No interest whatsoever - one week

[Spokentruth]

House was listed on RM and Zoopla a week ago today. Listed on website a day or so before.
I had two viewings almost immediately. Both cancelled last minute (agent had already arrived at my property).
Since then, I've had no communication with the EA.

I know it's early days and it's tough out there atm but I'm wondering why 2 people would cancel and there's been nothing else. There's nothing booked in for this weekend either.

I had 4 estate agents value the property. The one I chose put it on for the lowest starting price but it's a 'guide price' £230-240 K). He said I could do this or put it on for 'offers over' 225K ( other agents gave me 235 K asking/offers over) and 'start a bidding war' which I didn't think would happen anyway in this climate.

This is not a good start is it?

I'd prefer not to post a link on thread.

Much better inside than I would imagine from the outside , spacious, If I had to be picky the vertical blinds and the big areas of empty space make it a bit clinical and in the pink room the top corner there is some dark staining ? I would worry about damp .

I noticed that too. It's not damp, there was dark wallpaper under it and I did a crap job of the painting but can totally see what you mean.

Don't buy a dining table for the sake of some pictures. Your furniture isn't going to decide whether someone buys the house.

Have you got an onward purchase?

We had an offer accepted on our current house 4 days after it went on the market. Up until last summer houses round my estate/area were marked sold in
days/maybe two weeks.

Id say the last 6 months nothing is moving that quickly at all taking some price reductions and months to sell. It seems the market is pretty slow currently in what is a popular area.

I agree, if it's in the right location, right size rooms, right size garden then I don't care about the decor. I'd only end up changing everything anyway.

That is what the estate agent told me when I asked if there was anything I should change.

This was when I bought it.

www.zoopla.co.uk/property/uprn/100100646270/

I think properties have a pricing ceiling because of the area and the property type i.e semi, terrace.

So after a certain point, decorating etc can't increase the price.

Estate agents always try to point out some flaws. The truth is that if it's priced right for its target demographic, then it will sell.

Ok I am going to be brutally honest. I will go through in photo order.

1. Image does not show how long the drive is. Photo should go down to pavement.
2. Kitchen very bland and looks like a btl kitchen. Everything in room is white. No colour. Red blinds in window would make such a difference. You could buy a few green foliage plants for window sill and add a bright colour tea towel to handle on oven door, add a bowl of oranges put in prominent position on worktop.

3-6. Shows large room but it looks like a giant white walk through. Pull table out from wall. Put on a bright tablecloth. Show how buyer could use the space. 10. Again very bland. Lacking colour to add personality. Get some colourful red cussions. Vase of red tulips. 14. Again so bland. I don't mean to be rude but it needs colour. Get a bright colour runner to run across bottom of bed and a couple of colour cushions. Put a picture on the wall. 20. More bland. Get some bright towels and put a few green leafy plants in the window sill. 23. Pressure wash slabs. Get a few tubs of bright tulips or pansies to soften the corners.

In general your house looks very tidy but more like a btl that tenants are not allowed to deviate from white in most rooms.

I wish my house was as tidy as yours though.

yours is nicer than the one across the road-maybe like others said they drove by and were worried about the parking

i wouldnt drop the price yet

Thank you caring and everyone else for your honest Ideas and opinions. I certainly can see the other side of things now. I think maybe I depersonalised it just a tad too much, wanting it to look a bit like a boring, blank canvas.

I need to get rid of the trampoline and sort the dining area out. Jet wash the front at least and put a bit of colour into the place.
Some people pointed out some small DIY jobs I could do like the bath sealant etc.

I'll look at how much I can afford to reduce it but I do want to reiterate that I did not price my own house so it feels a bit weird being called 'greedy'. I'm not sure other people would tell 4 different estate agents they are wrong in their valuations and could they please sell it for 20K less when it first goes on the market.
Sure, I'll be open to lowering the price in the near future if it needs to be lowered but I am only going on advice from the people in the business in making an inital valuation.
I have put money and time into the house since it was bought (garage conversion etc). It's not just been sitting here but obviously it needs more time and money to make it a bit more of a home which I currently don't have.

Thank you

remember estate agents are only after the fee-is it a set price they get or a percentage

A percentage but surely they'd rather sell something quickly at the right price than drag it on for months and potentially get nothing.

Yes but first and foremost, they want you to choose them as your estate agent.

For most people they'll pick the agent who values their house the highest.

They're just sales-people at the end of the day.

I struggled a bit to make sense of what the different spaces were when I looked at the pics. Agree with others about defining the downstairs spaces more.

Re the table, I have used a pack of loft boards on a table before, chuck a tablecloth on it and no one will know but it will look like a bigger table.

And a few plants to soften would be good. I don't think the trampoline is a real problem. It isn't nice to look at, but it did make me think 'wow there is space for a huge trampoline'.

For most people they'll pick the agent who values their house the highest.

Very few people go with the person who prices their house highest. They go with the person who seems most confident in their valuation, can give good reasons why they've suggested that price, and who have a good reputation.

I think the clearly over-photoshopped photos can put some people off. Looking at the floorplan first I thought the dining room would be dark, but the photos look bright with lights on. I'd assume, as some of the pictures look so heavily photoshopped, that it was darker than it appears.

I quite like the outside too! Looking at your house compared to neighbours on Street View, yours is far better than theirs.

The driveway situation can be rectified by another owner too. Yes, it would require digging out, etc, and dropped kerb extending maybe, but it's do'able.

I wouldn't worry at this stage OP. A week is nothing in this climate. One of my neighbours' houses went on the market last June. It went under offer twice, but both times fell through and it's finally back under offer now.

It was on at a fair price and they've not dropped it, so it just took time.

We will have to agree to disagree as that's not my experience.

I was very close to going with one agent but realised their fees were too high having not quoted Vat when I thought they had. My first question was what their commission rate was after that. This can differ in 1000s. My next deciding factor was reviews. My mum had previously bought off this agent and had a good experience. Thus agent actually gave me the lowest asking price.
The others told me to go at 235K max 240K.

Another factor was their tie in period. First agent wanted me to be tied in for 20 weeks and there were several things I wasn't happy with when I got the draft contract. They'd changed a lot of what was promised verbally and put it in very small print in writing which I found sneaky.

Put colourful hanging baskets across the front of the house and lots of large pots of bright flowers front and back. Shoes need hiding away. Kitchen needs some colour, fruit bowl and matching tea towel, pretty jars for instance. Door knobs need changing for proper kitchen handles .Table seems small and needs to be moved away from the wall and dressed, coloured place mats, flowers etc. Coloured cushions and pictures on plain walls will help liven the place up and a few carefully placed pieces will help to give a more homely feel. The last picture is horrible and will be the last thing people remember. Get someone to pressure wash the front slabs etc - it will make a huge difference. Plant colourful flowers. Then have the pictures re-done. I prefer to see a list of rooms in the description with sizes. Especially as you have lots of rooms! It's a lovely house, good luck!

good youve asked about the fees and tie in up front-my sister was duped into this and they said we told you abo0ut the terms but they actually didnt so she got a discount

I honestly don't see the point of that last picture. It is horrendous. He asked to move the recyling bins up there to take the main one and then took a picture of them up top?!

It's amazing the difference between 1 % and 3 % isn't it?!

Ditto what others have said. Also move the bins from in front of the lounge window, and turn the microwave, face it across the kitchen.
The Astro turf would be off putting too tbh.
But lots of space and potential.