No viewings at all?

[ThatUniqueCat]

We've been on the market for just over 2 weeks, and have had absolutely nothing - no viewings, no requests to view, apparently no interest whatsoever. I'm pretty sure the EA hates us now, as I've followed up repeatedly and asked to make some changes to the listing. EA keeps saying it's a difficult market, which we could understand, but we expected at least a little bit of interest!

We told the EA we wanted to sell quickly as we've found a property we would like, and we've priced at the lowest valuation we were given (£265k) and £15k under the exact same house, which is for sale next door. The last one for sale on our street, an end terrace (ours is mid), was up for £315k and we think sold (they changed the sign, nothing on RM yet) about a month ago.

Is the market just atrocious, or should we be expecting our EA to do more? I'm becoming unglued, I just want to be able to proceed with the property we've found! I know the photos aren't ideal - it was a drab day, and I've since touched up the paint throughout so there aren't any more swatches/patches - but the EA says they feel the photos represent the property well and wouldn't advise changing anything else for now.

The listing in question:
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/157713758#/?channel=RES_BUY

Do you watch TV in the loft?

EA is correct, the market is dead, this government not helping the situation either. House moving gets the whole economy going.

But its not clear on the photographs.
I would add some more photo’s of that room personally

I would take down some of the pictures in the bedroom - it makes the wall look very busy and detracts from the rest of the room. Also I'd look into wardrobes to hide your clothes away - you could look on facebook marketplace for cheap/free wardrobes.

Maybe not but the backyard does look grim.

OP I've had a quick look on RM for neighbouring properties to see if there's much difference. The difference here is night and day.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/details/england-54502929-17718643?s=0de5da3e1230b37033e16161695f3cfdaa48d75b49f24a08c1be49fda0ac565f

It think the decor is absolutely lovely and makes the best of the rooms.
Suggestions:

• Take down some of the pictures on that very crowded wall
• Clear that hanging rail in the bedroom because it makes it look as if there's a storage problem
• The garden lets it down especially when seen from the upstairs window. Mow the lawn and put a couple of pots with flowering plants thereI
• In fact, show show the view of the garden from the top room, it looks smaller than it probably is
• Those photos showing only part of a room are pointless. What is the agent thinking of! This is a case for the wide angled lens.

Two weeks isn't long. Good luck.

Clear a few item from rooms to stop it looking small. I do think a sofa would be nice, the seating may not appeal to most people. And I think ppl will comment on the lack of fitted wardrobes. The houses the same as yours what do their rooms look like?

I think it’s lovely OP. Very writer/creative feel to it which fits the styling outside.

the living room area is a bit unlively. Maybe move a rug? Or add a focal point?

could you move some more chairs down there

It says a 3 bed - but the floorplan still shows 4. I would also say that there is no obvious living room. The floorplan says Kitchen/Family Room - and it is not entirely clear how much room is actually left for a basic living room and not everyone would want a combined Kitchen living room anyway. The house is also VERY cluttered. Bookcases everywhere, no proper wardrobes, so clothes are on display etc. Dressing gown hung on the outside of the door. No criticism of any of that as such. We have hundreds of books too - but that isn't everyone's cup of tea and it simply highlights the apparent lack of space.

Also as others have said - where is the parking?

If there is parking, there needs to be a photo showing it / showing its proximity to the house.

The little attic room snug - nice idea but I think it'd be better shown off as an office or single bedroom

Still no answer on the parking, I assume as pedestrianised you cannot drive up in front of the house. Nothing would make me buy a house like that, the actual decor and layout is irrelevant.

There's a lot of things that say ask agent, like council tax band. That should be on there.

I've been trying to catch up - the parking is dedicated for the house, so no competition for spaces, and literally right outside the garden fence! I don't think the EA even took a photo of it ...

You're right to call out the EA on poor photos - ie lack of key ones, but you can't expect them to do any staging of your home. That's for you to do.

The agent has ALL the Material Information, I sent it over a day before the listing went on - council tax band, ground fees, etc.

Ugh, I think I need to re-read the listing to see what else is missing.

Where’s the sofa and telly? Looks like there’s nowhere to sit and curl up! Where’s the parking? Garden looks tiny for the family market you are most likely appealing to with a 3/4 bed house like this.

I don't think colours are an issue but I'm confused about where the living room is, where do a family chill and watch tv together, and again where do a family sit and eat together. Is one of the first floor bedrooms actually supposed to be the living room? It's hard to visualise it functioning as a family home.

EXACTLY. That kitchen/living area could be showstopping, but it's just empty, save for a weird church pew. Ditch the pew and put in a sofa, tv, rug, plants etc. Also, sort the garden, it's a real mess. This is a lovely home, sadly some people just can't envisage things and need to be spoon fed.

I'm still floored by the 50k difference for a bit of staging - happy to do it, but didn't think it would make that much change (especially as we've been looking at properties going over asking with 70s carpet, missing windowsills, and obvious damp!)

Ah yes, you can see the parking area if you do a street view. Tbf, the pedestrianised area looks better on street view.

Sofa and telly are upstairs - there are only two of us, so we like to cosy up at night with the cats! Parking is just outside the garden gate - but yes, garden is small for a family.

1.Stop hounding your estate agent. This is the slow time of year and things pick up in the spring.

2.You shouldn't paint samples directly on the walls. You are often left with being able to see where they were under the new paint. You paint them on paper/card, then hold them up to the wall.

3.The coloured walls are nice and done well. Leave them be.

4.Your agent needs to update the listing, it says 3 bed in the title, but they've written 4 bed in the description and floor plan. They need to update the floorplan as the 1st floor front bedroom needs to state "living room". It's a 3 bed house and shouldn't be listed as 4 bed as there is no living room otherwise.

5.Kitchen is odd, no dining table, just an open space. I'd change the photos with the cat on the worktop, that's just disgusting and certainly will put people off.

Personally the kitchen puts me off, barely any storage, it's very small. And what is that yellow thing on the door in the kitchen?

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/144561893#/?channel=RES_BUY

is that your next door neighbours house?

It says to me ‘4 bedrooms but no living room’. Am I missing something?

Mostly the lack of living space in comparison to the number of bedrooms. If you need 4 bedrooms then you want more living area and a bigger garden. Also not clear where the parking is in relation to the house.

The large number of dark walls and gloomy looking garden dont help and the bench in front of the radiator but nowhere else to sit is weird.

I think it's really lovely - but i'd want to know where I was going to park. Is there a road behind the garden? and as others have said, there's no couch anywhere? no living room? and one bedroom set up as a library?
I think if you furnished the main room as an open plan family room it would make a lot more sense to people.