House not selling, please help!

[Milli]

Hello all - I wondered if I could have some possible answers as to why our house is not selling? Hubby and I want to relocate closer to his work. We have had the house on the market since May this year. The house is a 4 bedroom semi, with garage and offroad parking. Corner plot - small back garden, but fairly big garden to front and side. Tried to post a link to rightmove but wouldn't let me as i am a first time poster.

We have had about 10 viewings. Price has been dropped 3 times as we are eager (desperate) to move. Since the price drop last month still only one viewing. Feedback has been - 'house lovely, garden too small'. Does this mean we will never be able to sell the damned thing? We cannot do anything about the garden size! Or is the feedback just a polite way of saying - 'your house is too expensive'? Getting frustrated now. Hubby wants to change plans and rent it out - I am worried about this in case something goes wrong. Please help. Thank-you.

Frustrated with screaming baby in Coventry

[Jeannie D]

I am afraid that there is no easy answer, Milli. It doesn't sound to me as if your house is too expensive, simply because you have had ten viewings already. Most people who post on this forum in despair because their house is not selling, do so because they have had no viewers at all.

You are clearly doing everything possible to present your house well (hence the consistent feedback that your house is "lovely"). You've dropped the price three times already so you are prepared to be realistic in a buyer's market (although you must be nearing a point where you risk moving from "priced realistically" to "all but giving it away"). Your estate agent is clearly doing his or her job because he is getting people through the door.

The only options left are time and patience but this depends whether your husband's job is so far that it is impossible to commute or whether it is more simply a daily inconvenience that you could both do without. Only you can say.

The fact is that even when you do everything right, it still depends ongetting that one person through the door who falls in love with your house and is determined to make it their home. It might be the first viewer, the tenth or the twentieth, but only time or patience will tell. The fact is the average time to sell a house these days is far longer than ever. In some areas of the country, the average is about six months - and that's just an average.

Sorry to post such a lengthy reply but I wanted you to know that your situation is not uncommon. It's happening all over the country.

The only suggestion I can make is this....Could your EA do more to structure expectations when sending future viewers your way? Something along the lines of "Lovely house, realistically priced, nice big corner plot, but if you are looking for a big back garden, it may not be for you". You'd be surprised how many people - preconceptions subtly adjusted - will then decide that the garden was not that small after all. And those who lack green fingers might consider it a positive boon. You will still get those who want Buckingham-Palace-for-a-tenner, of course, but that's an occupational hazard these days for vendors.

Hope this helps a little, Milli. You sound at your wits' end. Best of luck with the house. And the baby. And the husband's job.

[harvey]

With the housing market the way it is, not surprised. People are having a hard time selling, more so certain urban areas. I know what you are going through, I have been there. I couldn't sell my home, dropped the prices so low, I was giving it away. Family said to rent it, until the market recovered. I didn't like the sound of being a landlord and chasing people for rent. So, I decided to finally give in and rent it out, until the market recovers. I didn't care if I made money on the sell, I needed to relocate. Maybe it's time for you to rent out.

[ComareTheMortgageMarket]

You could look at turning your exisiting property into a buy to let and possibly raising money from this to use as deposit for the house you wish to buy.

[Milli]

Thank-you for the replies - feel bad because at least we have had some viewers - didn't realise that some people don't get any! A few more viewings have come and gone, now up for a repeat viewing tonight - hope this is a good sign. Estate agent now knows to mention that the garden is not overly large - thanks for that Jeannie. Husband has been in touch with someone looking into 'buy to let' mortgages. He assures me that lots of people rent out their property - and that we would be able to relocate sooner like you have all mentioned. Thank-you again for the advice.

Not quite so frustrated in Coventry, screaming baby asleep ;o)

[Jeannie D]

Would this be the same National Homebuyers that was featured on BBC Watchdog? Surely not.

[CreativeCASHbuyer]

So Milli any news?

Just wondering how things are? Did you manage to let your property out? Have you checked what the tenant demand is for 4 bed properties where you are?

A good note on Viewings: 1. work on staging the property; 2. try to get phone numbers of the viewers your self if they are not viewing with the EA (not too go around the agents but after more then a week when you know they are not making an offer, call them and ask for an honest opinion on what put them off) Agents can be lovely but once in a while you just need to take control of the situation yourself.

If you are still trying to sell try to go multi agent, maybe other agents have your buyer in their books!

Good luck
Jack