Please give your opinions on why we have not had any viewings on our flat? Listing included

[househelp2025]

Hi there,

We are trying to sell our flat and have not had a single viewing. I know that this is typically either due to the price a property is listed at or something to do with the way it has been marketed.

I would be enormously grateful for any feedback on the listing and what (if anything) might deter you from booking a viewing?

It is a long lease - just shy of 999 years, and has a designated parking space in a private secure car park under the flat.

Is it the photos? Is the price too high? Something else?

Thanks in advance!

Flat listing

It's a nice enough flat but first time buyer property.

The service charge is high for a FTB.

Also if you look at the bottom of the listing of properties recently sold by your agent there is a 2 bed flat that was £218k and 3 bed houses for not much more.

Therefore I suspect it is very much a pricing issue.

As others have said, the price seems punchy. Also “offers in excess of” is off putting - you should clearly state the price the flat is on at then prospective buyers can put a clear offer in which can be countered if necessary.

The photos could be better - could they redo with a fish lens?

I imagine it will be similar to mine
i pay £220pm no gym, lift, concierge

buildings insurance usually a big chunk of it
repairs to shared areas
cleaners for share areas
gardeners for any grass areas
sinking fund (or whatever the actual name is!)

The schools don't have " catchment" My DD travelled 7 miles each way. A friend of hers family moved in from Bedfordshire after she was offered a place

Gosh so many people finding other properties to try and prove the point that it is over priced

@ImFckingMattDamon there is only 1 bathroom, no en-suite and no laundry room

@HumanRightsAreHumanRights god what an awful view from this balcony a great big Bellway sign and the bedrooms are odd shapes and no laundry

I know many people don't think the laundry is an asset but it is storage space if nothing else. If I was to live there permanently I would swap the bathroom and the laundry around and tack the laundry onto the kitchen - you might then be able to separate the lounge and kitchen but if you're spending that kind of money you would have to stay for a very long time and its probably not worth it

It’s has a 999 year lease but does it also contain a doubling ground rent clause, say every 10 years? £250 per annum is a lot of money for something with a 999 year lease

am a Londoner and young people I know are paying between 1100 to 1400 for a room in London. I bought my 2 bed flat in London in 2019 and the price is still roughly the same at 400k but near good schools. I wanted to spend closer to 300k but found nowhere with sufficiently good schools and I understand Chelmsford has decent schools and a grammar plus it's a city with John lewis and direct train link to the city (season ticket is v expensive though).

So yeah given therr are londoners willing to pay 1400 for a room why not a mortgage for your own place with 2 bedrooms though I would try for an older period flat where residents own freehold. There aren't many like this, I looked for ages before finding my 1930s flat and they are more common in London (but London flats are more expensive)

Get some plants on the balcony. A tall one, 2 or 3 medium height and a few smaller ones.

With all those services gym etc the monthly charge must be high ?

you say it’s in the listing but I couldn’t see it and if I had, it would put me off having to pay for stuff I would never use

The thing that stands out for me though is a huge number of flats have been built in Chelmsford over the last ten years and that’s got to affect the resale market, it’s a real buyers market. You will also be up against Beaulieu to an extent with the imminent opening of the new train station. I think that you will have to just price it very competitively to make it stand out. Good luck.

The lease is expensive - guessing that is the cost of the gym
The view is horrible
The flat is bland
The price is top of budget

Not for me - sorry

True, in the summary listing it stated two bathrooms, although checking the floor plan there seems to be only one. For me personally though, in a 2 bed flat the extra bathroom would be completely unnecessary and definitely not worth £40,000! It strikes me that the target market for this would be young professionals/couples who would probably happily share a bathroom to save that much!

The bedrooms are far too narrow and I hate bathrooms that have no windows. TBF it looks lile a mid price apart'hotel.

Also I would never touch a block with a concierge and on site gym. That's a massive service charge liability right there.

The balcony is depressing, overlooking a car park and other blocks of flats. Can you get some big pots with structural plants to improve it? It would also give a better view from bedroom 1's window. You can take them with you when you move so not a waste of money.

The kitchen looks dark, maybe some warm led strip lights under the cabinets would improve it.

Highlight the major selling points in the listing blurb e.g. commute times. Your market is probably a first time buyer commuter who will be subletting bedroom 2, hence the 2 bathrooms and relatively smaller living space

1. The service charge, by the time you add that, and the council tax, that's hefty, even before considering the mortgage payment on a FLAT over £300K!
2. No windows in the bathrooms.
3. I don't like the bedheads being against the windows/patio doors. The bedrooms look too narrow for them to go along a wall plus have wardrobe access.
4. Rooms generally look like narrow shoeboxes.
5. Kitchen tiny.
6. No real space for a decent dining table.
7. No privacy with all of those balconies.

I think it’s quite dark, but there are SO many flats for sale in Chelmsford now ( and new builds too) I think there just isn’t the market at the moment

edited to add , beaulieu is so much nicer than the town centre as many pp’s have said.

Hi OP, I haven't read the full thread, only your replies, so apologies if these things have been mentioned before. It looks a nice flat and obviously well-kept, but possibly a few things could make it more appealing online:

1. On my phone, the photos look quite blurry as well as dark. I would look in to getting these redone.
2. Bed layout - I agree that the current placement won't suit everyone and I know you said you were going move back to original placement, but I would do that in one room only, that way potential buyers can see what is possible with the layout.
3. Perhaps just me, but the asymmetrical curtains really put me off! Could you buy a cheap pair just for the photos?

I've no idea if the price is right for the area. I live in London (just), and it would be fairly cheap for London. The estate agents should know what price to ask for.

What I like about the flat is its young, urban feel. I think it would appeal to a professional couple or a reasonably well heeled single.

It's not a family home type place but then isn't marketed as such.

If you look at what similar properties have sold for in your area it appears to be a lot less?
I couldn't see what your monthly management fees are - for concierge and gym? Maybe that's a factor?
Looks a nice flat, well turned out. I'd have pulled the table out a bit and put another 2 chairs there and a plant or two dotted around for photos but not a big thing.
The outlook is not great and wouldn't be for me, no greenery.

Is it a leasehold flat? Or do you ( with your neighbours) own the Freehold?
Or: if leasehold, do you have Right to Manage? (RTM).
Whether you do, or don't, have RTM, what are your Service Charges per annum?
And ( this is the deal breaker) how much is your Ground Rent ?
All of the above are additional costs on top of a considerable spend for a 2 bed flat. A high GR and escalating Service Charges will put off buyers.

This is the spitting image virtually of my old flat in Bristol, they are very sought after when in a prime location to city centres and good transport links. Ignore the comments about ‘windowless bathrooms’ and small bedrooms - these flats are aimed at young professionals who don’t give a monkeys about there being no window in a bathroom. To me, for a flat like this, the bedrooms are a decent size.
Two main things stand out to me though

1. The slightly cringe estate agent description about the flat being flooded with natural light crating a warm and welcoming atmosphere. A load of fluff and totally unnecessary in my opinion as the people looking at the photos will decide if it’s light and ‘welcoming’ enough. I’d lead with the close proximity to Chelmsford and the transport links. The gym looks pretty cool, yet little (if anything) was written about this. Despite these selling points ‘luxury living’ this is not so I’d suggest the estate agent cut this as it’s clearly stretching the truth.
2. It’s a bit if a concrete jungle outside isn’t it. Flat and bland. I’d jazz it up with some greenery on the balcony and re-take the photo on a less bleak day so that people can envisage themselves sitting out there on a sunny evening with a beer and a few mates round.

Good luck OP!

If the bedrooms have floor to ceiling windows-why is the bed blocking them? I’m not a fan of floor to ceiling as it shows all your shit but the beds are the wrong way round which makes the bedroom feel like it’s not wide enough (assuming it isn’t). If it is, turn the beds around.

@buffyandspikeandfaith so basically, apart from the buildings insurance, you’re paying for stuff that your council tax should be covering. Sounds like a scam to me.

how much are the factor fees ? I actually thought a flat in London would cost more.

Thats huge to me - how does it comlare to nearby flats?