Feedback: When you’re selling...

[KittyKK]

I just did another 10 viewings to buy yesterday (chain-free, heavily pregnant and super super keen to find our new home - I really want to like every property I see, as I’ve done a lot of research already to draw up a viewing shortlist).

There’s so much property that’s been lingering on the market for a long time. Maybe the vendors have become jaded after lots of viewings, but I thought I would add some general feedback that I think is disadvantaging potential sales...

1. if you have pets, make sure you’re cleaning and airing the property frequently. 2 of the houses I saw yesterday absolutely stank of cats and dogs (another 2 houses had pets too, but no lingering bad smells, so it isn’t just me being over sensitive). I honestly can’t concentrate in those environments and just want to leave as soon as possible. No idea why the EAs aren’t giving the feedback.

2. open blinds and curtains before viewings. At this time of year, it is so dismal outside, so utilise any bit of natural light you can get.

3. if you need to turn on lights in the day (if the room is a bit dark anyway or the viewing is in the late afternoon), make sure you upgrade to a proper wattage. Dim lighting is depressing. You can buy super cheap light fittings from somewhere like Ikea (so ditch the paper uplighters from 1992).

4. if you decorated 10+ years ago, think about giving the walls a cheap lick of paint. I know I will redecorate anyway, but it gives the impression of not needing to be done immediately. Yesterday, I viewed a house with padded yellow silk walls and stained glass floral doors!! Apparently they spent £200k personalising their new build house 20 years ago 😮 Actually horrific!! The EA said he didn’t want to tell the vendor that nobody else would appreciate this very personal touch. Shame on him, as this house won’t sell until it is halved in price!!

5. if a potential buyer is visiting whilst you’re at home, don’t linger, but also don’t ignore them!! Smile, say welcome, please look around and feel free to ask questions. I was inivisible yesterday to about 3 buyers, which was really awkward. I’m there to buy a vision of a happy family home. At least have some (fake) warmth.

6. if there are broken door handles, skirting boards hanging off the wall, wardrobe doors fallen off etc, get it fixed!! If I see this type of damage left unattended, I start to worry about how well the rest of the house has been kept. If there’s a leak/mould inside...find out why (even if you don’t fix it!!). Yesterday, I got an answer of “maybe it’s the gutters, maybe it’s the roof, maybe it’s a burst pipe from the ensuite” 😂

7. if you’ve got planning permission (or even just provisional drawings) for extensions/conversions etc, print out the details!! This is such a selling point and may sway a buyer that maybe has discounted a proeprty for another reason. I saw a house yesterday that was ugly outside, but ticked other boxes...the EA said there were provisional plans in place to change the frontage of the proeprty. He didn’t know what, but this type of thing could be really compelling. I don’t like it enough to look up the plans myself, but it could have swayed me on the spot.

8. choose a charismatic EA to represent your house!! If I don’t like the agent, then I’m not going to answer their calls, proactively arrange viewings through them etc. I met 2 really unpersonable guys yesterday (appreciate that they’re having a tough time getting sales at the moment). I’m far more likely to go back to the EA I met last week, as he was lovely, chatty, helpful (has arranged for me to meet an architect for a second viewing etc).

9. print out your energy bills and know how to improve the rating! I’m currently renting and paying an insane amount for electricity and gas...in my next house I want to know how much these things are going to cost and if the energy rating is low, how practical and expensive it will be to make positive changes.

10. if you have something out of the ordinary like large trees that need professional pruning, a swimming pool that needs maintenance, a busy car park hidden behind the tree line etc, address potential concerns (or unseen positives) upfront!!

11. I’m viewing large family houses that seem (on paper) to have great storage. I lost count of the number of cupboards I saw yesterday where the contents were spilling out onto the floor. If you don’t have enough storage, I worry that I won’t have enough storage. Now, I think I just saw some excessive hoarding (especially where the vendors have been in the house 20/30 years), but you’re going to have to have a clean out before you move, so do it now!! One lady yesterday had 80+ shoe boxes piled in a guest room??!

12. every room has a purpose!! Sell it with a clear purpose. Your junk dumping room doesn’t easily translate to my serene guest room.

13. if your potential buyer turns up 5-10 mins early, don’t make them wait on the doorstep. Of course, there are emergencies, but if you’re flying around inside the house stuffing things in cupboards or fluffing cushions, I’m already tired and cold on the doorstep... I don’t like viewings either.

14. know your competition!! One of the houses I saw yesterday was full of potential. Absolutely fabulous period property. The price is hundreds of thousands too high IMHO (there’s zero upside for a buyer to spend the time and the money doing the renovations, as they would be spending far more than the top of the market for the area). A few doors down there’s a fabulous house that has been extensively renovated to an amazing standard on a far better plot. The prices are too close. Unfortunately yesterday’s house will get few viewings as a result (needs to be seen in person to appreciate) and then I think they will be appalled by the (reasonable) but low offers.

I think that’s all from yesterday lol. I know it’s a long drawn out process to sell nowadays. Wishing everyone luck in their selling/buying journey.

I’ve got more viewings this afternoon. I really love one of the houses...on paper at least. Fingers crossed it’s our new home waiting x

OP. Perhaps the EAs and vendors don't think you're a serious potential purchaser. You dont need to buy, you dont seem to be able to see past the decor / belongings etc and think every single one of the 10 properties you viewed yesterday were overpriced. Presumably if you're still looking you've found fault with all the previous property you've viewed too.

Not sure what a “stealth post” is, but I’m definitely not a secret EA or whatever you’re imagining.

And to whoever is questioning why I’m concerned about gas/elec bill... of course, it makes sense to be concerned when it is already costing £5k+ a year. It shouldn’t matter how much someone is spending on a house. Everyone I know wants to keep outgoings as low as possible in this economic environment.

Anyway, all the best everyone with selling or buying!

That's a long list. Some people don't have time to do all that. They just don't.

Our place was really small and we barely managed to put things away before a viewing. I hated when a potential buyer showed up early as we were always rushing around. And of course so many of them were wasting our time.

I agree that there are many things that could help to sell a house, but few people have the time or energy to do them all. Especially when there is no guarantee that potential buyers will notice or care about your efforts.

If I were looking to buy, I'd welcome most of the factors the OP mentions, since they'd put so many other buyers off and I'd be more likely to have a cheeky offer accepted.

I don't understand people who can't see beyond clutter or horrible wallpaper. Clutter will be gone and wallpaper is easily stripped. Even pet smells will disappear if you either give carpets a good clean or change them.

'Stealth boast' is mn speak for ' the poster has more money than I have and I'm jealous . waah!!'

Stealth post is a typo caused by the crap auto correct and terrible coding.

With regards to the dog smell- we looked round our current house, it absolutely stank of dogs (she had 11 pugs......)

We knocked 50k off the price, citing the dog smell as the only reason for our low, and only, offer.

Within a week of moving in, lots of cleaning, several bottles of bleach- no dog smell. Easiest 50k we ever made.....!!

I think some people are quite unimaginative when they look round a house though (I’m not suggesting you are KittyKK ) Some friends of ours once ruled out a house that was excellent value because it had a tumble dryer in the conservatory. The kitchen was in fact a decent size and could have fitted a tumble dryer and there was also a garage that could have taken a tumble dryer, or they could have switched for a combined washer-dryer. I wondered if there were other factors too, but they said not when I asked.
OTOH I did personally rule out a house covered throughout in pink flowery wallpaper because I knew I couldn’t live with it for a couple of years, and we had 2 small DCs, very busy jobs, no money extra to pay a decorator and no family near to help out. So I guess it depends!

I disagree, you need to look beyond the smells etc, their pets won't be in the house when you live in it, you are not buying the charisma of the EA, you are buying the house, the plot, the location and the 4 walls. None of your points change those.

Many people sell houses like this, so long as the price is right, they will sell. They will get less for their property than they could but that is their prerogative. And the buyers may get a bargain so stop complaining!

I remember seeing a house and I hated it the moment I walked in the door - although on paper it was perfect. The vendor showed me round and she kept telling me how low the energy costs were, how lovely the garden was in Summer, how much the carpets had cost, how they'd used the highest spec for everything, She was polite and friendly and the house was spotless and newly decorated - but it made no difference at all.

People keep missing the point. "Look last it all, you'll get a bargain". She's talking to sellers.

Really helpful. Thanks OP.

Ten viewings in one day while heavily pregnant. Wow!

In fairness, a lot of the issues would be solved with brutally honest agents, or sellers who did enough research. It isn't massively in the interest of an agent to be honest about pet smells and clutter when trying to win work, or to be honest about the value of a house without improvements. When the house hasn't sold, maybe then! I knew about ceiling prices and staging when I sold, because I spend a lot of time researching. Quite clearly a huge number of houses I saw (and my parents, who were selling for the first time in 20+ years) didn't. They took what the agents said at face value, which is mostly flattery to win the work.

Point 9 is irrelevant. It is individual...I could keep the heating on all day and night, so my oil cost could be lower, I choose to heat my house like that. Others may choose to sit and shiver, so their costs are lower and not realistic.

The original post is patronising and the OP is super keen on exclamation marks. I gave up part way through.

Not intended to be patronising @scaryteacher. Glad that at least the person above found the points useful :)

All of the houses (18) I’ve seen have been on the market since last summer. Nearly half are being marketed for sale due to divorces or probate sales, which must be incredibly stressful and others where the individuals want to downsize/retire/move closer to family etc. Hopefully all will find buyers soon!

After viewing 18 houses in past 2 weeks, I’ve shortlisted 2 (both chain-free and lots of potential), so hopefully our search will be over.

Wishing every best of luck with their sales/buying.

With respect OP whilst I get the point you are trying to make, but if you are discounting houses for some of the reasons you have listed (like the curtains aren't open enough, or you want higher wattage bulbs, or the current owner has a bit too much clutter) then you are not a skilled buyer at all. Any skilled buyer should be able to look past the 'easy to amend' things and focus on the location, size and overall condition of the house.

Oh and you say you are experienced in buying / selling but don't yet know that every house being marketed will have an EPC chart if you ask the agent?!

Does anyone actually remember the old tv show called “House Doctor”? Seriously that approach is what I was thinking about when I wrote my original post. It is just general marketing points about issues I’ve seen that are definitely holding back the sales of some properties...

@kitkat1985, of course, I can see through the issues I’ve detailed... that’s how I know all of those issues can be remedied easily (either by the vendor or the buyer). Some buyers can’t see the potential or won’t be bothered to look past the surface.

Hopefully the vendors of the houses I’ve seen can improve their chances of getting a sale quickly if their EAs give feedback! I met some really lovely vendors and really hope they can sell quickly.

Previously I’ve only seen detailed EPC docs once the sale is going ahead (in the old Home Info Packs that are thankfully now defunct). And not that it matters overly, but the last 2 houses we bought were overseas. This doesn’t discount my opinions on sales and the local market. I’ve done enough research and know the areas well enough to make balanced decisions (weighing up investment needed, potential improvements, potential resale value etc).

I’m not expecting to view houses that look like show homes, so that wasn’t the point of my post. I can see a good potential purchase, which is why we hopefully have 2 good options to see again next week...and buy 1 of them.