Please can someone tell me why my flat isn't selling?!

[Puffykins]

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-84873916.html

Price-wise, it's appropriate - even cheap - for the area. I know that it hasn't got it's own garden, but there is a huge communal garden which, in central-ish London, I'd argue is better than a tiny garden.

Admittedly I don't like the estate agents pictures much. It's really light in real life, but they always seem obsessed with turning on all the lights.

Anyway, any tips would be hugely appreciated. Thank you!

Bluntness.......count me in with that Prosecco!

It's very...busy

I think you have a lovely home. I feel your pain, I'm now starting to prepare mine for sale, I love retro stuff, not everyone does. I'm having to take the wall of shame pictures down from my hall. Do neutral colours in hall, bedrooms, etc... ask the estate agent to do new pics from different angles, re advertise, if it has been on the market for a whole, try a different agent. Sometimes, viewings stop, because potential buyers see it has been advertised a while, so wonder if there is anything wrong with it. Speak to your agent for feedback from viewings

Remove all that personal items piled up on that low red cabinet style cupboard and books in various rooms. The wall in the kitchen also looks too cluttered.
Overall It’s so cluttered!

I felt claustrophobic looking at the images
Sometimes people can’t see pass what is in the room when it’s cluttered.

It’s stops viewers from being able to envision them a d their belongings in the spaces.
The items piled and stacked about gives the impression that more storage is needed.

I would have made the time to remove items for the sake of a sale if I am very serious about moving / selling.

If at least the photos looked less cluttered then when viewers come by they can understand when/why some things are around as you are still living in the house while viewings take place.

Surely most books could be put away and things that aren’t used just standing about could go away in general.

Good luck

Sorry I know this adds nothing I'm just always absolutely aghast at the prices in London. I'll never ever understand why people want to live so close to it...

Almost half a million pounds for that flat??? Honestly it fries my head. If I had that kind of money where I live I could have a literal castle...

I did wonder if this was a spoof because the answer is so obvious. If your husband is a set designer, he must surely be able to design to a brief?

The brief for selling a house is to make it as impersonal as possible. Viewers need to be able to imagine their own possessions re-situated in the place they are viewing. With your flat, there isn't any room for imagination because one simply can't get past the clutter. I'm surprised your agent didnt tell you this.

I like your style and I am something of a collector myself, but its clean minimalism that sells. The problem is it is YOUR STYLE. You have to decide if you really want to sell because if you do you need to spend a week boxing up all the ornaments, re-decorating the bathroom and getting it sparkling clean. Okay, its your home, but surely its better to have a few weeks of pain leading to a quick sale, rather than going on for years? You will need to pack things anyway so find a good storage unit and do the lot.

As an example, I dont even want to see toothbrushes in the bathroom, especially not in pictures. Strip it out and get going!

@literallynoidea - to clarify, Ark Alexandra is the secondary in Hastings that I would most likely send the DCs to. They also have places at a private school at 13+ if necessary (and just in case) but I'd need someone to buy the movie rights for a yet unfinished novel to be able to afford it. But, well, you never know.....

It’s very nice. It’s very cosy and clearly loved. BUT you have to play the game. Remove at least two thirds of your stuff, repaint bathroom (I like it but won’t help you sell). New photos. I don’t know this part of London, how does your price compare with neighbouring flats?

If you try to sell a flat where every surface including the floor is covered with clutter, you are sending out two messages.

1. Your flat is too small and lacks storage
2. You are not serious about moving

Are you absolutely sure you want to move?
Great secondary schools and teen children in London are a great combination. There’s a lot to do, and teens will be able to ferry themselves around. Can you subdivide a bedroom so the DC get a room each?

You have a fabulously artistic and bohemian taste in decorating, I love all your furniture and pictures,but it will not be everyone's taste. Viewers need to see the place in a more neutral tone without your design of layout and furniture which is lovely, apart from the bathroom. I can see you need a larger space for your creativity! Viewers will be blinded by all your possessions and not see the empty space which is what they will be buying. Maybe just move all the books and surplus pictures into storage. It would help with dusting! But I do love your taste!

Way way way way WAAAY too much stuff scattered about.

Put about 8/10ths of it away or in the boot of your car or somewhere else. It gives a smothering effect to your whole home. People want to see your actual flat, not the clutter you’ve got in it.

Get the books off your bed & other surfaces!!! Get some of the books off the shelves and arrange the rest according to size & color. Get some order!

FRESH FLOWERS/PLANTS

Put a pot of water on the stove on low with cinnamon & cloves & other warm spices - don’t let it simmer away. It’ll permeate the flat and give off scents of “home”.

Good luck. And I’d take others’ advice on that cabinet, but know that prospective buyers will likely paint over it as well.

@Indecisiveragazza

Bluntness.......count me in with that Prosecco!

On a separate note op, how the hell do you keep it clean? The thought of dusting all that stuff is mind boggling.

@Lemonsyellow no I really am not at all sure that I want to move! But DH does. And so does DD who wants a full time dog, as opposed to the holiday dogs who live with my parents.

I don't think that the first picture does justice to the sitting room, which looks much lovelier in the 3D tour, as does the whole flat.

@Bluntness100 I spent lockdown introducing the children to housekeeping. They dust, do laundry (and change their sheets) clean silver and can cook pasta/ boil eggs. (Also, I dust different bits when I'm on the phone, so it never really needs doing.)

So much clutter and the bathroom isn’t attractive I’m afraid.

I think its beautiful and you have some wonderful things. But for selling you need to declutter and put about 50% in storage so that it looks more spacious and people can imagine their own stuff in there. You know you could live without the book towers for a few months. Maybe cover over the bathroom foliage. (love that mirror btw). Your new home will look even better.

For me it's too cluttered, I look at the pictures and think 'not enough storage space'.
Also the bathroom would put me off.

Dream please, please no smells. They don't attract everyone. In fact they repel quite a few of us. They also make many people think 'what is this trying to hide?'.
We purchased our current house in spite of, not because, the ghastly scents favoured by the previous owners. In fact, we lowered our offer because of them. They were - to us - horribly sickly. It took days of doors-and-windows-open to get rid of them.

Get a storage unit for a couple of months. Box up all of the clutter and a load of furniture and make it look clean and clear.
Look at other flats on rightmove and check out the photos. When our estate agent came to take pictures of our house, they made us clear all the worktops in the kitchen, even the kettle. I thought it looked soulless but the photos were fantastic and we had 9 viewings in one day. I hope you manage to sell it soon 😀

Lovely flat but you need to put all of your stuff in storage to give the feeling of space.

I would also repaint the bathroom.

I know it's London but I can't get over the price.... you could buy a 5 bedroom house with large garden and a double garage for that where I live!

Your home is lovely. Must be hard to have to play the minimalism game to get interest but if needs be...
How long is the lease- I’m assuming the council is the freeholder?

CANCEL THE CHEQUE!

and put some of your stuff in storage

We had to put 1000s of books and dvds(this was a while ago) into storage when we sold our last house.

The books just have to go. You can keep 3 each for the adults. The kids can have a full bookcase worth . Also the crockery on the counters and the leaning paintings.

We actually never ended up unpacking all the books. We were in temporary housing for 6 months during our home transition and kept them in boxes. We learned to embrace our kindles and never went back. I still have them boxed up , taking up a large storage space that thankfully exists in our home, but have no desire to unbox them.