Mr PP and I are trying to sell our home. That is to say, we are trying to sell our house, the agent we appointed to facilitate this on our behalf doesn’t appear to be trying very hard at all.
We “came to the Market” (as they say in Estate Agents parlance) just as the UK lockdown due to Covid-19 was easing. After speaking to a couple of local property “experts” we were assured that the market was buoyant with plenty of strong buyers and that our house should sell readily. Galvanised by this optimism, an asking price was agreed and a marketing agreement was duly entered into. I spent an entire week cleaning, polishing, tidying and rearranging things so that the house was presented in the best possible way for the photographs. Almost immediately a viewing was arranged for a couple who hadn’t sold their own home, it wasn’t entirely clear whether they were actively looking or just ‘browsing’ to compare what they had already with a possible trade up. The “shall we move or should we do the extension/knock the kitchen wall down” kind of thing. Whatever, they didn’t like our house. So we waited. Then we waited some more, and some more. Two further viewings were booked, one cancelled the day before and the other didn’t turn up.
Our optimism fell away, we spent hours talking through possible reasons that no-one wants to look at our house. I did some more rearranging of furniture to create as much empty floor space as possible so that people (when they come) can see how large our home really is. I even packed away what property professionals call “unnecessary clutter”. This is a euphemism for the family photographs, nick-knacks and other items that have deep personal meaning and which give you pleasure when you look at them. My home is now not my home. To me, it feels like a bland, sterile space devoid of that intangible, but vitally important feeling that it is a Home.
So why move if it makes us so unhappy? Basically, the house is far too large for the two of us and we have reached that time in our lives that we have new priorities and plans for our later middle age and on into retirement. We are very excited about these plans, in fact they are they only things that keep us sustained, despite that they seem almost unachievable.
At the time of writing we are just over half way through our agreed sole agency marketing period. We made a decision to slash the asking price because we were assured that this, along with the stamp duty holiday announced by the Chancellor would make our home more affordable to a whole new pool of potential buyers. A couple were booked in to view last weekend, they didn’t turn up. So far our viewing stats are: 25% of booked viewings took place, 25% cancelled and 50% didn’t turn up. Depressing.
Interestingly, the market local to us has picked up and a couple of weeks ago we had a lot of ‘competition’ both more expensive and cheaper than us. We were firmly fixed in the middle. Most of these properties have now gone “subject to contract”. Our agent has nothing to suggest, just a shrug of the shoulders and the upward spread of the palms – you know, in the “I don’t understand it” gesture.
We don’t know what to do. We have a well proportioned family sized 4 bedroom detached house, a nice garden, garage and off street parking for 2 cars in a nice road of other detached homes, close to good local schools, a railway station with services to and from London every 30 minutes. We are in the fringes of a well-served village with several pubs, a post office, a Sainsbury’s supermarket and a range of other small businesses, cafes and restaurants. The photos on the various web-based marketing platforms – Rightmove, Zoopla and On the Market all present our home in a positive way; yet still we can’t get someone to even look at it in person. The only things Mr PP and I can think of that could stop potential buyers are beyond our control – we do not have an open plan kitchen dining layout, we don’t have a double garage, just a single one and we don’t have side-by-side off street parking for our 2 cars, only tandem parking. Other than that, there is nothing offensive or unlivable with in the house. All the bathrooms are white, the kitchen has white cupboards, the walls and carpets are all neutral, the perfect “blank canvas” for a new family to “put their stamp on”. Notice I now know all the trendy buzz words used in 21st century property marketing.
We have to stick with our agent for another 5 weeks after which time I guess we may have to find someone else. But what will they do that is different? It seems that all Estate Agents do these days is to place your house listing on the internet and wait. If I had access to these platforms I could do that myself, but therein lies the rub, private individuals can’t access these sites to sell their homes. What other options are open to us?
Answers on a postcard……
paisleypedlar 