I’ve had a request from Isabel Findlay who has been trying to sell her house for a few years now.
Isabel fills us in on the details:
The house has been marketed by several companies in West Lothian. (4years)
Our own Solicitor /Estate Agent Sneddon and Son Armadale West Lothian
Your Move Estate Agents /Bathgate and Livingston (Twice)
]Remax Estate Agents West Lothian (Twice)
Caesar & Howie Solicitor /Estate Agents Bathgate West Lothian.
All schedules Showed the following:
Pictures taken from the Front road side and back of the property.
Pictures taken of all the rooms within the property and also the back of the
property showing the sizes of the garden and Conservatory. to the back of the
property.
The measurements of room sizes have been placed within the schedule of the
property.
The rooms were all furnished with quality furnishings and all soft furnishings
co-ordinate.
The front cover of all estate agents who have tried to sell the property have
the same style of picture.
How many viewers have we had? We have had only six viewers in the first year
of marketing the property. none since then.
The property has been offered at prices from £285.000
£265.000 No viewers /no offers
£249.950 No viewers/no offers
£235.000
The latest company to market the property of this week is the following
Knightbain Estate Agents Broxburn West Lothian.
So why isn’t her house selling?
At the moment it’s being shown empty, but it has been on furnished and previous photos reflect this.
The house looks in good decorative order, is clean, very decluttered as it’s empty, and looks like it has excellent parking and a good size back garden.
What perhaps confuses people is the fact it’s shown as SSTC with one agent but not the other. This is very confusing for people. It is the same property though – as it’s the same postcode and has identical neighbour buildings.
If it’s only one with one agent then it should only be showing with one agent. Showing as SSTC will put off potential viewers.
I think it should also have a floorplan explaining the layout.
The area looks nice from the streetview, although it’s a busy main road.
With so few viewings over such a long time and the property now being empty it is hard to suggest much.
Price has to be a factor, perhaps it was initially too high to tempt in viewings, and now although reduced by £30,000 that is over 4 years of trying to sell the property.
Cosmetically it looks fine. Perhaps if it was dressed with furniture so people can imagine the lounge as a lounge then that might help. There are places to hire furniture but this has to be a cost implication for the seller.
Looking at sold prices I can see that a 5 bedroom property sold for £235,000 on 12 Aug 2011. This is perhaps an indication that the price is just too high for the size of house. Although rightmove doesn’t list floorspace in it’s listings to give accurate comparisons.
The house that sold for less also has a conservatory, drive, and big garage. IT’s within 1/4 mile of Isabel’s house too – so would have been more attractive to buyers on price alone!
It’s hard to sell in a falling market unless you are realistic about prices. Isabel’s house looks clean, spacious and well looked after, so there must be something else.
I would suggest getting the estate agent to take some more photos on a sunny day. A little sunshine on the outside of a house can make it feel much more welcoming. Although there is plenty of light coming in on the other photos, without furniture viewers need a little more imagination to see furniture in a house.
Whilst sunshine alone isn’t going to do the trick here, it’s something Isabel could consider.
I would also ask her to discuss with the latest estate agent how many buyers they have on their books looking for houses in this area.
I would also ask her to ask the estate agent if they think an open day would be a good idea, and what suggestions they have to atract more local interest in the property.
As the property is listed on Rightmove then it’s got an online presence already, so making the most of that is worth a look.
Changing the photos is a first option – then having a close look at recently sold prices in the area.
