My flat won’t sell, please help!

[SpookyW001989]

Hi guys, well my wife (33 F) and I (35 F)
have put our lovely 2 bed coach house on RightMove in Chelmsford, Essex and there has been ZERO interest! No viewings, no offers. It’s been on with RightMove and HOME estate agents for nearly a month, and zilch. We are beyond gutted. It was valued at £280,000. We have it on for £260,000 (we recently reduced it to this price) still nothing!!
To say we are bloody devastated would be an understatement. The flat has 2 parking spaces, a car port with loads of room, boarded out loft with electricity. It’s got 108 years left on the lease. Honestly, we thought it would be perfect for FTB. If anyone has any feedback back or helpful advice, please chuck some our way. Thank you. Here’s the link www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/164205242

It was a joke.

Np. I'm autistic. You have put a smiley face on your post to let me know it's funny 😃

Id be put off by the fact its leasehold when such a property wouldn't usually be, it's not a flat in traditional terms, but a house with a section over an entrance, bungalow on stilts. I quite like it, but wouldn't want leasehold.

That makes sense. It would mean the op has paid in total around 185k. They can definitely make some gain on that with a sensible readjustment to the asking price. If I was them I would drop to 230k and see if that's enough to start the ball rolling. It might well be. I think changing the listing to a flat is important too.

I don’t like the main road, the way it’s over the car park or the leasehold but it looks nice inside.

I think is the problem. Plus all the new flats behind you (and potentially many more new homes being built there) that is your problem.

The new station at Beaulieu is making people who work in London more likely to look over there - no need to live in the city centre any more.

Someone saying that’s “London prices” erm no it’s not! 😂

Dont know what to suggest op but good luck. Maybe try a different agent?

Also yes, change listing to flat. I didn’t know what a coach house was but I was expecting something entirely different from that.

The kitchen is dated. Can you at least change the doors? The bath doesn’t have a shower screen? It’s pretty bland decor, needs livening up.

The decor isn’t the problem. The problem is the price.

It's not the inside. It's the fact that all these cars are passing underneath you to get to the car park. This is a major thing that will put many people off even looking at the listing.

Yes exactly. It's nice enough and can be easily done to a buyers taste. It just needs to represent better value and it will sell.

Can't comment on the price as I don't know the area but not everyone would be keen on a coach house.

How the flat is presented, including the dated interior, is likely one of many factors that is turning off prospective buyers.

I agree. It's the price. If @SpookyW001989 were to spend a few thousand £ on updates, I doubt she would increase the sale price enough to make it worthwhile. It's over priced and there are so many other flats on the market in her area.
Having said that, I wonder if the OP just posted as an advert rather than for advice as she hasn't been back even once.

I can imagine OP is feeling quite gutted atm. Putting your home up for sale and asking for feedback on a public post, well you've got to have incredibly thick skin. So many negative posts - it's gonna hurt.
I totally agree, I would not want access to a carpark directly under my house/flat/coach house. A traditional coach house is one where there is a vehicular/horse access to the rear, for garage/stables - to your house alone.
It's also weird that it's leasehold, maybe because of the rear access.

None of what I've written is any help, just observations. Sorry OP. I had a hard job selling my own house, I know how gut wrenching it is. It took 6 mths, hardly any viewings and 2 price drops. Looking at the market, I realised how shit my house was and was just bloody grateful someone wanted it in the end, whatever the price. (I was desperate to get rid due to divorce).

The problem with posting here to advertise your property is now the estate agent can tell you how brilliantly they are marketing your property given the hundreds of Rightmove views.

That's not going to help the OP one bit though.

Having recently sold/purchased ( twice) , I did not once consider how many on-line viewings they'd been. It's pointless, unless they come through the door.

It could even be the estate agent is the OP!

There was a TV program recently about estate agents, one in particular that used such underhand tactics to sell at much lower prices. It seemed to depend on whether you were getting a mortgage through them, if you were, then you were ok, if not, they actually put other buyers off. Disgusting tactics.

It does look like it needs lots of updating so the price needs to reflect that.

I wouldn't be happy with vehicles passing to and fro beneath my flat coach house and I'd prefer to buy something freehold, so coupled with the main road/possibility of flooding nearby, it would be a no from me.

@SpookyW001989 any thoughts on all the observations and suggestions that lots of people have spent time and effort to give you?

You already have the only useful feedback you’re going to get - ie you’re not getting any viewings. That means buyers have decided it’s not worth viewing because there are better properties available for this same price The only thing you can do is reduce the price further to a level where it becomes attractive to buyers.

It's got great optics 😂

Remember you are selling the lease to the property which gives you right to live there provided you and the landlord which may be a company each perform your obligations set out in your lease a legally binding contract.

What does the lease say you actually own? Is the carport included in the lease? Is carport shared with other leaseholders? Is carport flying freehold?

Are the costs for maintenance of carport and other property included in service charge or is it a separate charge? How much is Ground rent? Does the GR increase annually?

Do you own share of freehold interest in the Landlord company?

Are there outstanding repairs and were you consulted under section 20 by the Landlord?

Are you receiving annual audited service charge accounts. Are meetings held and do you attend?

Have you completed an LTE form ?

You can put it up for auction but from a recent court case you will have to be honest otherwise you could be sued.

It seems to me that you have a lot of work to do!

London price! Where?

I’ve had a look, well
presented clean and tidy. I would not want the traffic driving underneath and I would be worried how cold those rooms might be in winter. No idea on house prices in your area so can’t comment on price.
the photos make the kitchen look tiny so maybe rethink those. Perhaps get somebody in to dress the place- flowers, fresh fruit, etc etc. Make it look more cosy and homely as it almost looks like a holiday let it is rather impersonal. Lots of luck for a sale very soon

I also live in central Chelmsford and know the area. Whilst the price of your flat is good, there are a huge number of flats in chelmsford so competition is fierce. There are also a lot of new build flats which are likely to be more appealing in terms of decor. I also wondered if the location is putting people off - quite far from the station, right by a retail park, and with some slightly less desirable roads nearby.
Ive noticed a lot being reduced in Chelmsford lately- it was an area that benefited from people moving out of London post covid and saw big price increases 2021-22
Ultimately a house is worth what people are prepared to pay so if you are not getting people through the door it's time to reduce the price. Good luck!