Having your property on the market – whether for sale or let – is a decision that will have taken you some time and consideration to get to.
So, the last thing you’ll want is to have it sat on the market for long periods of time, it’s not ideal as you aren’t getting the return you wanted, and by being on the market for so long you could be putting off potential customers.
My Property Has Been On The Market For Ages, I Need Help!
Overpricing
Overpricing is the biggest issue stemming from a property being sat on the market for too long.
One of either two things will have happened:
- The agent will have overvalued.
Usually, because they will have wanted to win your business, knowing that you’ll have spoken to, or met other agents, overquoting and giving you an inflated figure will have excited you, and potentially swayed your opinion.
Either that or they aren’t equipped with the right facilities to value your property and have made a relatively blind judgement on what they think it’s worth.
- The other reason would be you as a landlord, have got a fixed opinion on what you want – or expect – as a return for the property, and your expected return is higher than what the market average is.
Hence why there aren’t many interested parties, to then be sat on the market for longer than is necessary.
Lack Of Information
This can apply to both sales and letting properties.
Poor quality photography, or lack of photographs, doesn’t give the prospective client the full picture or show the property to its fullest potential through the digital screen they’re looking at.
Attributing to this, not having detailed floor plans with measurements could work against you too, having examples of 2D and 3D floorplans help in the envisioning of how they would utilise the space best fitting their lifestyle.
On a sale listing especially, having a detailed description of the information needed is key.
Things such as the remaining years of the leasehold, costs of service charges and ground rent, any planning permission information etc are all pieces of information a prospective buyer will want to know at the first point of contact.
Incompetent Sales Or Letting Agents
Incompetent agents are an issue to be wary of before instructing them to take over the marketing responsibilities of your property.
There’s more than just being able to market a property online and access a website and portals.
The key to being a good agent is communication and organisation.
Regular feedback ensures that all parties are kept well-informed, if a potential purchaser isn’t fully informed, they could be missing vital information to help sway their decision-making process.
On the other hand, following up with potential clients after they’ve viewed is vital. To remind them of the property, and its unique selling points, and possibly even to instigate an offer being put forward for the vendor’s attention.
Consider A Short-Term Let
As the property market can be buoyant, there will be periods of both highs and lows.
Most of the time it’ll be down to trial and error, however, if your property is vacant for too long a period that is potential lost income.
If your vacant property is on the sales market for too long a period you should consider renting it out for the time being, or even whilst it’s still on the sales market.
The cost of having a compliant property could come under the price of a month’s rental income. If you rent it for a period of 12 months, you’ll have made a good income until you decide to market the property for sale again.
Many think this process is too difficult to do, but get in touch with property experts – such as us – to have this process overseen from start to end.
Help Me!
It’s not a big deal to ask for help.
If you’re facing issues with any of the factors discussed above, get in touch with me.
Even if we don’t work together, I’m happy to have an impartial conversation to give guidance and advice.
