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Original poster

One viewer in 8 months. Help.

76 replies

Roseybee10 · 13/07/2015 12:34

We originally put our property on the market in November last year.
We dropped the price in April.
We have had one viewer in that time. They seemed to really like the property but have had mixed messages since.
I'm not sure what else to do tbh. Think we'll drop the price again but other than that I'm not sure what to try.

[Pics removed by MNHQ at OP's request]

OP posts:
slugseatlettuce · 13/07/2015 13:14

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

hedgehogsdontbite · 13/07/2015 13:17

My gut response looking at your pictures is that there's nothing wrong as such but it does look dull and lifeless. The child's room and kitchen in particular look dark and uninviting.

I'm no house doctor so could be way off but I think you could give it a life by introducing a lighter brighter accessories in contrasting colour to the brown eg ochre. Also borrow a load of leafy green houseplants for the photos/viewings.

Original poster
Roseybee10 · 13/07/2015 13:18

I think it's likely price tbh. August is when it picks up here so I'm worried about missing that if we switch. Our schools go back in 2-3 weeks.

Not sure whether to drop the price and see how that goes or move agent and keep the price the same or slightly drop the price. Desperately need to move by Xmas.

My other issue at the moment is that there is nothing on the market to buy, which is a whole other drama lol. This has been one of the worst experiences of my life!

OP posts:
BeautifulBatman · 13/07/2015 13:19

Sorry OP, but what you can afford to drop to and what the house is actually worth sounds like they're two totally different figures. Anything that's for sale is only worth as much as someone is prepared to pay for it. If you're not getting any viewings, let alone offers, then I think price is the issue. Can you link to the right move ad?

slugseatlettuce · 13/07/2015 13:20

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

hedgehogsdontbite · 13/07/2015 13:20

I don't think you need to redo the bathroom. Just get rid of the storage thing under the sink which makes it looked cramped and add some bright towels and accessories.

hedgehogsdontbite · 13/07/2015 13:22

A link to the rightmove ad is a good idea because then we can see exactly what potential buyers are seeing.

Original poster
Roseybee10 · 13/07/2015 13:23

Well we're already asking for less than its been valued at so we're not being ridiculous. It's comparably priced to others on the market and on at less than the home report.
It's dropped value since we bought it so anything we drop it by we need to pay in cash to clear the mortgage if that makes sense.
We have enough to do that to a certain extent but obviously we have to draw the line somewhere.

OP posts:
TheEmpressofBlandings · 13/07/2015 13:23

Agree with slugs, if a 30 day break is in your contract (are you sure that's still in force out of the tied period?) now is the time to do it, little happens during the summer holidays anyway.

Madamnit · 13/07/2015 13:24

Have you considered using an online agent? If you're doing all the viewings anyway seems odd to be using a hight St agent - all they are going to do is put it online which the online agents do anyway. I've used urban.co.uk they were excellent.

Could you remove for a month. List with an online agent and host an open day yourselves. The online agent can talk you through adding this to the advert.

Normally a couple of options to pay a low fee upfront then pay a tiny commission or pay all upfront no commission on the sale - around £300 if memory serves...

Ouchmybloodythumb · 13/07/2015 13:24

OP, is there any way you could get rid of the big storage unit opposite your bed? Your bedroom looks a good size but that big unit is eating up a lot of space and light.

Ouchmybloodythumb · 13/07/2015 13:26

Agree with hedgehog that the bathroom storage under the sink looks a bit od and, TBH (sorry) a bit of a bodge job Smile

educatingarti · 13/07/2015 13:27

So - I would re-arrange some of the furniture in child's room and living room. It looks all pushed to the edge of walls and living room sofa blocks window. Master bedroom looks great.

slithytove · 13/07/2015 13:35

Can you post the link?

HarlettOScara · 13/07/2015 13:38

It's an upstairs flat then? Is there any outside space?

SpringSpring · 13/07/2015 13:39

I think you need new agent and new pics. Anyone looking in the area will have seen it by now and dismissed it so it needs refreshing to grab people's attention.

Could you try negotiating the other agent's fees down? I did this when selling my last house. I told them that I really liked the look of their services but thought they were overpriced and they matched a competitor's commission charge.

I know you shouldn't have to, but would your downstairs neighbour let you tidy up their garden for them? I know it's really not your job to do it but perhaps if you enlisted some friends and family to blitz it for a few hours it would really improve your curb appeal, which would be worth it to get the house sold :)

SpringSpring · 13/07/2015 13:42

also it looks from the pics like your bathroom doesn't have a shower over the bath - is that right? If so you might want to rectify that. Buyers often have little imagination so if there's no shower it might be worth putting one in as people will tend to think 'the whole bathroom needs doing and it'll cost a fortune' rather than 'it'd cost £150 to put a shower over the top of that bath!

penguinsaresmall · 13/07/2015 13:53

Did you say there's a garden? If so why are there no pics of it? Surely a garden is a big selling point...

Also, it may be nothing to do with it, but I personally don't like the way the furniture is up against the walls with big spaces in the middle of rooms (thinking the living room and nursery particularly). It doesn't make anywhere look very cosy and inviting. Could you move it all around a bit? I think when you have furniture in front of windows it can look like you have less space than you actually do.

Viviennemary · 13/07/2015 14:15

I agree you don't need a new bathroom but certainly get rid of the storage unit on the sink.

Sooperswooper · 13/07/2015 14:27

I really feel for you! I am having the same issues with getting people to view my house- and it's only been on for a month. We luckily had a week contract with our first EAs and let them have notice after 3 weeks (as they were pretty terrible) as of last Friday we went on with a different agent who seem a lot more proactive (although time will tell). Our new agent have already got 3 viewings lined up prior to it going on RM and it went on today as a featured property & premium listing. Fingers crossed we'll get some more interest through that.

We did do a bit of work to the house though in between agents- sanded the floors and worktops properly, did the snag list of little bits and pieces..and dropped the price by 5k so hoping that might help too. Saying that though, a similar property has just gone on where I am for 85k MORE than our house so also hoping that ours is now seen as a super bargain.

It's just frustrating because you can't get the feedback until you get the actual physical viewings! Fingers crossed it picks up for you. Also worthwhile seeing whether you can get a non local agent (maybe?) who can use their branch network and line people up before it's remarketed& be really firm with your new agent- as has been said, negotiate the % and make sure that premium listings, photographs etc are included if you can and also try to get a short contract as then you might as well go through purple bricks/ online (which is what we might end up doing). Best of luck.

Original poster
Roseybee10 · 13/07/2015 14:33

Thanks swooper. Good luck to you too.
I just feel so exhausted by it all now. We bought a property back in march and were going to be renting to BIL but the property fell through. We haven't found anything we like since other than one property that was at the top end of our budget that we weren't comfortable running alongside our current mortgage just in case.

Since February I've had a baby, bought and lost a house and had a parent diagnosed with cancer. I feel stressed and anxious all the time and can't stop thinking about the house issue. I can't keep weight on and feel constantly sick.

I just desperately want to get rid of this flat and get moved because it's putting such a strain on us all and I feel it's spoiling my maternity leave. Im finding it so hard to get up and down stairs with the two kids, the garden is huge but very difficult to use properly with the two kids as any time I need to get something I have to bring them both back upstairs.
Woe is me eh!

OP posts:
Sooperswooper · 13/07/2015 14:43

Oh goodness- I remember you commenting on the thread I started about viewings! You poor thing. Do you think it will pick up in August? Perhaps it's worth giving your EA notice so that you can hit the "new" rush with a remarket and new agent??

Alternatively, is there any chance that you can rent the flat out, use the income from that to rent somewhere more suitable yourself and then come back to selling it in the new year (or when you think?) I know that's not ideal by any stretch of the imagination but would it make you feel a little calmer at least being out of the property and give you a bit of a break from it?

It's just awful not having any viewings and it must really feel like the property is a millstone. And I can barely talk because it's only been a month for me! I think my problem was the agents were so keen that they hugely raised my expectations. Coupled with a new job in a different city it now means that I shall be reverse commuting with my ds until we sell!

Have a chat to your EAs - do you know anyone else in your area who has recently sold as they might have some ideas? Also, we got some very (constructively) critical friends over who were very honest about what needed doing so any chance of doing that?

Original poster
Roseybee10 · 13/07/2015 14:59

Thanks.
There isn't even anything out there we would want to rent. Tempted to just drop the price of the flat then rent something similar for 6 months until we can save enough to cover the deficit in the mortgage.
We bought the flat for 103k 7 years ago. It valued at 90k in November. We're not even getting 85k for it and our mortgage is still at 92k so anything under the 92k we have to pay in cash basically.
I can't believe how badly we've been burned. We would have been better renting all this time.

OP posts:
Haggisfish · 13/07/2015 15:00

Scottish estate agents and methods are completely different to England-they are even more of a massive rip off than the English ones. There tend to far fewer of them, too, so they have a monopoly. Drop the price is your only option, I think,

RaphaellaTheSpanishWaterDog · 13/07/2015 16:17

I feel for you OP {{hugs}}}

Realistically though, apart from trying to brighten the place up a bit - some of your pics do make it look quite dark/dreary - it has to be the price that's the cause of lack of viewings.

I can sympathise as we once 'lost' tens of thousands on a house we bought as a forever home, spent loads on restoring it, but due to its style/location made a stonking loss. In our case we were extremely fortunate to have no mortgage and could still purchase our next house without re purse to borrowing, but it's a nasty situation nonetheless when you know the on,y way to get rid of a property is to take a financial hit.

Hope things pick up for you in August!