Critique required

Cheeky_Monkey

I think your house looks lovely. Please tell me you haven't had the same EA since July last year?

If so, it's time you changed as I don't think they can be doing a particularly good job.

madmish00

Please tell me you haven't had the same EA since July last year?

If so, it's time you changed as I don't think they can be doing a particularly good job.

We have...

I got several local agents out when we were first looking to put it on the market and to be honest we weren't that impressed with any of them. These seems more professional in terms of marketing but so far haven't really delivered.

Having never sold before I do have a question about marketing with multiple agents... our agreement was for sole agency and had an 8 week notice - does this mean that if i want to market elsewhere I have to give them 8 weeks notice now or is that 8 weeks from going on the market?

A couple of the other agents had sole selling rights in their contracts so we purposely avoided those.

googler

8 weeks from when you notify them (i.e give them notice)

dopester

The OP asked for feedback last August...

I will commend the OP on actually lowering the price in the listing since August, and breaking away from the obvious basic tactics she/the EA were previously using of over-pricing in hoping it would lead to naive offer of what they were really hoping to get for it..

madmish00 wrote: »

The estate agent valued the house at £105k and to consider any offers that came in above 102k. But they advised put it on a bit higher as people 'expect' to drop the price so it went on at £109,950 just under 3 weeks ago.

I'm now wondering if I should have just put it on at £104,950 as I had initally thought (would be willing to drop to bertween 98-100k).

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2646723

madmish00

Yes it probably was naive but having never sold before and having agreed a fixed fee with the agent I kind of believed them when they said not to drop the price...there was no benefit to them whatsoever in advising this when they weren't even being paid on a percentage basis.

But hey ho learned my lesson from that. Seems however there are people deluding themselves more than me as I found out when trying to put an offer in on the one that wanted 15k more than asking!

iolanthe07

I'm amazed that you can't sell such a lovely house; it seems a bargain - it would fetch £150K+ here in Devon.

I would be wary of an Estate Agent who doesn't know how to spell 'accommodation', though!

zara*elise

Had a look and it's a really lovely home!

Few pointers...

Kitchen looks really nice! There's nothing more that can be done there. My only opinion in this room would be to remove the fabric blinds. Buyers like an unobstructed view when doing the washing up.

Living room, I'd change the light/fan you have. Hang a pendant. Will look more modern. Also remove the blinds. They are a little dated and I'm guessing any family moving in would remove them. You could always replace them with trendy nets (Ikea are great for this) or Venetian blinds. Cheap as chips and looks really modern.

The purple in the main bedroom works really well, however have you considered painting the two purple walls white? Would open up the room and give the impression of space and saves the buyer the job if they don't like it.

The blue bedroom I'd be tempted to paint also.

I know when viewing properties that artex really puts me off. It makes the place look dated, despite the rest of the decoration. If possible (and it's not too pricey) have a look at getting someone in to skim over it.

Also, have a word with your agents about using a wide angle lens. The bathroom I'm sure is much bigger than it looks, but the photos give the impression that it would barely fit two people. Also, have new photos taken every month. Those pictures look like they were taken in summer which makes me wonder 'what's wrong', even though there may be nothing wrong with the property itself.

Aside from that it's really, really lovely. Hope you manage to get a buyer soon!

olibrofiz

I think it looks lovely too if it were mine the lowest I'd drop to would be 95k if the minimum I would accept is 90k, cos lets face it, any buyer is going to ask for a reduction, & imo for 90k you'll have interest from people who's budget is less than that.

A thought if you don't mind - I'd move all the bottles off the wall shelf in the kitchen.

peaches48

Hello to you,
I've read your post and the replies, so thought I would make a few suggestions but please don't take offence, as they are in no way a critique on you personally... I think your taste is excellent :j
So here goes!

1). Paint the front railings brown (to match the windows) and garden wall, white (the wall is slightly green at the moment). That will create uniformity

2) The windows are lovely but I suggest getting some pretty drapes or nets that also allow for seeing outside into the street and garden, so perhaps a draped net

3)The front garden is very tidy but empty. Could you place some Pots with flowers either side of the front door and the hanging baskets look slightly forlorn (picturn doesn't show this very well).

4)Break up the plainess of the front garden by giving it a uneven sweep around the edges. Create borders for flowers, this will create an added interest

5)The verticals blinds in the kitchen are now slightly dated; perhaps have a beautiful Venetian (silver/grey), this allows for views but also gives privacy and can be raised halfway up for more views

6)Whilst the livingroom is very dramatic and extremely stylish it does have a slightly cold feel to it (from the photo). Once again I would change the blinds to Venetians and maybe change the colour of the chimney breast, with matching accessories. It needs to feel soft and comfy

7)The Pink/purple bedroom; again extremely stylish but not to everyone's taste. You have to forget your likes and try and make it suitable for a range of potential purchasers. I would lose the colour on the window wall and the wall next to the bed but keep the wallpaper. Have the paint as White with a Hint of Colour matching it. Equally tone down the bed covering.

8)The conservatory venetian blinds look horrible (sorry about that). They should have some colour on them. At the moment it looks very stark and not somewhere you want to spend a lot of time in and I should think when the sun is full out, there would be a lot of glare from the white blinds

9)The duck-egg blue in the bedroom with the coffee accessories, is again quite stylish but very stark. Suggest a softer tone for the blue, and lose the brown bed covering, perhaps something floral?

10)The room with the guitars seems to be a nothing room.... I can just perceive a chair, guitar and books, so is it an office, a music room, or library?
If a library or study/office, it should be cosier and if a music room, perhaps really define it as such? Viewers don't like indicisive rooms, it makes then very unsure what to do with it

11)The bathroom is very clean, functional and again satylish but perhaps needs an injection of colour? It looks quite cold at the moment from the picture, so some bright fluffy towels and lovely matching bathroom products would help (these would then go with you, so a reasonable cost outlay)

12)Back garden: Again, beautifully laid out but very symetrical... too many angles means sharp. It needs round corners and unsymetrically curves to make it flow better. I would remove some of the paving slabs down the main path so that you have one missing, then a slab, then one missing; bring the grass out into the area where the slabs have been removed. I would take the pots from the back terrace and place in the front garden and then plant up the raised terrace with shrubs. Remove the washing line and place a rotary dryer in it's place, in the area in front of the lawn but on the paving slabs. That makes it easy for washing to be placed out (no walking on the grass) and yet can be brought inside when not required.
Probably the garden has not been finished long as some of the plants are yet to reach full height and the pond, whilst lovely, is also a concern for parents with young children. I don't know how deep it is, or whether you have fish in it but if you are hoping to aim your property to a young family, I would suggest filling it in and perhaps making it a sand pit (although that can be problematic with the local cats).
For myself personally, I can see through everything I have mentioned and I wouldn't need to have these things done but so many house viewers are not able to and so the house just doesn't have that 'right feeling' for them.
I would suggest not spending too much on some of the things I listed but a lot of what you purchase could move with you and I certainly wouldn't suggest putting the price down. I would get your EA (whether the same one or a new one), to re-advertise, saying you are making extra improvements (don't need to say what) and that the price will be re-listed at £107,000.00 to take this into account, after the work is completed. That should certainly get the viewers interested, by means of reverse psychology.
Either way, you should be very proud of your home and please don't devalue the price.... it is worth that and much more.
Have you also thought of a video tour of your house, this can give a better feel for the house, so that someone then wants to view.
Because you have very stylish taste in your decor and presentation, that can be limiting to your potential purchasers. At the moment it is aimed at only a very specific taste and you need to aim at a wider market....
But, I wish you all the best and GOOD LUCK... you certainly deserve it

googler

zara*elise wrote: »

Also, have new photos taken every month. Those pictures look like they were taken in summer which makes me wonder 'what's wrong', even though there may be nothing wrong with the property itself.

You gotta be kidding...... if the OP gets three weeks of rain, and two weeks of snow, are you REALLY suggesting that they replace the summery pictures with dreary overcast skies and slush on the drive....?!?!?!

How's that going to attract viewers and buyers....?