Flat for Sale

capacious. that's a word you rarely hear, unless of course you happen to be interacting with an estate agent. they have their own lingo, most of which is lies. maybe not quite lies, but not exactly truthful either.

i had no idea how much you had to lie when selling your home. small things that haven't bothered you at all, ever, suddenly jump out at you. little cracks in the paintwork, right angles that aren't quite right, messy neighbours, pet hair, the list goes on, and on. is there a fine line between lying and "maximising potential?"

you obviously want to make your property seem to be worth the asking price. if you want to maximise the potential of your property, don't let the estate agent take the pictures. the lady that came to value Bulbgirl's place, had a camera at the ready, but having seen her previous clients' photos, Bulbgirl said "my partner can take the photos." take them yourself, or you could be lumbered with poor shots, that have a an awful flash, washing everything out. it's the highest value item that most people will buy and sell, so take a little time and consideration when composing the shots.

top floor flat

the competition

i took the top one, making a natural border out of the trees. it's not your usual home selling pic, but i liked it. the darkness of the tree frame the block nicely. compare it with the competition's picture. two flats pretty close to each other, but one pic instantly more appealing because it was taken in better light (and some thought to composition).

the flat is on the market has been on sale for a little while and had very little interest. it's the current climate they say. a neighbour nearby on the ground floor (see above pic) let the estate agent take their pictures, which didn't do them any favours. the neighbout moved in about at the end of last year and is wanting £5k more now 6 months later (he's put it at a fixed price). Bulbgirl was wanting to put her flat on at a fixed price when seeing this guy do it, hoping to undercut him. it can only be a good thing for her, as with fixed price you can only come down, whereas with the offers over option there is more wiggle room for negotiations. myself and a friend told her this is probably unwise, although there are lots more people doing it now.

the problem is that Bulbgirl doesn't really believe in her property. the main selling points of the flat are space and views. it doesn't have central heating, but electric heating instead. that wouldn't bother me. if i was going to buy somewhere i'd rather go for space over heating any day. you can always fit another heating system later on, but you'll never be able to buy yourself more space, in a wee ground floor flat. the storage in the loft is a boon, because it's like another house (filled with canvasses and junk of mine). my junk is like expanding foam. it seems to grow and fill the allotted space, but i digress, that's another story.

dining room

in the picture of the dining room there is light coming in from the left. there is a window there and it appears as if the dawn is breaking through. it does do that, but wasn't at the time of the picture taking. we left it late and needed to get the pics to the estate agent the next day, so we faked it. Bulbgirl stood holding a long fluorescent light, just out of shot, to mimic the daylight coming in through the big window. she also made the 3 little stripey acrylic paintings you see there.

another benefit is that you can go and see horses, sheep and 2 highland cows less than 10 minutes walk away, that i will miss if we move closer to the city centre.

have you told any lies when selling your property?

update: the flat has now passed to the new owner.