I was sort of hoping this post would slowly fade onto the second page. Not so.
Thanks everyone for your comments. They are appreciated - however... you can only comment on what you see. It's up to me to investigate reasons in the real world and balance them with online feedback.
So just as feedback...
1. "struggeling" etc. means it's been a week and only one offer. I was led to believe I can expect a queue at the door on day one. Clearly that's not the case. thanks to those of you who posted more realistic timelines
2. other places are struggeling too. In particular, properties mentioned here as being better presented are still on the market. Places in Padbury are up for more than Hillarys - gotta love coastal in winter
3. What I think part of the issue is/was:
a. me preferring a 6 month lease so I can fix things up and relet when it's warm - hard to come by for a 4/2
b. Although I see 700m2 of land, a renter sees 700m2 of overgrown mess and a landlord who says "don't worry it will be fixed" but do you trust them and no it's not representative. So I decided to take the land out of the equation and price the house as a villa until the mess is fixed. Cheaper than it being empty... And unfortunately I have to wait for green waste collection, a skip simply won't do
c. The style I gave it - from inspection to application, I can't help but notice people with a non-Australian background liked the house much better. Lesson learned: cater to the market, no matter how much you dislike their style
d. I absolutely take on the feedback regarding empty places looking blah.
I think interest picked up after I dropped the price and I hear some people are bringing filled-in application forms with them. Fingers crossed.
As for agents: Find me one who doesn't work 8-5 and I'll reconsider. The one I tried made me late for work twice in a week, last thing I need.