Help me sell my house!

[cupcake78]

Before I die from housework and stress.

House been on market for a year. Have had near 30-40 viewings. All feed back has been good such as we love the house, its well priced, it has a good garden etc.....a few negatives which are beyond our control.

Yet no second viewings or offers! Agents are doing there best for us. Marketing is good, pics are clear. House is spotless and clutter free to the point I get compliments on how do I do it with kids work etc.

What more do I need to do? I'm 24 wks pregnant and its seriously getting to me now. I don't want to be doing this with a newborn baby a 5yr old and a dh who is always at work!

[Dancealot]

I was in a similar position to you, pregnant and house on market for a year. We changed estate agents and although we had thought our house was very competitively priced they gave us info on sold prices in our area for similar houses- it was ten grand under! We reduced our asking price by ten grand, had 6 viewings that weekend (with a week old baby) and sold immediately for our asking price. If you are willing to take £215 then my advice would be to reduce the asking price to this and state no offers.

[gregssausageroll]

They are only just getting the land registry feed through. I don't find them reliable. You are better sticking with rightmove for now.

[mumat39]

Gregs, I thought zoopla was okay for sold prices but not very good for their valuations. Or at least it seems to be for the area I'm in.

[noddyholder]

Clean and de clutter to within an inch of its life and undercut the nearest next house in price by 10%

[gregssausageroll]

Please DO NOT use zoopla for sale prices. They are not accurate. Use something like our property.co.uk or the land registry. They are currently up to January sale prices.

[wfrances]

cant you take a photo of kitchen, lounge ,bathroom and post them on your personal page for us to look over ?

[Iamcountingto3]

30-40 viewings in a year with NO second viewings, tbh does sound like there is something 'wrong' in the overall mix. You say others are on at 270, but as others have said, what are other houses SELLING for?

I would certainly be pushing for more detailed negative/constructive feedback from the agents - what do they think is happening? What's the market like round you? HAve they sold other similar houses recently? At what price point? CAn you look at their details to see if there is anything obvious?

I would be very tempted to switch agents at this stage - I wonder if the agents are bringing the wrong people round the house/if a new set of photos/advice would help you make a change.

And defn post the link another time (just name change) - MNers will be much more honest about any issues than estate agents

[bnt]

Who shows prospective buyers around - you or the Estate Agent?

When we were househunting last year, some owners showed us around and one or two came across as being too desperate/too chatty/too personal/too - I don't know how to describe it, but it really put us off.

On the other hand, a couple of the Estate Agents weren't great either, being snooty, offhand, too in-your-face, too chatty, rushing us and not giving us time to think.

If you show people around, try letting the EA show them around while you go out for a while. Or if the EA shows people around, perhaps you could do the honours?

[goodjambadjar]

is there any furniture you can get rid of/store in the garage so it looks even more spacious?
are there any rooms that don't have neutral colours? Some people can't see a 'blank canvas' if colours are distracting.
Are you putting nice smelling things in the kitchen for viewings? eg bread/cookies/ coffee beans?
Could you ask your agent for a weekend open house?

[mumat39]

That's a good point Bird.

OP, could they advertise your house with 120k ONO ?

[flatbread]

Hmm, it is a tough one.

How many houses in your price range have gone under offer in the last two months in the general vicinity?

[ILikeBirds]

If i saw a house that had been dropped from 127 to 125 I'd be inclined to think that the sellers are really holding out. I would presume they wouldn't accept an offer of say 117 at all.

2k drop is not really a drop imo, it doesn't introduce any new buyers with a lower price bracket.

[mumat39]

Sort of cross posted with you OP, but it does sound like the agent aren't maybe being clear about things like family area, no downstairs loo etc.

[claudedebussy]

as others have said:

• check sold prices
  
• change agents
  
• ask for new photos
  

and if still no joy, drop price a little

[mumat39]

Hi there.

I know some estate agents are a bit naughty when it comes to doing viewing of properties which are not suitable for prospective buyers. For example every time I've moved, estate agents have always said 'ooh there's a lovely property which you should look at' even though it might be in the wrong area or more than we can afford.

Have you changed agents? One of my neighbours was with one for about 18months, decided to change to a new estate agent and the house was sold on the first viewing. Some agents are better at matching prospective buyers to properties. A independent one might also be better than a big name one if they have more experience in the area.

Apologies if all this is obvious.

phil spencer - secret agent is often on on one of the cable channels and it might be worth trying o catch that to see if he has any tips.

Also, if you look on zoopla, you'll be able to search on your postcode or area, to see what other properties in your area have sold for. Feels a bit nosy but it info that's in the public domain.

Hope this helps a bit. Good luck with this and your pregnancy.

[cupcake78]

Negatives have been, no downstairs toilet (well why come and look then?!). Drive was too long, for others that has been a benefit. Too much of a family area (3 bed semi in a cul de sac, there will be families!). Garage isn't attached to house it next to it. That's been it really.

It's on for £125k other houses are on for £127. We dropped it in Jan from £127-£125 most go for £125k we would accept £110-£115k but would ideally like as much as we could get.

Agent is being good, get feed back everytime. Were always told who is precedable before they come. I speak to them regularly, we have done everything they have suggested . They don't know why it's not selling, say its just waiting for the right person. Happy with them, they are selling other houses in our area.

[flatbread]

Also, think of incentives. Instead of dropping your price by, say, £10k, why not offer the attractive car in the driveway as part of the deal.

There are always suckers who love to think they are getting a 'bargain'

[flatbread]

Do you have a floor plan online? Is it clear from the description/floorplan the size of the house and rooms?

Is your garden north facing?

[Anja1Cam]

What NotADRagon said. On paper you are doing everything right. We can't help. You still have not told use the negatives that are out of your control. Horrendous neighbours might be a biggie for example.
What's the general market like? Houses here tend to sell inside a month on the whole, for example. Are there other houses like yours - can you search on zoopla (I think) to see recent sales in your area and what they went for?
Can you show us inside pictures maybe, not the EA link.

What people/potential buyers say to your face and what they actually think can be two very different things too.

[BerthaTheBogCleaner]

You either need to be more patient or drop the price. This.

How does your asking price compare with sold prices in your area? There are a dozen houses in our village that have been on the market a year (or two, or three) and don't sell. They probably all think they're priced right because they compare themselves with each other. But similar houses come on at 20% less and sell quickly. You can tell when a seller is serious cos they keep dropping their price till it sells.

Unless there is something really obvious, like the whole house is bright pink or the neighbours are dreadful or the third bedroom is accessed through the second.

Namechange and give us a link, gwan ...

[GinAndSlimlinePlease]

hmm, not helpful mintyy!

OP, it might be with changing estate agents. Some are just a bit shit! I had one who kept showing me the opposite of what I wanted! a good estate agent will make sure they're getting the right buyers through your door. If you don't want to change agents, work really hard with them. call them regularly, be out for viewings, sit down and have a good honest chat about what the feedback is. ensure your agent is getting verbal feedback from every single viewer.

I assume you've already decluttered, done small diy jobs, have a shiny front door, maintained gardens etc?

[NotADragonOfSoup]

It's not really possible to give help blind.

Frequent viewings but no offers/second viewings means the price is wrong, it doesn't live up to the photos, there is something wrong with the area, something that isn't shown in the photos

[AllBellyandBoobs]

Well from what you say, it's priced right, in a nice area, well presented, well maintained... You either need to be more patient or drop the price. Are the estate agents busy at the moment? How many houses going SSTC per week? What do they suggest you need to do?

[cupcake78]

Minty just want ideas of how to get it sold. Am I missing something?

[cupcake78]

Our estate never has any trouble been here 12 yrs and only one burglary. Primary schools are fine, senior schools also match with others locally. We aren't near the best school but this is reflected in the prices where we are.

We live in a safe small cul de sac not built up. All houses have drives, front and back gardens.