House buyers/sellers kleek in here!

HH - sadly the agents are fine. There are lots of really lovely, well priced houses where I live which just don't sell. We aren't helped by the fact our local planning authority allowed 3 large new estates to be built in the last 2 years & the developers all offer part exchanges & deals, so have strangled the existing market. At least half of all house sales in my area in the last 2 years have been houses on the new estates <sigh>.

We're now officially on the market.  It's a bit different because it's down to the housing association who own 40% of the house to find a buyer for the first 8 weeks.  They are talking as if there are lots of people competing to buy shared ownership houses locally so it might not be such a wash out as I anticipated.  Within a couple of days next week, the potential buyers will know our house is available - so wish us luck.  We've been cleaning carpets and chucking stuff into the garage like maniacs all day so it's 90% ready for viewings. 

If I had any nails, I'd be biting 'em now.  Can I have some of your house selling mojo, CBH?

I'm not sure I've got a mojo PL - a lot of it just has to be down to luck and the right people walking in your door at the right time.  All you can do is present it the best way you can, hassle the agent like mad and just keep everything crossed that somebody falls in love with it the way you did when you bought it.

We'll be renting for quite some time in Sydney.  I don't want to go through the stress again.  It might have been quick this time around for us but lightening doesn't strike twice .... does it?

princess layabout:

We're now officially on the market.  It's a bit different because it's down to the housing association who own 40% of the house to find a buyer for the first 8 weeks.  They are talking as if there are lots of people competing to buy shared ownership houses locally so it might not be such a wash out as I anticipated.  Within a couple of days next week, the potential buyers will know our house is available - so wish us luck.  We've been cleaning carpets and chucking stuff into the garage like maniacs all day so it's 90% ready for viewings. 

 

If I had any nails, I'd be biting 'em now.  Can I have some of your house selling mojo, CBH?

Best of luck with your sale PL, hope you get plenty of interest and find a buyer quickly.

HH I'm not sure the photos show off some of the rooms to their best, I'm not sure they've been taken at an angle that makes the room look as big as it could - is it worth trying to take a couple of photos yourself to mail to the agent? (We did this because I wasn't happy with a couple they took).  I'd definitely add one of the garden as soon as you can too.  Hope you get some feedback on your viewings soon - to have had so much interest so soon has to be a good sign.

HH, I'd second what's been said about the photos.  They seem to be at crazy angles to me as well.  I'd take some of your own, choosing a good time for light/sunshine, dressing the table up etc and email them to the agents.  We're doing that rather than relying on someone else to take a couple of grotty snapshots   So far it's involved lots of Mr Layabout having to crouch in corners to get the rooms/gardens looking at their best and biggest

I don't know if I've got them on this laptop, I'll post a couple in the interests of sharing if I have.

Thanks - nice and objective!

Garden pic will be forthcoming tomorrow - currently A State out there, being rectified tomorrow.

view out of the window in Dining Room is a parked car/the street outside. blind therefore up or down?

Bedroom is master - I agree about the angle. have taken this and will ask him to use it as of Monday.

Back bedroom totally omitted! Will ask them to rectify Monday.

Second bedroom is full of the crap that I removed from the rest of the house, in boxes ready to go to storage in my Mum's garage (this week coming). Once it's removed I will get a decent photo of second bedroom. Unfortunately the pics won't be great because it's Ikey's room and I don't think a cot ever looks the best in a full size room like that.

Thanks so much for the feedback. Really helps

HH - I wanted to echo what the others have said about retaking some of the photos.  I thought the original photo of the front of our gaff was RUBBISH and told the agent as much - it had sun spots all over it ... and we had no bathroom shot which I thought looked suspicious when all the other rooms had been photographed.

Bottom line is you're paying their commission.  I wasn't happy with the thought of them making almost £3K out of us and doing a second rate job.  H was sat in their office cringing when I told what them I thought of the first set of photos but they came back within an hour and did them again.

HH - re: the blind thing.  Personally, I would put the blind half way up and then put a vase of flowers on the window sill.

The bedroom.  Can I be really honest?  I really don't want to offend you sweetheart but I don't think that picture is a lot better.    You want the room to make people feel that they want to sleep there - to aspire to living in your lovely house - make them fall in love and HAVE to have it. 

My suggestions would be: change the lampshade for a smaller one that doesn't dominate the picture, remove the dressing gown hanging off the back of the door, remove all the bits and bobs off the bedside table and put a lovely lamp or some flowers on there and change the bedding for something plain.  Add a few cushions (maybe dark blue to coordinate with the walls?) 

Really hope I haven't spoken out of turn.

wow, CBH, that's some going! well done, you must be so relieved.

nonie, I know how it feels and it sucks. we had a beautiful flat, prime location (edinburgh new town, minutes from princes st, 100m from funky bars, shops and cafes) and it was on the market for ONE YEAR before we managed to get shot. stressful and horrid, hope the new agents do their bit and you get a buyer soon.

we are nearing the end of renovating our new place and it's looking fab! not keen on putting pics up here but if anyone wants to mail me through profile (does that work anymore?) I'll send you the link.

You haven't spoken out of turn at all - it's all really useful.

Re the blind - the windowsill is about 1" wide and so I can't do anything like putting anything on a windowsill. It's blind up, halfway or down. I can take something lovely down from one of the shelves and use it as a focal point in the centre of the table. That's a really good point.

The bedroom is a nightmare to get any sort of decent picture of at all. If I take a picture of the room with the window in it, even tweaking it in photoshop I can't seem to get it to show any detail other than a bright light coming in through the window and the rest of the room too dark.

I have a problem in that I am working solely with what I've got - I can't afford a single penny to do anything to it. I have £1.53 in my wallet that has to last me until Thursday. All of my other covers look awful Damn MrHalo for not allowing any bright colours in my bedroom "no. it looks girly."

I have no other lampshade... erm...

Right. you have set me a challenge. I shall submit alternative pictures to the firing squad artistic committee tomorrow

all. This is really helpful.

Phew!  I so didn't want to hurt your feelings.

It's just doing the absolutely best you can with what you've got.  I was very lucky because H said I could throw some money at it (we did two car boot sales and raised £140 and I spent all of that).  I raided Dunelm Mill for accessories and borrowed loads of lovely things from Poochanna and went to our local florist.  I wish you lived closer, HH, now I'm left with all this "stuff" which I could lend you - vases, candles, cushions - bits and pieces!  I've got plain cream duvet sets too. 

Have you got any family nearby who could lend you anything?  Can you do a swap with a friend?  Honestly, my dining room was a shell before Poochanna emptied the contents of hers into it!

Not in the kleek but just wanted to pop on to say congratulations CBH, that's some going!  Good to hear the local market is picking up too

Hope HH, nonie, PL and anyone I missed get their homes sold soon.

SC99 - if you think about moving, I can recommend Englands.

If we're not shot of it by 5th August, I am at the PILs in your neck of the woods, and I may very well go and do a smash and grab on your place. No family locally, unfortunately.

I know it's dark now, but I have taken some pics with a flash... Any of these any closer?

Alternative angle on the dining room (please ignore crap in background of pictures, I can't heft this out of the way tonight as the boychild is asleep and it would make too much noise)

Any good?

To my eye, much better. I personally like the second dining room picture better, although as you said it would need retaking without the bits and bobs in it. It looks bigger, which is important. We've just bought a place and, to be perfectly honest, if I'd been looking in your area and seen the photos the agent took I'd have dismissed it as too small. Seeing the ones you've taken has made it much more appealing. It looks like a different house.