Umm, can you tell me why this cottage isn't getting viewings?

Owain_Moneysaver

maria6259 wrote: »

wish i'd not looked, i now WANT THAT HOUSE!

It's amazing the difference a bucket of magnolia and a chandelier or two make ...

Ulfar

I am going to sound harsh but currently those photos make the property look like a repossession that has been treated badly.

Now I know the photos may not truly represent the property but the impression they give is terrible.

Lounge Photo, carpet is looks grim, What is all the crap in the alcove on the left.

Remove it now, sorry but not moving the bin is just lazy. I would also remove the shelves. Remove the white cushion from the couch it looks lonely.

Clean the fireplace out, put some logs in.

Kitchen, that is completely the wrong angle to take the photo from. It should have at least been taken from the other end. Repaint, new doors on cabinets as required.

Conservatory, get rid of boxes.

Bedroom, repaint in light colour and if it is still dark when taking photo turn the light on.

Photo of the back of house makes it look unkempt.

What is the picture of the concrete area or the back of the house from upstairs supposed to do, they provide nothing.

Where are the pictures of the other bedrooms and the bathroom.

As for the description, where to start. These are the questions I would expect to be answered by the description.

Is the property centrally heated, where is the boiler.

Is it double glazed.

Is there a shower and a bath in the bathroom. Is there a toilet, it may sound daft but I have seen plenty of properties that have been repossessed where it has been taken making the property un-mortgageable.

Is there any storage space.

Is there a loft.

Is the property connected to the mains gas, electricity, water and sewers, its in a village this is not always a given.

Can you get broadband.

To be honest I would sack the estate agents as they are hopeless, they should have given this advice already. Nothing I have suggested is that expensive to sort out or would take that much time.

RoyalDad

As everyone has said - the house looks lovely from the outside and is a good price for stamford area, but inside looks very dark and old fashioned.

Eton_Rifle

Your mum has great taste in houses but interior styles have moved on and the decor is probably turning off most potential buyers. It's sad but it happens to all of us - we buy things we love and then ten years later people turn their noses up at them!

That sitting room really out to be changed because that room is the deal-breaker for me. It probably looks lovely in real life but doesn't photograph well. Are the floors wooden?

I'd actually present the house empty, wood floors polished and shiny without carpet or rugs and all walls repainted without borders. If you need curtains for security, simple light and full-length is the way to go for sophisticated period property but I guess you don't really want to be replacing them.

Actually, this probably doesn't help because your mum is still living there isn't she? I'm probably getting the wrong idea from that one empty bedroom.

swimmer35

I LOVE the main photo of the house, but what a shame about the others! The photos are terrible, I would get the estate agent to re-take them. I'm sure that house is a lot nicer than those photos...change them ASAP!

Best of luck...

Owain_Moneysaver

Ulfar wrote: »

I am going to sound harsh but currently those photos make the property look like a repossession that has been treated badly.

I've seen repossessions that look more cheerful than that, even if they're in worse condition. And they've been priced accordingly, of course.

Fire_Fox

Photo one is lovely and chocolate boxey: then it all goes downhill, mainly because the photographs are absolutely appalling. Is the estate agent taking the mickey?? :eek: I would sack them immediately as they should have advised your mum to remove the packing boxes and curtains and to sort the garden.

Sitting room looks small with those two big dark sofas, filthy dark carpet, dark and dated curtains: looks like a student rental and I barely notice the lovely period fireplace. Kitchen looks like a corridor, flooring again looks filthy, curtains dark and dated. Lovely conservatory, looks tiny due to the packing boxes and angle.

A family house needs a family room or dining room, I just see one too small reception - I am guessing from the floorplan that the downstairs is a rabbit warren of tiny rooms - that makes me think building work. Bedroom 1 once again dark and dingy: what are those dark panels on the wall? What is wrong with the other bedrooms and bathroom that they are not pictured?

Back garden overgrown, !!!!!! get a gardener in! Are there two halves of the garden after the arch? Not seeing that with the shocking photographs. Don't want to see a picture of an expanse of concrete, is that the other half of the garden? It is June, buyers want to see a lovely cottage garden where they can sit out with a glass of wine or a beer, I just see a back yard.

Fire_Fox

MarieAAP wrote: »

Thank you ever so much for all these comments.

They have been passed on to Mum and to the Estate Agent.

Mum was living in China, so as she is now back permanent, she needed access to the stuff which was in storage, so thats why there were all those Dell boxes. And I most certainly do have enough room at in a 2 bedroom house, 1 lounge, with 3 adults and 2 cats!

As the kitchen, yep she knows it requires updating, but people's ideas are so varied :P

She is dropping the price, and is considering going lower, so that maybe an option.

I did ask for critical comments, and thats what they are, so thanks once again to everyone.
M

I wrote my post before reading all the others, not surprisingly I've repeated what everyone else says. Without meaning to be harsh 'needing' stuff in storage is NO excuse for the boxes being in the photos. Your mum should have temporarily or permanently housed the boxes elsewhere on that day - even if that meant your OH going over and humping them about the house! You are SELLING a lifestyle not a garage.

The kitchen needs updating, but that can be factored into the price. It more needs brightening up and a photo being taken from an angle that doesn't make it look like a corridor. Estate agents should be shot, but maybe they didn't bother because your mum hadn't bothered?

Bullfighter

Get someone who knows how to light an interior and use a camera to take some pictures.

tomstickland

Tarting it up will only go so far. Some buyers (like me) don't really care about doing a bit of decorating, so look at the location, structure, outlook and price.