Looking for good news stories of flat sales in London

[speckledpinkhen]

I bought what I genuinely thought was the perfect one-bed flat in East London about 10 years ago. Victorian conversion, top floor, lovely kitchen, private garden, parking, share of freehold and low service charges. I lived in it myself for years and then rented it out for the past five years. I’m now selling it.

I took ages choosing an agent because I really wanted someone proactive. The flat went on the market in April and we had five viewings booked in within the first three weeks. Feedback was generally positive but no offers, and apart from one person who offered on another flat, nobody really explained why they didn’t proceed.

Now we’re six weeks in and, after the initial flurry, I’ve only had one further viewing. I know the market is slower at the moment, especially for flats, but I’m struggling to work out whether this is fairly normal or whether my agent just isn’t doing enough.

I’m especially frustrated because we recently realised they’d listed the property without ticking the garden or parking filters on Rightmove, which feels like quite a major oversight given those are two of its biggest selling points. They also won’t make it a featured property on Rightmove, and other than suggesting a fairly significant price reduction, they haven’t really explained what else they’re doing to generate viewings.

To make it more confusing, a nearby one-bed with no garden sold recently for around £50k more than mine.

I’m not looking for “London flats are impossible to sell” horror stories, more wondering:

• Is six weeks actually still early days?
• Are agents generally quite passive after the initial launch?
• Should they be doing more to keep momentum going?
• Has anyone had a flat go quiet and then suddenly sell a few weeks or months later?

Would really appreciate any balanced insight from people who’ve sold recently.

What sort of feedback are you getting from viewers?

How long was the other flat on for though?

The other flat was on similar time to mine and was only sold STC last week.
feedback - one person really liked it and was going to email with questions. Apparently he never did
one guy said it was lovely but was going to look at others, they were going to follow up. But haven’t heard anything since.
one girl offered on a newer property but with a hefty service charge
and one couple loved it but had elderly relatives who wouldn’t have been able to visit (begs the questions why you go and visit a top floor property)!

Yes they should be doing more. Have you looked at their recent sales history? I’ve never heard of an EA refusing to feature a property on Rightmove.

If you’re feeling brave then please post a link to the flat.

A million flats up for sale around the country means that anyone seriously wanting to buy one can afford to be very picky.

Sorry it’s on all the property portals but they refuse to pay to flag it higher (you know so it sits on the top)! I think it’s very easy for them to fall back on ‘the current market’! Sadly I won’t post the link as it will out me and if I get any savage mumsnetter feedback I might cry haha! Feeling a bit fragile about it all, as it’s been a ball and chain round me neck for a long time and am a single mum and need to sell for stability for me and my son xxx

I don't think the EAs are doing enough either, especially if a similar flat down the road has sold for £50k more. That would wind me right up!
You can easily check which agent sells the most properties like yours. There's a really useful site called landworth.org where you can see exactly who sells what in your postcode. I used it when I sold my 1 bed flat in SE18 and picked Acorn because they had sold by far the most flats in the area. They got me an offer really quickly. I did have to take a bit of a hit on the price, but I was just glad to get it sold and move on.
Out of interest, do you absolutely have to sell right now? Could you remortgage and release any equity to buy the next place while keeping this one?

I only ask because I think flats are due a bit of an uplift in the next couple of years and it would be a shame to sell at the bottom in a bloated market. I only sold mine because it was co-owned. Why is it a ball and chain around your neck?

@grizzlyoldbearthanks so much for the intel. This is great.

can I ask what you mean by uplift?

I am a single mother. I rented it out for five years which was fine but also a lot of hassle and expenditure. I rented where I am at the moment so all in all I’m shelling out nearly £2300 a month on mortgage and rent. I want a home for me and my child and although I know it’s best to hold onto it, the thought of renting it out again and paying letting agents etc etc and then the RR act, I’d rather just sell. I really thought long and hard about it and thought I’d picked a good time. Little did I know the orange shit - Trump would fuck up the world again! Xxx

Hey OP, no real advice here but I empathise as we’re in a similar situation in west London! Everybody was like ‘your flat will sell so quickly, it’s beautiful!’, however here we are. We’re 8 weeks in now and had 6 viewings in the initial 2 week flurry (we actually received an offer but from an unproceedable buyer who then didn’t action selling their own place!). In our case, once the initial flurry died down we didn’t get another viewing for 4 weeks until we reduced the price. That resulted in another 6 viewings, however it’s all been polite rejections so far eg ‘lovely flat but don’t want ground floor’ (like you say, they can gather that from the listing!). We’re at the end of our agreement period with EA and wondering what to do RE next steps now…wish you all the luck, it’s really quite stressful and an emotional rollercoaster!

Also, sorry - appreciate this isn’t a ‘good news story’ (just re-read your thread title yet!) but also not a horror story (yet!!). You are still early days OP and have strategy options RE marketing etc (frustrating that your EA won’t make it a featured property though?!)

They aren’t doing enough

my kids are looking to buy flats and this is what they rule out

they don’t want a new build, they don’t want anything with a high service charge and they don’t want a leasehold. So yours is none of those and the EA told us everyone is ruling out flats like that so yours should be well up the list of what people want.

I would change EA and get it re listed.

We've got too many landlords - am pleased a government is finally doing something about it.

Homes should be places we live, not investments to boost our offshore trust funds

@WildEnergySupplierplease respectfully STFU! Most landlords are good, decent people and so are most tenants. But for every bad landlord there are many horrendous tenants. I only rented out my flat because I didn’t have a choice. Your comment has no place on my thread so respectfully take your whinging comments and go and rage bait somewhere else.

Your flat sounds lovely and being share of freehold makes a big difference.

Howmlomg are you locked in with the agent? Do you mind saying which agent it is?

@OrangeJellySnakesthank you so much. It has so much going for it and is really beautiful. Original fireplace, in the eaves and a lovely bespoke kitchen. When I saw it I fell in love with it - I’m also open to offers. Don’t suppose your kids are looking for a flat in East London haha xxx thanks for your positive comments

@Maisie2409please don’t worry. It is a good news story to me as this sounds exactly like my situation. I really want to get rid of it as soon as possible as I’m paying mortgage and rent and it’s crippling. However, I appreciate its early days! Sounds like yours will go, as you’ve had loads of viewings. Just like me, the viewings dropped off and I got one booked in this week after four weeks of nothing. Do you mind me asking how much you reduced your flat? EA wants to drop it by £25k to get interest going in the hope to get offers £10k below original asking price! Just worried that strategy won’t work xxxx keep me updated and wishing you all the luck xxxx

It sounds amazing. I would love to see the listing. I probably wouldn't be able to afford it though.

@Surgeonsattheedgeoflifethank you so much! 12 weeks!
I literally spent AGES choosing this agent (a local one) spoke to the owner who promised the world and then once past to colleagues seem to do very little. I also think because of my job I’m used to companies having incredible communication - something many agents don’t seem to know how to do xxx

they don’t want a new build, they don’t want anything with a high service charge and they don’t want a leasehold. So yours is none of those and the EA told us everyone is ruling out flats like that so yours should be well up the list of what people want.

That was my conclusion after doing a lot of research as a FTB; now I'm looking for a small freehold house in a cheaper area. I think there's lots of people in the same boat, but some can't stretch to a house and the problem is that the vast majority of flats are leasehold.

I agree it's time to dump the EA and go with someone else. @speckledpinkhen I also think it may be worthwhile to show your listing to someone you don't know well, for an objective opinion, also to compare your listing to the flat that sold recently for £50k more than what your flat is going for. I would be interested to find out how recently the flat sold because as the weeks goes on people are getting more nervous.

Another option is to rent it out again. I know you don't want to but perhaps taking out landlords insurance would mitigate some costs e.g tenants not paying?

@Iriseeesorry I won’t post. Can’t deal with posters like @WildEnergySuppliercoming on and telling me I’m evil for what I’m selling it for and that I should rot in hell for having a property and actually want to make a small profit on my investment 😂😂 thank you for your kind words though. It’s on market for £375k

How much is it on for OP?

@fundamentallyauthenticall great advice thank you. It’s such a great area and five minutes walk to central line and surrounded by beautiful green spaces and a lovely high street! Many people who can’t afford zone 2 move out this way. To get a house for same price nearby you’d be looking at a huge price increase. I live outside London and two bed houses don’t sell for less than £400k where I am and they are tiny! And with the Renter Reform Act I just won’t rent it out again, the cost and paperwork and not being able to sell it for another year stresses me out. Though I did get good rental - as it’s such a nice property would always have about 7 offers each time xxx

It sounds like you probably need to consider changing EA if you’re several weeks down the line now

We tried to sell a couple of years ago- went with a well known high street EA (3 initials) and I wasn’t too keen re the initial asking price as it seemed too high but they sweet talked me

Barely 3/4 weeks later with no offers they suggested dropping the price. We did get a few offers but they were so low below the asking price e.g 340k with asking price 375k it was a big drop and meant we’d only walk away with 20k more than we’d paid for it several years ago

We’re looking to buy classic 3 bed semi (got 2 primary aged kids) Anyhow I/we decided to pull it off the market & sort of gave up after that…At the start of the year I was having thoughts re putting in the market again but recent global events make me wonder whether it’ll be worth it

We’re in a ground floor split level maisonette with 2 bedrooms & private garden plus parking, in SE London zone 5 close to train stations. The town we live in has so many commuters & is these sorts of properties are often in demand

Also we have a shared of freehold which I think sets us apart from other flats with massive SC and GR, we have neither- I had to really push the EAs to make a point of this/put it clearly in the listing, they had initially ‘leasehold’ for the first few weeks despite me asking to change it

Apologies for the essay, I really empathise with your situation- definitely search for EA who has sold lots of similar properties to yours

With hindsight, our EA sells a wide range of properties but their mainstay are 3/4 bedroom houses, I suppose we just weren’t as valuable to them/they just pushed us to accept lowest offer as they’d earn their commission

They didn’t seem to factor it we then wouldn’t be able to afford an onward purchase

Thanks for your input, really helpful for the OP

People will always want to buy 1 bedroom flats in London but when there's a glut of them or the prices are more affordable (which seems to be the case at the moment) buyers can afford to be more picky and reject the type of things people are willing to accept when affordable flats are scarce, eg ground floor, attic conversion, no outdoor space. So you're in competition with other flats on the market and, all other things being equal, yours might be rejected in favour of a similar flat a 5 minute walk closer to the station - not something you can change about your flat.

Where is your flat in the price range for 1 bedroom flats in the area? Low end, middle, or high? In my area the range is 250-475k, with a handful at the low end, a lot for 300k, and a handful 400+k. People who can afford up to 350k have a lot of choice and can be picky. The flats at 400+k are overlapping with 2 bedroom flats.

So think about where your flat is in the hierarchy of other flats on the market (not just 1 bedroom) and consider whether a substantial price reduction would sell it quicker in this market.