Three views in three months and absolutely no offers!

[VendorZilla]

The EA was very much over excited with our Art Deco house and expected it to sell well. We didn't sign an agreement as we went on a handshake. The listing missed huge swathes of info about the property and the plans were all wrong - they under measured by over 200sqft. It was put in the hands of a drip who didn't even respond to messages and left the house unlocked after 2 viewings. (He's since been sacked.) We've just told them to take it off the market and feel desperately disappointed. I want to get a different agent in now but DH is still trying to be nice to the rubbish agent in the hope something happens.
Thing is, it's a unique house. The only similar one in the area - right next door - has been un-characterised; roof terrace converted to pitch roof, windows changed, all the Art Deco soul (features and appearance) has been sucked out. All other houses in the area are pretty much bog standard 30s mock Tudor. EA reckons planning permission to extend upwards (convert part of the roof terrace to a master bedroom suite) will be a real draw to potential buyers. Don't really know what to think/do about that one!
What to do..? Tearing my hair out and just want to move.

Gorgeous. Love it. Love the garden. Looks like it would be huge fun as well as practical to live in.

But:
Who wrote the specs? The agent? In places it isn't doing you any favours.
eg this bit:
'But this is predominantly a renovated property, very much a modern family home within a period art deco shell. Not that there is anything wrong with that at all.'

sounds a bit defensive, like you might think there WAS something wrong with it!

The price made my eyes water, because I'm from the north, which doesn't mean I think the price is wrong (I wouldn't know) but at that price I think it needs a swankier brochure, with professional photographs, to make it look more like house in that price bracket, or it feels like you're pushing your luck. You're also not helped by the fact that the front view of the house makes it look rather small, like it's going to be a 2 or 3 bedder rather than a 4 - it's better from the back, but then you have the uglier house nextdoor spoiling the view. (And it clearly isn't small, once you get inside.)

I honestly think you just need a better agent who will present it more effectively and to a wider range of potential buyers.

This is more of a fan site for period houses, not an agency.

Thanks Mintyy!

WowHaus scan the web for period houses for sale and write their critique based in what they see in the photos. This isn't EA blurb.

The price is about average for 4/5 bed houses in the area, although there are more expensive ones which have been done up (blanded out with fireplaces removed, entire floors tiled with porcelain, etc)

It's stunning. There are fans out there who will pay, its getting an EA to find that person!

Ah, I get it. You can click through to the EA blurb from the Wowhaus site.

Sorry, no advice, but I love your house! I'd buy it if I was looking in that area and I'd won the lottery

I think your house is amazing! Why are you moving! It's stunning. I think it should be on the standard sites like Rightmove etc as well to get the biggest audience. If that had been available where I was looking I would have bought it. I don't know where Kenton is but if its outskirts of London suburbs could it be a tad over -priced?

Am I right in thinking the agent hasn't listed your house on rightmove, zoopla, etc? If so, there's your answer, it's not hard. Change your agent!

Beautiful house btw :)

at a guess I think that people interested in living in this kind of house aren't going to fancy living in Kenton, which is a bit meh. The blurb is shite. There's no floorplan.

You want this on with someone who will write an amazing blurb about the Art Deco style of it, and you want to try and get it on The Modern House website, which is far more upmarket than Wowhaus.

Your house is gorgeous.
I love your bathroom and the garden.
Your agent is a fool.

Oh vendor, I absolutely love it. That's the best bathroom ever! If it's not on right move I'd bet anything that's the only reason it hasn't sold.

Ps, the room with the purple chairs -are the massive windows pretty? IMF they are, I'd get rid of the nets and show them off

Also, if it's not on rightmove then your agent must surely be a total dunce?!!!

Just checked, not on RM, sack the agent

It was on RM and Zoopla and Primelocation. Since the EA took it off his site it's now not on the main ones. No plans on WowHaus but there were plans on the original EA site.

Agree about the front shot - the really obvs thing for me is you can't see the front door, which is stepped back from the front.

Thank you everyone for the kind words and the constructive critisism - all v useful.

Need to work out if it needs that planning permission tho. To illustrate, we have two staircases; ground to first floor and first floor to roof terrace. We want to push the idea of a master bedroom suite (sleeping area, dressing area, en suite) with doors to the terrace on the top floor. There can still be independent access to the roof terrace without going through the theoretical master bedroom for other occupants of the house.

Other benefits are fab local park (1 min walk) and decent local schools (public, independent and local authority) and there will be a French International School opening 1.8 miles away (Lycée Français). Good transport links as you'd expect for suburban NW London. It's even within staggering distance from the main Masonic Lodge, for anyone so inclined.

It is beautiful but it is a very niche house which I would not choose to live in.

I think a change of estate agents is always good. Check on rightmove to see which estate agents pictures and photos you like the look of. Ask what they are going to do to sell your unique property. Will they put it in any the specialist house section of local magazines.

It must be on rightnmove. We are currently house hunting but if it is not on right move we would not know about it.

Everts four weeks you need to ring new estate agent to ask how it is going and what the their move is going to be.

Nothing of use to say here.

I LOVE your house though. We'd snap that up if we were looking in that direction.

Its absolutely gorgeous. If it wasn't for the flat roof then I'd love to live there - I'd best buy a lottery ticket!

I can't see a photo of the kitchen. That would put me off - I probably wouldn't view it for that reason not that I could ever afford it

For me the kitchen is the most important room in the home - it's where I spend most of my time.

Also, the flat roof would be a big no-no. Sorry.

But you have kept the features and decorated it beautifully - your garden is also amazing.

I've now had a good look at the floorplan (I found it!) and 2 or even 3 of the bedroom are small at best, 2 are tiny, so the price seems high to me (though I'm not au fait with NW London prices). I also think that if you are going to appeal to the Art Deco fans you need to make it far more authentic. I look on the Modern House website a lot and in comparison to what is on there a lot of the time, whilst your actual house looks great, the interior, in the main, could be anywhere. A feature wall is definitely not in keeping!

Just a few thoughts. I love Art Deco and I like your building, but not really the presentation or the location (mind you, my knowledge of Kenton is probably about 20 years out of date - definitely wasn't a des res then!).

Oh yes, good point about kitchen. Very often the most important room in a house these days.

It's beautiful. To sell it as a family home there should be pics of the kitchen, tree house and summerhouse/home office as these are all massive selling points.

You could make the roof terrace look more inviting with plants and furniture. It looks a bit like a flat felt roof with a table on it in the pic featured.

Are the agents local? Sometimes it's better to be in a big chain agency as they syndicate your house to all their agencies, so people looking to relocate also see it. They bring in potential buyers from outside the area, or who didn't know the area.

Local agencies can get a bit parochial about prices and what sells. Round here I've noticed more people sell via big agencies. A friend told me she got £30k over the top estimate from a local agency by going with a mainstream one, so it may be worth bearing that in mind when you swap.