No viewings - Advice needed

[ElsieMc]

I put my mum's house on the market five weeks ago, she died at Christmas. We had a few valuations and didn't take the highest, but the one in the middle. We did not take the lowest, because the EA priced it the same as two bed houses with no parking or outside space.

The house is a three bed, one of three mid terrace. It has a good sized living room (16 x 15) and a 14ft x 10 kitchen diner. Two double beds and one single. Small bathroom, courtyard (very overlooked) and private designated parking area. It's within walking distance of town, in a very quiet area.

The house is dated, but in immaculate condition. It is all liveable with, not even any marks on the wallpaper. However, not one single viewing. Estate Agents never contact me at all and any changes to the property particulars have been ignored such as there being no chain.

I don't want to fall out with the agent as we are tied in for twenty weeks. Am I just worrying too early in the day or do I need to be going in and asking questions - is the property market dead everywhere?

It's on the market for £140,000 which is the same price as ex-council properties nearby (although they have gardens) and cheaper than town centre ones without parking so it doesn't seem overpriced.

If they ignore changes to the particulars I would be very unhappy and start telling them so. If you get nowhere then there must be some kind of Estate Agent Ombudsman. I would ring and ask why no viewings. They shouldn't 'fall out with you' when you question them about doing their job.

Can you ask your Estate Agent's what (if any) properties in the area they have sold recently and for what price?

It may be that your property doesn't seem over priced compared to others on the market in the area but if they aren't selling either ........

I would call your Estate Agents and a couple of others too and have a chat with them about the local market etc.

Very sorry to hear about your mum.

Your estate agent can't do much about the market but they can and should do the best they can to market the property. So they should definitely be amending the particulars to say things like no chain.

I would chase them about the particulars, also ask them for a list of people they have sent the particulars to, has there been any feedback from any of them, have they asked for feedback, that kind of thing. Don't worry about falling out with them - you're not being rude you are just asking them to do their job!

Do the particulars have decent photos and a floorplan? Are they on rightmove, primelocation etc?

Many thanks for your responses. Yes, they have sold similar priced properties to my mum's but I just haven't had the viewings - other agents also.

I will get on to them this week. I think they may be suffering because they have recently lost their manageress, who was very motivated, to another firm and there is no-one to crack the whip so to speak. The photos are not bad at all, so no real complaints there.

When you say it's not overpriced, are you comparing against other asking prices or actual sold prices? If the former that might give you an indicator.

Also check the description, photos, floorplan. Check it appears when you search for the area on Rightmove (i.e. they haven't made a mistake with the listing meaning people haven't seen it).

Is the market quiet in the area generally - i.e. how many houses are shifting to SSTC in the area?

Finally (after reviewing all the above) are the agent doing their job? Get a friend to ring up to express interest. We wanted to view a house recently and it took weeks of battling a very unresponsive agent to get a viewing!

Can I suggest you post a link on here. Fresh unemotionally attached eyes may give you a better idea of whether the photos are actually good enough to pull people in IYSWIM?

Can't add to what has been said. An ea can't pull people off the street or force people to view so they can't make viewings appear from nowhere when you have not had any. That is the market at the moment. They should however Ben updating schedules and advertising at your request. I'd recommend a friend phoning for you as a possible viewer to see how the agency deal with a call.

no viewings is price.

viewings but no offers is condition.

Rubbish piglet

Can you get a friend to contact them pretending to be looking for a property and see whether they are given your property details / what the estate agent says about your property?

Can you post a link to it?

have you got a couple of weekends to strip the wallpaper and paint it all cream? Also update light fittings and curtains to something neutral. Nothing fancy, they don't need to be lined. Landlords love a terraced house but they'll want one without too much work needed before it can be let. Lots of people like a house where they don't have to start decorating the minute they move in. £500 or so spent now may well pay dividends later.

I would echo what others have said about avoiding comparison with others on the market - by definition they have not sold. Its worth considering also that the market has so far been artificially supported by the stamp duty holiday for FTBs - in effect this has brought FTB demand forward (and thus allowed more chains to complete than would otherwise been the case). The problem with government 'stimulus' measures are that whilst they bring demand forward, demand drops following their end - and this is where we are at now. In your case this may be even more relevant as you are quite close to the 0% SD threshold of £125K - I would very much hope your EA has explained all this to you though.

5 months is a very long time to tie in but easy to say in hindsight - i normally only go with a month as that tends to focus their minds!

can they do an open day? that can generate interest and a bit of competition

Does the house look a bit unloved? somewhere that is empty can be a bit off putting to purchasers because we are buying into a dream when we buy a house ( unless we are very sensible indeed ) Sounds as if it needs a bit of TLC and updating with some new photos that really show this off.

Just an update. I spoke to EA today. Actually rang local office twice and it was on answerphone. Last time I rang all staff had gone home as there had been an accident. I felt really fed up and rang head office and spoke to the Manageress. She has told me they have not been up to scratch with no-one speaking to me at all, particularly as it is a bereavement sale and not making changes to the particulars. She has appointed another member of staff to meet with me tomorrow and we are going to have a good look at the house together.

I haven't posted a link because I am a bit sensitive about criticism of my mum's house at the moment (probably wrongly) No matter how much I polish and clean, the next day it seems to smell of her again.

I think most of your comments are absolutely spot on. I do put flowers in etc to keep it looking loved, but it still a sad, empty, old lady house.

I will re-look at my options tomorrow and thank you for all your input.

i know this sounds hard but maybe a fresh lick of paint and getting the carpets cleaned etc. then get some more photos done from your ea's. it really won't cost that much, but i know how hard it is to erase someone you love like that.

buyers mostly dont want to just walk into a place with no work.

We're looking to move at the mo and the amount of work to bring it up-to-date might put us off. Lots of people just don't have much money to do lots of decorating. Could you paint the walls? Change the kitchen cupboard doors? Cheaply re-carpet the lounge? Check the front of the property looks nice? Has it got lots of dated furniture in it? If it's really dated, I'd get the electrics and boiler serviced (and mentioned in the online speal) as this will all indicate to potential buyers that there's just cosmetic changes, not a nasty electrical/boiler surprise.

It doesn't have to cost loads but it might help get the viewings. Definitely check it's coming up on RightMove and FindAProperty.com, any error and it won't be being picked up in the searches and therefore not seen.

Good luck with the sale and I'm really sorry about the circumstances.

Repainting and improving the appearance will make a better impression on viewers.

However ElsieMc's problem is that there are no viewers.

I continue to believe that potential buyers seach on area, size, type and price before deciding which homes to view. There is only one of these characteristics that a vendor can change.

Obviously if the agent is useless and the home does not appear on 'net searches that will prevent potential buyers from knowing it exists.

Also if the agent is useless and is always closed/never answers the phone, which has been the OP's experience so far.