To move estate agents?

[BennyBee]

My mum died a couple of years ago and my stepdad now wants to sell the house and downsize. It has been sitting on the market for 6 months. He has reduced the price twice. Can you give it the mumsnet once over: why isn't it selling? He is thinking about changing agents - would this make any difference?
3/4 Bedroom Bungalow near Worthing

YABU - the housing market is slow, hang and chill
YANBU - do something drastic asap

The market is shit right now, so probably not much will happen if you switch agents. But the picture arent great. The twin beds that are really close, with the bedside tables at the end of the picture? Just terrible. The garden shots first? Bizarre.

I don’t need to open it

Price. It will sell at the right price. It’s not be a palatable price to you OP, but it will be the right price for the current market

Personally I don't like a layout where the bedrooms come first when you walk in the house.

Does it have a gate to close off the garden from the front? Essential if someone has children or even just security.

Yes it needs some decor work but hopefully a buyer can see past curtains etc which would be removed.

No idea about area/price etc.

This is your step dad’s? I thought he was utterly vile and abusive Op and your mum left him? Is he dragging his feet with the sale to stop you getting any inheritance?

Don’t like the blocks of flats overlooking. I would need to do work to it. Not everyone is in the market for a bungalow.

changing agents is a waste of time IMO. What do agents even do? People look on right move and look around the area / research schools themselves. Agents literally unlock the door to let you look around.

Apart from the first photo a garage can't be seen, maybe make that clear in the photos/floorplan.
Also where is the washing machine? I don't see it in kitchen but no utility room. With a 4 bed house with maybe 5 people in it, a separate area for washing is a must for me.

It looks well maintained, well cared for and the garden looks appealing, neat and tidy.

I would think it's just that the price is higher than people would be happy paying in this market. I don't think you would gain anything from a change in EA tbh, they could rewrite the listing with different photos, but that's not going to persuade anyone to part with over half a million if they don't think it's worth that just now.

If your DF has reduced it twice already and stilll not getting any offers, it's still too high, sorry.

(No doubt there will be posters who reckon if you plump up the cushions more and add a pot of flowers by the front door, someone prepared to pay asking will magically appear like the shopkeeper in Mr Benn, but I don't believe that)

For Worthing, it’s overpriced. It’s also overlooked by flats. No-one is paying that money to be in a goldfish bowl.

Says in the ad there’s a gate

Over priced

Price OP. Looking at the purchase price in 2018 the current price (even reduced twice) is quite a leap.

It does need some modernisation.

Overlooked by flats.

Also, there seems to be a number of new builds going up nearer the station. Developers will offer incentives to off load housing stock so buyers might be persuaded to buy a “barratts box” rather than an established bungalow.

What is the feedback from viewings? Have there been many viewings?

The floor plan shows no clear flow. To get to the living room you must go through the kitchen and dining room.

What are you talking about? My mum died. My stepdad is lovely.

Thanks for all the responses. Price and location seem to be the top notes.

The building at the back is a primary school, not flats. Some of the viewings (there have been about ten or so in 6 months) report back that the school is a problem but it is a good school so a couple of families with young children have also looked.

Points about the gate, the washing machine, and the garage (it has been converted into a 4th bedroom/store room) are all noted.

I just spoke to my step-dad and he thinks that maybe he will try dropping the price again.

Only 10 viewings in six months? Seriously? That’s lousy. Can you give the agents notice and ask for a list of people they can legitimately claim to have “introduced to the property”?

Definitely need to change agents.

No, he needs to lower the price.

This will have very little to do with the agents. As long as it’s on right move and other search listings, that is primarily all marketing these days it needs

Thanks. Yes, I agree most marketing is on Rightmove but once you are on there a while, you drop down the lists into obscurity and agents need to get you promoted if you are going to sell. One way of doing this is dropping the price, which gets new eyes on the property, of course.

Anyway, looks like he is going nuclear: has two new agents coming round to value it and set out their marketing strategy, client lists, etc. Plus he is going to consider dropping the price, especially given the rumours about a new annual property tax for homes over £500K.

He has taken on board all the suggestions made here and is going to get a whole new set of photos done too, to emphasise the things overlooked. He now thinks mumsnet is superb! Thank you all x

It doesn’t have four bedrooms, unless you re-label the ‘reception room ‘ as a bedroom ( but that is a long way from a bathroom and you have to tramp through another ‘living room to reach it. There are two rooms which have no outside light, the ‘dining room ‘ and the storage room, I suppose yet another example of the ‘ extension’ which doesn’t actually give anymore usable space.

Market as three and a home office and drop the price…..

Thank you. He did initially market as three beds and home office but the garage conversion is more of a den/spare bedroom for guests and it also has a storage area associated (as you note). So he asked the agent to re-list it as four beds and call the fourth a "home office/fourth bedroom" on the plans - they changed the title but not the floor plan description. He has asked them three times to change the description but still nothing. There are other things they have ignored him over which is why he wants to change agents.

This is silly
list it as 3 bedroom
or
list it as a 4 bedroom

faffing around with the description on the floor plan is daft.

I would a take a lot of those pictures off the wall, makes it look cluttered. Also the chintzy bedroom needs de-chintzing.

photos 17 & 18 need work.

The decor is dated but it looks well maintained and clean so it will come down to price.

might be better waiting until after the Autumn budget

Open day. We had trouble selling in Leeds 13 years ago, estate agent awful. I redid all our photo's as theirs were dark and dingy then insisted on an open day. We sold it on the open day, in fact it ended up in a bidding war.

Ps, it's a lovely house that just needs an update in decor. Am surprised Worthing not selling tho, esp with B'ton being so expensive now. Good luck

Yep lesson learnt from the house sale of my deceased auntie's is to not feel loyal to one agent. Take advantage of their early motivation for a sale, preferably with a tactic/change in asking price. I feel once it goes past a certain point agents lose interest and perhaps focus on other new properties they have listed.