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!

It looks quite chaotic, I would try and make it as neutral and as ‘empty’ as possible

Mine are boxed as we rent but I can not wait to own my own house and put up a shelf :(

potential buyers don't want to see how you live, rather how they might.

Perfectly put

@Misandrylovescompany that's really helpful advice, thank you. DH and I have had a long conversation and we're planning to take it off the market, and do all that you suggest.

@ArrabellaAM

There's just soo much clutter. Even in the bathroom around the sink and the sides of the bath. We all know it can get like that but you need to really make your flat look it's best to be able to sell it. I agree with a pp who said it looks like you didn't know the photographer was going to be turning up that day.

We all know it can get like that

As someone has already pointed out on the thread, everything seems to have been positioned somewhere. Thought has gone into it. Yes, it is possible to think about your bathroom in this way too, believe it or not.

My apologies op and assuming your kids were toddlers due to their beds. I didn’t realise your kids were ten and eight, we are all built with different statures. 💐

Glad it is useful! In this market to be quite honest I wouldn’t sell unless you have to. It’s getting weird out there.

As someone has already pointed out on the thread, everything seems to have been positioned somewhere. Thought has gone into it. Yes, it is possible to think about your bathroom in this way too, believe it or not.

The OP has already said she didn't know the photograpgher was coming. Yes the books and some other objects have been placed deliberately. However, the towel on the back of the door and the things around the sink in the bathroom are more than likely there because she didn't have time to put them away. Not everything has to be a design decision.

@Misandrylovescompany

Hi OP. I am an actual potential buyer in your area so unlike some posters I am not surprised by washing machines in bathrooms, clutter / art (it’s Notting Hill 😂), ‘council estate’ vibes etc.

What would concern me is the evidence that you haven’t done anything to upgrade the place while you’ve owned it. The kitchen, wardrobes, bedroom dressing table etc are all clearly dated. The doors aren’t fully painted. The kitchen needs tiling. It needs a proper shower. I would have to spend quite a bit of money just updating it. That would put me off far more than the ‘clutter’.

This is it for me too.

I don’t know the market at all, so taking the fact that other posters are saying the price is reasonable at face value.

I could look at the art on your walls, the books, mementos and soft furnishings for hours. Really fascinating, like a Museum of a family’s life and taste.

But when I look past your lovely stuff (which you will be taking with you), the bones of the property just scream I NEED UPDATING.

It “needs” a new kitchen and bathroom at the very least, and the small things like the broken tiles and unfinished plaster would be a red flag that there could be other areas which haven’t been maintained well.

OP I live down the road from you. Kids the same age. In our estate the kids knock and the door and ask for their friends to come out and play. Area wise, I’m in Notting hill east I like to say (and part of the residence association)

You really don’t seem keen to move. We’re in a similar situation (3 bed, 3kids but a ground floor flat) and we can’t afford a house so have looked to move our (Kensal rise) but I walk along past powis square and the tabernacle abs I just can’t imagine living anywhere else.

Anyway onto your flat- not having a garden is going to be a difficult sell anywhere. I would take it off the market and then relist when things pick up.

Your kids don’t go to a bilingual school do they?

Oh and we were seriously considering moving earlier and spoke to quiet a few agencies but I’ve never heard of yours.

I just love your decorating, especially the bathroom

Is that a washing machine in the bathroom? never seen one in someone's bathroom before 😂😂.

Lillylemons are you serious? 😂😂

The U.K. is probably the ONLY country where it is considered normal to have a washing machine in the kitchen

People from other countries who visit you might be too polite to say it but if they see a washing machine in your kitchen they will think:

1. How strange and uncivilised
2. How unhygienic/slummy
3. Why can't they put it in the cellar/utility room/bathroom?

Did I read you’re actually getting a garage!!! How long were you on the list for? We’ve been waiting since 2017 for a parking space

People who have said that the clutter/decor wouldn’t stop someone buying it if they liked the flat are half right. The problem is that bad photos might put such buyers off from viewing it in the first place.

When DH wanted to sell his flat which was rented out, he told the tenant immediately so she had plenty of notice. She then started packing up before the photographers came. So all you see is boxes in all the rooms. It was understandably difficult to visualise living there. There was far more interest when new photos were taken after she moved out.

@Username7521 yes ALL that. I love this area so much that the idea of moving is very difficult. I love the layers of both actual history and personal history that every street has, I love Carnival (and my kids have been in it, with their friends) and yes - our estate is similar to yours in that the kids knock for each other and go out to play together etc. I just love the community. They're not at the bilingual school though, no - are yours?

@Username7521 we haven't got one yet. We're on the waiting list. But I am ever hopeful.....!

I think it looks lovely, but too a buyer they want to see a space they can imagine making their own....the space is very much you right now. Clear some things away and neutralise as much as possible....including the bathroom which is only going to suit a few people. I don't mean this in a bad way, I think your flat is beautiful inside.....you'd never guess from the outside! You just need to make it bland ...which is sad :-(

Yeah we are. Two in bilingual primary and one at the lycee.

Apparently Westminster has stopped issuing them due to covid but when I spoke to the chap he said they hadn’t even checked if the people on the list before us we’re still living there or even alive.

@Puffykins - firstly I want to say I love your flat and decor.

As everyone has said and, as you are taking heed of, there's a lot of clutter (and that's coming from someone whose house is way more cluttered ). Personally, I wouldn't remove all of the rugs, just thin them to one per room as it looks like you have lovely wooden floors underneath and that will be a huge selling point. Also definitely get a photo sorted of the outdoor space - a huge plus in your central location and a welcome safe haven in these Covid times.

I can see from your latest update you're going to clear and decorate and I hope you find a seller nice and quickly in the spring xx

My main reason for posting is that you mentioned you liked the colour of the plaster in the kitchen... We had an extension done a year to or so back and I knew I wanted to go for mushroomy/natural warm colours in the room as I have never liked the cold stark "neutrals" that everyone always rabbits on about. However, I too fell in love with the colour of the plaster and we now have two Dulux colours on the walls (to differentiate between the areas in the room). I call them wet plaster and dry plaster - their correct names are Cookie Dough (darker/wet) and Caramel Latte (paler/dry). Hope that's a helpful tip towards your ultimate goal

I get that the tiling in the kitchen needs to be redone (once it's been re-plastered) but I don't think there's anything actually wrong with the kitchen units or the worktops...

I think it's very personal to your family, but a lot of people want a neutral canvas. Also, as others have said, you have a lot of stuff. It may make people question whether it's going to be big enough for them. Could you declutter and put stuff in storage then whack some magnolia up? Good luck

@Nikhedonia

I get that the tiling in the kitchen needs to be redone (once it's been re-plastered) but I don't think there's anything actually wrong with the kitchen units or the worktops...

The boiler flue on the worktop should be boxed in or something so it's not such an eyesore

I absolutely love your home!

OP can I ask a quick question? Your ceiling drying rack over the bath...how difficult are they to put up? We could really use a ceiling drying rack but are in a rental and would have to 'make good' any damage when we leave, just wondering how doable it would be.