House buyers/sellers kleek in here!

Ph thats great news. not buying or selling, was just being nosey. bet you are over the moon

My goodness that really is quick! Congratulations ?

Hope it all goes through smoothly - is there a chain involved?

We're in absolute shock! We had no idea the market in our area was so crazy - we had two viewings followed by two second viewings by Wednesday and today we had 8 more viewings! We took the first three and then once the offer came in, cancelled the rest.

I don't know whether it's just our area but everybody with the exception of one buy to let investor, was a first time buyer. Or maybe it was just timing?

Hoping other Hitchers are having equal luck. I know HaloHoney's buying situation looked hopeful earlier in the week. Has anyone managed to get an offer accepted?

Thanks VV! No, no chain. We're emigrating and will be going into rented and the couple are first time buyers. We're hoping it'll all go smoothly but you can never tell so will be taking it cautiously and a day at a time.

Although the chap is SOOO desperate for the house (other than offering a stupid amount of money!) that he rang the agents two hours later to say he'd already instructed a surveyor! ?

Bloody hell CBH - that's amazing!!! I'm so chuffed for you!

Well, we went on the market yesterday, and have had 4 viewings so far.

Have had no feedback though from any of them. Grrrrrr.

would anyone like to look at my rightmove listing and give me an honest opinion?

No chain? Excellent! I was going to say be prepared for things to slow down a bit now (speaking from bitter experience ?) then I read the bit about having instructed the surveyor.

We're in a similar position to you (though we're not emigrating, just moving a long way from where we are now) in that we're going into rented so have no chain either (our buyers are investors). We're on our 2nd buyer now - first was part of a chain which collapsed in June, but we found our latest buyer (who made a better offer) very quickly. Their surveyor came yesterday and said he's been really busy all of a sudden so the market seems to be moving again around here.

HH - four viewings since yesterday is REALLY encouraging. I'd be chasing the agent on Monday for feedback. I assume you didn't do the viewings yourself?

Yes - put your rightmove listing on here - do you want to see our house too? I've got a link to ours - I went to town dressing it though. ?

VV - so glad you found another buyer. Hope it all goes through now. I think you have to be prepared to do what it takes to complete the deal and if that means moving into rented then so be it.

So here's ours if you want a snout:

https://www.vebra.com/property/745/18688119

Https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-26590994.html?locationIdentifier=REGION^1114&sortType=2&minBedrooms=3&minPrice=150000&maxPrice=190000&displayPropertyType=houses&oldDisplayPropertyType=houses&pageNumber=5&backToListURL=%2Fproperty-for-sale%2Ffind.html%3FlocationIdentifier%3DREGION%255E1114%26sortByPriceDescending%3Dtrue%26minBedrooms%3D3%26minPrice%3D150000%26

There you go!

Let me know if you see any glaring errors or omissions...

Bedroom 2 is full of boxes to be taken to my Mum's - hence no picture, garden a state (but being fixed tomorrow) so no pic of that until it looks better.

Yours looks great - your agents must have been really sh*t!

HH - your house has got SO much potential but I'm wondering whether the photos will make people realise that.

I agree with Nonie that if you have a photo of your outside space, that would definitely help.

Can I be really honest and say what I think about the others?

In the dining room - why is the blind down? It looks as if there is no view out of the window? We dressed our dining room table and I was wondering whether doing something similar might help to add interest to the photo?

The bedroom - is it the master or the spare? Why did the agent take that angle? You can't see the room - only the end of the bed and an electric fan! That makes me wonder whether the room is too hot or cold. Again, could you tart it up - we went out and bought vases/cushions/flowers/candles - and Poochanna lent me LOADS of the most fabulous objets d'art for our dining room.

The second bedroom on our link was, until two weeks ago, painted green and was a study. Bookshelves lined the walls, we had an oversized leather beanbag on the floor, papers and textbooks piled up on the floor, a vaccuum cleaner in the corner - even a huge telescope behind the door .... and I ditched the lot. Borrowed a bed, got a decorator in to repaint it cream.

Admittedly, I had the time and a bit of pocket money to throw at it but, for us, it worked wonders.

HTH

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?

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.

I like the second dining room picture as well, much better. The bedroom one is an improvement as well. It's a nightmare isn't it? I can't find the pictures of ours (I think they're only on Mr Layabout's photo card) but I'll post them ASAP. One of today's jobs is to get a picture of sitting room without showing a) manky old gas fire b) view of next door's crap front garden or c) horrible semi-glass doors. Have to be close up of one wall at this rate ?

What a difference!

Yes - definitely the new bedroom photo with the cushions and the throw (nice touch!)

And the second angle of the dining room is also better - although I'd remove that "stray" chair that I can see with something on the back of it. Just get anything out of the shot that isn't needed. The photos are just to get them in the door and then you can hook them with your friendliness and openness.

We aren't buying/selling but we're moving house next week, to a new pub. The new flat is fabulous - all high ceilings and church windows. We're off to view again on Weds so I shall take some pictures while we measure up.

HH, I agree about your photos being at weird angles. I lived in the same style house as a student and it's really hard to get the "full room" into shot in those places, isn't it? Especially when you don't have a lot of natural light to help. With your bedroom, if you don't like the cover, how about a white sheet tucked over the duvet etc, and putting plain pillow cases on?

HH - if the view from the dining room is rubbish, have you thought about using some of that frosted glass film so that you still get light through but can't really see what is outside?

I have to second what others have said - I really don't think your pictures do your property justice. There is nothing wrong with it but it is almost too neutral. It almost feels as though no one lives there.

If you can't afford or don't want to buy things - is there anyone locally (friends, hitchers) who could lend you stuff?

Oh well done CBH! wish we could get a sniff at a buyer....

we went on the market easter 2008 🥱 had a flurry of viewers then the bottom dropped out of the market. With everything that has gone on in the last year we almost forgot we were on tbh.

we swopped agents 1st july this year.... so far they have booked 4 viewings - 2 of which have cancelled - and of the other 2 we reckon one have been strong armed into viewing cos they really weren't interested. The other couple loved it and were going to put an offer in - then blokes work seems to have gone tits up.

Houses like ours are selling at the moment in our area - but the people viewing them aren't coming to see ours. We have put our notice in with the agent and are putting it on with another.... if we haven't sold by the end of the summer we are taking it off the market altogether tbh.

the photos are cr@p that our current agent took - and i really can't believe how few viewings our house has had! When i spoke to the new agent he showed me that a house down the road which is smaller [and a bit cheaper] than ours had had 21 viewings in 2 weeks! Got more chance of finding a buyer with that volume of traffic....

the lady next door would like to buy our house [she currently rents] but her house sale in london seems to have been stuck in the same position for well over a year.

gah. This is the last attempt to be honest.

here is our house - sorry for the long link - really don't know how to make it smaller. Also sorry for the terrible pictures....... think this might be why people aren't looking tbh!

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-22698451.html?locationIdentifier=POSTCODE%5E35695&minBedrooms=3&minPrice=175000&maxPrice=180000&displayPropertyType=houses&oldDisplayPropertyType=houses&pageNumber=1&backToListURL=%2Fproperty-for-sale%2Ffind.html%3FsearchType%3DSALE%26locationIdentifier%3DPOSTCODE%255E35695%26radius%3D0.0%26displayPropertyType%3Dhouses%26minBedrooms%3D3%26maxBedrooms%3D%26minPrice%3D175000%26maxPrice%3D180000%26maxDaysSinceAdded%3D%26retirement%3D%26partBuyPartRent%3Dfalse%26_includeSSTC%3Don%26sortByPriceDescending%3D%26primaryDisplayPropertyType%3D%26secondaryDisplayPropertyType%3D%26oldDisplayPropertyType%3D%26oldPrimaryDisplayPropertyType%3D%26oldSecondaryDisplayPropertyType%3D%26newHome%3D%26auction%3Dfalse%26x%3D51%26y%3D10

Wow, your house is lovely. So pleased that you've managed to get a sale agreed already. That's great news.

We're waiting on my dad who is buying our house, he's having some problems with the solicitors. We're all ready to go though, the surveys have been done on the house that we're buying and so once dad is sorted hopefully we can get a completion date. It seems to be taking ages though. ☹️

Swampy, you definately need more pictures, tbh if i saw your house on the internet i wouldn't bother going to view it. Although your back garden does look lovely.