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

I would start with the 5k reduction.. people search with an upper price limit so 5k might slip it down just enough to come into the search of someone who will love it

i saw the dining table but assumed it only accommodated two diners as there were only two chairs. That immediately made we wonder what on earth I’d do with guests! Maybe put the other two chairs back?

The service charge would stop me looking any further. I'd be worried it would increase as its already a lot of money.

It looks dark, the living area layout doesn’t do the space justice. Your balcony is too plain (get some lovely plants), clear the clutter off your wardrobes etc otherwise you give the impression of not enough storage. No idea why the pic of the TV with plastic drawers underneath. Again this gives impression of poor storage and the dangling cable is not a good look.

Your yellow bed looks nice and the sitting area looks cosy but for photos I would move the table to by the window for lots of light

Is that standard for a flat where you live? A flat similar to that in my area is approx £120k so the price is massively throwing me!

The main cover photo looks really fake. Like the furniture is photoshopped in. The table on the rug stands out the most. The proportions look all wrong along with the lighting. That would stop me even clicking on the link to view the rest (which mostly looks fine after the first two apart from one bedroom one). Id assume the entire listing is some sort of scam and not look at it properly.

A few questions;

• how many other two bed/two bath flats are for sale in the area?
• are they going under offer and selling?
• if so, are they going under offer quickly?
• are there brand new, similar flats for sale near by?
• are you getting any viewings or second viewings?

I've no idea if the price is OK for Chelmsford, but my 4 bed semi with front & back gardens, garage & parking for 3 cars would be marketed at the same price on the South coast.
I think the actual apartment looks nice and is decorated well. Other than the price, what would put me off is the balcony and drab outlook. Maybe some flower pots on the railings, trees in pots and a bright outdoor rug might make it look a bit more appealing.

So disappointed with this. One of its main features is that it is a very light flat, so the pictures are a real let down. I agree with everything you say, and will need to do something about it asap.

Yes, this is standard. South East within half an hour of London - its one of the most expensive areas of the country (unfortunately)

I’m up north so don’t know your local market. I have looked on rightmove at other two bed apartments in the area. It’s the price. Other flats look over green space and seem a lot brighter. For just a bit more there are better flats and you are on offers over. So I’m thinking I might as well get the nicer flat at 345 because the original flat isn’t actually on for 325. They want more.

Dont understand the comments about eating space? The current table can easily be swapped for a bigger one, to seat 4-6 people.

Also not sure about the bathrooms, is it usual to have bathrooms with windows in a flat like this? European flats would be just like this, for a family of 4 /likely with one bathroom only though/.

Service charge is high, that's what would put me off.
The no windows in the bathroom wouldn't bother me, i didn't have a window in my previous bathroom and it was fine.
The flat on a whole looks nice. The balcony could with more plants to block the view of the car park a bit more. That's easily solvable.

I live nearby @househelp2025 and I know the local property market well (I own BTL properties).

The price is fair for the area. Ignore people balking at the price, who don’t know the local market. There are plenty of other 2 bed modern flats for sale in Chelmsford at the moment at the exact same price. The ones listed lower at £300k are not as nice as yours or don’t have a parking space.

I note that you have only been listed for less than a fortnight. I think you just need to wait a little while. The market isn’t moving at a fast pace at the moment. I am selling a 1 bed at the moment and it is getting around 1 viewing a week on average, has been 4 weeks now. So hold tight for a bit.

Does the flat have its own designated parking space? It isn’t clear in the listing. It just says “resident parking” but it’s not clear what that means. I would get the agent to make that much clearer, as it’s a selling point for your flat.

Ive only read a couple of pages in so suspect most people will say the same as me

I wouldnt buy a flat with no separation of kitchen
I wouldnt buy a flat with no outside window for all of the bathrooms , I might tolerate one of them being windowless
The beds shouldnt be up against the window like that, turn them round
Service charge is way too high, wouldnt be interested in that
Balcony overlooks car park

Plus £250 ground rent?

Yes, plus £250 ground rent per year, but that won't increase.

What did you pay for the property initially, @househelp2025?

Ah ok! I’m in central Scotland (as you can probably tell) we don’t pay that for 4 bed detached houses!

It’s a nice flat, I’d just struggle to give meaningful feedback because I can’t see past the amount of money for the amount of space! No separate kitchen could also be putting people off and the service charge on top of what would be a phenomenal mortgage.

£316k for the flat and £10k for the parking space, so £326k in total, and that was 8 years ago, off-plan, new build.

The flat is lovely I don't think there's anything u couldn't possibly change, as others have said it's the price, but if that's the going rate round there then that's what it is. I live in Bedford and I can get a large 3 bed semi with a garden and a drive for that price x

Looks like quite a few in the block have resold for less than they paid for it, which would worry me.

www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/cm1-1au.html

For the next six weeks make them do some work, OP. They are working for you and will be paid well if they achieve a sale.

Dress the balcony, it will make a huge difference. IKEA for artificial plants if you want a quick win, be generous as you want to really enclose that space with greenery and decorative touches. Don’t forget lighting.

On windowless bathrooms, it’s common in flats, they are equipped with suitable
ventilation, damp is never a problem where an internal bathroom has been designed into the build. It’s conversions and older buildings that have this problem. Continental flats almost always have internal bathrooms.

£325k for two tiny bedrooms and not a very nice view, it’s not really a luxury flat either

"The price is fair for the area. Ignore people balking at the price, who don’t know the local market. There are plenty of other 2 bed modern flats for sale in Chelmsford at the moment at the exact same price. The ones listed lower at £300k are not as nice as yours or don’t have a parking space."

But why are they still for sale and not been snapped up? You need to look at sold prices. For sale prices are no good unless they're selling...
You need to have an honest chat with your agent to find out what they think the price should be to bring in competing buyers and lower it to that ,otherwise you're wasting your time. I say this as someone who's house last year was hugely overpriced by the first agent I went with and if you have to do little price drops your flat will seem less and less appealing. Also your agent will not let you leave an 8 week contract (which is a pretty good short term one compared to others, ours was a 16 week contract and I hugely regret signing that). I know it's hard to drop the price when you've been lured in with the (unrealistic) initial valuation but if they had been honest with their valuation in the first place you wouldn't be in this situation.