What's wrong with our house?

radyrwife

I agree with the de-cluttering comments. Having looked through the pictures again myself I can see it's making the house looks smaller than it is. Haven't got anywhere to store it all though so it looks like some hard decisions to be made and then get storage for what we definitely don't want to part with.

In terms of price I agree and disagree if that makes sense, we live in one of the most expensive areas of Cardiff due to the schools and I don't think it's massively overpriced when you see what else is available locally. Or am I just being blind?

jenhug

its nicely decorated, but having stuff stacked in tubs and on top of cupboards and wardrobe just shouts "no storage, too small and cramped" you are going to have to get tough and lose some stuff! Then get new photos taken. Especially of the garden, it looks in need of a tidy.

martinthebandit

as others have said, a major declutter and a lot of work in the garden would help a lot.

apart from that it must be price

Brallaqueen

Cons- house looks council-estatey, hedges look dead, the kitchen is small for a family house, ditto bathroom and both the second and third bedrooms are tiny, tiny singles FILLED with stuff.

Pros- lounge is lovely, dining room is too and that's a great garden.

Zoopla tells me you're asking for near peak prices (2007). That said one sold in 2009 for 232k- how did it compare to yours?

PasturesNew

I used to drive through Radyr... it's nice enough - and "one of the posher bits", but you can get so much more for your money if you're not massively bothered about living there.

And ... crucially .... there's no chippy or chinese takeaway!



Just that one small shop.

I'm not sure £240k for a house that looks like ex-council was a fair price even at the peak of the market!

Within your own village there are so much bigger/better looking places available. e.g. 4-bed detacheds, rather than your 3-bed semi.

There are a couple of 3-bed detacheds too at £225k.

OK, you're at the station end of the village, not the M5 end, but I think people would either choose to wait, choose a different/cheaper house, choose to look at those at the other end of the village, or simply widen their search area by a mile or so to get what they might perceive to be better value for money.

So I think it must be price.

I'd be looking at Rhiwbina, some parts of Whitchurch and maybe Morganstown to stay close to a railway line and the M5 access and to be on that side of town... but there's no shortage of lovely corners outside of Cardiff.

radyrwife

Brallaqueen wrote: »

Cons- house looks council-estatey, hedges look dead, the kitchen is small for a family house, ditto bathroom and both the second and third bedrooms are tiny, tiny singles FILLED with stuff.

OK - first not ex council and certainly not on an estate so not sure what I can do about that. Agree the kitchen is small but again nothing I can do. There is planning permission on the house for a ground floor extension so any purchaser could extend if they want. Don't agree the 2nd bedroom is small, it's a standard size double? And yes the 3rd is a single room so perhaps a good clear out would help.

Pros- lounge is lovely, dining room is too and that's a great garden.

Thanks :-) May look at clearing the shelves though and the stuff on top of the cupboard in the dining room.

Zoopla tells me you're asking for near peak prices (2007). That said one sold in 2009 for 232k- how did it compare to yours?

Not sure at all to be honest

hcb42

you are well above previous house prices for the street, even at the peak of the market.

I actually love the bookcases and the living room (although it is small), but the kitchen looks a bit dated.

You will have to be honest - can you really expect to beat/equal the sale prices at the peak of the market 3-4yrs ago

Edit: I also thought it was ex council, and was genuinely shocked at the house being 1/4m.... although I don't know Cardiff particularly well, I never imagined it to be as expensive as that

Pupnik

I agree about the comments about the study- people who want to use all 3 bedrooms as bedrooms may not be able to picture a bed going in there along with wardrobe, children's toys etc as there is not much visible floorspace. If I were you I would box up the books and if possible remove the shelves- perhaps find a friend with a garage you can borrow to store them in, and either leave it as an empty room or put up a single bed, bedside table and small wardrobe in there so that people can picture it as a bedroom- you could get a lot of that stuff very cheapy through a charity shop or free from Freecycle. A lot of people have real difficulty in trying to think about the size of a room when they can't see past the furnishings so sometimes it is good to give them all the help you can. If there are a lot of properies for sale in the area in a similar price range you don't want to give the buyers any doubt that it is big enough for their needs.

Edit- now that it is summer it would be good to take a photo of the garden on a bright sunny day when it is at its best because it is a really nice garden and a big selling point.

withabix

Put some furniture and clutter into storage.

Convert that office back into a bedroom and put a bed in it.

Spend some time and money on the garden.

Take 2 feet off the hedges at the front.

Maybe replace that storm lid over the front door with a modern one?

You've obviously invested time and money on the interior, but the outside still says 'Council', even if it never was.

How much can you afford to drop the price by and how desperate are you to sell?

Ask another EA for a valuation. Your current one has had their chance.

mcc100

radyrwife wrote: »

I don't think it's massively overpriced when you see what else is available locally. Or am I just being blind?

It may not appear overpriced compared to others locally but they are probably also overpriced.

Estate agents value houses by comparing other houses on the market in the local area, not by what they are actually worth and, more importantly, what someone is prepared to and can afford to pay ........

If a house does not sell it is overpriced ......