Why have we had very little viewers?

[Rita1003]

Hi all, our house has been on the market since early March. Up until now we have only had two viewings. We received an offer which we accepted but the sale fell through because they failed to sell their own property and their own buyers were not solid.

I'm surprised we have not had more people through the door however and wondered if anyone would like to click on the link and give feedback on the photos? Or anything else on the ad which may be putting some people off. All feedback, good and bad, gratefully received.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-43387819.html

[teacherwith2kids]

I am sure that this has been said before - but I would be very wary (as a buyer) of using an online estate agent based so very far from where the house is - and as you are finding, the online estate agent is doing a really bad job for you, too. Get a proper 'real life ' eastate agent who has sold lots of properties in your village onto the case.

[Selks]

Yes a local estate agent might be a good idea. Many people come to browse the town and the local estate agents when they are thinking about house buying. If you use a local agent I think the details will still show on rightmove etc anyway.

All your ideas are good. It's a very nice house, good luck with selling.

[RetroHippy]

Lovely house.
We've just been in the market for a three bed not too far away. We have bought at the absolute top of our budget at £170 grand. It is 3 + a loft conversion and cellar conversion and a much bigger garden. We got ten grand off because they hadn't had much interest either. The opening photo was also the view, which I suspect did put people off.

It's a beautiful house and it comes across well in the photos. I'd move some stuff out of bedroom 2 and into bedroom 3, but that wouldn't put me off viewing. The lack of garden would, but that's personal preference and it's a precious commodity in Yorkshire.

I'm sorry, but unless the streets where you are are paved with gold, it's the price that's putting people off. What are similar properties going for nearby?

[eddielizzard]

i agree with kerb appeal and new photos.

i think it's great actually, and would be very surprised if you don't sell now.

[Rita1003]

Retrohippy - the 2 bed 4 doors down just sold for £175,000. But it is a mid terrace and much smaller. I know because I have been in about 3 of the houses on the row and the mid terrace ones are small. Doors virtually open into the lounge type houses. Plus has not got off road parking like we do. Plus we own 6Ft of land out to the left of the gable end.

We do have a garden - it's just on two levels and not shown great in the photos. Which will be amended.

The lack of garden is a funny one - either people dread a large garden (I've had one in the past and will NEVER buy a house with a big garden again. The work and money that is involved in maintaining even a small garden is ridiculous). We sit out every sunny day in the garden having lovely BBQs and the dog can play in the open field at the back. However some people want a large garden. Hmmmmmm. Difficult.

[RetroHippy]

Wow, in that case, just be patient.

I agree about the garden. If someone wants a big garden there's nothing you can do to make it fit, and vice-versa.

We put ours on at the start of Feb, only had two viewings in over a month, plus a couple of no-shows. Sold to the second viewer for the price we wanted. It's not been long, I wouldn't change anything really for another couple of months, but I'm lazy and would rather tidy for one person who really wants it than for ten who just thought it looked nice in the pictures. Which it does anyway, but you know what I mean.

[Rita1003]

We don't feel the online estate agent is doing a bad job at all. The photos were not great - but that is also the case with high street local estate agents too often. The estate agent has been so organised we are astounded. In fact when our first viewers came to view they said (without us asking) that they could not believe how incredibly polite, helpful, proactive and organised the estate agent was. They call back within seconds, they follow every single thing up with instant confirmation and they have made any changes to our ad within minutes if we request it. We just need to sort the photos.

I agree that given the semi-rural location of our house the online estate agent may not in the end be able to promote our house like a local one could - however we really can't fault them so far. The last 3 local estate agents I have dealt with have been a nightmare. The really great thing about this estate agent too is their feedback strategy. Any viewers give written feedback via email - ie you get to read EXACTLY what they said to the estate agent. Rather than trying fathom what on earth the Saturday girl at the local estate agent means when she tells you, "Erm....erm..... yeah....erm they are thinking about it." Totally useless information to us.

[pinkdelight]

I don't understand why you can't fault your EA when you've only had two viewings. They could be the most organised, wonderful, customer-focused company in the world but if they don't have any profile in your local market, all that is useless. I'm not blaming them for anything they're not doing, just saying that essentially you're relying on prospective buyers alighting on your home through online searches and that unless the buyer already knows they want a 3-bed in Blacko in that price bracket, then you are sadly in needle/haystack territory. It's a shame your experience with local agents has been poor. Could you get a recommendation? Or use a local branch of a national chain and complain if the service is poor? I just don't see why a great feedback system would outweigh the fact they've only found you two potential buyers.

[DebbieOfMaddox]

Getting written feedback from viewers is great if you get the viewers, but the first part of their job is getting the viewers. So far they've put up some bad photographs and a sketchy description, not doing anything to offset the red flags that could put viewers off (e.g. specifying that it's a 999 year lease with a peppercorn rent, mentioning the extensive renovation work, putting information about parking front and centre, remembering to describe it as end-of-terrace). It's good that once you've done half their job for them by rewriting the sales copy and getting new photographs taken they'll be wonderfully proactive about the other half, but if I only did half the job I was supposed to be doing I wouldn't expect my employer's appraisal to say that my performance couldn't be faulted because I was doing that half really well.

[DebbieOfMaddox]

(they may still be your best option, but that doesn't make them faultless)

[Rita1003]

pinkdelight - I guess because I don't trust local estate agents to do any better. I have a friend in the village using a local estate agent - her house has remained unsold for nearly 3 years. I think most buyers search in a price bracket in an area range from an area they know well. Not many will move to a random totally unknown area. When people search online they see all houses within a certain mile radiius. We are willing to give it a go with new write up and new photos. If that does not change things will have a rethink.

[Rita1003]

Debbieofmaddox - But neither do local estate agents. I've lost count of the amount of houses we have viewed where the local estate agent tells us NOTHING. We've had to literally dig for information and we have NEVER had a call to say a house in coming up in an area we desire despite them knowing full well right now which areas we are looking at and our price bracket. In fact we have just found our perfect home - and the estate agent involved did not even bother to tell us it existed. When we did arrange an appointment the estate agent failed to show - a builder happened to be there and let us in. When we called the EA after the viewing they had NO IDEA that they should have been showing us the house. Useless.

[DebbieOfMaddox]

Oh, the local ones may be worse, but that doesn't make these ones perfect.

[Coumarin]

Probably not helpful but I disagree that it 'doesn't look lived in'. Apart from the smaller bedrooms, which you're addressing.

I do agree that some of the photos don't do it justice but again, you're on to that.

It's tidy, clean and very well presented. I really like it actually. If I was in the area and looking to move I'd definitely view it.

Not that, that's any use to you but just wanted to reassure you that there's very little wrong with your house at all. I think someone people look for things to criticise even if there isn't anything.

[Rita1003]

Coumarin - thank you. We are trying very hard. The good news is that those who did view seemed to really like it - and only the second viewer put an offer in. It is easy, when asked, to comment one every little tiny aspect - which is what I asked for. So that's ok. However we do not have endless amounts of money, and we love the house. It has a very grand feel to it. Really beautiful sunsets looking out to the hills - amazing high ceilings. It's just too far from my parents with the baby on its way. We just need the photos doing and improvements to the key things which we can afford.

[Bunbaker]

Do you really have to move? My parents are dead and OH's mum lives 150 miles away. We managed perfectly well without family back up. Lots of people do.

[pinkdelight]

"When people search online they see all houses within a certain mile radiius"

I know how it works. I'm not suggesting your target market is people moving to a random unknown area. I'm saying your market will be young families considering living out of the main towns but considering several semi rural places around Pendle. The chances of them specifically searching on Blacko as opposed to dozens of other villages are limited. A more likely search in which it would come up would be within, say, a three mile radius of Barrowford. There are over 500 3-bed properties under £200k in that radius and there's nothing that's gonna make yours especially stand out. Nice though it is, it is what it is, a 3 bed terrace like many others. This is, it seems to me, why marketing your property this way has only resulted in two viewers. Whereas if it was in the window of local agents, the people looking locally would see it. Obviously your bad experiences will probably stop you going this route, but i still think it's the source of the problem. Have you only tried the village agents? Have you tried bigger chains in local towns? The ones who advertise in the local papers? If you were in their shop windows and in the papers and emailed to their list of prospective buyers and still had no viewers, then at least by that point, you could be sure it was the price.

[pinkdelight]

In fact that search - with the Barrowford radius - has lots of 4+ bed cottage/semi's at the same price or less still in nice locations, so by competing directly against them by only being online, it's clearly not going to be easy to draw the right buyer.

[allisgood1]

More bright and airy photos needed. The garden isn't represented well in the photo and it's a family home so may have an impact on those who really want a garden.

[PrimalLass]

The new table is lovely. I always put a runner and a bowl of fruit on the table for the photos.

[Crutchlow35]

OP pinkdelight makes some very, very valid points. I said way up thread that one of your main issues is your agent but you don't seem to see that.

You said you believe they are being pro-active but I just don't see that from what you have said in all of your messages. What do you think they have done?

If your agent was a good one, you wouldn't be asking for help here I don't think.

When posters ask should they use online agents, my advice is only to ever use them if you are in a quick market, ie the south east where selling is quick with lots of buyers looking. You need a local agent with a shop front that receives daily footfall. Ok so you have had a bad experience before but there is tonnes of good advice here so if you go with a new agent then your advertising should be first class and you can also tell them about how you expect photos to be done and you can ask for wide lens photos to be taken.

[Rita1003]

Crutchlow35 - I don't have an issue with the agent. Yet. I CAN see every point - just getting tired of the local agent issue version online agent at this point being the main issue throughout. We all know how awful ANY agent can be. If AFTER the photos and write up and price are altered we still get few viewers then we will rethink. I don't need telling a hundred times about the online agent versus a local one. I get it!

[Crutchlow35]

Fine. It's not me that is selling! If you want some additional advice get them to put your postcode on. It's ridiculous that it isn't and also, get them to put wording next to your price so offers around or guide price, something like that. Do these things when you change your photos, not now so that the house will jump to the to the top of the area you are in when people search new properties within your area - the postcode is needed for that.

[miramar]

I can't believe this has gone on for 4 pages.

"You need more viewers"
"Yes"
"A local agent will get you more viewers"
"No they won't. The online estate agent is wonderful "
"Their photos and description need redone and they are not getting you enough viewers"
"We can't fault the online agent"

[OwlCapone]

You missed this bit, Miramar

If AFTER the photos and write up and price are altered we still get few viewers then we will rethink.

Or am I on a different thread?