How to sell house which suits very specific Buyer

Hi,

I have had my home on the market for some time and have had a few positive viewings but no follow up, the problem is it very unusual in terms of layout- it has a separate granny flat, 700 ft of outbuildings that are currently layed out as a office space and secure compound with 20 ft container as well as the main house which is in good condition, it is very private and only 25mins from Sandyford Industrial estate. The property had a business operating from it for years hence the add on's, we feel it would be perfect for a builder or anybody running a business from home, my question is does anybody know of a publication that is dedicated to small business that we could advertise in, our estate agent is only interested in putting a brochure in the window with some web coverage and then waiting for people to come through the door, the trouble with this is that it is not being seen by the type of people who would suit the house and vise verse.

Hi Rory,
Am selling a house which is also what might be called a 'specialist property', except mine is a historical building.

I experienced exactly the sort of no-viewings/interest situation as you are in and - after having had six different EAs with my place - I honestly believe your problem lies with the EA.

It's their job to market your place to people who will be interested in that sort of house and if they are not being proactive, get rid of them in favour of a more motivated EA who can outline to you a proactive course of action to market your house - which BTW, sounds like it will be quite desirable to someone who wishes to accomodate an elderly relative or adult child, who works from home and who would like additional space for a hobby or small business (of who wishes to rent this to someone else).

I would not recommend trying to sell the place yourself. I tried it and found myself unable to present the house the way the a buyer could respond - even if some people dropped in thankyou notes after viewings. Finally I met a decent EA and she got me sale agreed within weeks.

Don't take any nonsense from the EA. Go and thump the table and demand some more proactivity and if they can't do that for you, change them.

Rory am having similar problems myself except mine relate to a right of way (which for some reason sends buyers running) and also the additional buildings on my house . To help things along I've had to apply for retention on these bulidings but my EA thinks that anything other than a 'normal' house seems to confuse most people. Agree with Paulone that you have to be a bit more demanding of your EA although in fairness mine have got me quite a few viewings over the last couple of weeks but no offers unfortunately. Good luck with it.

Thanks for the advise, I have decided to give the EA until February to market the house to the correct sector, I keep hearing that the 'market is difficult' which is pretty obvious, but I feel they must play up the things that set it apart rather than treating it the same as every other property.