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!

People will obviously wonder how an ex-council flat can be worth nearly half a million but actually for W2 that's pretty reasonable.
That said, someone moving there is doing so for the location, the convenience of not having long commutes into London. There may be a little lift in prices in general at the moment but is that also the case for inner/central London now while people are working remote and staying away?
When you look at this flat it looks like a big project, highly in-convenient, the bathroom needs redoing, the kitchen needs work. Beyond that, people can't really see what they're buying because of all your stuff in the way.
This may just be a bit pedantic in regard to the description, but when looking at flats in London I often skip anything described as a maisonette, it's often EA code for ground floor flat (less desirable for security reasons) but yours is actually upper floor over two floors.
I'd clear up the junk, maybe do some renovation, try to hide the washing machine in the bathroom situation, then take some nice new pictures and market it as duplex.

Fire the estate agent after taking onboard the advice from other posters and doing a massive de clutter and get a new ad at a slightly different price point (lower) just so people don't recognise the flat.

I also couldn't believe this was a serious post I'm afraid. In addition to the clutter there are quite a few things going against it: leasehold and no mention how long is left on the lease, upper floor with lift in what looks like an old council block (I imagine it often does not work, smells of urine etc - maybe something to alleviate that concern in the text), split level, awful looking building (remove), no pictures of supposed selling point of shared garden. You probably need to lower the price and do a proper declutter and get rid of 50% of this visible stuff as people won't be able to see past the fact that the flat has apparently zero storage space.

More specific advice on the clutter. I actually think the bathroom decor is passable and might look classy IF all clutter was removed. No objects out anywhere, remove the laundry basket for the photos, get rid of the books by the loo (gross!) and spare towels and put out in the visible storage maybe something like a reed diffuser, a couple of perfume bottles, and at worst a stack of neatly folded towels (all one colour).

Kitchen looks from the photos like it needs ot be gutted. Apparently no storage as everything is out on the countertop and there seems to be no place left to prep food.

Other rooms are a mishmash of styles and colours that makes me feel quite stressed. Can you maybe cover the sofas and other large furniture in a cheap white, same colour fabric cover to give some semblance of colour and style harmony? What are the floors like? I can't even see them under the rugs to work out if they'd need to be gutted? Again it makes me think the worst-dark brown lino or similar.

The photographer here really needs to be fired. In this market you cannot be posting pics like this and expecting the place to sell!

There is just too much on show - your possessions I know - but it makes the place seem smaller than it is. Far too many pictures and books. Get a white duvet cover and remove the bright rugs. Your next home needs a study/library with proper bookcases on one wall, floor to ceiling, so that the home appears tidier. The bathroom needs neutralising - the wall art is not to everyone's taste and looks tacky. Have a look at other property on the market, usually the rooms have the bare minimum to show off the space; that is what you need to do, show the size of the rooms. Get the pictures off the walls and floor and make good any holes, to make it a big neutral space.

Another idea actually. The location is great so why not post some pics of closeby attractions like all the beautiful cafes, portobello Market, etc? You want to try sell the lifestyle of 2 bed flat for young professionals without children in hip area, with fun communal garden and great things to do walking distance from the flat.

Wow I think your flat is gorgeous and so quirky and although there is lots of stuff I think you’ve shown that there is plenty of space. My first instinct was that there is lots of stuff, you’d like to think most people could see past that. I would take some pictures down. Can you afford to put a few bits into storage? I would paint in the bathroom too, one less thing for a buyer moving in to do straight away. The outside of the block isn’t appealing but I love the leafyness of the outside space. Good luck, I’d love to see how you decorate your new home.

For the love of god, almost no one is suggesting that you get rid of your books, just that you put them in storage in order to SELL YOUR FLAT.

Your kids can still read them once you get to your new house.

You honestly are starting to sound like a hoarder with the “but what if my grandchildren want to read them?” comments.

52Mamanyt I'm not sure people are questioning the number of books, just pointing out that they are everywhere. People viewing it would think "why aren't the books on shelves or bookcases? Isn't there enough room for furniture? Is there some reason why shelves can't be attached to the walls? Would I be able to fit all my stuff in this flat?"

I loved it too, but as everyone said, less pictures on the wall, and less stuff on display.

But it’s gorgeous, if you weren’t trying to sell.

It's beautiful, I love it.

Shoot me now but I'm someone who used to love watching The House Doctor (probably what a previous poster is alluding to) and your post has made Ann Maurice weep.
When faced with excess belongings she would tell the owners that if they are serious about moving then, at some point, they're going to have to box up the stuff anyway, so why not make things easier and do it now?

@Badabingbadabum

52Mamanyt I'm not sure people are questioning the number of books, just pointing out that they are everywhere. People viewing it would think "why aren't the books on shelves or bookcases? Isn't there enough room for furniture? Is there some reason why shelves can't be attached to the walls? Would I be able to fit all my stuff in this flat?"

Someone was mentioning "3 books per adult." I was more commenting on that. For my more general comments, see my post from an earlier day.

Just wanted to add that I think your house is amazing.💗 I think people are just not used to seeing anything a bit different. But yes for selling unfortunately you need to do all the decluttering blah blah.

I love books, but I wouldn’t even go and look at this flat from the photos, because there is so much clutter.

Remember selling your home is a business transaction. You can do what you like with your next home; but buyers need to see the potential of this one - to be able to imagine themselves in it. IMO, it’s hard to do that with so much clutter. I agree with pp about painting over the mural in the bathroom. Neutral is the way to go.

[quote Puffykins]@Misandrylovescompany I've never quite recovered from finding The Joy of Sex, aged 8. The DIAGRAMS 🙈🙈[/quote]
THE DIAGRAMS!
THE BEARDS!

The length of the lease would probably put me off. Obviously allowing the lease to get to 80 years is a huge no-no, but prices can start to creep up once it gets below 90 years. We extended our lease recently. It cost around £5k and we didn't need to use a solicitor.

We put our one-bed gardenless flat on the market at the start of this month and sold it in two weeks. However, we were fairly ruthless.

We hired Big Yellow storage and decanted about 2/3 of our books into it. We were discerning with the ones we retained.

We got someone to look after our pet while viewings were going on and removed all traces of it.

We removed much of our clothes, crockery and truly personal items (family photos, pictures and trinkets that were meaningful to us but not anyone else) and put them in storage too.

We didn't remove all personality from the flat, but we presented a curated version. We had a very specific type of buyer in mind (young, single, aspirational professional ftb) and ruthlessly targeted that sort of buyer. For instance, we kept the Lonely Planet and Rough Guides on our bookshelves, along with pictures of foreign destinations, because we wanted to give the impression that the type of person who lived in our flat was well-travelled. I decluttered all perfume/aftershave from the bathroom except one bottle each of the most expensive because we wanted to show that the type of person who lived in our flat was well-groomed and able to afford expensive products. It sounds silly, but it worked and we got exactly the sort of buyer we were targeting.

OP it sounds as though you're leaning towards staying put. However, if you do decide to sell, I think you can reduce the amount of stuff on display without losing the personality. You want your flat to say 'the type of person who lives here is Bohemian and creative and able to live in central London'. However, it needs to be depersonalised. People need to envisage that they are the Bohemian artist living in the flat, not that they are in your flat.

Sell them your lifestyle, not your actual life.

Looked again at your flat and at other flats in the area - there is TOO much COLOUR in yours and it makes it look messy/cluttered. Too many cushions, books and pictures, it doesn't look streamlined and appears to be smaller than it probably is because items seem CRAMMED in, (far too much hanging on the walls) giving the impression of insufficient space. Definitely loose the wall art in the bathroom and invest in a bathroom rack/cabinet for the bottles/pots/jars which will clear the surfaces. Remove the books near the loo, which is unhygienic anyway. Clear the wall in the kitchen of paper and get the books out and use the space to put away things on the work top, so that there is actually space to cook. Maybe paint the cabinet and the wall all in white

Yogibearclub your advice is comical. Where do you get your idea of style from and why do you think OP needs it? Have you ever looked at an actual interiors magazine rather than a Next Catalogue or Chat magazine tips about freshening up your home? Two particular things stand out in your advice. *

• I actually think the bathroom decor is passable and might look classy IF all clutter was removed. No objects out anywhere, remove the laundry basket for the photos, get rid of the books by the loo (gross!) and spare towels and put out in the visible storage maybe something like a reed diffuser, a couple of perfume bottles, and at worst a stack of neatly folded towels (all one colour).

Why are books in the toilet gross??? Her bathroom already is classy that is what classy look like!!!! Reed diffusers are NOT classy! They scream high street. Your attempt to make a classy, artistic central London flat into a suburban new build show home 2004 is laughable.

Also, why would OP cover an expensive sofa with a 'cheap' white piece of material ? Why? OP chose the sofa on purpose. She has a good eye. Anybody with style can see that.

Declutter and paint everything neutral. If you are definitely selling then it doesn’t matter it doesn’t suit your tastes you have to think about the marketability and get the estate agents back to take better photos once this is done.

To sell our flat, we had to completely remove all traces of our own taste and style, put lots of books/pictures etc in storage along with quite a lot of furniture, and paint all the walls white.
What the buyers saw was a beautiful blank canvas.
It was hard work. It sold in less than a week so was totally worth it.

You need to remove 90% of the pictures from the walls. This makes it looks overwhelming and smaller than it is.

Also remove 99% of the ornaments.

Remove 90% of your cushions, they are everywhere, ?I’ve never seen so many cushions in tgat size space, it makes it looks too busy. Most people prefer a more minimalist look.

Everything from the top of the bookcase?? In the kitchen, it makes it look like your kitchen is too small to store people’s needs.

Books are ok if neatly in a bookcase.

Replace the bathroom mirror, it completely dominates tge bathroom and definitively nit very neutral in taste. The mural wil need to go too but I think the mirror is the worst offender, sorry.

You have some nice things but your eyes can’t take them in as everywhere is too busy.

Good luck.

It's a lovely flat, and your home, but at the moment is suggesting that it's small and without cupboard space. If you store everything in cupboards that you can, and everything else into storage, halve the prints, and leave the flat looking very bland, I've no doubt it will show things off as a large apartment as opposed to a small flat without storage.

But also look at the price. Is it competitively priced?

martysouth

You seem very over invested in this thread, and appear to be taking any comments about changes as though they are personal attacks. The OP has taken posters advice on board, and has decided to stay put for now whilst making changes. Where as you have continued to belittle posters, accuse them of having no taste and repeatedly dismiss their opinions with snide comments about Next and Dunelm.

Just noticed I’ve being eyeing up a similar mustard coloured (with white geometric pattern) mat/rug as the one in your (@Puffykins) bedroom for my hallway entrance. That’s encouraging given you have a good eye for style! Hallway mat/rug now chosen!

I wasn’t looking in a classy or upmarket store though. I found it on amazon... so probably not the same quality or material as yours (Being in a high traffic area, I’m not expecting the mat/rug to last that long!)z

www.amazon.co.uk/Durable-Recycled-Rug-Flatweave-Trellis/dp/B088TS9KPY/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=hallway+mat+mustard&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&qid=1604134243&sr=8-2

Why are books in the toilet gross???

Because not many people want their Tolstoy with a side of faecal matter?