What puts you off a property on Rightmove?

Opinions needed! When you’re looking at properties on the internet, what puts you off contacting the agent/requesting more details? We’ve been discussing this issue with our clients over the past month and have already heard some interesting opinions, so we thought it would be a good time to collect together some opinions and see if any patterns develop.

As agents, we know buyers want to see the maximum amount of information on the web. They expect multiple photos, floor plans, plenty of description and local information – if these items aren’t in place, we understand entirely why buyers would be put off. However, we’ve also heard from current clients about some more idiosyncratic “personal triggers”, preconceptions, assumptions or generalizations that turn them off particular homes. As a starter, here’s some thoughts from our canvassing so far;

” If I see photos with the lights on, I assume the house is normally dark so I don’t bother seeing it”

“If the agent only puts three photos on the web, we think those are carefully chosen and the rest of the house is horrible”

“If the main picture is of the inside, I always wonder if the outside is ugly”

“If the agent doesnt make any effort with describing the house, they must think its awful themselves”

“Less is more – if the initial text is more than a line or two, I don’t bother reading further”

“The main picture should always be on the front of the house. Also any outside pictures should reflect the season – I don’t want to pick up details of a house in the spring if the photos show snow in the garden – highlights the facts it’s been up for sale for ages!”

“.. if there is no picture of say a kitchen or a bathroom for a property on Rightmove I’m inclined to think it must be in a state and the agent is trying to hide it so you end up being less inclined to enquire further of that particular one, even if it needs work, I would rather see it all.”

Please do let us know your thoughts by commenting below, contacting us on Twitter or Facebook (Madison_Oakley or www.facebook.com/MadisonOakleyEA) or emailing at carey@madisonoakley.co.uk.

Postscript – following retweets from Rightmove of this post and even a related thread on the housepricecrash forum, the following results are up to date as of 17th May 2012;

27% of respondents suggested quality/number of photos

9% of respondents suggested lack of outside photo

12% of respondents suggested badly written descriptions

24% of respondents suggested the price

12% of respondents suggested price caveats like “Fixed Price”, “Offers Over” or POA

3% of respondents suggested misnaming rooms (size of bedrooms being the most common bugbear)

6% of respondents suggested lack of floorplans

3% of respondents suggested lack of postcode or map software

Flats in Combe Down, Bath

Venture up to the top of Ralph Allens Drive in Combe Down to find these four exquisite apartments. Perfect for first time buyers, second homes or buy to let investments alike (holiday lets and pets allowed in the lease), these homes are sparkling and new throughout yet retain much of the character of the old Horseshoe pub! As a huge bonus, each benefits from a private parking space to the rear (accessed through electric gates from Gladstone Rd), use of south facing communal gardens, a large bike store and an extremely reasonable service charge (£30pcm for Flats 1, 2 and 4 with £60pcm for the largest Flat 3).

Superbly convenient for local shops on the Avenue, city bus links (100yds west and direct to the bus station) and Rainbow Woods walks alike. Exceptional standard of presentation to include oak flooring, Bosch appliances, condensing gas boilers, renovated sash windows and Travertine tiling. Share of freehold, with holiday letting allowed on the lease if required.

Flat 1 – £139,950 – occupies part of the ground floor of the property and comprises of; sitting room with kitchen area, bathroom and bedroom to rear.

Flat 2 – £139,950 – occupies part of the ground floor of the property and comprises of; sitting room with kitchen area, bathroom and bedroom to rear.

Flat 3 – £235,000 – occupies the whole of the first floor and comprises of; entrance hall, two large double bedrooms, sitting room, kitchen/dining room and bathroom.

Flat 4 – £159,950 – occupies the ground floor rear extension and comprises of; entrance hall, double bedroom, bathroom and sitting room with kitchen area. This property even has its own front door!

This really is a beautiful development, flooded with light from the rear. It would be difficult to find similar properties in the city that offer the same combination of quality fittings, off street parking and garden access.

Full details, multiple internal photos and more plans on our website – click here

Bath student accommodation – new 4 bed house in Caledonian Rd

New instruction and available for viewings from Thursday 26th Jan 2012. Available for occupation from 1st Aug 2012 – 31st July 2013

4 bed Victorian terraced house in Caledonian Rd, Oldfield Park. Extended kitchen/diner, first floor bathroom, large sitting room and a rear garden. Excellent condition throughout. Superb location for students with the Orange bus route accessible on Brougham Hayes to the east or Windsor Bridge to the west (both less than 5mins walk).

£1500pcm / £375 per room per month

All our latest student properties can be found on our website by clicking here

New Year – New instructions

A sylvan setting yet right in the heart of the city. Hidden within Hedgemead Park (accessed only via steps from the Paragon or Ainslies Belvedere), this quite gorgeous Grade 2 listed semi detached townhouse offers seclusion and stunning views whilst being only the length of Walcot St away from city amenities. A quirky upside down layout inside, with reception space on the first floor to take advantage of the views, but beautifully presented and recently upgraded. Huge 30ft sitting room with three windows facing south, kitchen/diner with balcony, utility, W.C, three bedrooms (2 doubles and a generous single) and a superb large bathroom. Outside, the property has a 35ft x 15ft south facing terrace and a secluded side courtyard. Quite beautiful – offered with no onward chain and well worth an inspection. Sole Agents. First viewings Sat 14th Jan

Gloster Villas is accessed via steps from the junction of London St & the Paragon. The steps are located to the left of Hayes.

English Heritage listing details – Gloster Villas. Situated in gardens above London Street. Circa l840-50, 2 pairs of 2 storey ashlar villas. Plinth, plat band and low hipped slate roofs, flat eaves. 3 windows each to Nos 3 and 4, no glazing bars to sashes. 2 panel doors with rectangular fanlights. Nos 1 and 2 have one window each with front divided by pilaster strip. Porches to sides with plat band carried over as cornice, blocking courses.

Historical Notes – Forming part of the Hooper Estate (purchased in 1699 by William Hooper), the area now occupied by Hedgemead Park once housed several terraces of Georgian origin. Hoopers Court, Somerset Buildings (not to be confused with Somersetshire Buildings on Milsom St), Mullings Buildings and Somerset Terrace once stood here. Out of the 271 houses on the site, most were damaged or destroyed in landslips occurring between 1860 and 1881. Hedgemead Park (the area was once known as “edgemead”, although some maps show it as Hyde Park) dates from 1889 after the land was acquired by the Corporation in 1883.
Gloster Villas was the last housing to be built on the Hooper Estate and the only terrace to survive to present day. Possibly named after Queen Anne’s son, the Duke of Gloucester or more prosaically after the Gloucester Hotel (which once stood at 21 & 22 Somerset Bldgs). Only three owners are recorded between 1912 and 1975 (Ames Foster, Edward Sellick and Cyril Field).

In terms of space and size, this is sure to be up there with some of the most generous Georgian apartments under £200,000. Situated on the second floor and just behind the cosmopolitan high street of Larkhall, we are sure this is going to appeal to first time purchasers, couples or investors. Once past the imposing facade these buildings offer, the apartment itself houses an good double bedroom overlooking St Saviours Church, an 18ft x 12ft sitting room, bathroom and a modern kitchen/dining room. Well presented and located – an ideal city base.

You can access Beaufort East from the London Road by turning next left after St Saviours Rd and then immediately right. The entrance to the property is found opposite the green.

Historical Notes – In 1812 Larkhall (larks corner) had very few inhabitants and the few buildings and land were sold in 6 lots by public auction on a 1000yr lease (the Hooper Estate had previously leased the land in 1792 to a consortium of trades who fell into financial difficulty and defaulted). The development and growth of Larkhall village took off between 1840 and 1860, centred on the Larkhall Inn (established in 1784 and previously the Manor House – its location on the old Gloucester Rd made it an important staging post for the mail coaches). In 1832, a mineral water spring was discovered in the village and Mr Blackwin built the Larkhall Spa in 1834 – it was in use up to 1930 when the spring finally dried up.

A very grand conversion of a former hotel, situated in the heart of Bath and just off George Street. Marble flooring and detailed ornate plasterwork will welcome you as you set foot into the building. There is a very grand cantilever staircase leading to all floors. However, there is also a lift for those who wish a rather more leisurely route.

Being a classic first floor apartment, you have all the traditional benefits of nice high ceilings and generous room dimensions. There is a very good sized living room with a kitchen area adjacent. The bedroom and bathroom are both situated of the landing as is a good storage cupboard. The apartment is presented in excellent condition with plenty of character and some large windows to the front giving you plenty of light. A must view if you’re after a city centre apartment.

Fountain House was built in 1740 as the residence of a prosperous local merchant. Bath was at its zenith then; the centre of Georgian society, administered by Beau Nash and fuelled by the industry of Ralph Allen.
Latterly, the building has been restored by the expedient of leaving the shell and putting a modern frame of reinforced concrete – thereby having the best of both worlds.

Full details and floor plans can be found on our website as always.

Photos of Bath – our collections

Being estate agents, we spend a good portion of our days taking photos of houses and apartments in Bath and we pride ourselves on the quality of those photos. As we’ve mentioned before on several blog posts, we think good photos are the most important aspect of property marketing (for more info, see our blog post “How important are good photos for estate agents”). However, we’re not averse to taking the odd general shot of Bath as well and often have the camera in the car just in case. Some of these photos are used in this blog, on several of our other Madison Oakley websites and as wall decoration in our Shaftesbury Rd & George St Bath offices. We’ve had quite a few requests for copies so we thought it would be a nice Christmas present for our readers to publish all of them in one place;

Here’s a link to our Flickr map of Bath, with over 50 of our photos placed on the map – http://bit.ly/vNAIJr

If you’d like copies of any photo emailed, do let us know on 01225 466525 or via info@madisonoakley.co.uk. We’ll place more photos on the map over the next few months so do keep an eye on our photostream – your road or area might be next!