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 😊

You need to contact your FREEHOLDER preferably through a solicitor who works with leasehold extensions. The OPs partner IS the leaseholder.
Sometimes I despair of the info on MN!

Informal. I've just checked the document and it added 100 years onto the lease. So we sold with a lease of 188 years.

We looked at a flat with a similar length lease. It was on the market for about 70% market value, because it’s unmortgageable. We still didn’t buy it. You’d have to offer an enormous reduction if you don’t want to extend the lease. I’m shocked that your EA hasn’t highlighted this to you already.

There are issues with going down the informal route I've been told although I don't know precisely what they are. I've been advised to take the formal route and believe that is more expensive. My lease is 98 years currently so I'm aware that time is running down.

@blackcherryconserve

Have a day off!!

It's just an error, it's obvious what I mean.

I bet you feel great about yourself now 🙄

Ideally you would extend the lease. Changing decor etc is really not the issue here. Dropping the price may work but with a lease that short, you are cutting down the pool of buyers who will be interested, whatever the price. Many of those looking at this sort of flat will be first time buyers, who may be put off by the idea of extending (because they won't know much about it and it'll seem 'scary'). Investors probably wouldn't buy because of financing (difficulty of borrowing on a short lease) versus the high price.
Unfortunately 2021 was the height of the market and mostly, flat prices have dropped since then so it's very overpriced in this market.
Extending the lease really isn't difficult (as pp said tho, get a proper leasehold solicitor not a conveyancer. Google 'leasehold extension or enfranchisement') and the price, although can be subject to a bit of negotiation, is set out on a formula by a surveyor so at least you know that it's not some awful cattle market, with a figure picked out of the air.
The only other thing is that summer is a notoriously bad time to sell - things usually pick up in autumn. So with a price drop, there could be more interest come Sept or Oct.
Good luck

To someone who is asking for information and help it wasn't at all obvious what you meant. That is why I corrected you. Do enjoy your evening now you've put me in my place!

is that the communal garden?? looks unused and unusable

Offers over annoy me

If you want a higher figure put that

We had zero issues with this route, I can't see what any issues there would be to be honest if it is a straightforward transaction. And even if there were that would be for someone years down the line to deal with. Our freeholder was a housing association though so they were well set up for dealing with lease extensions - maybe if it's a complicated situation with multiple freeholder there would be issues.

Our freeholder is a housing association, so hoping we can go down the informal route.

I honestly feel really deflated and it has really brought my mood down. But this advice I definitely needed to hear, so thank you everyone!

I think I might advise to my partner that maybe we take it off the market for the time being, and when we put it back up, find another estate agent 🤔

Yes I think you may well be right. Mine is a large private freeholder who will not make it an easy transition!

As others have said, it’s the years that are left on the lease which will put people off and exclude others from being able to get a mortgage. My flat last year in Sussex sat on the market for 4 months before we had an offer. I’d ask your EA to actually state what the service charges are as well.

You might also want to give the managing agents the heads up that you’re looking to sell and ask them to have a management pack ready for buyer when the time comes. They can really hold the process up. Good luck.

Definitely worth thinking about if he is not in too much of a hurry to sell.

as someone who lived in flats (rented and owned) for 15 years, that garden is a massive SELLING POINT - you need to make it look like you can and do use it - outside space in an upstairs flat makes me feel weepy lol - i hated hated having no outdoors, stupid sash windows didnt really do mich. honestly, get some second hand garden furniture off marketplace and make a lovely little area

as well as look into the lease lol

Do not go down the informal route! Not meaning to have a dig but you didn't know what the lease was earlier. If you don't know what you are doing, you will get hugely screwed over on the lease extension if you don't do it formally and it will cost you significantly more in the long run.

Ignoring the length of lease, the lounge is so stark and bare. No coffee tables, no colour, nothing that makes it look loved. In addition, the built-in (?) cupboards and drawers in the bedroom look dated and make the room look cramped. That would probably put me off more than the lounge actually.

also op (i am at work and bored lol) the video tour is simply a slide show, i thought it would be walk around
I like the photo showing the hallway from the kitchen muchh more than the blank lounge photo
the handles on the bedroom furniture make it dated but i cant see you could replace them BUT a photo FROM the window into the room would be nice. Less handly

I think it's tricky because it's the combination of everything. If the lease was long and the block looked nice from the outside, people would think of the inside as being a nice blank canvas. If the inside was really cosy and welcoming people might overlook the outside (although maybe not the lease).

On the plus side, it's a really good sized flat - the rooms are bigger than you get in many. It's nice to have two double bedrooms.

I think definitely do as others have suggested and get some cheapo bits and bobs on home decor stuff/pot plants etc that will just make it look like someone lives there. Probably get the estate agent to take the "extensively refurbished" bit off the listing because that (along with the empty greyness) makes it look like it's a flip property and makes you suspicious of quality.

With the lease - get started on the donkey work to find out cost and timescale. Then you can share that with any prospective buyer - possibly even put the quote on the listing. If I was a buyer and I liked the flat and you were able to just tell me "here's the paperwork, it'll cost you £x to extend for £x years and this is what you do" I'd not be put off. I believe lease extensions are not generally hugely expensive when there's 89 years left - it's when they get short it gets pricey, so the sooner the better.

We didn't really know what we were doing when we went down the informal route, but the freeholder was very helpful explaining the process and I did my own research too. No reason why the OP would get hugely screwed over if they have their wits about them, and a decent solicitor.

Lease length would put me off, but the decor could be changed in a weekend.

This is just a small thing, but could you add some vases of brightly coloured flowers to make it look more appealing, especially in the living room?

Try not to get too disheartened! It’s the price that is much too high. Flat prices have not risen that high in the past few years. A family member sold their flat with a 93 year lease without any problems and that was 2 years ago. The flat was very realistically priced to take account of needing a new lease and your flat will appeal to someone who wouldn’t be able to afford the flat with a longer lease as it would be more expensive and they will have the 2 years to save up the cost.
The flat does look a little uninviting without any pictures on the wall.

Did you flip it or actually live there? The decor makes it look like a developer job, some cheap prints and colourful flowers will go a long way

We bought our place at 89 years with the previous owner having started the process. However our solicitor messed up (before going bankrupt) so we had to start the process again. We never got round to it and lease dropped to 75 years before we did anything. We were quoted £50K! (In London- zone 2). All sorted now as we received an inheritance and actually ended up buying a share of the freehold instead and in the process raised the lease to 999 years. So you absolutely need to start the process even if you plan on getting a buyer to complete it as people won't touch it otherwise