Any ideas how to can get more viewings?

[PanannyPanoo]

My friends house was put on the market in February. It had 2 viewings in the first week and sale agreed. They found their ideal house. The chain collapsed lower down and the house went back on the market. It has only had one more viewing since, which has also resulted in an offer, but the buyers don't yet have their house on the market.
So people obviously like the house once they are in in. But how do they get more people - preferably proceedable ones through the door?

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-70167703.html

Do they have it on with one agent or more?

Just one.

Lovely house, needs updating but looks clean and loved. Loads of space.

I don't think the agents actually want to sell this house! The description is awful. Flush doors, artex ceilings everywhere, bulkhead, plaster skim walls - WTF?

I think your friends should take it off the market temporarily, move to a new agent, listen to their advice on price and then sit back and expect a sale.

On quick observation there’s a gap in the kitchen cupboards with tea towels hanging up and trays in it. Looks messy.
The garden shot with the overgrown trees bushes is not great.
I’d try and get better photos done.

The garden pics are awful and should be retaken. The interior is spacious but very, very dated. The walls are all yellow and that blue carpeting is horrid. I think people might look at the house pics and decide there's just too much to do.

It's a lovely house but it does look quite dated. I think it's the dark wood, carpets and curtains that mainly make it look dated and so quite off putting.

I'd agree, it's. Bright spacious house but needs some updating, particularly the bathroom. I'm not sure I agree with changing the agent and coming off the market, as it's easy to see when it was last on the market and that will alert people who might think there is an issue.

If you want a quick sale or more people through the door then either lower the price to get people in....or You could also make some small cosmetic changes like change the blue bedroom carpet to a neutral one, some nice throws on the sofa, a rug in there, some hanging baskets out the front, colourful plants in containers etc for more kerb appeal, but ultimately it's cosmetic.

Ok. That is THE worst description of a house I have ever seen. Change agent immediately or come to agreement with changing that.
Immediately, that will put people off before even viewing.

They are not selling the house it’s like a great big list of unnecessary information!

So no one wants artex ceilings these days. Do you know the words “artex ceiling” are mentioned 11 TIMES!?
Also desciring light fittings (when quite old fashioned) and radiators etc is beyond ridiculous.
The description highlights too many negatives and reads as if they are warning you before you arrive what is wrong with the place.
It’s a lovely big house too.

The negatives I would have with pictures are the blue carpet, the overcrowding of rooms with too much furniture, a lot of which is dark too. Terracotta colours etc need to Ben muted and modernised. It would lighten the place up. Throws over sofa etc.
Not keen on the dark doors either I would paint those up alongside modernise colours and less furniture aNd have pictures re done

Thank you, I hadn't actually read the particulars - just looked at the photos and yes harping on about the artex ceilings every line isn't necessary or helpful! It is owned by an older couple, it is a lovely spacious house, photos of the garden in May would be far more attractive than in February too. Thank you for your help.

The listing is really odd! All that detail just sounds like work replacing the artex etc. Totally unnecessary. The photos are a bit rubbish too. I’d go with a new, better, agent and get them to reshoot with angles that don’t highlight all the artex!

It does look dated though, and shouts ‘project’. If they want a keen price, I’d spend a bit repainting some of the rooms to a more neutral colour that doesn’t clash with the bright carpets, and removing some of the old dark furniture for photos and viewings. Also open the ‘office style’ blinds in the bedroom to let light in. I’d try and make it shout ‘you can move straight in’ rather than ‘you need to spend £20k immediately on cosmetic updating’. The quickest and surest route to more viewings is to just drop the price a bit, though!

The cream walls are off putting too. Maybe they can be painted white? Maybe a rug on the blue carpet? A throw on the rusty settee and some modern canvases instead of the old fashioned pictures in the lounge? A more modern mirror may also help? Remove the pictures and plates in the dining room and remove any of the dark furniture that you can without making it look bare, including the dark wooden chairs in the bedrooms.
It does look really dated but I think it's more the decor and without that furniture and decor it will look completely different

That is such a strange description from the estate agent, I’ve never seen anything like it! Do you think they have someone in mind to buy it and want to put off other viewers so the vendors have to drop the price?

It’s a nice enough house, but the decor is very dated, but I guess any new buyer would want to put their own stamp on it anyway.

This one is contemporaneous and 30K less nearby (with bigger plot but no conservatory)
here

Also on the one you have posted the photo of the bathroom (awful flooring btw) make it look as if the floorboards have gone around the loo: something to do with the line of the skirting board. It's probably the photo but it does draw the eye.

Goodness the agent loves their flush doors and artex ceilings! What an awful write up

Price is too high.

What's the area like? Is it close to good schools?

New agent.

New pics taken now with the green garden.

The photos are weirdly taken at a low angle accentuating the ceiling in every room!? No one wants artex ceilings!

Consider plain light fittings. They're awful.

Paint the whole place white.

Neutral/cream carpet in the bedroom.

Nothing can be done with that bathroom, consider that they need to factor in a person will have to redo it.

Tea towel/tray cupboard needs prettying in the kitchen.

Some small vases of pale/pink flowers.

Move the dark hold-all under the chair in the bedroom. Consider a white valance on the bed. The plain divan base looks cheap.

Generally when the photographer is there, you need to shuffle stuff out of the way for the pictures. So portable radiator and blue box etc in conservatory needs to be cleared. Likewise under the sideboard in the dining room.

The bathroom is very dated and the yellow paint with the blue tile makes it 100% worse. If I were a buyer, I would see everything that needs to be updated and I would quickly lose interest in the hopes another house will come along.

To be honest I think it's the price. The house needs a lick of paint and a new carpet but I don't think there's much that would put a buyer off if the price was right. I wouldn't make the artex the focus of every photo, mind.

The agent could be told to vet potential buyers so that only serious people in a position to buy view it.
It is dated and that will put a lot of people off.
They know they can get that price for it, however if they want to get more people through the door then realistically the only way is to lower the price. Better photos might help too.

Agreed. Awful description that doesn't really help potential buyers - perhaps there's something worth mentioning about the local area, amenities, schools etc New photos including the garden being green.

They've had a second offer but the potential buyers aren't proceedable. Strikes me this is kind of area and house where EAs don't need to do much - they need a nudge to do more.

@Noloudnoises - you are right that no one wants artex ceilings, but not showing them in the photos or mentioning them in the blurb just means you'll get viewings from people who are then disappointed and who are not prepared to do the work to get rid of them.

If there’s a specific desirable school it’s in catchment for, then I’d definitely get that mentioned in the summary, too. That’s a great potential house for a young family willing to do some work on it. It needs more of a sell though! Houses around here mention schools by name and it commands a premium. That might help justify the price in a buyers’ mind.

wowfudge I disagree. House selling is all about ‘foot in the door’. Showing the house to it’s best advantage and getting people in to view. If it’s a great plot and location a bit of artex is no big deal. But highlighting the negatives stops people coming to see the location and plot and making that judgement, it’s enough to put off viewings.

Thank you so much. That's really useful. The area is lovely, good schools good road to M4 it's the 'right' side of town. You are so right about the photos highlighting the artex too. I will report back to them with your suggestions.