Owning your own home

Good to know, anything is possible if it helps to siphoning fees and income

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/1­20253124

having looked at lots of flats online recently i don’t see anything wrong there that would put me off having a viewing, maybe the shot of the balcony could be done from inside and a bit lower down so you obscure the busy junction and have more trees/church.
You have a lot of stuff but it’s not untidy, reducing the ‘things’ on display a bit might help? surprised you haven’t had any viewings yet.
can’t comment on the price, no idea of the area or what stuff goes for.

if you get no joy i would consider some new pictures on a brighter day and remove a few things.

i spent a whole day shooting my parters flat (i’m a photographer and have shift lenses for architecture/interiors) moving ‘props’ and giving some thought on what to focus on etc, i definitely think it helped sell it and go under offer in a week after 10 viewings.

yeah we've definitely got a lot of stuff, a lot was shuffled out of rooms for the photos too but maybe we should try some almost totally empty.
We've now got 1 viewing booked for tomorrow by an "investor" so I'm expecting if there's an offer that it's insultingly low.

This may just be me but I always like to see the total square footage on the floorplan. It wouldn't affect my decision to view though.

Selling flats is a slow game compared to houses.

Too much stuff - as others have said, put some in storage?
The awkward layout of the sofa/tv - could you make this seem less tight on space?
Busy main road outside - get rid of that photo
Graveyard opposite - maybe re-shoot the balcony photo as @Mr_Smyth suggests

it depends.
this sold over asking in November
https://www.onthemarket.com/details/11104487/
what you can’t see is the massive pine dining table/office/chair/monitor in the living room!

place (flat) we are nearing completion on had 6 offers all around asking after a weekend of viewing.

@Sumo i would move more things around, all those storage boxes could be moved to show the storage space not your accumulated stuff. don’t have the backs of chairs looming in the front of the pics, either move it or move the camera. same with huge arms of sofas in the foreground.

it doesn’t matter if it’s there when they view, its just hard to see how much space there is.

The first thing that jumps out is the photos that emphasise the big road outside. You definitely need an exterior shot (it's also dubious when they're skipped) but not one that makes it look like your flat is on a motorway junction.

Personally I don't think it looks that cluttered apart from the chair back in the third picture and the TV bit looking narrow (I know a lot of modern flats have that though).

If the total sqft is decent (I'd guess about 700) then I'd want it on the floorplan. Might just be me but total sqft was something I used a lot to judge places online.

But also I wouldn't stress about not getting instant viewings. It can take some time. Keep in touch with your agent, see what they're doing to get people through the door. They should have lists of people who are looking for similar stuff and pushing to get them in.

If the total sqft is decent (I'd guess about 700) then I'd want it on the floorplan. Might just be me but total sqft was something I used a lot to judge places online.

Very important, the sizes play a big deciding factor in buying a flat.

The fact it a flat without garden make it harder to sell, even during the pandemic.

The photo of the TV area makes it look narrower than it actually is. Quite an achievement by the photographer.

Re-shoot the TV area from the kitchen.
Re-shoot the bedroom so that the desk chair and wall with pictures are not creating a letterbox effect.
Re-shoot the utility after temporarily moving the storage boxes to the kitchen or somewhere else.

The outside shots need a bit of work as well - is it possible to take them so that they don't show the contractor hoarding and the graveyard/junction?

It's a nice apartment, but most people need help seeing it as a blank canvas that they can put their own stamp on. Eg in our old flat, we had a deep cupboard that was like a game of pushbike kerplunk once you opened the door. For those photos, we put the bikes in the bedroom.

We may have to look in to storage, or just move stuff better for the actual photos. Not sure what we could do about the TV area, maybe move some shelves out.
Think I'll try taking some photos myself.

Useful thanks. We had a proper photographer guy round to do it but I see where it's not ideal.

Sorry if that came across short dude - was just typing between calls. Basically some better shots and make it look like you live that pure Mari Kondo Lyfe

It didn't don't worry. Hopefully some better photos will be all it takes.

Thank god we live in 1930s blocks because if the block was built after 1960something they wouldn't need to apply for planning permission at all.

why is that out of interest?

Had our first viewing, very quick as I think they were trying to fit it in before going to work. Mostly positive, just unsure about the size of the sofa/tv area. I don't think we're helping matters by having a huge sofa.

The new permitted development right, which came into effect on August 1, 2020, is for “new dwelling houses on detached blocks of flats” and allows for construction of up to two additional storeys of residential accommodation.
Before any development can take place, the developer must apply to the local planning authority to determine whether prior approval will be needed, although a more streamlined application process has been promised.

The criteria that must be satisfied to make use of the new PD right include:

The existing building must be a purpose-built block of residential flats
It must have been built between July 1, 1948 and March 5, 2018
The new storeys must comprise residential flats

There are other restrictions but that's the outline

I don't think we're helping matters by having a huge sofa

we bought a massive sofa and it does worry me when it comes to selling! wonder if we should put it in storage when the time comes and get some sort of stop-gap

Had our first viewing, very quick as I think they were trying to fit it in before going to work. Mostly positive, just unsure about the size of the sofa/tv area. I don't think we're helping matters by having a huge sofa.

I feel like you are sweating the wrong thing. The flat is the flat - it's location, size, type, cost, PARKING SPACE, are all huge factors that determine viewing numbers (amongst other things, like the reach of the agent). That there's a bit of furniture in it is, at this stage, neither here nor there. That's the kind of thing that might affect serious interest or offers, but viewing figures, not so much.

Really I think your problem is that you are trying to sell a modern two bed flat in NW10 for close to half a million using a 'sell your home for free' agent. I can't see that working well.

This exactly. I don't think the furniture layout and quality of pictures is sub-par. If anything, the way it is on pics proves that it is actually liveable.

Oh god yeah, don't do that.
Get a proper agent in who can draw in the type of buyer you need.
I put my old Bethnal Green flat up at top top money with Sterling Ackroyd in Shoreditch/City and they worked bloody hard to get it sold at a record price for that area. Totally earned their commission.

I think this is right.

It looks like these sold off-plan in 2018 for around £360 -£380k?

For reference, I realised a 3% price increase on a leasehold maisonette bought in 2016 and sold in 2021.

I also tried to book a viewing through Strike last week and it was a pain. I would get in a proper agent and accept paying 1% to 1.5%

We're going to give Strike a little time then go with a proper agent. We're moving to the other end of the country so trying to keep costs as low as we can and £6k is a chunk of money. Also this flat was bought using help to buy so my partner owns 60% but you still have to pay the full 100% of the comission so it's partially money down the drain.