How do I sell my flat?!

[cloudjumper]

We bought a 3-bed flat about 10 years ago, as an investment. Never lived there, always rented it out. It's lovely, great condition, wooden floors etc, right in the centre of a small town, 10min walk from the station with excellent connections into London, so perfect for commuting.
Put it on the market nearly 3 months ago, the estate agent was raving how quick it would sell. Well, it hasn't. Had quite a few viewings in the first 2 weeks, feedback was that it was too expensive. Fine, we did try to 'play the market' (against the advice of the estate agent, I should add). We lowered the price, its now in line with similar properties in the area.
But-it's just sitting there. We don't get ANY viewings at all anymore, it's been weeks. I realise it's the summer holidays, but nothing at all?
I've never sold a property before, so don't know what to expect from the estate agent. They are, tbh, doing f**k all. Nothing. Squirm a bit when I call for updates, admitting they don't understand the lack of activity, but they don't do anything. Am I wrong to expect a more aggressive marketing strategy? What actually can they do? I'm starting to think I need a different estate agent, but don't know what to ask for... Any ideas?!

Would change picture order so don't see shopfront first (is the flat actually above a shop?). Put picture 12 first instead maybe?

Would remove picture 9 - makes it look tiny. Would also remove picture 8 - bathroom looks tired and dated and not a selling point. Picture of Bedroom 2 is at weird angles and doesn't show off the room.

If you possibly can, dress it with furniture. Buyers don't have any imagination re how beds, etc will fit in. It looks much better in the video (which still shows it furnished - though has 30 seconds at start with just seeing outside, which is not an attractive way to begin).

Definitely need to add dimensions into the floor plan.

How big is bedroom 3? Going by the Rightmove measurements it goes down to 4 foot wide.

As a pp said, flats over commercial premises are often difficult to get mortgages for.
Also, it strikes me that a 3 bed flat over shops would previously probably have appealed most to BTL investors, but that market is cooling because of the extra 3% stamp duty and rather less favourable tax rules.

It's a nice enough flat of the type, but I should imagine that price is the key. I don't think staging would make much difference in this case.

Agree that the third bedroom may be the issue, because you think it means the flat should cost a lot more, but the style/position of the flat means it's more likely to appeal to someone who only needs two bedrooms. It's not likely that a family will want to live in that flat, although they may well have been okay to rent it. To buy a family home though... well, they'd want to buy a family home and this looks and feels more like a flat for a couple without kids. What kind of buyer would you say you are targeting? Maybe start there, be realistic and price accordingly.

I'd have photo 12 as the first photo, I think it looks much nicer from that side.

(In case it wasn't obvious, I'm not saying it won't sell as a three-bed, but it won't imo sell at a premium because of the third bedroom. It's more likely to sell closer to the cost of a two-bed and have the edge on that competition because of the extra space.)

Why do you think it has increased in value that much since you bought it? There has been a recession since then and we are facing a house price slowdown for who knows how long.
You bought for an investment and may need to accept that it hasn't paid out. If you don't lose money on it then you haven't lost out and still have your capital, that's not a bad position to be in

Just to add, you bought it as an investment rather than a home, and rented it out, so given the type of flat it's likely that that's the market you're mostly looking at. Only what with extra taxes now anyone buying it as an investment is going to be taking a long hard look at likely yields. I don't know what a flat like that would rent for, but given the price you're asking and extra stamp duty etc., would you buy it as an investment now? Would the yield make it worth while?

Has the estate agent given you an honest opinion (not what s/he thinks you want to hear) on the most likely buyers for that type of flat in that area? If it's most likely to be investors, and the yield is going to be relatively low, then its probably not going to be easy unless you drop the price.

One more thing - IMO 'offers in excess of' puts people off - that is unless the place was priced deliberately low in order to attract interest and get buyers outbidding each other.

My personal opinion only (I'm looking to buy at the moment), floor plan missing sq ft or sq metre (when there is no sq ft or metre, I just assume that it is small and avoid it). Put EPC B as one of the main description.
If 2 beds recently sold for £185, you probably go over the max bracket for 3 beds flat in the area. I personally would avoid flat on top of shops, because I assume it would be noisy, hence maybe re-arrange the 1st picture to 2nd or last.

Agree with everyone else, but I think price is the main issue here. I don't know the local market, but £220,000 or so seems right to me.

I'm completely useless in terms of the cost, so will leave that to others who know more.

I'd be very tempted to change agents and relaunch - people looking week in/week out will now be skimming past, even if the price has changed.

The lack of furnishing is a problem - I feel like there should be an app to virtually furnish so you can give a sense of proportion, but I don't know if such a thing exists!

Good luck!

All good points, taking notes. Am confused about pricing, though. The 2-bed flats nearby all all advertised at around £250k, so why is my 3-bed too expensive?
The Shop underneath is an estate agent, so no issues with noise or smells etc. Maybe they should point that out in the add? I didn't have any issues getting a mortgage with this, wasn't aware this could be a problem...

The Shop underneath is an estate agent, so no issues with noise or smells etc. Maybe they should point that out in the add?

There are a couple of things to this-
Some lenders won't lend above commercial premises

Some categories of commercial premises can very easily be changed/re-licenced, so what is an EA when the buyer buys then becomes a [noisy thing]

Reputation/perception issue of not wanting to "live above the shop".

I agree price is the main issue. And also it would most likely appeal to btl buyers. Are the flats you are comparing yours with in the same block. It's a shame those first viewers were put off by the high price. Sometimes an empty property doesn't look as inviting as a nicely furnished one. Give it a bit longer.

It looks very small for a three bed so you're only going to appeal to people who only need a two bed and are happy to have an extra study room. Are the two bedders that are priced the same actually selling or are they also sitting on the market forever? If they are selling then are they just nicer or better than your flat? If they are selling and are about the same then you might be better off marketing it as a two bed with study as some people don't even bother looking at three beds if they want a two bed.

This two bedder is not far from yours, looks about the same size, is in better nick, is 30k cheaper and has been on the market since June:

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-66960068.html

Probably because it's a first floor flat; if you've got children you want a garden, if you are downsizing you don't want stairs, probably too expensive for first homebuyers, market not favourable for buy to let. Doesn't really leave much.

Hi,

The first photo is off putting. I would personally put photo no. 12 as the first photo, and the current first photo as the last photo. It will help sell faster if you stage it a bit but you don't seem to want to.

i have to agree with posters saying that it seems overpriced. The kitchen is so tiny, the bathroom so dated, and I agree that unfurnished it's very difficult to see how the living area could work. Even if you are determined that it is worth £250k, I can't fathom why you wouldn't take pp's advice and drop the price below the 3% stamp duty limit, that alone will make it at least a bit more appealing.

I also agree with the pp who mentioned that you need to think about who will buy it and market it to them - at the moment it says even on the preview that it's a good investment opportunity so it seems that you're primarily marketing it to people like you who will buy to rent, but as pps have said - that's not as appealing to many people with changes in tax and the insecurity of Brexit.

The 2-bed flats nearby all all advertised at around £250k, so why is my 3-bed too expensive?

People can advertise at any price they want - what matters are sold prices. Look here for all the flats that have sold within half a mile of your flat.There's only been one that has sold for more than £250k in the last year and that was an assisted living flat, so not comparable. £220-240k seems to be the top end for the area.

I think it's a lovely flat, but if I was looking at it, I'd want to know what the service charge included. (Eg mine comes with unlimited hot water, and a lift.)

Hugely overpriced - and being above a shop is a huge no no for a lot of mortgage lenders.

Thanks for putting us straight on the stamp duty front, fuck! Though I agree that given that so many of us seem to get it wrong it may well be wise to drop the price below the boundary in case lots of other people are getting it wrong too!