Selling my house... finding the feedback difficult to cope with!!

[af2000]

We are selling our 2 bed terraced house in London. It is a fairly standard 2 bed cottage - 2 reception rooms, 2 double bedrooms though we have a large kitchen which many don't. We also have a lovely 115ft garden, unusual for London. We have completely renovated the house and of course we think it is lovely.

Had our first viewing yesterday. The feedback was that they liked the area/ garden etc but found the house to be small . It is a 2 bed cottage and we have advertised it as such (and the photos dont make it look anormous or anything). I think the price is in line with the area.

Just found it really hard not to get all defensive with the estate agent.. I think I am going to find the process of selling our lovely house stressful!

We have a load of viewings booked in for tomorrow and Saturday. Does anyone have any tips on how to sell your house without taking all the feedback too personally?!

As buyers, we have viewed loads of houses in a wide area, even ones that we are not sure about, partly to get a more defined idea of what we DO want, and partly as our perfect house has not come up and we know we need to compromise on something. So, we have been to view houses knowing the square footage and having seen the photos etc but realised when we viewed that the layout or parking or room sizes or specific location or whatever wasn't right. But wasn't right FOR US not 'not nice'.

Don't take it to heart - they aren't criticising your taste or you personally. Tbh, if I were spending that much money on a house (I know, it's crazy London!) then I'd be pretty picky too.

I think 'too small' is perhaps an excuse for some who don't want to say that they are actually just having a nosy and aren't yet ready to buy.

There's a house across the road from us that was marketed as a 4 bed, when it's quite clear that it's a 3 bed with a dining room - most of the other houses round here have had the living/dining room knocked through because they were two small rooms.

I'm. Clearly being thick ... the floor plan shows.3.bedrooms?

af2000 keep in mind a lot of people who views houses are dicks. Our current house which I absolutely love was put up for sale a few years back (job move we didn't go through with it, thankfully) here's some examples. Woman complained our stairs weren't suitable for a stairlift should she ever need it because we have windows in the hall and landing. We had a floor plan, its a corner house with garden on 3 sides she should have known about the windows.

Same woman were we leaving the wardrobes. No they are not built in and not in the details.

Viewers asked if the neighbours would hate them once they had paved over our lovely garden for their haulage business. Honest answer, yes they would have. They didn't put in an offer.

Bitch that suggested we should take a low offer because in her opinion DD2 would need to go to a special school and we would need time to find one. How I didn't tell her to fuck off I don't know. I only told her DD2 has SEN because she was judging me for taking her to ballet classes. I don't remember how that came up,

Woman who had me measure the floor to see if her huge sofa would fit. Like an idiot I did, should have said if she liked the house that much she could change her sofa.

QOD you have to go through the third bedroom to get to the bathroom so it technically can't really be used as a bedroom all the time. However, it is quite a big space that we usexpect for the baby's changing table and a bit of a dressing room and for drying clothes. We have used it as an occasional spare room too.

As the house is only really advertised as being 2 bedrooms I see this space as being a kind of bonus room...

Had a viewer yesterday, then got a migraine, so I didn't hear my phone call later from the agent.

Must have been the same old feedback, though, or they would have tried harder than once to call me. I don't care anymore.

Tomorrow is Saturday and no viewings planned.

Sod this for a game of soldiers!

Have any houses on the road moved things or extended to give more space? If you've got a huge garden it must be feasible? As a selling point.

We've just come out of the other side of selling/buying. Dh used to take comments made about our flat very personally but I didn't care - we just needed to find someone to buy it.
Especially as I looked at a lot of houses and had, what might seem like, spurious reasons for not liking them (eg a garden is north facing which can't be changed).

When buying a house, you usually end up buying with your heart and despite estate agents best efforts, looking at photos and floor plans doesn't give you as much of a feel as walking around. And if you don't have the feeling then you reject it!

You liked it and someone else will. It is early days yet!

Just had a look at the floor plan - it does look small - I've seen similar properties in SE London (where we sold) and they've knocked through either the living/dining room or added a side return extension to the kitchen.
So hence get the estate agent to flag any potential improvements. Then buyers can at least think "well we can do X to make it bigger"

Fortified say again? A woman said what about your DD?! Jesus.

I would look at that room as a bonus but perhaps people are looking to see if it could be a proper third bedroom and hence the small comments.

Can you sell the third walk through bedroom as a study? Empty out and add desk and chair etc, or comfy chair in corner with lamp and books as mini library.

I've had 4 viewings and 3 offers but haven't accepted. The 4th said they really wanted a bathroom in the loft conversion for their teenager...there clearly isn't an ensuite up there!!
Idiots.
Also had "disappointment" that it wasn't a gas cooker. Clearly says electric double oven and hob.

Still am in no hurry to sell .
Got a viewing later today.

Fortified unbelievable.

Yes a house around the corner has just converted the loft and every other house in the area has had the side return/loft done. So there is definitely precedence and I will be telling the estate agent to point that out to viewers today. If we had done that already then the house would be on for 625k or more so the asking price reflects this.

With regards to the reception rooms Believeitornot they are not exactly cavernous but I would say they are in proportion given that it is a 2 bed terraced cottage. We made the decision not to knock the two rooms through as we have a child and like to have a child free zone in the living room. Obv there is the option for people to do that. I will also ask the EAS to point that out today. Will see how it goes.

Am about to get the mop and bucket out

Artandco not really as we do use that room as a spare room and for general stuff, drying clothes, changing table, dressing room.) I will see what the feedback is like today and then maybe we will have to consider changing it accordingly.

People are always unreasonably critical when looking for a new home, I know we were! You can't take it personally hugs

What is it with the need for en suites? We had two separate, upstairs bathrooms in a 4 double bed family house. Made life very easy as both bathrooms could be used by everyone. Especially when guests came to stay. All that was needed to make one ensuite was a door in the hallway.
Lots of feedback was, there's no ensuite!

Mind you, one said, on second viewing, ' the bedrooms have got smaller' ! Toilet Flushers!

Even if I love a place I never give good feedback. Never want to appear keen.

The buyer of my last place utterly fell in love with it. She phoned me every day until the closing date. I got her into a frenzy about how fabulous my property was. She was one of 5 bidders and paid £28k over the next nearest bid and shed loads over valuation. This is exactly why I'd never show my hand.

Your place sounds great OP. Good luck with all your viewers this weekend.

Do something about stuff you can change, ignore the rest but be honest with yourself, your house is unlikely to be perfect for everybody. You meet some funny people buying and selling houses and hear the weirdest things. Try not to take it personally just accept it as part of the experience.
I remember selling my first house, a 5bed semi, refurbished and in good condition - lots of comments such as "oh I thought it was detached"," but I need 6 bedrooms", "it's on a hill", "I don't like modern kitchens"
But conversely some sellers are also oblivious so when we were looking at houses and make perfectly valid comments such as " the basement is completely flooded - what's the problem?" we got answers such as " well we don't use the basement so there is no problem" (there was 4feet of stagnent water in there and they still wanted a premium price for the house)

From my brief stint working for an estate agent bear in mind the following. One of the main reasons estate agents want feedback is not to pass on to you nuggets of insight. It's so they can find another house to flog to the people have viewed. Too small, here is another that is six inches wider that is more suitable, but it has just gone under offer. If you are super quick I may be able to arrange a hurried viewing and harangue you into making an offer.
You have priced correctly and have a garden. Ask ea not to pass on feedback, it is meaningless. It's always the too small, not enough parking, only one bathroom that people come up with.

Greenfolder, I always assumed that it was so that the EAs could say 'see, we did find you a viewer, it's your house that's the problem, not our inability to find buyers'!

Yes that's what I mean - ask the EA to point these ideas for changes out to viewers. We bought our last place because the vendor did exactly that - made us see the potential.

It is usually written into the online description - "potential to extend subject to usual permissions"

I would also change the use of the third room. Even if it is a pain. You sometimes have to hand people a vision of what it could be like and what the room could fit in. We had to when selling ours!

The ensuites thing is madness. People go into Victorian and 1930s houses and complain there's no ensuites. Obviously not. You were lucky to have an indoor loo back in those days!

My personal favourites are the 'downsizers' who don't seem to have grasped that downsizing involves buying a smaller house . Those people will never move.

Well, the first viewing for today is underway. Spent a good half an hour with the estate agents beforehand talking about the potential to expand the house, showed them the house at the back of our that has had it's loft converted. Talked them through why we like the area and what it has to offer a young family (which is what we are). I feel that they have all the selling points we can think of so I guess we have to let them get on with it now! Am in the pub having lunch!

Hope it goes well. Someone will come along who loves your house.

Someone said our road was too quiet. I'll never understand that one.