Why am I getting no viewings?!

[MyNewKitchen]

I live in a sought after area, with minimal parking. My house is one of a handful on an entire estate (spanning 7 building zones of estates) with parking. And i have space for 4 cars! The house is well presented, im the average price range, and i have already dropped the price. The estate agents said they are plugging the property ( which i have seen myself) but just nothing. Have had 6 viewings since jan. Only thing i can think is there is a new estate being built - so i am in competition with them? Any advice appreciated! My ass of an ex isnt paying his half of the mortgage and im left paying 2. It will end up being repossessed id it doesnt sell soon. www.buttersjohnbee.com/property-for-sale/house-semi-detached-for-sale-in-newdale-halt-lawley-village-telford-shropshire/6497

Photos are dire. Get one with the drive in view - people may reject the area on sight if the parking is known to be bad, so have your main photo scream PARKING! The master bedroom looks like a landing in that photo.

It also looks small, though I'm not sure it is. Dimensions are hidden in the PDF brochure on the estate agents website, why on earth not on the main page at the very least? On the floor plan would be better, ideally with square footage.

Weird as well that the floor plan shows loo and basin downstairs but nothing in the bathrooms. I'm guessing there's an actual bath in the family bathroom?

Can you get another agent? Even if they take more photographs, the ones they have taken are so bad you risk being in the same position.

Yes there is, a family bathroom with bath and a shower and the downstairs ensuite has a walk in shower

This is the second agent i have had!!! Apperently they have sold many houses within days of going on the market.. well clearly not mine!

There is also the problem of having the master bedroom on a different floor to the others. People wanting 4 bed will have children and not want them on a different floor.

Why no photographs of the bathrooms though? Are they broken/damaged/in horrible colours?!

What happened with the first agent?

I can't picture where you park so if this is a big selling point in your area, you need otbin the first photograph.

Its a gated driveway.. so the wooden gate attached to the house it the driveway x

Estate agents are so weird. Ours told us they prided themselves on their photos, but when we looked on their website there were some atrocious ones. Liked them in other ways, so we supervised the photos closely. Later ended up rewriting the description for them (can't remember what we DID like about them ...) as all that 'to the front, the property benefits from' crap got on my nerves so much. You might just have to take charge, given they don't appear to realise people might like to know the size of the rooms, and what's in them.

Oh right, I see now! Could the floor plan be changed to show this. The photo could do with being taken from a different angle at the front I think.

Maybe include two parked cars in the photos too. Often people only look at the pictures and really need the obvious showing to them.

Your agent is not doing their job. The description is vague. There is no thought behind who this home is marketed to. It should start with something along the lines of, 'Family 4 bed home, with parking for four cars in ideal location for walking to town. Master bedroom has ensuite bathroom and garden has been recently updated. (You must do something with the mud pit). Priced accordingly as sellers are motivated. Bring all offers. No chain.'

For the garden I agree with others who said to put turf down. You just need to sell it. Alternatively is there a reason you can't move back in and buy it off your ex? If it isn't going to sell might be an opportunity for you to buy his half for £50k if he hasn't been paying anything towards the mortgage. Speak to your solicitor about how you do this because I'm assuming you won't be able to borrow the money and it would be you paying him off in chunks (maybe £1k a month). Might be an idea to rent out one of the parking spots to generate some money.

People are harsh!! I suspect it's in the photos/dressing

This is better dressed for sale

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-63092600.html

Can you do an open day?

Thankyou all, I will contact the agents and say i want more photos and a better unvague description. I cant but the property for multiple reasons 1) I dont want too. Being in tjere makes my skin crawl with the memories of him being violent towards me. 2) i now live with my dp in his house where i am safe and ex cant locate me. 3) i am a student nurse with no income - he doesnt even pay maintenance. So i would he laughed out of the bank to buy him out of a house he isnt even entitled to 40% of. Thankyou all so much - never expected this level of replies xx

You could just offer to pay the stamp duty. That's a big incentive.

Good luck OP.

couple of changes and some much better photos from EA and hopefully you'll get a quick sale

Hey OP when I sold my house last year I was t living there, I used blow up air mattresses on top of cardboard boxes with valances and nice bedding to be 'beds'. The bedding was mine/mums/friends, I had one blow up and bought another 2 for like £10 each.

You can get loads of really nice fake plants on Ikea now - don't look fake at all. If splurge on some fake greenery since you can't take care of it.

I would beg / bowler / freecycle / even cheap Ikea it to get a dining table and other furniture in the house to dress it.

I was in the exact same position as you in 2014. Split from my ex, house went up for sale, he stopped paying the mortgage after 6 months. The house was for sale for 16 months. I ended up getting 2 lodgers in to help pay the mortgage.

We paid £285k new build and I ended up selling for £250k. Once I'd dropped it I had about 30 viewings in a month.

If you want it gone, drop the price again.

I am pretty local to you and would say that although lawley is ok an area there are lots and lots of similar houses for sale round there.

The first thing that struck me from the photos is the decor. The wall above the kitchen units is unpainted, it makes the kitchen look unfinished. The stickers in the childs room need removed. The living room walls should be one colour.
The master bedroom looks like there is no room for a bed. I would second the idea of using a blow up bed to show how it fits. It would lessen the coridor feel.
Otherwise it is a lovely house, just a bit souless.

I would be tempted to go there with a load of friends/family, ask each to bring some furniture with them. Then use the same double bed in each bedroom with different bedding to take pictures yourselves and choose the best. A plastic patio table can be dressed with a cloth for the dining areas. Use the kids bed in the box room. Etc etc.

Telford is tricky at the moment just because they are building SO MUCH round there. I guess you have to think why would someone want yours over a new build and highlight that in the ad?

Lots of good ideas here!

There really is! You lot are so crafty! Airbed with a sheet - frigging genius! If i get an offer its due to you all!

what you have just said about the garden would make me run a mile.
So if the details include that then I would not buy.

I want to plant actual plants, and would hate the wood chips/astro turf thing

It doesn't bother me that it is empty, many houses are when they are sold.

New builds have hardly any parking what so ever and what they do have usually ends up as a parking thread on mumsnet.

Parking for 4 cars is a massive selling point that needs to stand out on your listing

I've put turf down on top of concrete. You need 6" of topsoil for it to hold. If you want to sell screw the 'only AstroTurf, woodchips or decking' rule and put down some turf on top of the woodchips you have there. If you have to roll it out under the cover of darkness than do so.

After it's been laid get some nice planters out there with big fake flowers (IKEA do them). You need to sell and having a garden looking like that is not going to work.