Can't sell Dad's empty bungalow

Mishap do you think that the council would be interested?

I would tend to bit the bullet and reduce the price after giving the agent short shrift for being so useless,have any of you thought of giving one of the other properties that are for sale a viewing and see what or if there is anything different being offered in these properties well worth thinking about,is your property empty now and the garden (if any) keep up with maintainance tec,windows cleaned and front door appealing to buyers its a mine field I know selling an empty property.Would the Agent not consider an open house day and invite everyone who has shown interest to review if you reduce the price.Any reduction in price will be off set by what you will save over the coming months in top up contributions I'm sure.

Mishap I don't know if you have this system in England, but when we sold our mother's house 5 years ago, we gave it a fixed price (that both the estate and family thought was fair) and it sold much more quickly than "prices over"
I hope you get it sold soon, it is such a painful time.

Great idea Charleygirl lots of people are desperate to be moved from larger homes to supported living etc and the Housing Associations may be interested in this for their housing stock.

Get rid of all the old carpet, and carpet thoroughout in the same plain colour.Some sellers won't do this as it costs money, but the difference is unbelievable and the nice clean carpet [and clean carpet smell ] is tempting to viewers.What's a few hundred pounds when you are selling a property.Ditto curtains and blinds [or just blinds in a creamy colour and ditch all the curtains.]Good luck.

I would also get rid of all old fashioned light 'shades' and put new ones in from HomeBase or somewhere cheap.

Don't suppose you can rent it out?

Someone on here had a similar problem recently, but I can't find it.

When the money from the account runs out I don't see how you and your siblings can be expected to pay the utility bills, Mishap. I'm sure the Council Tax at least could be allowed to accrue until the sale of the property - make enquiries of the Council.

Mishap

I do feel sorry for you. I think you mentioned this problem before and I empathised then as I was in the same boat.

We have sold dad's bungalow, March, what a relief. Only 2 months council tax to pay, it starts after 6 months have passed after probate granted and we all agreed that was unfair.

Difficult to say whether or not to drop the price but I would be inclined to hold out until gas and electric bills went up for the winter. Hard one to know what to do isn't it.

Good luck hopefully it will sell soon.

I was going to suggest rental. Definitely think about curb appeal. I agree with all other improvements. Simple things but they make a difference.

Rosesarered I agree with you about the carpet. I had trouble renting out my flat and it turned out that the violently patterned carpet had been putting people off. I had it replaced throughout and had a new tenant within a week! It was well worth the expense.

What a pain for you. I suppose costs come out of "the estate" but if no cash in the pot until the house sold...
Have you emptied it. Houses look bigger with less in them. Biggest of all with nothing in.
If you want to leave a few bits of furniture make sure it is stripped of clutter of all kinds and smells nice.
Have you researched the pricing on Right move?

Also to attempt to visually increase the room size, go for the minimalist look re furniture. In my last house I had problems selling it because it was over furnished, my estate agent told me. The furniture had come from a house more than twice its size and I did not think. I sold it quickly after I removed some pieces.

I agree with the above, go for a neutral shade thoughout, pleasing to everybody's eye and as my mother used to say, you do not have to wear sunglasses to view the property.

I would firstly sack the estate agent, then when you appoint the next agency tell them you want it sold within x amount of time or you'll get a new agent. The prospect of losing the fee should galvanise them into getting people through the door at least. Also check on Zoopla to see other properties that have sold in the area and how much they went for to make sure you have a realistic selling price.
The advice about new carpet and neutral colours is good, but at the end of the day offering a reduction in price may be the way forward.

I agree GA.
If you're going to spend a few thousand pounds putting in new carpet, curtains and furniture, why not just lower the price by that amount and save yourself all the hassle.
Don't forget Mishap you are losing money (outgoings + interest on the capital) all the time the property is unsold, so in the long run you save by reducing the price, if it gets you a sale.

Meant to say also, if/when you get a new agent, ask how they would market the property to the age-groups that are going to be interested.

I have looked online at the other two bungalows for sale on the same close and really they look awful - cluttered up with disable aids and large furniture.

We have cleared the place - just leaving a few bits of furniture to make it look like a home - a dresser and one chair on the living room; and a bed and one wardrobe in the bedroom. We were trying to show that the bedroom, though small, takes a bed with plenty of room to spare. The carpet is fine and fairly new - plain and clean, giving an impression of space.

I think that we will seriously have to think about a new agent again - they were so casual when we complained about the unlocked door etc. - it was unbelievable!

I don't think that rental is an option because of the conditions of the housing association - the only rentals allowed are their own.

The other option would be to try selling online; but it is a niche market and I am not sure that the target customer (frail elderly) would be likely to use that option - although of course their family might. I am quite surprised that it has not sold, as it is in an area with a high proportion of elderly people.

The thought about deferring council tax until the property is sold and the estate money released is one we should pursue.

My poor Dad would have hated to think that we are having all this hassle.

There are a lot of clueless estate agents around. It's one of those businesses you can set up without doing any qualifications etc. and when they get a bit bigger my impression is they tend to recruit on appearance - looks presentable in business clothes. Like hotel reception staff. These days it is a doodle too - you just put the house on right move, Zoopla etc and sit back. Ask them what their marketing plan would be. I bet there are people who still look in the local paper for instance, not online.

A lot of people are put off by the ongoing fees in sheltered accommodation. As others have said I would change agents, explain the difficulties you are having to the prospective new agent and ask about their marketing strategy when selling a property like yours. You may have to "interview" several agents before you find one that understands the problems in dealing with this type of property.

I s'pose the housing association won't let you go down the Auction route either.

I would definitely try Housing Assocs as already suggested by others. Some years ago, in a very depressed market when nothing was selling, we contacted several H Assocs and sold our house within weeks. If you are signed up with an estate agent maybe you could you ask them to approach H Assocs on your behalf.

I'm not sure, but I think there might be a chance of those ' housing costs ' being covered by DWP.
I have a close friend who owns her own property, but because she is on pension credit the DWP pay the maintainence charges on her flat.
Although these only come to about £700 a year.
The problem is, people are put off by these charges, and how do you approach people on this sensitive subject ( pension credit )
Me personally, I would bite the bullet and get rid of.

Having viewed houses with bits and pieces of furniture, I can tell you this looks very depressing. Better fully furnished or none at all and light clean carpets [best of all new carpets.]All a matter of psychology, best if it looks like you can move straight in with no 'residue' of previous tenants. Needless to say all should be extra clean as well.

I think it's worth spending on simple re-decorating (painting walls light, neutral colours) and carpetting (which doesn't have to be expensive). To my mind, it's a better option than just lowering the price as if someone had seen it and liked it they would have made an offer anyway - and it will appeal to more people so if one potential sale falls through there may be others willing to step in.