help me sell!!!

[sungirltan]

we finally have 2 viewings this week for our apartment. this is it. what can i do to make it look nice?

its been on the market for about 9 months now. we had an offer but it fell through, changed estate agents once and dropped price but i am desperate to move now.....i know i know its the market etc i just need motivation!

hi everyone - thanks for your comments. i have showed this to dh and we have a rough plan of what we could do without spending a fortune or getting the builders in. the comment about 'wasted space' made sense to me - i'm getting rid of the bean bags and getting shelving put in next to the desk so its a 'study area with adequate storage' rather than 'random desk plonked any old how'. we are going to get big rugs for the living room and try and give the flat a bit more personality. i love the running the lcour through the house in small doses idea :-)

i agree it looks like a show flat - i have always teased dh about this - it was even starker when i moved in. we do have a few pieces of artwork but they arn't shwon in the photos. the kitchen table was mine from my old flat - its just ikea so of course it looks a bit strange but i insisted that we had a table to eat off before dd was born.

kitchen drives me nuts - i can't lie. i hide the wok when we have viewings in the dishwasher because it wont fit in any of the cupboards!

as to why we are moving - we have a baby now! we both love the flat and want to stay but we can't have a second baby here :-( thats all - there are so suspect reasons for moving!

Ah good luck with it all - it's very stressful!

I think the best advice you've been given is the advice about the RSJ.

You have two institutions in the city with students who are producing quite cool large scale art which you could borrow/buy cheaply - maybe worth a look for the wow factor?

just done a viewing. i had a proper go at rearranging the kitchen stuff so it looks like theres a proper work space on the sink side around the cooker instead of everything being spread over two areas. however when i'd tidied everything away in the living room i realised how stark and cold it looks - especially in winter weather - need rug and cushions/throw i think though dh will hate it and think it looks messy :-(

viewers made lots of positive noises esp about the view and rent in the area anyway so heres hoping :-)

Good luck!

I just wondered why you couldn't cope with 2 children in such a large flat, whether it was just too impractical.

cargirl - its 2 bed! dh and i need more of our own space, plus his work requires absurd amounts of kit we can barely store although its all packed into the cupboard on the landing atm! dh wants a garage or at least a utility room and we both need a study for work. these are all desires however - we 'could' manage here with 2 kids but would prefer not to :-)

was having laptop problems so that was half a post tbh!

I have a 3 terrace house, it's tiny, possibly smaller than your flat - we have 4 dc

I just wonder if you can't get a decent price whether you can stay put until the market stabilises?????

Is it worth renting an office space or garage for your dh stuff? Some sort of temporary but nice room divider?

i suggested to dh we get a screen from futon shop or something and divide up the main living area.

the lfat is indeed huge but has no storage and no, i dunno, structure! staying put is an option but i got fed up of dh moaning so i put my foot down and put it on the market and tbh i am impatient to move. we have seen what we can get for our new house budget (less than asking price) - which is loads! i fantasise about cupboards and stairs and soundproofing like you cant imagine!

we might have sort of solved the storage issue. we own a house which sil rents from us and she has agreed to let us use part of her loft space so at least all the outgrown baby kit can go up there :-)

Our house has no storage either - open plan. I dream of doors, and a way to confine the cats , we eventually had a loft room put in but that's not handy for storing the vacum cleaner though!!!!

Blimey sounds like you have plenty of capital with both a flat and a house to rent out , I live in surrey and am very very fortunate to have bought 9 years ago we couldn't even afford a studio flat here now. Can't afford to move though

is that we don't have secure parking - theres nothing i can do about that...find a garage to rent locally, search high and low for somewhere and then that is done. My MIL used to rent a garage about 1/4 mile away as it was secure

Is that a canvas wardrobe in your bedroom? I always think they look a bit temporary and studenty.

Could the area with the desk be made into a dining or entertainment area instead?

If you were going to stay instead you could commission a cabinetmaker to do some made-to-measure storage along the living room wall opposite the windows. We did some floor to ceiling cabinets in white gloss with groove detailing in our sitting/dining room when second DC came and we had to lose the study to be her bedroom. It housed the computers, a large storage cabinet, a toy cabinet and a bookshelf. Because it was a gloss finish it reflected loads of light back into the room and the room didn't appear to be much smaller than it was without the cabinets.

ivy - we don't need secure parking - our car is outside in the alloted parking space - it was just a requirement of some of the viewers.

bran - yes it is a canvas wardrobe and i agree it does look naff. we have thought about fitted storage but at the moment i'm reluctant to have anything permanent done. if it hits the year mark on the market i will reconsider :-(

cargirl - i dream of cats! we cant have any due to lease restrictions. but seriously i will never do open plan again, i like my junk and i have nowhere to put it!

When they escape at 5am and break into your bedroom on a regular basis you can sure go off them as pets

that and the gifts

i have two tabby moggies which have been on holiday and my mums for 5 years :-( they like it there though

doubt they will want to come back!

Ours are very chilled and love the dc, just 4 extra pairs of hands to stroke and cuddle them, they are not normal though - well dodgy pedigrees!

Agree with making the desk area a dining area - would definitely be more in keeping with the lifestyle you are aiming to sell.

Could you get a builder in to do a quote for the RSJ? That way if a potential purchaser mentions it is a problem you have a solution and the figures to hand.

I wouldn't count on the original potential purchaser returning at the same offer price though - I know if a place had been on the market for that long after I pulled out of buying it I would put in a very low cheeky offer. He has the advantage of knowing that there has obviously been no offer to match his in all that time.

indeed indeed biscuit nibbler. will bear the rsj advice in mind. thank you

finally got an offer!! in the end i did nothing except change the kitchen around am alsomt disapointed - was looking forward to 'dressing the house'

Ah that's good news! Now the fun begins- what are you buying???

Ooh I think I recognise your flat. Has it been on a "property-porn" type programme?

I can definitely remember someone in a remarkably similar place saying that they'd got the sofas lifted in by crane before the windows were put in!

Congratulations on the offer.