least 2 bathrooms/shower rooms, or at the very least a second toilet.

To all those saying it’s too expensive… Wimbledon: House with hole in ceiling on sale for £695,000 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-67369595 😁

Try not to think of it as your home, I know it'll be a pain to shuffle rooms, but this is all about staging and letting people imagine themselves living there. Don't worry about the living room being on another floor to the lounge, you don't need them together, you just need the dining room near the kitchen.
Speak to a staging company, what you will pay them will come back to you when you sell.

Mine is £2200 and I'm in a cheap town in the NW! I don't think it's that bad for the area

My thoughts would be while I like white walls as much as the next person, it's too white and the art work is uninspiring, would invest in some bright coloured big framed prints to brighten the place up.
Get rid of the orange furniture in the living room, it's not selling the dream.
Sofa and bedding all looks drab, invest in new cushions and duvet covers, make the rooms look inviting.
TV on wall, otherwise people will be staring at that lonely looking picture.