Advice on (trying) to sell flat in London

[kleto]

This is the first time I've tried to sell a property, and my head is spinning! I've had my 2 bed, zone 2, victorian terraced flat on the market for two months now. Dropped the price £50k, changed estate agents, done everything I can think of.

Had one offer that fell through and maybe a total of 8 viewings. I know the market has changed dramatically since i bought it in 2015, but I'm not sure what else I can do to sell it. I keep hearing the market is really good and people selling up super quick, but not happening at all for me. I

Really want to sell as my partner and I are moving out of the country, but at this point I'm trying to decide if I should just drop the price even more or rent. Wondering if others are having similar problems? If so, are you trying to wait out out and rent the property or dropping the price more?

The market is hot in a lot of places, but flats are the real losers especially in London. Do you have a balcony or access to private garden? These are in high demand, people want open space having been cooped up at home so long. If not, then that only adds to the challenge at the moment.

Are flats near you selling or are they lingering as well?

Do you mean list it as a rental, although do you want to be a landlord - it's not quite so straightforward anymore as people seem to think.

It helps to post a rightmove link to get advice on a particular property (and then delete your post with link after a day or two of feedback).

In general though, I think that flats are trickier to shift in the current environment when we keep hearing of variants of the virus and concerns about further lockdowns.

I think the sale of flats at the moment are dependent on a couple things - are there any cladding issues, and does it come with outside space. If you're brave enough to post a link to your flat that you will get very helpful comments here around staging the flat properly that can help shift it.

I can’t talk specifically about London, but overall flats aren’t involved in the housing “boom”, they haven’t been since the start. People are generally looking for more space, and the idea of being locked down in a flat isn’t an appealing one. Depending on the type of flat, there’s also restrictions around mortgages/max LTV, and some banks and buyers are cautious about cladding after Grenfell.

I feel for you; we’re trying to sell a flat too, outside of London in a converted Edwardian villa... flats here usually sell no problem but there were 3 sales in the whole of 2020. We were holding out for people starting to commute again but it looks like that will be put on hold.

To make a decision on whether to rent it out; you’d need permission from any mortgage lender plus someone to manage it for you while you weren’t in the country, and insurance. You might also want to check whether the country that you’re moving to taxes on worldwide assets/income, that can be a pain... we got permission from our mortgage company and insurance was okay, but management fees were higher than we thought and we would have been taxed on worldwide income, which made it not worth it.

Thanks for the responses so far! A bit more information .. I currently rent out the flat - i have for 2 years, but my tenants are moving out. Here's the link - www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/105793751#/

I think the photos are ok, but shows it furnished with their things and they have a lot of stuff! So not sure that's helping matters.

No cladding issues for me, but i don't have a garden which I know is a problem.

Just really want to sell and move on, but it's not looking like a great option.

Thanks for your help!

Oh so you still have tenants in situ? That would put a lot of people off as well. Even if they are moving out, there is a risk they could not and then end up with all kinds of issues.

MN are pretty great with links so I’m sure you’ll get loads of help!

I’d note down that you shared the link here today so when you get your Rightmove report you notice why it went nuts!

We don’t have cladding issues either, and we have a communal garden that’s pretty well kept but I don’t think really matters, to be honest!

We’re changing agents but I have no hope that it’ll sell before people go back to work, and yesterday’s announcement seems to have set that back again.

It’s a small flat for 2 beds. Your tenants have a lot of stuff, which make me think there’s not enough storage. Are your tenants still there?

If not, I’d dress it for sale. The kitchen would benefit greatly from having the units and tiles painted a neutral colour.

The colour of your bathroom tiles is quite oppressive/dated. The bathroom sanitaryware is fine, but the photo makes me think I’d need to install a new bathroom.

Actually for the price of the flat I’d be investing in new tiles in both the kitchen and bathroom. You don’t need to do the whole bathroom, just above the bath and replaster/paint the rest.

The lack of outside space is a big problem & the sale of flats in all of London is massively down. In my borough in West London the local news prints a list of sales and the bottom has completely fallen out of the flat market. The few that have sold have been very well presented.

If you really want to sell wait until your tenants have left and get the photos redone. The listing doesn't mention that it's leasehold or the length of the lease. This isn't great as people may think it's a short lease because it's not mentioned. You also need to find out if the loft is demised, if it is that's quite a big selling point.

So you have a leasehold flat with no outside space & tenants in situ, all these points count against you so if don't have to sell I'd hang onto it & maybe look into addressing them. If you do have to sell you'll have to take a hit on the price.

I would wait until your tenants have moved out - their stuff is making it look very small and cluttered. There's too much stuff on show and it makes you question if there's enough room in the flat - the right side of the kitchen, and the dining table in the lounge in particular. It's also hard for someone to imagine themselves in it as there's so much 'stuff' like on the lounge floor and shelves. Some people can look past that, others can't. For a flat with no outside space I would be drawing attention to location re park proximity etc (if relevant - I don't know your area). People are also wary right now of how you'll get tenants out (and I would've assumed it's tenanted if I saw it because it hasn't been staged well and tbh the kitchen needs redoing IMO - wouldn't bother me to buy, but I would be worried about the tenants).

Agree with PP that I'd expect to see lease info too!

Thanks again everyone. So it seems I either wait till tenants are out, fix up a few things and try again or just rent again pretty much as is. Any experience with how rentals are going in London.., especially with no outside space?

It is a few min walk from a nice park, so I will make that more clear ... thanks!

That's a nice flat!

I would also be looking for info on the lease. If it has a long lease you should say so and give the term. If I don't see that, I suspect a short lease.

What's the price per square foot and is it competitive with local sales? Where I am in zone 2 you'd be able to get 2/3 bed new-ish build with cladding certificate in place c850 sq ft for the same price. Add full details of the lease and it would be well worth extending if you're anywhere near the 80y mark (apologies if you're share of freehold).

Out of interest, what do people consider a short lease?

I’ve asked our EA to update our listing a couple of times, but they say they give lease info at viewings 🤨

Is this the only property you own? The reason why I ask is that if you are moving abroad it’s a good idea to keep a property in your home country. I lived abroad for a few years and when I come back my credit rating was really low (due to being away) and it would have taken a while to build it backup to get a mortgage. Also if property prices go up while you’re away you might not be able to get back on the property ladder at the same point. Also someone is paying your mortgage for a few years.

It’s very small, no outside space, absolutely no storage & you’ve got tenants in situ. Flats like this struggle as there aren’t really any landlord buyers around. If you got vacant possession you might have better luck with price sensitive first time buyers.

Unfortunately you will have missed the boat for the June stamp duty date which is what the FTB in London are looking for. You may be better off taking back vacant possession and trying for the September date with a FTB.

Out of interest, what do people consider a short lease?

80 years is where it massively impairs the value. Closer to 80 is bad too, as you have to be living there a few years to have the right to extend. Anything under 100 years is unattractive tbh, and the longer the better.

Basically a good lease is worth advertising, and it would be foolish not to do so. It's like not putting a photo of the kitchen when you have a great kitchen.

It has 95 year lease and low charges, which I think is pretty good. There’s actually really good storage. My tenants moved in together so basically combined 2 households and have kept things - so it looks pretty crowded. Looked much different when I lived there. But they’re great tenants otherwise so I can’t do much about that for now!

We have a 2 bed in zone 2 also. Strangely, the layout is almost identical too!

I agree, that the tenants stuff makes it look incredibly cluttered!

Is it a stud wall between the kitchen and lounge? I'd remove that and make it more open, because the kitchen looks so poky and tiny.

Have you considered air BNB for 90days (limit in London) then trying to sell again or just rent? There are many management companies that will manage the whole thing short term let, supply hotel linen, clean etc. With more Brits likely to have a staycation this year, its an option to think about.

@readytosell

Oh so you still have tenants in situ? That would put a lot of people off as well. Even if they are moving out, there is a risk they could not and then end up with all kinds of issues.

I agree with this. We just lost a house with tenants in situ as they decided not to move out and because of the new coronavirus laws the seller can't do anything for six months so the sale is off - we won't even go and look at somewhere with tenants in situ now!

I have two friends who have just sold two bed garden flats in SW London. Both of them sold at a loss if you include work that they had done on the properties. A friend is trying to sell her two bed garden flat in NW London and really struggling.
Flats without gardens are even harder to sell. From what I gather the rental market hasn’t suffered so I would just carry on renting out. It would also give you security if you ever wanted to move back.

It’s very small, no outside space, absolutely no storage & you’ve got tenants in situ. Flats like this struggle as there aren’t really any landlord buyers around.

I'm guessing you don't live in London. This is an average sized Victorian flat and they don't usually struggle to sell or appeal to landlords only.

I think it's lovely. I just can't imagine anyone spending half a million on a tiny flat with no outdoor space, now when so many London workers are hanging on to the hope that they'll be working from home forever.

I think that will change, when social things get going again and (some) they realise what they miss about being in the thick of things, but for now no one needs a starter home in London.

Personally, I’d skip right past it if it didn’t have Leasehold/ Freehold information. For me, if this information wasn’t displayed I’d be quite suspicious that there was a short lease and wouldn’t even consider it.