Flat doesn't seem to be selling?

[DAISYBELLAxx]

Hello everyone.

We are based in Surrey and looking to upsize. Our flat has been on the market for a month and it is just not selling.

We have had a total of three viewings but no offers. All viewings have been as a result of our estate agents calling people directly. Nobody seems to be enquiring from zoopla, rightmove etc off their own back.

I was wondering, as outsiders, if you could give your honest opinion as to why people are not proceeding to want to view. The link is: https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/67811323/

There are no bathroom photos currently and the estate agents are in the process of rectifying this (the photographer forgot to take photos of the bathroom??!!)

When people are viewing, I am always ensuring that I am keeping the flat clean, tidy and pleasant.

Your opinions would be much appreciated!

Thank you 😊

Assuming you know what a lease is, once it has expired, the house goes back to the freeholder. It’s hard to get a mortgage on leases <80 years, and it costs increasingly more to extend the lease the shorter it is.

So with an 89 year lease, it’s going to be unmortgageable in 9 years’s time. And it will cost the leaseholder a bomb to change that by extending the lease.

Don't bother redecorating. It's lowering the price and extending the lease that needs doing. Lower it to asking price of £220K (not offers over) and expect to accept somewhere nearer to £200K but get the lease extended first. People are not going to go through the trouble of buying a flat with such a short lease, your partner was unwise to do so 3 years ago.

@OolongTeaDrinker Thank you for this advice. How did you start the process of extending the lease? How long did it take for this to happen? How much did it cost? (If you don't mind sharing!) Thank you.

@DAISYBELLAxx read the GOV UK link that I posted, which gives advice and further links on how to extend the lease!

There are leasehold extension calculators online but probably around £10K.

The thing about a lease extension is you only get the right to do that after you’ve owned it for 2 years.

So someone buying it from you would have to be sure they’d hold on to it for 2 years to get that right. Whereas your DP can do it now.

Also, it can be tricky to get a mortgage with a shorter lease. Usually the cut off is 80 years but it may be some lenders are fussier, in any case even if a mortgage is available now, potential buyers may be worried about remortgaging later or selling on once it’s below 80 years.

Personally I think he should sort the extension if he can, otherwise he will probably lose a lot of value.

By the way I disagree about the decor - I think it’s a perfectly good blank canvas. Doubt adding some nik naks is going to make a difference. Better to put the money towards lease extending.

That doesn't include the freeholders legal costs which are an unknown quantity. Also OP needs to go down the 'formal' route to extend and not the informal one. OP Google is your friend for this information.

Probably 3-12 months to sort and around £10k. Was your OH not aware of this when he bought?

www.comparemymove.com/advice/conveyancing/extending-a-lease-cost

Agree with this.
Apart from extending the lease, the only change I would make is to remove the drawers from the bedroom.

For a few £ buying some things from Dunelm for example, would be cheap enough to make that sitting room look more inviting. Sadly grey is not really a neutral as such but you can brighten things up as PP have suggested.

Nice bright picture in the living room would make a difference. I don't rate Chancellors as an estate agent at all.

Allow more for legal costs and use a solicitor who has experience in lease extensions. Your common or garden conveyancer will not be the right person to use.

I think it lacks "kerb appeal" I know the garden is easily fixable but it looks very uncared for and like others have said, the interior is a bit drab and boring. Could you add some interest bearing in mind that you would be taking the items with you for your next property?
Although I think the main blocker is the short lease.
Best of luck in selling it soon. 🤞

I am extremely surprised your estate agent hasn't discussed the lease situation with you. This and the too high valuation makes me question their competence.

The photos of the outside are absolutely grim.

Inside, I'm afraid I'm with other posters, it looks grey and soulless. None of the photos do it justice at all. And the agent forgetting to take a photo of the bathroom is really poor of them. Potential viewers are going to assume that there's a reason there's no photo of it, and lose interest there and then.

I really dislike those lenses the estate agent photographers use. Look how the sofa size is distorted in each lounge pic.

agree it comes across a bit soul-less with nothing on the walls.

it also lacks curb appeal with the grass looking untidy and long and brown and no colour in the garden. Are you able to improve the look of the grass?

We started the process by contacting the freeholder and our solicitor and they took it from there - I've just looked at the documents and the cost was:
£495 surveyors fees
£696 legal costs
£6300 lease extension
As you can see this was not cheap, but it would have been unlikely we would have sold the flat at all with the lease as it was. We arranged for the lease cost itself (the £6300) to be paid once the flat sold and it was taken out of the equity by the solicitors and given to the freeholder.

We made a mistake of decluttering too much and lots of people can't visualise where would they put their stuff.
Aso you have bought in 2021. I would wxpect you to sell for roughly that price, possibly even less as leasehold is now shorter.

If you head over to National
Leashold campaign oh Facebook it’s really informative on Leashold law / ground rent. Service charges

you can get some really good advice on who to use to extend the lease and the process and your rights

The lease is too short and also you have very modern grey but the kitchen and the bedroom looks dated with the tiles and fitted wardrobes

Is it only on zoopla? I never look on zoopla only right move, I think more people use right move imo?

Ground floor?
First floor?
Looks sad and unloved.
Communal garden looks scruffy, parched, and uninviting.

Sorry just realised you said right move as well!!

I know it’s not yours to sort, but the external shots make it look pretty neglected and a bit miserable.

Put some mirrors and pictures up and throw a different coloured rug on the floor (perhaps even different coloured throws on the sofa) to break up the infinity grey vibe - borrow from friends and family to stage a shoot as it doesn’t currently look inviting.

The lease extension can be relatively painless, depending on the company you deal with. You need to contact the management company who should give you the details of the solicitors who handle the extension and then you go from there.

Is there a foxtons near there? You need to find an agent with buyers already in mind.

Bathroom photo?