Selling home: Tips to attract viewers?

[Tau]

We want to sell our house. It's been on the market for about a month now, and we've only had one viewing. I guess we should drop the price, but we can't go to low or we won't be able to afford another decent home!
There is another house for sale around the corner, very similar to ours and a bit nicer inside, but not on such a nice spot, but it's on for less than ours and hasn't sold in a year! Soooo.. I'm a tad worried there.
Our house is lovely (in my opinion) as is the location. It's advertised on rightmove.
Any ideas how we can get more viewers?
First, of course, is to lower the price. But what else?

[middleagedspread]

My only advice is from Phil Spencer Secret Agent.
Declutter, make rooms neutral, keep everything clean, hide too much evidence of family/pet life.
He also says rooms should state what they should be used for i.e. dining room should have table, not desk, piles of paper & play kitchen.
What does you EA say? is the other property on with them?

[Tau]

Thanks for your response, middleagedspread.
We've already done all that you (and good old Phil) suggest- but that is to help SELL the house; to make it more attractive for viewers when they come.
But since we are not getting viewers, all of our decluttering and pretty presentation is pointless. There is no one to see it.

[middleagedspread]

Oh I see, sorry.
Can you take an objective view of the photos on right move? Have they high lighted the best features of the house. Do you have a nicer garden or outlook than than the other house, maybe that should be highlighted?
Don't forget it's a rotten time of year, lots of people don't start looking until the Spring.

[specialsubject]

beat up your estate agent to find out why no-one is coming - but it is indeed a slow time of year. Also make sure the ad is on rightmove and all the other sites (findaproperty, primelocation) and that the ad is correct and sells you properly.

is there an obvious 'but' about the place? (busy road, power pylon, railway line?)

[ILikeBirds]

Is it a FTB type house? Might just not be the buyers out there.

[StopEatingThatMud]

Ooh would you feel brave enough to post a link? I love nosing looking at houses on rightmove and maybe we could give some tips on photos etc from there?

[Tau]

What does FTB mean?
The house is a three-bed end of terrace, and on the cheaper end for this region.
There are a few 'buts' about the house, but nothing we can really do much about:

1. It's on an estate, part council, part sold-off, which used to have a fairly bad reputation. Undeserved, because we have never had any problems and all our neighbours are lovely decent friendly people, but I realize potential buyers may not know about that.
   
2. The back garden is overlooked.
   
3. The kitchen is small.
   
4. There is no off-street parking. However, on-street parking is always lavishly available and, judging from other sales, off-street parking would add at least 10k to the price!
   
   I'll post a link after dinner!

[sailorsgal]

FTB means first time buyer. Look forward to seeing your link.

Yes, I would chase up your EA.

[Tau]

Ah, yes, I suppose it would be a first time buyer type house. It really ought to sell though - it's light, with big rooms compared to similar houses, it has a good sized garden back and front, and it is in a perfect location for families; everything is within walking distance.
To be honest I love the house and initially didn't want to move at all, but now we have seen a nice house in the area we are moving to - I guess I like it because it is quite similar to ours!

[Tau]

Here is the link - it's even on 'premium' whatever that means. What should we try to change to attract viewers?

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-25594281.html?premiumA=true

[GentlyGentlyOhDear]

I've just had a quick look over your link, and I'm not an expert, but I think that there are far too many pictures of the front/outside of the house when you really need just one good one as it is really crisp and clean - the second one is an awful angle and really dark, but the first one seems too far away to me.
Is there a bathroom pic? One of the kitchen pics is quite unflattering as it makes the kitchen look just like a corner?
I don't think picture 16 is flattering where you can see everyone's garden!
were the photos taken from the doorways or as far out of the rooms as possible, as I think a few look like just corners of rooms, rather than showing the whole room (pic 5 is a bit like that for me).
Either remove the extra chair from pic 7 or put it around the table - having it to the side looks as though there isnt really enough room to use the full table.

I've just picked out random bits, so sorry if it sounds like I'm criticizing - I think your house looks really clean and tidy!

[LadyKooKoo]

Is there a problem with your roof? The discolouration in the picture would make me think there was. Also, I think the pictures are awful (sorry but you did ask). They make the rooms look tiny. Here is a link to a property being sold by the agent I used, not a massive house but pictures are great and make the rooms look massive.

[GentlyGentlyOhDear]

I think you are also lacking a bit of colour to brighten things up a bit. It seems a bit too 'neutral' to me and a bit like a rental in that sense (sorry!)

[nocake]

If a house fits a buyer's criteria (number of bedrooms, location etc) there is only one thing that stops them viewing and that is price. Other things may stop them buying but if it isn't priced correctly then they won't even look.

You have admitted that it's overpriced (similar house with lower asking price hasn't sold in a year) so unless you can drop the price you might as well take it off the market.

[lightrain]

The photos are terrible! Get on to your EA, they are all taken at strange angles that make the rooms look tiny and dark.

Good luck with it!

[badtasteflump]

Only had a quick look but to me the pictures are really bad - as in they have been taken badly, not that the house is bad...

Too many pics of the outside, and most of the inside pics are either really dark and gloomy or taken at funny angles. They look like somebody stood in the middle of a room a took pics of the corners! You get no idea of how big the rooms are. I would get them to come back and take new pics - with some lights on if it's a gloomy day.

Also something else I randomly thought - the chair looks squeezed in next to the fireplace in the front room - which makes the room look really small...

[cece]

I agree with much that is said here.

• yes the photos don't really make the best of your house. Indeed none of them really shows the whole of a room - just corners!
  

• Yes I think your house must be overpriced if the house around the corner hasn't sold in a year and yours is on for more....
  

Finally I notice you are not using a local estate agent - how well do they know the local market?

[LaundryFairy]

I agree that the photos could do with improving - were they taken by the Estate Agent? I've just been through all of this too, and our EA was great at getting the photos right. Considder getting a professional photographer to do a new set. And don't include too many - only use the pictures that look really good. I'm about to buy a house that has a rather pokey bathroom and a kitchen that needs replacing - neither of them were pictured on right move! But the rest of the house is great, and the listing got me there to realise that.

Best of luck!

[KindleMum]

The rooms do look pokey in the pics - there is an art that good EA photographers have to show the maximum space of a room and this one didn't have it. I looked at one bedroom photo, thought it looked like tiny boxrooms we've seen that are 6 ft something by 6 ft something but according to your blurb further down it's actually much bigger than that. The photos aren't doing the most.

Too much repetition on photos of house and photos of garden, you want one fab sunshiny photo.

I'd agree with moving the extra chair in the dining room pics. The dining room ones are nice otherwise.

Picture 8 is useless - all I see is a microwave (they're always ugly) and oranges. The view of the actual kitchen is obscured and it looks tiny. I'd also hide the plastic bowl by the sink. Any clutter will make the kitchen look smaller. And what on earth is on the right - a sheep? Needs to go.
Many of the indoor photos are dark and shadowy too.

13 is dreadful. Room looks tiny, books visible under bed make me think the house has insufficient space and you need a less fussy duvet cover. and push the chair in or get rid of it.

Garden photos - did they deliberately choose a time of day when it's half to whole in shadow?

On the plus side, I think it's a nice home and nicely decorated, it looks in good condition. I don't think the photos are doing all they can to lure viewers in.

The big factor though is usually price. People are only going to pay what the market currently says its worth, they're not interested in what you need to get - just what they need to pay to find such a property, if other similar properties are cheaper they will look at the cheaper ones.

[nilbyname]

those pictures are horrendous!!

You need to get them redone asap.

The angles are all wrong, totally lop sided, 2 of the garden ones seem to be framing your washing lines and not much else.

My tips-
Get rid of your plants in the front room, tidy up the cables where the TV is. The floor looks cold, add a rug. The angle is wrong, I can't see a sofa, so I am assuming the room is tiny.

Dining room, room looks OK, just need to get the picture angle right.

Kitchen, remove the microwave and the hanging baskets, all the stuff on top of the counters and re take the pictures

Bedrooms. Change all the bedding to plain white. If can afford it, get plain curtains too. Add a couple of colourful cushions to the bed to give a splash of colour. Never push things to the far side, keep everything centred. The desk should be clear. Boys bedroom-tidy the bed and smooth the sheets, currently untidy. Try and get rid of some of the stuff. The curtain looks like it is falling off the pole. Clear the desk, get rid of the poster and the funny wriggly thing hanging on the wall.

Garden, one picture from the back door looking down the garden would be enough.

Is the person who is taking pics using a half decent camera and using a flash? Is this the best agent in the area?

I would head to ikea, spend £100 and get new bedding, curtains and a small rug for the living room.

[hippoCritt]

U think get rid of 2nd and 3rd photos of outside, desk/dressing table in bedroom in front of the window, I agree pics of rooms seem to peep into a bit of the room. In your living roomis all furniture pushed back against the wall? Also I'd unplug kettle etc in kitchen just for photos or remove some items (mut microwave in car boot for photo) just to make it look like there is more work area.

Completely agree it looks clean and tidy, I'd love that green space in front of my house and I think the address sounds lovely too.

[Tau]

Ahh, but criticizing is good! At least in this case it is! Thank you.

The roof is in fact in very good condition. It used to have moss on it, which has been cleaned; I suppose that is the discolouring? I never really noticed that to be honest... I guess it doesn't look great.
The man who took the pictures was actually a person who normally does energy certificates- the estate agent had him also do measurements, floorplan and pictures, but he clearly wasn't up to the task. I have had to correct the measurements, and aspects of the floorplan.
I was a bit disappointed with the pics, but didn't think they were that bad... and yes, I did think there were too many of the front. And I hate the picture of the back garden - the lawn is only just growing, which is bad enough, but he just had to get all the neighbours on it too... I thought that looked quite off-putting indeed. Perhaps we should take pics ourselves... not that we are such great photographers.

The bathroom is very basic, which suits us fine, but compared to the posh bathrooms you usually see it's totally dull. That's why we have no photos of it. I can't see how we could make it look nicer... I'll have a think. There is a separate toilet too, which we very much prefer, but it seems no one else does...

[nilbyname]

tau also it pays to be on your EA case. I phoned mine every couple of days, I asked him how many people he had spoken to about my house, how many people did he have on his books right now that he could ring and ask to come and view it. I asked for my house to be in the middle of the window on the high street. I asked for my house to be on the right side page of the free newspaper in the middle.

I had 6 viewings, 3 second viewings and 2 offers in 3 weeks in a flat market.

[Bunbaker]

I agree that the photos aren't very good. They make the rooms look small and pokey and the kitchen looks tiny. I agree about the squeezed in chair.