Why would the estate agent even bother??

[Thundercloudsontheway]

2 bedroom apartment for sale in Chapel Street, Thatcham, RG18 (rightmove.co.uk)

AIBU to think that at some point a property can be so bad that by putting pictures on it you can actually hinder a sale rather than help it?

If this is a rental property, then surely you would be better swallowing the cost of a couple of months worth of mortgage payments once the tenant has moved out to get the place cleared out, as it must cost less than what you would loose on the offer price.

And if it is private owned, then you would think the estate agent would have a word - Especially as this is on for the average cost of a two bed in the area that is fit to move into with no more than a lick of paint

I clicked on it expecting to see a sex dungeon or something. It's not that bad. Just a bit messy. I could see beyond that if I wanted a two bedroom flat in Thatcham.

That smacks of an uninvolved landlord who probably hasn’t looked at the place in a few years (probably hasn’t even looked at the for sale ad) and a tenant who doesn’t want to move out and is potentially struggling to find somewhere else.

It's fine.

It's not how I would choose to live but it's not that bad and I have seen worse- in fact we have bought worse!

I would bet it’s a rental property. But what is the estate agent meant to do about it?!

That wouldn't put me off. Its just untidy. When you see some properties which look as if they need burned down & rebuilt this is nothing

All that mess will be gone with the tenant

The tenant is under no obligation to clean and tidy the flat for the photographs or viewings. Most people can see beyond that and know that it will be rented out empty and professionally cleaned. I don’t see the issue.

It is what it is, someone will overlook that for the right price

As pp has said the mess will be gone with the tenant, so I would look past that

To me screems potential bargain due to the state of the kitchen which would have to be replaced. A lot of the rest just looks like dirt and mess.

An owner who doesn't want to maintain the property and either wants to or has to offload it.

Once it's structurally sound, I would consider it.

If there were no pictures, I would assume worse.

Agree it’s not that bad. A house 4 doors down from us sold and it was much worse - the entire house has been gutted by the new buyers - it’s the old case of if the price is right, it will sell.

There's nothing there that looks difficult or expensive to sort out. I would want assurance that the place was vacant, certainly.

If you think that's bad it's lucky you weren't looking at properties in East London in the nineties. Those were awful - 100 years of decay. You just don't see places like that now.

That kitchen makes me feel a bit ill though.

The vast array of cleaning products in the bathroom made me laugh!!

But yes, it would be fine with a good gutting and overhaul. I wouldn't want to clean it though, or live in it before it was sorted out.

If there were no pictures, I would assume worse.

Same.

Without pictures people will avoid it. As it is, potential buyers can see that it just needs a good clear out and new bathroom and kitchen.

Are you trying to shame someone or something? Bit weird to single out one property for being a bit messy

Yes i can see that it would be worse if there were no pictures. It just seems crazy to me.

With regards to looking past the mess - i would think it would need a bit more than a deep clean, which may be worth it if the price was right, but there are multiple properties in Thatcham at the same cost or within 5k more and up to £15k less than this, so it is not even as if you are getting a bargin price

Me too - I'm so disappointed! I've seen places that look like a crack den (and probably were!). This just looks like a tenant who couldn't be arsed to tidy for someone else's benefit. Which is fair enough!

It's on with Purple Bricks so no actual Estate Agent is involved at all. It's all being done by the Landlord.

Looks fine - can't see any signs of damp, mould or structural issues. Just mess

Seriously, are people so used to Insta perfect house pictures they can't see past mess and an unmade bed these days?

I actually prefer these sorts of properties that have not been 'presented'.

My new build house looked picture perfect when I bought it - days after moving in it became apparent the developer has been painting over the various leaks to get the house sold.

Just coming to see if anyone suggests putting planters outside to give more kerb appeal! 😉

I don’t think these photos are so bad it’s worth not putting them up. I’ve seen loads like this if not worse. I don’t click on listings that don’t have photos and I prefer photos that have furniture in to get an idea of scale and which room is which, so it’s better to do it this way than after the tenant moves out imo.

It's a lot more than 'a bit messy'. I know mumsnet likes to pretend that tidy clean houses are a social media hoax, but come on

Well, considering one estate agent told us to remove a letter rack with some post in it, every photograph, no bath mat on the edge of the bath and nothing on top of kitchen cabinets, I think that the state of that flat would be quite off putting to many. It certainly would to me.

I think main issue with it is that the kitchen needs completely replacing (and is ridiculously small) and that’s not something you can hide by giving it a scrub and tidy.

I would just think it was a tenant who didn't want to leave all that it was an estate agent who had the keys to the flat and come in while the tenant was out and taken photos. I would not think it would stop me buying it. There's a woman on here who posts much worse photos of her own house all the time.