Browse Forums Real Estate 1 Jul 01, 2015 1:38 pm Hello all. It has been awhile since I have posted, as I am quite often just a lurker on the forum. I need to pick the brains of some people as to what we are doing wrong within our home for us to not have received even 1 offer yet. We are within a new estate where houses are priced reasonably close to ours, although generally for about 20-30k more than what we are asking. My partner and I have placed our house up for sale. We paid for the premium ad and then it has slowly been downgraded since then. For the last 2 months, we have had an Open for Inspection weekly, 4 of those weeks we have had no body through and we have had not received much feedback. We originally had the house listed at "Buyers Over $345,000" although this has now dropped to Buyers over $335,000. From some of the people that have come through the house, the agent has sent off 4 of the "section 32", made 1 rental assessment. Most of the time the agent is "unable to get in touch with them" or they "go quiet/cold" and we hear nothing back from them. The feedback that we have received so far was; 1) "The house is too close to the road, and makes a lot of noise" - We live around 50-100M as the crow flies to the nearest main/busy road. This person was a agent private inspection and the agent did mention that the lady just sold her house that was further from a main road than we are as it was "too loud." So taking that with a grain of salt. 2) The sink is against the wall, and the lady "didn't want to talk to the wall when doing the dishes." Other than that, we have not had any other constructive critiscm. I don't have rose coloured glasses on when it comes to my home. I know of a few small faults within the house, nothing drastic and that change the dynamic of the house as I believe that we present the house well, as it needs to be presented. We do have 2 cats & 1 dog that we have inherited from grandparents and we ensure that all animal artifacts are removed from the house. We leave all windows open from roughly 5 hours prior to inspection and have gentle scents throughout the home. Every room is furnished and always presented well, The garage is being used as a garage, although still allows for the size to be shown. I am on here, for completely unbiased opinions from other people, as to how I can hopefully improve on my home and to see what it is that I am doing wrong to not have an offer. We do not desperately need to sell and we are not in a position that it is a quick sell that is required. I hope that posts like these are allowed. EDIT: Basically from here. Do we keep the Ad on, further possibly ruining our chance of a good sale due to "length of time on" or do we pull the Ad and put it back up later in the year? Or should we just wait for our contract to expire, and try and readvertise with someone else. Proud First Home Owner. - 27/11/2013 Settled. Re: Best way to get an offer 2Jul 01, 2015 3:16 pm rixsta The feedback that we have received so far was; 1) "The house is too close to the road, and makes a lot of noise" - We live around 50-100M as the crow flies to the nearest main/busy road. This person was a agent private inspection and the agent did mention that the lady just sold her house that was further from a main road than we are as it was "too loud." So taking that with a grain of salt. Noise at 100m? bollocks! It means they were interested but tried to knock you down for a bargain. your house seems to be 300m fromt he nearest main road on Google? rixsta 2) The sink is against the wall, and the lady "didn't want to talk to the wall when doing the dishes." I dont like that either, but if it could be remodelled to insert a window, it wouldnt be an impediment to a reasonable offer. The pantry could be knocked out by the looks of it. rixsta Other than that, we have not had any other constructive critiscm. A lot of people just stay tight lipped. The pets are irrelevant if your house has no smells or hair. rixsta I am on here, for completely unbiased opinions from other people, as to how I can hopefully improve on my home and to see what it is that I am doing wrong to not have an offer. We do not desperately need to sell and we are not in a position that it is a quick sell that is required. http://www.realestate.com.au/property-h ... -119672315 I dont know the Warrugal market, so cant comment on the price but it looks great - spacious clean and tidy. The wording is good. Double check yourself that the agent has included all desirable features, ie if you have solar, network wiring, etc rixsta Basically from here. Do we keep the Ad on, further possibly ruining our chance of a good sale due to "length of time on" or do we pull the Ad and put it back up later in the year? Or should we just wait for our contract to expire, and try and readvertise with someone else. 60 days is your marker - No bites means its going to be a hard slog to sell. My "guess" is the price is not right . Are there other things going on in your suburb that give it a black name? The key is to know what you are selling compares to what else has sold prior in your area. Choosing another agent will most likely not make a difference, unless you find out yours is new to the game and has no contacts. Nevertheless, There is often no rhyme or reason as to why buyers do what they do.Many investors simply try re advertising 6 months later, with radically different results. FYI, I have sold houses without agents or solicitors involved. Re: Best way to get an offer 3Jul 02, 2015 9:28 am Hi Webtel. Thanks for the reply. Yeah we are a small distance from the main road, and it is mainly covered by houses. There is a train line - but is barely noticable once a radio/tv is turned on, even on the lowest setting. Our kitchen is designed in the middle of the house, so its not really possible to add a window where the sink is, as that wall forms the wall for the hallway. Although it would be extremely easy to get the pipes extended by 2M and have the sink placed in the "island" section of the kitchen facing the loungeroom. We have had this quoted, and it came to less than $1200 including replacement of the bench tops. The Warragul market seems to be building quite well. We are the lowest price house in our estate at the moment, with the exception of brand new homes that can be built which are around the same price. I think the bulk of our problem comes from the house being a 3 bedroom. I have brought it up with our agent, our house has - Solar Hot Water, Walk In Pantry, Foxtel connections, Fibre Optic Phone & Internet, 2 split system Air conditioners, Large outdoor entertaining area, 2 car garage + workshop, 2 car driveway, Oversized master (our Bedroom setting is a King size + oversized side tables), 2 living areas (1 with full provision of projector, entertainment systems). We will probably take it "off the internet" come the next month or so, and place it back on after the cold period, although I don't want to risk loosing a potential buyer if we do so. Proud First Home Owner. - 27/11/2013 Settled. Re: Best way to get an offer 4Jul 02, 2015 10:51 am rixsta We originally had the house listed at "Buyers Over $345,000" although this has now dropped to Buyers over $335,000. We do have 2 cats & 1 dog that we have inherited from grandparents and we ensure that all animal artifacts are removed from the house. We leave all windows open from roughly 5 hours prior to inspection and have gentle scents throughout the home. Just looking at the advert quickly, the ones sold above $300k have been 4 or more bedrooms generally, and the average price based on sales is $292k. People would be expecting one hell of a lot for your asking price with only 3 bedrooms. Do people see that you have animals there at all ? if so, then the scenting of the house can be perceived as you trying to cover up something really bad. Whilst you may not smell your pets and there's nothing really bad there, some people can and do pick up very easily with pet smells, in particular cat smells, and that that instantly put people off your house, or at least expect to get a massive discount. Owner Building at Jimboomba Woods in Logan City Qld. Blog : http://bandlnewhomebuild.blogspot.com H1 thread : viewtopic.php?f=38&t=68283 . Re: Best way to get an offer 5Jul 02, 2015 7:10 pm Yes I agree with the pet smells. Most people who own pets don't smell them. We can go to my mother in laws and smell cigarettes and her cats before we are even in the door and she will often say I only just cleaned i can't smell anything. But if no one has mentioned the smell to you such as your agent then it possibly isn't applicable anyway. Changing agents may or may not help. I've had friends who have been listed with well known agents for a couple of months then change to another agent and have a ton of people through and house is sold in a couple of weeks. There are so many things that could happen and yes it could just be that you are asking too much for what you are selling. My build viewtopic.php?t=76386 Re: Best way to get an offer 7Jul 06, 2015 11:59 am rixsta Our kitchen is designed in the middle of the house, so its not really possible to add a window where the sink is, as that wall forms the wall for the hallway. Although it would be extremely easy to get the pipes extended by 2M and have the sink placed in the "island" section of the kitchen facing the loungeroom. We have had this quoted, and it came to less than $1200 including replacement of the bench tops. rixsta I have brought it up with our agent, our house has - Solar Hot Water, Walk In Pantry, Foxtel connections, Fibre Optic Phone & Internet, 2 split system Air conditioners, Large outdoor entertaining area, 2 car garage + workshop, 2 car driveway, Oversized master (our Bedroom setting is a King size + oversized side tables), 2 living areas (1 with full provision of projector, entertainment systems). bpratt Just looking at the advert quickly, the ones sold above $300k have been 4 or more bedrooms generally, and the average price based on sales is $292k. People would be expecting one hell of a lot for your asking price with only 3 bedrooms. If you actually look at the other houses that sold sub 300K, they are not on par with rixta's house. Older and the finish is not as good. IT looks like his house is worth something in the lower 300s IMHO. (late edit: its a newer house in an estate!) Rixta, a few people commented about pet smells, as long as you arent one of those who doesnt smell their own (lol) you're ok. If you arent sure, get a 3rd party in to do a sniff test. But like I said, if no smell, and no hairs/stains, pets are not an issue. Someone who is a responsible pet owner, will be a responsible home owner, meaning things will be maintained properly, this also shows strongly in the outside presentation of your home. Buyers are impressed by responsible home owners. IF the Warrugal market is on the up as you say, then it should be a sellers market. You are looking for people who are selecting K$350 upper limit when they search on Re.com. Dont worry about folk doing max $300K searches. Re: Best way to get an offer 8Jul 06, 2015 4:49 pm At 3.2m x 3.4m that study could probably be marketed as a bedroom. The living areas also look large enough to justify calling it a 4 bedroom house. That could make a significant difference in how much people perceive it to be worth. I also think that the front photo may not be presenting the house in its best appearance. The perspective chosen is giving an odd appearance to the bedroom. Re: Best way to get an offer 9Jul 08, 2015 10:55 am oneJohn At 3.2m x 3.4m that study could probably be marketed as a bedroom. The living areas also look large enough to justify calling it a 4 bedroom house. That could make a significant difference in how much people perceive it to be worth. Agreed. If its a closed room same as your others, then call it a bedroom, not a study. and the fact that your agents havent pointed this out suggests to me they are grossly incompetent. I'd ditch 'em ASAP. oneJohn I also think that the front photo may not be presenting the house in its best appearance. The perspective chosen is giving an odd appearance to the bedroom. Cant see what else they are supposed to do. Its a narrow block, so they've done the best under the circumstances? Ive never heard of judging a room by how it is viewed from outside either? Re: Best way to get an offer 10Jul 08, 2015 5:07 pm This is just my personal view but if I was looking at the house I'd see 2 main issues: 1. The Waterford Rise estate (which I think you are in?) is stuck out between Warragul and Drouin and is not within easy walking distance to either town. That would really bug me given there appears to be a lack of services/parks/open spaces within the estate itself. Of course there's nothing you can do about where the house is but I'd be interested to know how other houses in the estate are selling. 2. Your house really needs some garden. The street appeal is not high with no shrubs to soften the facade and grass which looks pretty weedy. I'd suggest putting some plants with a bit of height in the garden bed which wraps around the bedroom. Out the back you seem to have a few garden beds but the fact that there's nothing in them would detract for buyers. In my experience people do not want a house that they're going to have to do work on as soon as they move in. The back yard would look much more inviting with a bit of greenery IMHO. On the plus side I think that the inside of the house looks nice, clean and presentable. Best way to get an offer 11Jul 09, 2015 11:33 am Waterford Rise is only a new estate that is slowly growing bigger. They are planning shops and I think a servo (:-/) out the front opposite the daycare. The parks are in the middle of being built. There is a great walking track that's out the front of the estate, it's close to schools, it has a cafe near sales office. There's heaps around there, lots of parks and country club and golf course just around the corner. Your house is not close to the main road that's a load of rubbish, silly lady. I am moving from melbourne to Warragul, building directly opposite sunridge ave lol so hoping you are successful in selling your house. Why do you want to move from your new house? I agree to having bigger plants/shrubbery out the front of your windows and front garden. It looks like a very clean house though and I agree with using the "study" as a forth bedroom. Many people want that extra bedroom these days, for ex: I have a 2 yr old and about to have another baby in a couple of weeks (yes when are house should be finished, bad timing there, but that's if no more errors on our house happen and the moment they are retiling the floor!)... So therefore having that forth bedroom will come in handy and would hopefully appeal more to prospective buyers even if it's marketed as a forth bedroom that could be used as a oversized study. $1200 isn't bad to have an island benchtop with sink! I would have thought it would be more than that... Re: Best way to get an offer 12Jul 13, 2015 11:47 am grom40 The street appeal is not high with no shrubs .... a few garden beds but the fact that there's nothing in them would detract for buyers. In my experience people do not want a house that they're going to have to do work on as soon as they move in. They dont have to do work (gardening) as soon as they move in, thats purely an optional aesthetic. Empty garden beds do not detract, it gives a buyer the chance to choose their own plantings, so it can be a plus. Most times I move into a new house I undo all the crappy shrubbery that has been done previously., Street appeal mostly refers to the visual design of the house. I think i has plenty. Nice gardens can create street appeal, but its not the be all to clinch a sale. Gardening can all be done over time - its not hard work to plant something.. Re: Best way to get an offer 13Jul 19, 2015 7:57 am qebtel grom40 The street appeal is not high with no shrubs .... a few garden beds but the fact that there's nothing in them would detract for buyers. In my experience people do not want a house that they're going to have to do work on as soon as they move in. They dont have to do work (gardening) as soon as they move in, thats purely an optional aesthetic. Empty garden beds do not detract, it gives a buyer the chance to choose their own plantings, so it can be a plus. Most times I move into a new house I undo all the crappy shrubbery that has been done previously., Street appeal mostly refers to the visual design of the house. I think i has plenty. Nice gardens can create street appeal, but its not the be all to clinch a sale. Gardening can all be done over time - its not hard work to plant something.. No but the landscaping in this estate must be completed in 120 days Re: Best way to get an offer 14Jul 20, 2015 12:45 pm dmj1983 No but the landscaping in this estate must be completed in 120 days That will only be a necessity for the purchasor if the seller carries over any covenants with the sale. The buyer does not have to agree to take it on if they dont wish. In other words, covenants in new estates only have a limited time span, usually just in the few years when the blocks are being sold and built on. After the developer clears out, they wipe their hands of everything, and will not enforce any covenants through legal action - they are too busy making money off their next development. this is why many estates can and do turn into slums depending on the demographic they attract. Re: Best way to get an offer 15Jul 20, 2015 1:01 pm qebtel dmj1983 No but the landscaping in this estate must be completed in 120 days That will only be a necessity for the purchasor if the seller carries over any covenants with the sale. The buyer does not have to agree to take it on if they dont wish. In other words, covenants in new estates only have a limited time span, usually just in the few years when the blocks are being sold and built on. After the developer clears out, they wipe their hands of everything, and will not enforce any covenants through legal action - they are too busy making money off their next development. this is why many estates can and do turn into slums depending on the demographic they attract. ahhh i see! I'm pretty sure this one finishes in 2025! Im pretty sure thats what was in our contract unless i read it wrong. Re: Best way to get an offer 16Jul 21, 2015 8:38 am Most of the time they don't enforce the front yard restrictions anyways. I have noticed a lot of people in our estate that have chosen to - avoid - the rules regarding front landscapes. We built the house with the mindset of it being a rental, but a family member passing has drastically changed that. Thanks for all your words guys. It's all looking positive recently! Proud First Home Owner. - 27/11/2013 Settled. Re: Best way to get an offer 17Nov 16, 2015 11:37 am Sold for $346,600 on 18-Aug-15 (10 weeks after the first post was made). Quote: We originally had the house listed at "Buyers Over $345,000" although this has now dropped to Buyers over $335,000. 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