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Original poster

Please tell me why this flat isnt selling?

354 replies

curiouscat1987 · 10/02/2025 12:03

Posting this for a family member. Flat has been on the market for months and not only hasnt had any offers but hasnt even had a single viewing! The price was in line with the area, but has been dropped twice and agent changed too with new photos but still no viewings. Its a lovely little place, not the biggest but lovely and bright and quite modern. Im not the best at design etc so would appreciate any thoughts on what they could do to improve the desireability or improve for the photos etc to get some more interest?

Obviously they know they can drop the price, however if they drop it much more they'll be selling for what they bought for 10 years ago!

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/156450941#/?channel=RES_BUY

Thanks everyone ☺️

Check out this 2 bedroom apartment for sale on Rightmove

2 bedroom apartment for sale in Ditchling Road, Brighton, BN1 for £320,000. Marketed by Kendrick Property Services, Brighton

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/156450941#/?channel=RES_BUY

OP posts:
Thread gallery
9
Hesma · 10/02/2025 14:43

There’s leasehold conditions attached

Clafoutie · 10/02/2025 14:48

I’m quite shocked at how inadequate the photos are from ( presumably) a professional. They’ve taken them standing at odd angles inside the rooms, so you can’t get any sense of the size of the spaces, unless you look at the floor plan. Terrible pictures can lead people to suspect something is being disguised.

Iloveyoubut · 10/02/2025 14:49

100% slopped ceilings and it feels like it would be a struggle to know where to put furniture in the rooms… it looks like hard work to live in. X

SkaneTos · 10/02/2025 14:49

curiouscat1987 · 10/02/2025 13:29

Omg wasnt expecting the thread to take off quite so much!

Thanks so much everyone for your thoughts, some really useful points here for them. I cant respond to everyone individually, but heres a few answers:

  • its in a victorian converted house, not a purpose built high rise. Agree it definitely needs a photo to make that clear from the front!
  • agree the photos make the sloping ceilings look far worse than they are, and dont give a good sense of the layout, e.g. dont make clear the kitchen and living room are open plan
  • its share of freehold (was purchased whilst theyve owned it), so the price is inline with other equivalent flats that are also share of freehold rather than leasehold.
  • agree also that stuff looks rather grey and needs a bit more colour

Thank you for updating, OP!

Loub1987 · 10/02/2025 14:49

Does it have a lift? That’s not clear.

Does it have parking?

I wouldnt consider a flat without a lift due to pushchair.

Nice flat though.

Iloveyoubut · 10/02/2025 14:50

LookItsMeAgain · 10/02/2025 13:31

This would put me off too.

It makes the place look terribly enclosed and not light and airy. Also the sloped windows and blinds are not a great look.

Finally of the 8 photos on Right Move - 3 of them are taken from the flat looking out to the neighbourhood. It's not of the flat itself.

It's not cluttered but if I were them and I could afford it, I'd move out of the place so that it's completely empty of my belongings. That way any new photographs, the potential buyers could picture where they want to put their stuff. It's hard to picture where I'd be putting my stuff when the ceiling is so low and making me feel very enclosed.

Show quote history

This is brilliant advice!

Dotjones · 10/02/2025 15:00

Ultimately, it's price. Drop it to a £100k and I'll buy it. They can probably get a lot closer than that, someone will come along and offer £110k, but every property that can't be sold is ultimately down to the price being to high compared to what people are willing to pay.

Other than that the big issue is how crampt the ceilings look. Estate agents have a knack for making a property look twice the size it actually is, which rings alarm bells here because the low ceilings in the kitchen and bathroom look awful.

Sod it, I'll offer £120k.

IBloodyLoveMyBlanket · 10/02/2025 15:00

It clearly isn't a high rise, they don't have sloping ceilings.

Agree with a pp that the photos in the brochure need to go on the ad.

waterrat · 10/02/2025 15:00

I know that area well.

I don't know the current market for 2 bed flats but I think you have to put yourself in the shoes of buyers - if you have 315 to spend and want 2 beds - what else can you get?

If you can get any outside space at all - you are going to choose that.

the issue might be that the reason fiveways/ ditchling road is popular is because of the secondary schools that are nearby - but that is not relevant to the first time buyer who would want a small 2 bed flat with no outside space. So I cant see why they would choose this area.

ditchling road itself is a horrible artery for traffic (I sit on it many mornings in the traffic jams) - I've always thought it would be a fairly horrible road to live on.

I think you have to accept that price and what buyers can get instead is always a factor.

waterrat · 10/02/2025 15:01

also - as any brightonian will know - there is no parking round there at all!

SunnyViper · 10/02/2025 15:06

As others have said, sloped ceiling would make me scroll past.

ACynicalDad · 10/02/2025 15:11

curiouscat1987 · 10/02/2025 13:29

Omg wasnt expecting the thread to take off quite so much!

Thanks so much everyone for your thoughts, some really useful points here for them. I cant respond to everyone individually, but heres a few answers:

  • its in a victorian converted house, not a purpose built high rise. Agree it definitely needs a photo to make that clear from the front!
  • agree the photos make the sloping ceilings look far worse than they are, and dont give a good sense of the layout, e.g. dont make clear the kitchen and living room are open plan
  • its share of freehold (was purchased whilst theyve owned it), so the price is inline with other equivalent flats that are also share of freehold rather than leasehold.
  • agree also that stuff looks rather grey and needs a bit more colour

Some people will love living top floor, but with those ceilings a lot of people won't (I presume being a conversion no lift either). I think you need to think about the flats you compare it to price wise, and not just those that are 2 bed and nearby, it's well below one of them.

BobbyBiscuits · 10/02/2025 15:12

Kitchen looks almost unusable by the angle on the slope, though presumably it's not that bad.
I guess no outdoor space, and no semblance of the buildings exterior. Showing two pics of the fairly nondescript view outwards isn't hugely informative. The decor and general standard of fittings etc isn't bad at all. I'd say the sloping ceilings are the main problem.

Gloriainextremis · 10/02/2025 15:12

What it boils down to is that there are hundreds of 2-bed flats & apartments in Brighton and a lot of very nice ones are for sale for less than this one.

Liveandletlive18 · 10/02/2025 15:13

Unflattering photographs. I think it would make an excellent Airbnb property for people interested in buying properties for holiday lettings. It's perhaps worth putting this in the blurb

Bambiisasillybilly · 10/02/2025 15:14

I don't think a touch of colour will help you need better pictures. I wonder if some estate agents do it deliberately. I would take a photo of the views as well as all the good looking spots in and outside of the property. The buyer will do up the flat no point in adding anything.

Augustus40 · 10/02/2025 15:18

How many years left on the lease?

Meanwhile33 · 10/02/2025 15:19

The drone photos are making people think it’s a high rise and those are the views from the flat, and the interior photos are awful. It also looks a bit unloved. Put some vases of flowers in the kitchen and get new photos taken.

Delphiniumandlupins · 10/02/2025 15:22

Bad photos - flat and decor look fine but pictures emphasis the coombed ceilings (and not in a good way).

Only 8 photos and 3 of them are of the surrounding area.

Too expensive - other two bed flats nearby have sold for under £300,000. Arguably better flats with high ceilings/outdoor space/bigger rooms.

Hairoit · 10/02/2025 15:26

It looks like an open plan kitchen living room on the map but the photos make them look like separate tiny little cramped rooms.

I think I could take better photos with my iPhone on zoomed out mode.

martinisforeveryone · 10/02/2025 15:26

Liveandletlive18 · 10/02/2025 15:13

Unflattering photographs. I think it would make an excellent Airbnb property for people interested in buying properties for holiday lettings. It's perhaps worth putting this in the blurb

As it’s leasehold with a share of the freehold, sub letting may well contravene the lease, or at least short term letting.

JimHalpertsWife · 10/02/2025 15:29

The photos in the Brochure are much nicer and should be in the main listing.

Ilikeadrink14 · 10/02/2025 15:32

aSpanielintheworks · 10/02/2025 12:24

I don't know the going rate in your area, it looks like a nice flat, I like it.
What made me turn away was the 'share of freehold'
I wouldn't pay that sort of money for a share of freehold , you'd never fully own it in the end.

Share of the freehold at least gives you a say in any changes being made. If you have no share, you technically have no ownership over the ground the flats stand on! The owners could do what they like.
I think this is partly why this flat isn’t selling. The sloping ceilings are definitely another strong reason. My daughter, for example, would never be able to relax in a room with a sloping ceiling. They give some people the creeps.
The photos are pathetic! It’s as though the estate agent has sent the office cleaner to take the photos! Don’t they want to sell this flat?
Also, there is no mention of a lift, any use of a garden, somewhere to put a dustbin etc. It’s a disappointing flat and I can’t think of anything that would make it better. I wouldn’t touch it with a barge pole! Sorry.

2Magpies24 · 10/02/2025 15:36

Squeezing 2 bedrooms into a 600Sqft space must feel really squashed, especially if some of the space has a sloping roof. I do think the price is about right for Brighton though.

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